TL;DR:

• There are opportunities out there for you to be a presenter.
• Over time, you will become more comfortable presenting.
• Don’t be afraid to get started.

Submitting Conference Proposals

Spring is upon us, and many of us are looking for conferences to attend or, better yet, speak at. Many of you readers out there are planning on going to the Teach Better conference in October. Whether you’re looking to attend or present at that conference or you will go to one earlier than in the fall, this blog post will provide you with ideas on submitting conference proposals and developing them into presentations for your upcoming conference speaking engagement.

YOU have a lot to share from your role in education. Believe in yourself, and get out there! Click To Tweet

Get Out There—Don’t be Shy!

Any educator with some level of experience, be it half a year, student teaching, or university-level researcher, can conduct and present professional development. If you’re an undergraduate or graduate student, think of it as the presentations you give to your classmates. If you’re a member of a professional organization, there are usually 1-2 conferences a year they ask for proposal submission to have presenters speak at. Some conferences even have sessions where they help people prepare proposals. There are also sometimes sessions about getting more involved in leadership positions within the organization. Some sessions have multiple presenters, so you don’t have to do it alone!

My First Presentation

The first time I conducted a professional development breakout session, I was about 8 years into the teaching profession and new to the school and district I was working at. It was for a district PD Day where we met with subject-area colleagues. As I recall, leading up to this PD Day, there was a call for ideas for sessions. The presentation I gave was about being a National Endowment for the Humanities grant recipient the summer before giving the presentation, and how my experience shaped my teaching practice. While this presentation didn’t have a huge audience like a local, state, or national conference, I was happy with the outcome and the opportunity to present and share my experience. However, I didn’t present again for almost 10 years!

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Grow and Learn How to Be a Better Presenter

Over the past five years, I have gotten more and more used to presenting to larger audiences both in-person and online. I have an online workshop for a conference just this week, and I can use the facilitation of this session as one of my professional observations at work. So, for me, it’s a win-win. While I have yet to present a keynote, I hope that one day soon I will get to the point where I can be an edu-influencer and speaker at a larger event. I was also responsible for bringing in the keynote for a conference for the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers, of which I’m on the board. The keynote and I did a live session post-keynote for my podcast, “Out of the Trenches.” Listen to it here.

The Teach Better Team is looking for presenters to submit proposals for the October conference. Submit a proposal here starting March 1. Don’t hesitate. YOU have a lot to share from your role in education. Believe in yourself and get out there! It may be intimidating to present to a group of adults at first. Warm up by presenting to your department or grade-level team first, before you present at a conference.

Share your experience presenting and promoting your session online! Tag me on Twitter @danagooder, and reach out if you’d like more tips on becoming a conference presenter!

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About Dana Goodier

Dr. Dana Goodier has 20 years of experience in education. She has taught World Languages and English and worked as a middle school administrator. She completed her doctorate degree (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership early 2020. For her dissertation, she researched reasons parents were opting their students out of high-stakes testing at middle schools and how that affected the district accreditation rating. She often speaks at conferences, providing educators with techniques to minimize off-task behavior and to increase time on task. She is the host of the “Out of the Trenches” podcast, which features educators who share their stories of resiliency. Follow her on Twitter @danagoodier and visit her website at: www.danagoodier.com