Submissions for extended abstracts are invited for the following presentation categories using the appropriate template:

Only extended abstracts are required. No full papers needed.

The deadline for submitting proposals for papers, symposiums, digital posters and workshops was 20 May 2022. All submissions are currently under consideration and authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to upload their revised abstract for inclusion in the conference program and in the peer-reviewed, open-access STEM 2022 Conference Proceedings.

Important dates

All presenting authors of accepted abstracts and all participants in accepted sessions are expected to attend the conference online and be present at the scheduled sessions.

Extended abstracts will be assessed in the following areas: 

• Relevance to the stated conference theme/s (see below)
• Addressing an important issue/question/problem
• Conceptual or theoretical grounding
• Methodology or process/es undertaken
• Substantiated conclusions
• Implications for policy, practice and/or theory
• Clarity and organisation.

Extended abstracts for workshops will be assessed in the following areas:

• Clear statement of the workshop’s scholarly or scientific significance
• Appropriate content for targeted audience
• Likelihood of encouraging audience participation
• Clarity and organisation of abstract.

Conference theme

Submissions should clearly address one of the conference themes. The most appropriate theme should be noted in the Theme section of the extended abstract submission.

• STEM education policy & practice: Pathways for our future
• STEM education and sustainability
• STEM, STEAM, STEMM, STEM+C and STEM+ education
• Expanding STEM opportunities through inclusive practices
• STEM education in diverse contexts
• Innovative STEM pedagogy and curriculum 
• Teacher education and professional learning in STEM 
• STEM professionals: pathways and experiences
• Approaches and methodologies for STEM education research
• Engaging students in STEM education

Presentations: extended abstracts

Conference papers

Paper presentation sessions will be scheduled up to 20 minutes (15-minute presentation + 5-minute discussion). All individual presentations proposed outside of symposia will be programmed with similarly themed presentations (as nominated in the keyword section of the template). The conference organising team will appoint a Chair, who will be responsible for coordinating the presenters and leading discussion as well as ensuring that the session keeps to time. Label the uploaded file: <First Author FAMILY NAME>_Paper.

Symposia

A symposium provides the opportunity to examine a common theme, specific issues, problems, or topics from a variety of perspectives. Symposia may also use a panel-discussion format targeted at a clearly delineated issue or idea. Symposia will be scheduled for 60 minutes divided into distinct formats, for example, three or four paper abstracts or three presentations and one discussant). Symposium proposals may nominate a discussant and must nominate a chairperson.

The symposium organiser is responsible for arranging prior acceptance of all parties involved in the symposium; planning the session to allow time for robust discussion and debate; preparing one document that includes an overview of the symposium (max. 200 words) and collated extended abstracts of max. 400 words for each paper presentation; and writing the 200-word overview of the symposium session, specifying the:

• topic and conference theme the session addresses
• objectives of the session and/or main issue/problem it addresses
• overview of the presentation
• scholarly or scientific significance
• structure of the session/how it will be organised/order of presenters
• ensuring that each presenter in the symposium provides an extended abstract of up to 400 words using the paper extended abstract template provided.
• submitting/uploading the symposium proposal as one collated document. Label the file: <Organiser FAMILY NAME>_Symposium.

Workshops

A workshop provides an opportunity to exchange information or work on a common problem, project, or shared interest to involve and directly inform researchers, teachers, educators and practitioners. A 400-word abstract of the workshop session should be provided by the organiser, addressing the objectives of the session; scholarly or scientific significance; practical implications; and structure of the session, for example,

• Who should participate in the workshop?
• Will there be presentations in the workshop? If yes, how many?
• What kind of interactions/involvement will be provided to the participants?

Label the file: <First Author FAMILY NAME>_Workshop.

Digital poster

An abstract for a poster presentation cannot exceed 400 words. Use the template above to create your extended abstract. Label the file <First Author FAMILY NAME>_Poster. If your poster abstract is accepted, you must create one slide only as your poster presentation. Upload the slide (PDF or JPEG version) as a Supplementary File to your poster abstract at any time before Friday 4th November 2022. Use the URL to access your submission that was emailed to you when you first uploaded your abstract. Alternatively, log into the submission system as an author. A list of your submissions will appear. Click on the title of the submission you wish to add the supplementary file and follow the prompts.Poster presenters will have the opportunity to talk about their poster for approximately 5 minutes. This will be followed by time to allow for discussion and responses to questions.

While any attendee is invited to submit a digital-poster abstract for consideration, poster presentations whose sole or principal authors are enrolled in undergraduate or postgraduate study may choose to enter the Conference Student Poster Award competition. The winner will be selected by the conference committee based on relevance, appearance and quality of content (clarity, design, methods and conclusions that are supported by results).

People sending a digital poster abstract for consideration are invited – but not required – to submit a YouTube video of their proposed poster presentation. The video must not be longer than one minute and should be saved as either “public” or “unlisted”. (Either setting will enable sharing of the URL to the committee, however, videos marked as “private” can only be viewed by their creator.) Once uploaded to YouTube, send the URL for your video (or share its link) by email with Maggie Feng, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., using “STEM 2022 poster” in the “Subject:” field. The body of the email must contain your name as well as whether you are applying to be considered for the Student Poster Award. Ideally this would be in the form illustrated below.

Instructions for creating a YouTube video

Some suggestions on how you can record your video, after switching off all notifications on your recording device:

• Use your institution’s existing software and save/download the file; or
• Use Zoom (Start a meeting in Zoom > share screen > select the PowerPoint window > Start the slideshow > start the recording (record on this computer, in the menu on the top of the screen) > Stop recording when it’s done (shortcut is Alt + R or from the same part of the menu). The file automatically saves on your computer and will be available when you end the meeting. This video can then be uploaded to YouTube; or
• You can also record your slideshow on PowerPoint. This needs to be converted to a video file before uploading to YouTube: File > Export > Create a Video > Select Video Quality > Use Recorded Timings and Narrations> Create Video.
• Other processes are possible. Use whichever works best for you.

Uploading to YouTube

• Go to YouTube and follow instructions (https://www.wikihow.com/Upload-a-Video-to-YouTube#Using-Youtube.com-on-a-Computer). You may need to open a YouTube account if you don’t already have one.
• Make sure video settings are public (if you are happy for the public to access your video) or unlisted (if you prefer more privacy).
• See https://www.pagecloud.com/blog/private-vs-unlisted-youtube for more information on these settings.
• Copy the ‘share’ link and follow the instructions above to email it to the conference organisers.