Every year, the Discussion Group Steering Committee of ACRL's Instruction Section welcomes proposals for two virtual discussion forums - one that coincides with ALA's Midwinter meeting, and one that coincides with Annual - that touch on current topics and issues related to library instruction. Proposals may also be considered for future sessions.

This year, the selection committee is particularly interested in topics related to:

--Assessment
--Critical pedagogy, instruction, and librarianship
--Curriculum mapping
--The Framework For Information Literacy For Higher Education
--Collaborations with departmental teaching faculty
--Embedded librarianship
--Active learning
--Accessibility in instructional design
--Critical thinking
--Avoiding instruction burnout
--Intersectionality, diversity, and inclusion
--Teaching diverse populations
--Designing effective research guides
--Engaged learning/engaging instruction
--Leading an instruction program

That said, we welcome proposals on a wide range of topics having to do with library and information literacy instruction, and applicants should not feel constrained by the above list when crafting their proposal. To get a sense of past discussions, visit our website to view digests from previous forums: http://acrl.ala.org/IS/is-committees-2/committees-task-forces/discussion-group-steering/all-current-issue-discussion-digests/ 

1 hour will be allotted for the entire forum, with conveners expected to present for 15-20 minutes before facilitating discussion.

Proposals will be selected based on the following criteria:

--observed importance and impact of the proposed issue
--timeliness
--relevancy
--how well the topic lends itself to a discussion
--innovation
--clear focus
--evidence of the applicant’s knowledge of the subject matter

Multiple submissions are accepted.

The deadline for proposals is September 28, 2018.
Applicants will be notified about the status of their proposal submission by October 31, 2018.
The virtual discussion will be convened Thursday, January 17, at 2 PM EST/11 AM PST.

Please be prepared to submit contact information, a 400-500 word summary of your proposed session, and 200-300 words on how will you initiate, facilitate, and maintain this discussion.