Call for Presentations

2012 Breakout Proposal Process

AATH welcomes your breakout proposal submission and are pleased that you would like to present at our April 19-22, 2012 conference in Chicago, Illinois.

We invite experts from education, health care, research, business, faith communities, social services, and government to contribute to the educational experiences offered through AATH events. We expect and encourage proposals on a wide diversity of subjects as they pertain to evidence-based information about current research and practical applications or impacts of humor and laughter.

Submission for the 2012 conference are closed.

A Program Committee team will review all submission. Scores are based on meeting the conference goals/objectives and on meeting the rubric guidelines.

Typically we receive close to 70 submissions for 18 slots. Please review the guidelines below to increase the likelihood of your proposal being accepted.

LEARNING ~ NETWORKING ~ CELEBRATING

AATH seeks to provide participants an all-around enriching conference experience. In addition to offering one-of-a-kind networking and educational opportunities, AATH will be celebrating a significant milestone in 2012. It's our 25th Anniversary!

The 2012 Anniversary Conference and Celebration will:

• Provide useful information and training about current research and best practices in humor and laughter
• Provide networking opportunities
• Create a sense of community among people from different areas of the world
• Expand the humor, laughter and play community
• Acknowledge and celebrate 25 years of organizational growth and development

Conference Objectives

As a result of this conference the participants shall be able to:

• Describe current scientific research on the health benefits of optimism, laughter and humor.
• Cite 3 success stories on how positive emotionality can impact the workplace and/or the health of individuals.
• Demonstrate strategies for infusing healthy humor into their professional practice.
• Assess their personal humor practice and utilize the information from the sessions to evaluate the humor practice of their clients and/or business.

Proposal objectives and documentation MUST meet Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Education (CME/CE) standards. Upon selection, that documentation will be requested and submitted on-line. To help create a well-crafted proposal, please consider the following helpful hints and resources.

Helpful Hints & Resources

Decide:

• What your program (CME/CE activity) topic will be
• Why you believe this topic is necessary and relevant
• What the title for your program (CME/CE activity) will be (Choose a descriptive, catchy title)
• Which professionals you want to attend this program (CME/CE activity)
• How your session will increase the knowledge, skills, professional performance and relationships that a physician/healthcare provider uses to provide services to patients, the public or the profession

You need to decide now what it is you want your audience to be able to DO after your session. This is more than just a list of what you want your audience to learn; you will want the members of your audience to be able to USE the information they have learned. In other words, to show that learning has occurred, your audience members should be able to demonstrate that they have learned the subject material at hand.

The chart of verbs to be used in writing learner-centered, behavioral objectives lists activities from simple (to list, to describe, to cite) to complex (to appraise, to compare, to evaluate). The verbs you select will depend on the kind of CME/CE activity you are planning. Please note that understand, learn, appreciate, believe, and know should not be used. (One cannot measure a learner "understanding" something the way one can observe a learner listing or describing something.) Additional verbs to use include: demonstrate, distinguish, use, utilize, perform, select, define, discuss, identify, assess, evaluate.

You will find a list of approved learning objective verbs here.

Proposal Selection Criteria and Selection Rubric:

Members of the Conference Proposal team evaluate and rate each submission based on how well the proposed program meets the following criteria.

1. Title/Format/Theme - The proposal follows the format described in the call for proposals and the theme of the conference. The title is catchy.
2. Goal of Presentation - The proposal states the goal of the presentation.
3. Knowledge Base - The proposal advances the knowledge base of AATH.
4. Content/Organization - The proposal provides a clear description of the content of the conference presentation.
5. Participant Objectives - The proposal states what participants will learn from this session.
6. Timeliness of Topic - The proposal addresses a current issue in the profession.
7. Research Base - The proposal includes up to date research.
8. Audience Appeal - The description of the session will appeal to the targeted audience. The session will include audience engagement and/or participation.
9. Action Video/References - The proposal is accompanied by an action video (highly recommended; does not need to be professional quality footage) and 2 references.
10. Aligned with AATH Mission - The proposal is aligned with the AATH mission; - to serve as a community of professionals who study, practice and promote healthy humor and laughter.

AATH Conference Proposal Scoring Rubric

For example, if the proposal is very strong, it receives 5 points in the criteria area. A perfect total score is 50. Boards of Director Members are ineligible for this committee if they have submitted a proposal. Conference Committee Members and those serving on the Conference Proposal Team are eligible to submit a proposal but will not evaluate or score their own submissions.

Important Information for Presenters:

• Plenary session (keynote) speakers will be invited.
• Breakout session presenters are eligible for ½ off conference registration. The presenter must pay all other expenses including travel and hotel.
• Contracts for presenting will not be sent until the CME/CE requirements have been submitted on line. When you get this request by email, you must respond within 2 weeks or notify the office asking for an extension.
• All speakers must sign an on-line disclosure form addressing potential conflict of interest issues with our commercial sponsors.
• Most communication with conference committee and office will be done by email. Please ensure that we have your current email address and phone number at all times.
• Digital photographs (JPEG with 150 or greater pixel resolution in color or B&W) will be required for website posting and printed brochure.
• A Breakout Presenter's Info Page will be hosted on the AATH.org website and linked to the conference schedule. This area features your name and presentation title, photo, bio (100 words or less), and links directing visitors to your e-mail and personal web page.
• Handout materials, speaker introduction (150 words or less), and bios for the Breakout Presenter's Info Page must be submitted in a PDF format and deadlines will be specified.
• The speaker is responsible for having obtained legal permission to share and distribute all materials used during their presentation.

Click here to download 2012 Breakout Proposal Process.pdf