PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND MANAGEMENT Enter a New Proposal Create a Username and Password to enter your proposal online: USERNAME: PASSWORD: EMAIL ADDRESS:   Modify/Review an Existing Proposal Enter your User Name and Password: USERNAME: PASSWORD:   Forgot Proposal Username or Password? Enter your email address below and the information will be emailed to you. EMAIL ADDRESS: PROPOSAL REVIEW AND SCORING

"Every educator engages in effective professional learning everyday so every student achieves."

The NSDC Annual Conference is used to advance NSDC's purpose, strategic priorities, and standards. Carefully consider the standards as you prepare your proposal.

Follow this sequence for submitting a proposal to present: Review the NSDC Standards, Critical Issues, and Guiding Questions and choose the one that your session will best address. Review the Blank Proposal Form. Use the Proposal Writing Guide, Proposal Review Process and Proposal Scoring Guide to guide the proposal development process.

1. Complete the online proposal.
2. Make a copy of your proposal and save the confirmation receipt from NSDC.
3. IMPORTANT: Once you "COMPLETE" and "SUBMIT" your proposal, no corrections will be accepted. However, you will be able to read your submitted proposal online after you submit it.

Thank you and good luck!

NSDC Standards

CONTEXT STANDARDS

• Organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district. (Learning Communities)
  
  
• Requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement. (Leadership)
  
  
• Requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration. (Resources)
  
  

PROCESS STANDARDS

• Uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement. (Data-Driven)
  
  
• Uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact. (Evaluation)
  
  
• Prepares educators to apply research to decision making. (Research-Based)
  
  
• Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal. (Design)
  
  
• Applies knowledge about human learning and change. (Learning)
  
  
• Provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate. (Collaboration)

CONTENT STANDARDS

• Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement. (Equity)
  
  
• Deepens educators' content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. (Quality Teaching)
  
  
• Provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately. (Family Involvement)
  
  

Critical Issues and Guiding Questions

1. Developing state, district, and local policy and advocacy for professional learning.

   CONTEXT: What organizational structures and resources are necessary to support the implementation of powerful professional learning?

   PROCESS: How do we develop state, district, and school level policies to influence professional learning? What strategies can we use to advocate for professional learning?

   CONTENT: What are the critical elements of effective professional learning policies at local, state, and federal levels?

2. Developing and supporting school and district leadership for continuous improvement.

   CONTEXT: What are the resources, structures, and programs that support leadership development and continuous school improvement?

   PROCESS: What structures/systems and processes enhance leadership capacity?

   CONTENT: How does research inform policy and practice? How does practice inform research? What content is essential for leaders committed to student success?

CONTEXT: What organizational structures and resources lead to results-driven professional learning?

PROCESS: What elements of evaluation design drive data collection that provides evidence of results?

CONTENT: What is the research supporting professional learning and its impact on student achievement?

4. Applying knowledge of race, class, and culture to narrow achievement gaps.

CONTEXT: What organizational structures and resources create a culture that narrows achievement gaps? How do leaders create this context?

PROCESS: What practices ensure that race, class, culture, and ability are seen as assets and used to support learning and development? How do educators learn these practices?

CONTENT: What research, knowledge skills, and dispositions about race, class, and culture are critical to narrowing the achievement gaps?

5. Teaching the fundamentals of powerful professional learning.

CONTEXT: What organizational structures and cultures foster effective professional learning?

PROCESS: What strategies promote effective professional learning?

CONTENT: What knowledge, skills and practices are essential elements of effective professional learning?

6. Enhancing teaching quality.

CONTEXT: What organizational structures and cultures enhance teaching quality?

PROCESS: What processes improve professional learning, teaching quality, and student learning?

CONTENT: What are the knowledge, skills, and practices needed for quality teaching?

7. Leveraging technology as an effective vehicle for professional learning.

CONTEXT: What organizational structures support the implementation of technology tools as components of professional learning? How can a school/district overcome a lack of access to technology resouces?

PROCESS: In what ways is technology used to support professional learning? How can technology tools address issues of equity and diversity in professional learning? How do we ensure rigor in technology-based learning experiences?

CONTENT: What are the research-based content and skills necessary to use technology for effecticve professional learning?

Writing Guide

1. Review the proposal form before you begin writing. Prepare a draft of your responses to the questions; when you are ready, cut and paste your responses into the final proposal form.
2. Pay attention to word number requirements. Your proposal will not save if you exceed space requirements.
3. Review the sample abstracts. Make sure your abstract offers a clear, concise description of what participants will learn and how they will learn it.
4. Make sure your proposal is complete. Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed.
5. The deadline for proposals is final.
6. Sessions that include school district employees are given priority. Those who work with schools are encouraged to submit presentations with practitioners as co-presenters.
7. Sessions that include diverse presentation teams are also a priority. The selection committees value diversity of presentation teams in terms of race, culture, gender, level of expertise, and areas of educational experience.
8. Due to the interest in presenting at the conference, please do not submit more than two proposals. If two proposals are submitted, at least one of the proposals must include a presenter who is employed full-time by a school system.

Proposal Review Process

Proposals are reviewed by NSDC staff, members of the Annual Conference Planning Committee, and members of the local Host Committee. Each proposal is scored by a minimum of three reviewers. In addition to the scores awarded the proposal, issues that can be used to determine the selection of a proposal for the program include: number of submissions for the standards and/or topics addressed, number of hours requested, diversity of presentation team, location of presentation team, and previous presentation history.

Proposal Scoring Guide

1. To what degree does the proposal address the selected Critical Issues and topics identified by presenters? (1 - 4 points)

   4. Session CLEARLY ALIGNED with multiple Critical issues; Topic(s) SUBSTANTIVELY addressed; SUBSTANTIVE CONNECTION between session topic(s) and NSDC purpose

   3. Session ALIGNED with multiple Critical issues; Topic(s) CLEARLY addressed; VERY CLEAR CONNECTION between session topic(s) and NSDC purpose

   2. Session SOMEWHAT ALIGNED with Critical issues; Topic(s) ADDRESSED; CLEAR CONNECTION between session topic(s) and NSDC purpose

   1. Session BARELY ALIGNED with Critical issues; Topic(s) SOMEWHAT CLEARLY addressed; SOMEWHAT CLEAR CONNECTION between session topic(s) and NSDC purpose

2. To what degree are the outcomes clearly defined? (1-4 points)

   4. CLEARLY DEFINES what knowledge and skills participants will have as a result of this session

   3. DEFINES what knowledge and skills participants will have as a result of this session

   2. Offers SOME knowledge and skill outcomes and process outcomes

   1. SUBSTITUTES participant outcomes with processes participants will experience during session

3. To what degree are the content and processes aligned with the intended outcomes as well as consistent with high quality staff development design? (1-8 points)

   8. VERY CLEARLY articulated content; ALIGNS with intended outcomes; LOGICAL sequence; ALL activities aligned with intended outcomes; APPROPRIATE time for activities to achieve intended outcomes

   6. CLEARLY articulated content; ALIGNS with intended outcomes; LOGICAL sequence; MOST activities aligned with intended outcomes; APPROPRIATE time for MOST activities to achieve intended outcomes

   4. SOMEWHAT CLEARLY articulated content; ALIGNS with intended outcomes; LOGICAL sequence; MANY activities aligned with intended outcomes; APPROPRIATE time for MANY activities to achieve intended outcomes

   2. SLIGHTLY WELL articulated content; ALIGNS with intended outcomes; LOGICAL sequence; SOME activities aligned with intended outcomes; APPROPRIATE time for SEVERAL activities to achieve intended outcomes

4. To what degree does the proposal address appropriate research and best practice? (1-4 points)

   4. 3-5 appropriate references for both; Data SUPPORTS presentation

   3. 1-2 appropriate references for both; Data SUPPORTS presentation

   2. 1-2 appropriate references for either; Data SUPPORTS presentation

   1. FEW references for either; NO LINK of data to presentation

5. To what degree is the proposal connected to the work of NSDC? (1-4 points)

   4. Very clear connection between the work of NSDC and the proposal

   3. Connection between the work of NSDC and the proposal

   2. Little connection between the work of NSDC and the proposal

   1. No connection between the work of NSDC and the proposal

6. To what degree does the work presented impact schools/districts and contribute to the field of staff development? (1-4 points)

   4. Evidence of SIGNIFICANT contribution to professional development and EVIDENCE of impact in school and/or district; LINKED TO NSDC Critical issues; SIGNIFICANT data collected

   3. Evidence of contribution to professional development and Evidence of impact in school and/or district; LINKED TO NSDC Critical issues; APPROPRIATE data collected

   2. Evidence of contribution to professional development OR Evidence of impact in school and/or district; LINKED TO NSDC Critical issues; SOME data collected

   1. MINIMAL evidence of contribution to professional development OR MINIMAL evidence of impact in school and/or district; LINKED TO NSDC Critical issues; LIMITED data collected

7. Presentation teams that include school district employee(s) will be awarded three additional points.