Many of these questions will be addressed in the advance materials you will receive from the session organizers and during the mandatory conference call with your fellow presenters/panelists.  The purpose of this call is primarily to communicate the overall purpose and objectives for the session and to discuss the session agenda and format in detail so that the presenters can collectively strive to meet the needs of the participants.  If you need additional clarification or information, please contact the session organizer or moderator via email or phone.

As you begin to prepare your remarks, consider the following:

• If you focus on problems or challenges, try to provide the audience with suggested solutions, strategies, or critical issues that must be addressed to reach a solution.
• Try hard to adhere to your given time parameters.
• Participants consistently place high value on the active participation, critical thinking, and creative exchange of ideas that occurs in these sessions.

Taking responsibility for the following will also help ensure a successful, high quality session and positive meeting experience for all.

• Please submit an electronic copy of your presentation no later than October 30, 2009, to Kate Ryan at kryan@abecker.com and to your session moderator. We will post them on the ERC Association website and announce their availability to meeting attendees, so they may review the materials in advance and print out any hard copies they may want. In the interests of efficiency and resources, we will not distribute paper copies of your presentation at the meeting.
• Check in with your session moderator once you arrive at the meeting, so that we know you are there and can give you any last-minute updates or instructions.
• Be prepared to start and end your session on time.  Every session depends on every other session to keep the Annual Meeting agenda on schedule.
• Be prepared for the unexpected.  Presentations will be preloaded, but bring your presentation on a jump drive with you to the meeting and your session.

Thank you for your assistance and participation. If you have any questions about the content of your session, please contact your session moderator or Court Lewis, 321-253-0153 and clewis@nsf.gov. If you have questions about the logistics of your session, please contact Kate Ryan at kryan@abecker.com and 262-334-3844.

Guidelines for Closed Session
and Student Retreat Moderators

As a closed session or Student Retreat moderator, you might find the following helpful in organizing your thoughts as you begin planning to lead a session that stimulates vigorous participant involvement while ensuring that everyone in attendance comes away with a clear sense of important lessons learned and practical, useful tips they can use in their own Centers.

As in everything, good planning is the key to success. Thinking through these questions should help you in developing the content and format of a successful session.

• What is/are the overall goal(s) or purpose(s) of the closed session or Student Retreat?
• How will the session be relevant to actual current needs of the participants?
• What will participants take away from the session that is practical and applicable to their work at their respective ERCs?
• How will the session further the ERC Program’s goals?
• What are the session’s major agenda topics? Can they be comfortably covered in the available time?
• How will each presentation and subsequent discussion further the overall goals/purposes of the session?  Is each presenter clear about content, format, and timing?
• What facilitation techniques will you use to encourage participation, critical thinking, and creative exchange of ideas?  How will you manage each presenter and the overall session to ensure sufficient time for audience interaction and discussion?

It is important to hold at least one conference call with all presenters/panelists in the session before they begin preparing their presentations, and we ask that all calls are completed by October 30, 2009.  The purpose of this call is primarily to communicate the overall purpose and objectives for the session and to discuss the session agenda and format in detail so that they strive to meet the needs of the participants.

In addition, it is important to share the following information:

• If presenters will be focusing on problems or challenges, urge them to leave the participants with suggested solutions, strategies, or critical issues that must be addressed to reach a solution.
• Underscore the need for the presenters to submit electronic copies of their presentations by October 30, 2009, so that they may be posted on the Annual Meeting website in lieu of handouts
• Remind presenters to bring their presentations on jump drives with them to the meeting, even though the submitted presentation will be preloaded in the session rooms.

Finally, Lynn Preston is scheduled to join each closed session and the Student Retreat for a specific amount of time. Moderators, please send a list of questions and/or specific topics that you would like Lynn and other NSF Program Directors to address in your session by October 30, 2009, to both Lynn and Court Lewis.

Thank you for your assistance and participation. If you have any questions about the content of your session, please contact your session moderator or Court Lewis, 321-253-0153 and clewis@nsf.gov. If you have questions about the logistics of your session, please contact Kate Ryan at kryan@abecker.com and 262-334-3844.