In classrooms across the country and world, teachers yearn for opportunities to come together and share ideas, stories, challenges, and practices, envisioning a world where all students can thrive. NCTE and NCTM believe strongly in the power of collaboration and working in ways that bring joy, connection, engagement, and freedom to our students. 

Because of that strongly held belief in collaboration, we are hosting the second annual NCTE-NCTM Joint Conference for Elementary Literacy and Mathematics, June 16-18, 2025, in Chicago. This Conference is specifically designed to empower and engage educators, primarily in the elementary setting, in collaboration across the miles, grade levels, and content areas with a laser sharp focus on coming together for our students, of all languages, cultures, and identities.  

The goal of all sessions is to advance positive outcomes for students through focusing on effective teaching and learning practices. We hope participants not only find ways to refine current practices but also walk away with new, practical ideas to implement in their respective contexts. Our organizations are looking for session proposals that (1) explore the connection between mathematics and literacy and (2) help educators dive deeper into one of the two content areas. 

We invite you to submit a proposal to be considered for the program for the 2025 NCTE-NCTM Joint Conference for Elementary Literacy and Mathematics. During the Conference, three different formats of sessions will be offered. Characteristics of these formats are:

• Session: 60 minutes. These sessions will be lecture-format or a panel.
• Workshop: 75 minutes. These sessions will be interactive and hands-on.  
  
• Burst: 30 minutes. These sessions will provide a snapshot of an instructional practice, a demonstration of a short classroom routine, or an “Ignite-style” showcase of current children’s literature and how each of these might be used with students. 
  
   
  

Click Here to Submit a Proposal

Proposal Submission Deadline: 9:00 AM ET on Monday, December 16, 2024.

Proposals may address any of the following topic strands.

Creating Classrooms Where ALL Students Belong: Meeting the Needs of Each and Every Student

Sessions in this strand highlight instructional practices that honor diversity and create safe learning spaces where all students’ voices, thoughts, and ideas are heard; their identities thrive; and they are secure in knowing they matter. Sessions in this strand may include but are not limited to the following:  

• Differentiation strategies to meet the needs of all learners
• Classroom structures that encourage a community of learners
• Culturally relevant, trauma-informed, and responsive pedagogies
• Ideas to invite and involve families in learning   
  

Capitalizing on Student Strengths: Practices that Illuminate Student Thinking and Facilitate Independence and Agency

Sessions in this strand will help participants promote students’ positive identities and develop a sense of agency over their learning through the exploration and examination of innovative teaching and assessment practices in ELA, mathematics, or both. Sessions in this strand may include but are not limited to the following: 

• Instructional practices that elevate students’ ideas, voices, and experiences 
• Showcasing ways new knowledge builds on prior learning
• Purposeful pedagogy: using student thinking to drive instruction
• Instructional practices that position students as owners of their learning
• Alternate ways to collect evidence of student learning
  

Making Connections: Using Literacy Practices in Mathematics and Using Mathematics Practices in Literacy

Utilizing effective practices in ELA to teach mathematics and vice versa provides students with opportunities to connect ideas to the real world and engage in authentic problem-solving tasks Presentations in this strand may include, but are not limited to the following: 

• Use writing in math class to bolster understanding of concepts
• Make use of comprehension skills to help students understand math word problems 
• Apply reasoning skills from math to help students comprehend literature 
• Creative ways to use children’s literature to strengthen math and literacy instruction
  

Teachers as Learners: Empowering Teacher Voice, Reflecting on and Refining Practice

In-depth knowledge of content and equitable teaching practices empowers teachers to engage students in developing conceptual understanding, critical thinking, and reasoning. When teachers are equipped with this knowledge, they are poised to increase students’ joy for learning. Sessions in this strand may include but are not limited to the following:  

• Examining and eliminating bias in assessment structures
• Purposeful assessments: using student thinking to drive instruction
• Working with students to write assessments collectively
• Translating student thinking found on assessments into transformative, student-led instruction    
  

Supporting the Work: Leadership and Coaching to Bolster Instructional Practices

Teaching is complex work, and support from building and/or district leadership matters. When building administration, instructional coaches, district leaders, etc., support teachers in constructive ways, teachers become more empowered and thus student learning is positively impacted. Sessions in this strand may include but are not limited to the following:  

• Engaging professional learning opportunities for teachers and leaders
• Working with adult learners in both inservice and preservice settings
• Instructional coaching approaches that impact teaching and learning
• Supporting system-wide change in ELA/mathematics
  

 

Click Here to Submit a Proposal

Important Notes about Completing a Proposal

Annotation
The proposal form includes a required field for an “annotation.” An annotation is a short description of your proposed session. Session annotations will be the foundation for participants as they build their own Conference experience. Please make sure that what you submit conveys a clear explanation of the goal of your session as well as what participants will learn. This information is what will be included in the online list of sessions and the Conference app to describe your session.

Description
The proposal form also includes a required field for a “description.” The description is a more in-depth summary of your session. It is what reviewers will read to make decisions on which proposals become part of the Conference program. As you craft your proposal description, you may want to consider these questions:

• How does the session involve or relate to elementary teachers?
• What do you intend for participants to walk away with after attending your session?
• How does the content of this session strengthen teaching and learning?
• How is the session grounded in the day-to-day work of elementary teachers?

Editing Your Proposal
When you submit a proposal draft, you will receive a confirmation email that will include information on re-entering the proposal system so you can edit the proposal, if needed. Be sure that the submitter’s name is in the first position in the list of presenters; this will ensure that the submitter will receive the auto-reply confirmation email and will be allowed to edit the proposal.

Submitting Your Proposal
If you have started a proposal draft, follow the instructions in the email reply you receive to complete and submit the proposal (the status of “pending” means you finished and submitted your proposal; “work-in-progress” means you’ve started the proposal and will come back to it to finish and submit it). Use the “Save & Edit Later” button at the end of the form if you want to go back into the proposal to make edits before the deadline. Once you have finished the edits, be sure to submit the proposal by clicking the “Submit” button before the deadline of 9:00 a.m. ET, Monday, December 16, 2024.

Multiple Speaking Roles
To ensure maximum participation by as many presenters as possible, it is suggested that individuals speak in no more than two sessions at the Conference. If any individual has more than two sessions that are accepted on the program, it is understood that the individual will be asked which two sessions they want to retain speaking roles in. Chairing or moderating a session does not count as a speaking role.

Proposal Form Requirements
The following information will be needed for your proposal form:

• Title: 160-character & space limit
  
• Annotation: 400-character & space limit; short description of your proposed session
  
• Topic Area: Mathematics, or English Language Arts, or Both
  
• Audience Level: Pre-Kindergarten Teachers, K–2 Teachers, 3–5 Teachers, General, Teacher Educators, Teacher Leaders/Coaches, Administrators
  
• Session Type: Session (60 min.), Burst (30 min.), Workshop/Roundtable (75 min.)
  
• Description: 4,000-character & space limit; full description seen only by reviewers
  
• Topic Strands: Read more about these at the Call for Proposals above 
  
• Session Content Level: Choose the audience that will benefit most from the presentation.
  
• # of Presenters: Be sure to add all presenters to the proposal.
  
• How does the session align with NCTE & NCTM’s dedication to equity and access?