Graduate Forum Elections at CUFA 2019!
Are you a graduate student wanting to get more involved with CUFA?
Serving as a leader in the CUFA Graduate Forum board allows you to impact the
field of social studies education and research while collaborating with
students and faculty from around the country. Through this service to the field
and our monthly virtual meetings, you can develop a sense of community and
connection that can often be hard to find elsewhere. No prior experience is
necessary.
x
Three positions are available: Vice-Chair (2 year position),
Assistant Program Chair (2 year position), and Communications Officer (1 year
position). The descriptions are
listed in the link below. Elections are during the Grad
Forum Business Meeting on Friday, November 22nd at 9:30-10:00am in Hilton 616A. All
nominees will have 1 minute to briefly introduce themselves and describe their
interest in joining the Grad Forum Executive Board, including any particular
skills they offer the role.
Candidates can self-nominate until elections begin, but we greatly
appreciate the advance notice. If you have questions or want to nominate
yourself, please email Grad Forum Chair Jenni Conrad at conradj@uw.edu with:
- Your name
- Your institution
- The position for which you are nominating yourself
Link
to CUFA Grad Forum Board Roles:
1. Go to the Graduate Forum - This is where you will meet your cohort of peers coming up in the field. It's a very supportive environment and it also has wonderful professional development. They always put on a program geared toward scholars coming up in the field and to meet your needs.2. Get involved with the Graduate Forum - Join the Graduate Forum's FB page. Also this year there are some offices open - consider running for one. Alice was the communications person if you want to talk to her about what the commitment involved and how it has been helpful for her.
3. Meet up with your mentor / get a mentor - the Graduate Forum has a program to match you with a mentor from another institution. I have had students have wonderful experiences with this.
4. YOUR sessions:
a. Arrive 15 minutes early to set up. Bring a flash drive that has your presentation loaded on it so that you can easily download it to a computer. Bring your dongle to connect your computer to the projector.
b. Rehearse your presentation - If you have not already heard from the Chair, email them to check how much time you will have to present. Generally, you will have 12 minutes, but in some cases you get more or less. Know that every minute you run over takes away from someone else and Q&A.
c. Q&A can be the most helpful part of presenting at a conference since you get feedback from your peers that will help you move your paper toward publication.
d. Bring something to take notes on - you will want to take notes when the Discussant gives comments since this is also some of your best direct feedback. Not all discussants mark up your papers so sometimes what they say in a session is all you will get.
5. Going to sessions - Go to sessions that are in your area of interest. Go to sessions of scholars whose work you have read and is influencing your thinking. And if you have time, go to a session completely out of your area. It is always helpful to have a broad view of the field.
*5a - If you have a question, please ask it. I try to write down my question so that it is clear. This also insures that you are not using a question to grandstand. With that, make sure your question is a question. And finally, questions should usually be rooted in your knowledge of the literature / field / theory, not in your personal experience as a teacher. Our experiences are important ways for us to make sense of the world and what we study, but since this is an academic conference and folks will often root their answers in the data and literature. ALSO, consider going up to the authors after the Q&A to talk with them and ask your question. These are great times to connect with people.
6. Speakers - Go to them. They will no doubt be amazing; go.
7. Scholars of Color Forum Business Meeting - If this applies to you, get involved. Noreen has been involved and can tell you more. This is a really important space for our field and was just solidified a few years ago; keep it going.
8. Java Networks - First, there will be free lunch, that's a plus. Second, this is an opportunity to connect with folks in your subfield. Pick one and go.
9. Business Meeting - Is it absolutely imperative that you go? Ask your adviser. I think it is an important space to go to see what is going on with the organization and what is coming up.
10. Reception - Again, free food. And usually afterwards folks head out somewhere. Dr. Salinas will usually send a text and we'll start the chain so keep your phones charged. This is an informal gathering, but often where you have the opportunity to really talk with folks and get to know them on a personal level.
11. Eating - Bring snacks. Pack your bag with whatever you need to get you through the day. The sessions are tightly scheduled so you don't always have time for a long lunch. BUT I will also add that you need to take care of yourselves, so take a break when you need it. This is good training though for the job market... it's sort of what it feels like to be on all day, talking about your work. Also, go out to eat with new people you meet… you will be in Austin, so there is no way I’d advise skipping any meal.
12. Elevator Pitch - practice your pitch. How can you say what your research interests are in 30 seconds (just got asked) to a minute (in a conversation) or less? Folks are going to ask you; practice now so you are ready.
13. Social Media - Get on Twitter. People use it a lot during the conference to highlight sessions.
14. Connect - Keep the conference going after it is over. Connect with people via social media, email, etc. Some of the best collaborations start at conferences and CUFA is a small enough one to allow for that to happen.
15. See what others have to say - Here is a link to a number of blog posts about conferences from The Professor Is In - http://theprofessorisin.com/category/how-to-do-conferences/
Comments
Post a Comment