The Publications Advisory Committee is pleased to invite attendees of the 2017 Annual International Conference to participate in several exciting events.

Pre-Conference Workshop on Scholarly Writing for Early Career Researchers

An important part of a researcher’s professional life is sharing scholarly work with colleagues. For many researchers, the first place to share work is at a conference; thus, learning to write conference papers is an essential part of entering the field. Conference papers can then lead to publications. For the new researcher, learning how to conceptualize, write, and revise research for publication can be challenging. To support some of NARST’s newest members, the Publications Advisory Committee is sponsoring a pre-conference workshop on scholarly writing. The workshop will consist of panel and small group discussions about topics such as making choices about writing projects, selecting an appropriate journal, finding time to write, and responding to reviews. There will also be an opportunity for each participant to receive feedback (not detailed) on a piece of writing.

This workshop is designed for early career researchers (e.g., postdoctoral researchers, pre-tenure faculty members, researchers in non-tenure-granting institutions who received their doctoral degrees in the past 6 years) who are interested in exploring the process of writing for publication. Participants will have the option to submit a sample of pre-publication writing (e.g., a NARST conference paper) by April 3 for mentor and peer feedback. In addition, each participant will be asked to read and respond to at least two of their colleagues’ papers prior to the workshop. This preparation will form the basis for small group discussions at the workshop. Please take these pre-workshop activities into consideration when deciding whether to register. If you have questions about whether this workshop is appropriate for you, please contact Alicia Alonzo (alonzo@msu.edu) before registering.

Presenters:

• Julie Luft, University of Georgia, USA
• Angie Calabrese Barton, Michigan State University, USA
• Bryan Brown, Stanford University, USA
• Zahara Hazari, Florida International University, USA
• Vanessa Kind, Durham University, UK
• Danusa Munford, The Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
• Marissa Rollnick, Wits University, Republic of South Africa
• Bhaskar Upadhyay, University of Minnesota, USA

Panel Discussion and Roundtables: How to Get Your Research Published in Science Education Journals

Are you wondering how to turn your NARST conference paper into a published article? At this session, a panel of publishers and journal editors will share tips and strategies for getting your research published in science education journals. The panelists will address issues such as: choosing the right journal, preparing your manuscript, responding to reviews, and maximizing your article’s readership. Following the panel, journal editors and representatives of the publishers will be available in a roundtable format to discuss the particular requirements of their journals and to provide individual guidance to authors.

The following publishers and journals will be represented at the session:

• Routledge (Ian White)
• Wiley (Eric Piper)
• Springer (Bernadette Ohmer)
• Journal of Research in Science Teaching (Fouad Abd El-Khalick and Dana Zeidler)
• Science Education (Sherry Southerland and John Settlage)
• International Journal of Science Education (Jan van Driel)
• CBE Life Sciences Education (Ross Nehm)
• Cultural Studies in Science Education (Catherine Milne, Christina Siry, and Michael Mueller)
• Environmental Education Research (Alan Reid)
• Journal of Biological Education (Sue Dale Tunnicliffe)
• Journal of Engineering Education (Lisa Benson)
• Journal of the Learning Sciences (Jan van Aalst and Susan Yoon)
• Journal of Science Education and Technology (Kent Crippen)
• Journal of Science teacher Education (Norman Lederman and Judith Lederman)
• Science and Education (Gregory Kelly)
• Studies in Science Education (Jonathan Osborne)

JRST Symposium: The “JRST Doctoral Student Mentored Reviewer Initiative”: Bolstering a Top-Tier Research Journal’s Graduate Education Contributions

JRST will present a new initiative aimed to engage doctoral students firsthand with the peer-review process, realizing JRST’s potential as an effective instrument for professional development. A faculty member from the broader science education community may request that a small number (2 to 5) of his/her doctoral advisees serve as JRST Mentored Reviewers. The students will be invited to write reviews for a manuscript currently under JRST review. While these will not count toward the final manuscript decision, the Doctoral Student Mentored Reviewers will examine, and compare their own reviews with, ‘official’ reviews and the resultant editorial decision letter. The sponsoring faculty member will—as part of the process—lead student discussion about the reviews, decision, and ways to respond to recommendations for revision and manuscript improvement. Once the student group submits a synthesis report of these discussions—endorsed by the faculty member—to the JRST editorial office, a formal letter will acknowledge the student and faculty roles, and they will be cited in the corresponding year-end JRST issue. This symposium will explain the initiative, elicit student and faculty feedback, and engage participants in discussion on writing effective and informative manuscript reviews for JRST.

Presenters:

• Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Dana L. Zeidler, University of South Florida

Panel Discussion: Make a Difference – Practical Tools and Strategies for Reaching Policy Audiences

This session is being co-sponsored by the External Policy and Relations Committee, Strand 15, and the Publications Advisory Committee. The session’s panel discussion will feature 1) researchers who have successfully shared their work with policymakers, 2) liaisons between researchers and policy makers, and 3) policy makers who engage with research. Panelists will address how to summarize and display research for a policy audience, how to disseminate research to policy audiences, where policy makers find research, and what formats policy makers find most accessible and readable. Specific strategies (e.g., policy briefs, blogs, twitter) will be provided as exemplars.

Presenters:

• Phillip Bell, University of Washington
• Sinead Chalmers, Rennie Center
• Kenneth Heydrick – The Texas Science Education Leadership Association
• Peter McLaren – Next Gen Education
• Jodi Peterson, National Science Teachers Association