Like last year's PERC, the 2018 PERC will have contributed poster sessions and multiple kinds of parallel (break-out) sessions.

Juried Talks

The Juried Talk process has a dedicated page.

Contributed Poster Sessions:

These are "standard" poster sessions like you'd see at AAPT and other conferences. All PERC attendees who want to present a poster may do so. There are special sessions for undergraduate presenters and for first-time presenters. Abstract submission is now closed.

Parallel Sessions:

Proposal submission is now closed.

Parallel sessions offer 90-minute sessions in which groups of scholars engage session attendees in thematic explorations, often tying together research from across institutions, student populations, research questions and/or methodologies. Below are the most common formats for parallel sessions:

• Poster Symposia: In a poster symposium (formerly known as a targeted poster session), an organizer chooses a theme and invites several presenters to prepare posters on their work as it is related to the theme. Generally a poster symposium will include 3-5 posters and will include time for attendees to visit each poster, as well as a closing whole-group discussion.
• Talk Symposia: In a talk symposium, an organizer chooses a theme and invites several speakers to present talks on this theme. Generally this will include 3-5 talks with or without a discussant who can lead a group discussion following the talks.
• Workshops: Workshops generally involve one or more leaders and a group of participants working on a shared task, often for the purpose of learning more about a research methodology or program.
• Juried Talks: Juried talks are meant to provide opportunities for researchers to present mature research projects that are ready for publication or in the publication pipeline. Instead of proposing an entire session, juried talk applicants submit an anonymous extended abstract for their talk, and the PERC organizers create sessions out of accepted talks; each talk is 18 minutes with 4 minutes for questions. Note a major change from last year: you submit an extended abstract instead of a full paper. (Later, you can submit your full paper to the PERC Proceedings.) Please see this document for additional information.

Other community-generated formats for breakout sessions can be considered; please contact the session organizers and/or submit a pre-proposal form in February with your ideas. For examples of each type of session from the most recent PERC, you may wish to consult the abstracts (labeled by session type) from last year's PERC.

Important Dates

January 5, 2018: Parallel session proposal and juried talk abstract submission opened
February 16, 2018: Parallel session proposal and juried talk abstract deadline
February 19, 2018: Contributed poster abstract submission opened
March 30, 2018: Parallel sessions and juried talks selected and notified
May 18, 2018: Contributed poster abstract deadline
May 18, 2018: First-timer poster abstract deadline
May 24, 2018: PERC paper submission opened
June 22, 2018: Undergraduate poster abstract deadline
July 6, 2018: PERC paper submission deadline
August 1-2, 2018: Dates of the PERC

FAQs

Does my submission have to be on the conference theme of the having of wonderful ideas?

No. We encourage submissions on the conference theme but any PER-related theme is appropriate for the conference. In the event that there are many more submissions than slots, connection to the conference theme may be a secondary selection criterion.

How many proposals can I submit?

There is no limit on parallel session proposals; for juried talks and contributed posters, you may submit only one proposal as primary author. Please note also that the PERC proceedings have a limit of one paper per primary author.

Why are there multiple deadlines listed for contributed posters?

There is a later deadline for undergraduate students in order to allow students in REU or other summer research programs to have time to assemble abstracts on their summer work. Many of these posters will also be in the first-timer session.

How will the schedule advance the PERLOC initiative to support recurring themes in PERC?

PERLOC has identified three recurring themes to be represented at all PERCs: Theory and Methods, Diversity and Inclusion, and Concept Development. There will be at least one parallel session on each theme at the 2018 PERC, and others will be added if demand is sufficient. These sessions may be constructed from juried talks, symposium proposals, or by invitation.

What do I have to do to if I want to organize a parallel session?

You needed to submit a proposal by February 16. Organizers are responsible for coordinating the parallel session, including coordinating with presenters and communicating any accommodation requests to the PERC organizers.

What do I have to do to if I want to submit a juried talk abstract?

You needed to submit a proposal by February 16.

I have a question that isn't answered here.

Feel free to e-mail the PERC organizers at 2018perc@gmail.com with any additional questions.