Information for Submissions

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD: CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF PME-NA

During the past 40 years mathematics education has evolved, yet we face enduring challenges that persist within our field. As a part of our celebration of 40 years of PME-NA research, we focus on two such enduring challenges. Our first enduring challenge focuses on changing mathematical and pedagogical demands for P-16 education, as well as in the preparation of teachers of mathematics at all levels. How do shifting policy documents, curriculum materials, and expectations of industry shape teaching, learning, and research in mathematics education? Our second enduring challenge centers on supporting all students through a concerted focus on the braiding of equitable teaching in our collective research. As our population changes, so does what it means to support all students. How are we, as mathematics education researchers, addressing needs of all students?

In addition to these enduring challenges, the conference will also look ahead to emerging opportunities in mathematics education research. First, advances in technology, such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, simulations, and other innovations provide new opportunities to explore how technology can be used in the service of mathematics education and research. As such, the conference seeks proposals that explore the potential of these and other technologies in mathematics education. Second, mathematics itself is increasingly interdisciplinary, with significant growth in fields like mathematical ecology and mathematical biology. In what ways might advancements in these interdisciplinary fields shift what kinds of mathematics is important to know? What opportunities might such shifts provide? Correspondingly, how might such changes impact the norms for what counts as legitimate forms of inquiry in mathematics education research?

Submit a Proposal

Deadlines and Page Limits

Proposals are due in February or March. Authors of accepted proposals will be asked to unblind and, if needed, translate papers and resubmit them by June 11, 2018.

Session Type Page Limits Abstract Limit Proposal Due Date Final Paper Due Date
Research Report 8 pages 10 lines February 28, 2018 June 11, 2018
Brief Research Report 4 pages 10 lines February 28, 2018 June 11, 2018
Poster 1 page No abstract March 28, 2018 June 11, 2018
Working Group 10 pages 15 lines March 28, 2018 June 11, 2018

Note: The page limits include all figures, tables, and references, and the deadlines are firm.

Things to Keep in Mind As You Prepare Your Proposal

  • We encourage you to consider your work through the perspective of the conference theme Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Celebrating 40 Years of PME-NA. However, we welcome all proposals that further a deeper understanding of teaching and learning mathematics even if they do not directly address the theme.
  • There are four different session types: Research Reports, Brief Research Reports, Posters, and Working Groups.
  • PME-NA proposals are full papers that have been blinded for review. Once proposals have been reviewed and accepted, authors will be asked to unblind them (and, if they are in Spanish or French, translate them into English) and resubmit them by the paper deadline (see deadlines above).
  • Page limits for PME-NA proposals vary by session types: Research Reports (8 pages), Brief Research Reports (4 pages), Posters (1 page), and Working Groups (10 pages).
  • Poster proposals are one-page papers with no abstract that have been blinded for review.
  • All proposals must be submitted electronically. Please convert your word document to a .pdf prior to uploading the proposal in All Academic. Please verify that the .pdf proposal is within the maximum page limits prior to uploading to All Academic.
  • Proposals should not use endnote or other automatic reference software.
  • Proposals may be submitted in English, Spanish, or French. Proposals submitted in Spanish or French need to include a title and an abstract in English as well. Proposals will be reviewed by teams with expertise in the language of the s Accepted proposals in Spanish or French will need to be translated by the author(s) into English by June 11, 2018. These proposals will be published in two languages (English and Spanish/French) in the proceedings.
  • Presentations may be made in English, Spanish, or French. Translation will be available for plenaries and designated bilingual sessions. If presenting in Spanish or French, PowerPoint slides should be prepared in both English and the language used for the presentation.
  • The proposal deadlines are:
    • February 28, 2018 by 11:59pm Pacific for Research Reports and Brief Research Reports and
    • March 28, 2018 by 11:59pm Pacific for Posters and Working Groups
  • Limits on the number of proposals submitted by one person:
    • An individual may serve as the primary presenting author for only one research report.
    • An individual may be co-author on multiple research report proposals, however, the (co) author who electronically submits a proposal is committing to present the work at the conference and can do so for only one research report proposal. This person must also register for the conference by the speaker registration deadline for an accepted proposal to remain on the program.
    • An individual may serve as the primary presenting author for no more than two posters.
    • Currently, there is no limitation on the number of brief research reports a person can submit as the primary presenting author.
    • Thus, an individual may submit one or more brief research reports and up to 2 poster proposals in addition to one research report proposal.
  • Page limits for all session types include references.
  • It is essential to carefully format proposals according to the proposal guidelines.
  • For those who find it useful, we provide a proposal template.
  • Reviewers will be asked to rate each proposal on specific criteria tailored to different types of proposals.

Proceedings Styles Templates

English – Proceedings Styles Template
Spanish/French – Proceedings Styles Template

Criteria Worksheets

Worksheet for Reviewing Poster Proposals
Worksheet for Reviewing Empirical Proposals
Worksheet for Reviewing Theoretical Proposals
Worksheet for Reviewing Working Group Proposals

Before Entering the All-Academic Submission Page to Submit a Proposal, Consider the Following:

  • The All-Academic Submission page is now available to visit.
  • If you are submitting a joint proposal
    • The person submitting the proposal should be a presenting author as it is that person who will need to register by the speaker registration deadline of September 10, 2018 for an accepted proposal to remain in the program.
    • Each co-author will need to create an account in the All Academic system. This can be quickly done by following the directions on the All Academic PME-NA 2018 login page. The person submitting the proposal will then be able to identify them as co-authors.
  • Similar to the process in 2017, we are asking that each person submitting a proposal also serve as a reviewer for up to 3 other proposals. By involving all potential presenters in the reviewing process, we hope to more evenly distribute the responsibility for reviewing. When you first log in and establish your account, you will be asked to answer several questions that will help us assign proposals for you to review. Thank you for supporting our conference by participating in this process.
  • As part of the submission process, you will be asked questions to provide information to help with reviewing and with organizing the program and proceedings:
    • Identify a conference theme.
    • Identify one strand.
    • Provide a maximum 15-word title, centered, all uppercase, bold, Times New Roman 12-point font. The proposal title may be in English, Spanish, or French.
    • Provide a maximum 100-word description (this will appear in the conference program) The description may be in English, Spanish, or French.
    • Provide a maximum 10-line (15 lines for Working Groups) abstract in English, Spanish, or French. (This is separate from the 100-word description for the conference program. Many people read the descriptions and abstracts to decide whether to attend a presentation, so make sure that both succinctly capture the essence of your paper.)
    • Choose the type of research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods or theoretical)
    • Identify up to four relevant keywords.
    • Indicate your willingness to present in a different format than the one proposed (e.g., a Brief Research Report or Poster if submitting a Research Report).

Specific Steps for Preparing Your Proposal

  1. Draft your proposal within the provided template.
  2. Make sure the unblinded version of your proposal does not exceed the maximum page-length limits (see the table above)
  3. Go through and blind your proposal (see below). Note: this will decrease the length, but you will need that length later when you unblind, so do not add text
  4. Convert your word document to a .pdf on your own computer
  5. Check the page length of the .pdf – are you still within the page specifications?
  6. Upload your .pdf to the proposal system

How to Blind a Proposal

Authors are responsible for removing any information from their proposals that might lead a reviewer to discern their identities or affiliations. All references in the author line, within the text (as citations, footnotes, webpages, etc.), and within the reference list for each author must be blinded. More specifically, change author information at top of the proposal to say “Author” and “Institution” rather than names. Within the text, mask author’s self-citations of published work for each author and for each citation with any author, regardless of authorship order. Replace your author names with “Author” in both in-text citations and reference entries. For example, instead of “In our analysis we found that… (Bartell & Bieda, 2004)” write “In our analysis we found that… (Authors, 2004).” If in the aforementioned example only Bieda is a proposing author, the citation should still be blinded. Be sure active website links are replaced at this stage with blind placeholders (e.g., PROJECT WEBSITE), that NSF-numbers are blinded (e.g., PROJECT NUMBER), and that references in footnotes or tables are also checked and blinded. Reference entries in the reference list for author self-citations should be re-alphabetized under “A for Authors” rather than leaving the entries in their original placement in the section. Reference entries for “Author” should show only Author and the year. DO NOT include article titles, DOIs, or other identifying information.