2021 Session & Document Types

The deadline for all proposals is March 15, 2021 by 11:59pm PST. Proposals can be submitted in English, Spanish or French. Final papers will need to be in English, and optionally in any of the two other languages as well. For all session types, the page limits listed below include any figures or tables, but exclude references (e.g., the references may extend beyond the 8th page of research reports). For all session types except posters, the proposal should include an abstract (maximum of ten lines of text).

In addition to the abstract, a brief description (maximum of 100 words) will be needed for the conference program. Authors are reminded to please use the templates provided here: English Proposal Template and Spanish/French Proposal Template to ensure correct formatting in the published proceedings. You many need to right click and save the template using the links above if they don’t download automatically.

Session & Document Type	Page Limits	Abstract Limit	Proposal Due Date	Final Paper Due Date
Research Report	8 pages	10 lines	March 15, 2021	June 30, 2021
Brief Research Report	4 pages	10 lines	March 15, 2021	June 30, 2021
Poster	1 page	No Abstract	March 15, 2021	June 30, 2021
Working Group	2 pages	15 lines	March 15, 2021	June 30, 2021
Research Colloquia	2 pages	15 lines	March 15, 2021	June 30, 2021

Submissions will be accepted through All-Academic: https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/pmena/pmena21/

Research Reports

Research Reports are intended for reporting on complete research of the highest caliber. The papers can be empirical or theoretical. The paper should discuss the following items (as applicable; in case of a theoretical/conceptual paper, these can be different):

objectives or purposes of the study;
perspective(s) or theoretical framework;
methods or modes of inquiry (including participants, contexts, data collection and analysis, etc.);
results; and
discussion and/or conclusions.

Authors of Research Reports should submit a maximum 8-page paper (including figures, tables, and a 10-line abstract, but excluding references) which will be included in the conference proceedings. Authors are reminded to please use the provided templates to ensure correct formatting in the published proceedings.

Brief Research Reports

Brief Research Reports are intended for reporting on research that is in process or of a preliminary nature, such as sharing preliminary results from a larger research study or reporting initial findings from a study that has not been completely analyzed.

Brief Research Reports should address the same items as Research Reports, at least as appropriate:

objectives or purposes of the study;
perspective(s) or theoretical framework;
methods or modes of inquiry (including participants, contexts, data collection and analysis, etc.);
results; and
discussion and/or conclusions.

Authors of Brief Research Reports should submit maximum 4-page paper (including figures, tables, and a 10-line abstract, but excluding references) which will be included in the conference proceedings. Authors are reminded to please use the provided templates to ensure correct formatting in the published proceedings.

Posters

Poster sessions are designed to encourage the exchange of ideas. A Poster Presentation is a visual display depicting a research project, developed software, curricular innovation, educational program, or other item of interest to members of PME-NA. Posters should include:

a description of the conceptual or theoretical perspective,
the research question(s) and design,
data collection techniques and analyses, and
a summary of findings and their implications.

Authors of Posters should submit maximum 1-page summary of their poster (including figures, tables, and no abstract, but excluding references) which will be included in the conference proceedings. Authors are reminded to please use the provided templates to ensure correct formatting in the published proceedings.

Working Groups

A working group:

focuses on an emerging or new research topic of substantial interest within the PME-NA community;
has a clear goal and a strategy to reach this goal in collaboration with the participants;
includes structural opportunities for contributions by the participants to reach the goal;
involves only a minimum of planned presentations to stimulate the specific collaboration or exchange;
is provided by at least two researchers who are actively working within the research topic;
covers 3 slots of 90 minutes each; and
is represented via a 2-page proposal in the conference proceedings.

Working groups are subject to review in order to ensure the fit to the goals of PME-NA as an organization. Note: As of 2020, the PME-NA Steering Committee voted to reduce the number of pages for Working Group proposals to 2 pages only. Proposals will be evaluated by a committee to ensure a diversity of ideas being shared.

Proposals must include:

the topic, title, goal, and strategy to reach the goal of the working group,
the names of all researchers contributing (minimum of 2)
the name of the coordinator (corresponding researcher);
an outline of the theoretical background of the research topic;
an explicit statement of the way the participants are expected to engage in collaboration and/or exchange in the working group;
an explicit statement if the working group is a new initiative or a follow up on previous PME-NA activities, as well as an indication of tentative follow-up activities at future PME-NA conferences (such as, further WGs or colloquia); and
a detailed description of the proposed organization of the WG, including thematic structuring, time structuring for 3 slots of 90 minutes each, as well as descriptions of planned presentations and participants’ exchange/collaboration activities.

Working groups that have been meeting for multiple years, and who are in a position to share what they have been working on, are invited to submit a proposal for a Research Colloquium instead.

Research Colloquia

A Research Colloquium:

focuses on a research topic of substantial interest within the PME-NA community that has been developed during multiple previous PME-NA (or PME) working groups;
involves longer planned presentations to share what has been done in previous meetings within the group;
is provided by at least two researchers who are actively working within the research topic;
allows for time at the end of each of the sessions for participants to share their thoughts and ideas or ask questions about the work that has been created (it is recommended that the organizers consider sharing areas that would allow for some exchange of ideas, but this is not the focus of the colloquia);
covers 3 slots of 90 minutes each; and
is represented via a 2-page proposal in the conference proceedings (with additional pages for references).

Research Colloquia are subject to review in order to ensure the fit to the goals of PME-NA as an organization. Note: As of 2020, the PME-NA Steering Committee introduced this new session type, and limited proposal length to a maximum of 2 pages. Proposals will be evaluated by a committee to ensure a diversity of ideas being shared.

Proposals must include:

the topic and title;
the names of all researchers contributing (minimum of 2);
the name of the coordinator (corresponding researcher);
an outline of the theoretical background of the research topic;
an explicit statement of the history of the working group;
an explicit statement of areas that will be open for discussion with participants to allow for an exchange of ideas;
a detailed description of the proposed organization of the colloquia, including thematic structuring, time structuring for 3 slots of 90 minutes each, as well as descriptions of planned presentations and participants’ exchange/collaboration activities.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals may be in Spanish, French, or English. Proposals submitted in Spanish or French need to include a title and an abstract in English as well.
The final manuscripts (to be submitted by June 30, 2021) of accepted papers, posters and working groups need to be in English, but can be published in two languages (English and Spanish; or English and French) in the proceedings. Authors of accepted proposals in Spanish or French are responsible for translating them into English and submitting English versions before the final paper deadline of June 30, 2021.
Proposals should be anonymized: please remove all identifying information, such as names of author(s), author institution(s), funding sources and author references.
All submissions should be in .docx format, not PDF, nor any other word processing format.
The most important thing for you to do in your proposal preparation is to use the .docx templates provided here: English Proposal Template and Spanish/French Proposal Template
When working with the templates, you should always use the built-in Styles as defined in the .docx templates.
You must choose a single Strand for your proposal submission (see below). If you do not feel any of the strands fits your work, then feel free to use the “Theory, Research Methods, or Miscellaneous Topics” Strand. We welcome all scholarship related to mathematics education.
Keywords should be selected from those listed at Strands and Keywords. Although you must select a single strand, you can select multiple Keywords for your proposal.
Please follow these guidelines carefully.

Submission Limits

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.