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Guidelines for Session Chairs
Most of the people who have agreed to chair sessions at this Conference are experienced teachers, researchers, conference attendees, paper presenters, panel members and session chairs. These guidelines suggest an approach that you might want to take in facilitating the presentation of the papers and the discussion at the session you chair as well as encouraging the people in the audience to continue their discussions outside the session. No doubt this approach will be familiar to you and so the intention of the guidelines is to serve as a reminder rather than a prescription. Before the session Before the Conference become familiar with the papers being presented in the session. Look for common themes among them as well as distinctive features of each one. You might also want to prepare a question arising from each paper / research note in case none are forthcoming from the audience. At the Conference make contact with the presenters and confirm their preferred names, the pronunciation of them and the significant but very brief biographical details they wish you to mention in your introduction of them. You might also want to confirm the order of the papers and research notes, as well as the timing (papers: 12 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for questions and comments from the audience). Clarify whether comments and questions will be invited at the end of each presentation or at the end of the session. This is a matter of judgement: if the comments and questions are taken at the end of each presentation they might distort the flow of ideas but if they are left to the end of the session there is a risk that the first presentation will be overlooked If there is sufficient time available in advance of the session (eg at the Conference Opening) introduce the presenters to each other so they at least recognise the people who will be sharing the presenters' platform with them. On the day of the session slip some cough drops in your pocket or bag in case a presenter has a dry throat or a cough that cannot be dealt with by a glass of water. You might also want to slip a bell or sheets of paper into your pocket or bag to use for keeping time during the session. At the session Arrive at the designated room at least 10 minutes before the session starts so that you can check the placement of the presenters' aids (Over head projector, screen), their seating and water glasses and welcome the presenters. Confirm again the timing of each presentation and comments and questions and clarify a 3-minutes-to-go signal that you will use. Open the session at the designated time and introduce it briefly (2 minutes or so) by setting the scene for the papers to come as well as giving time for people to settle. Introduce all the presenters at once in order of presentation and inform the audience of the agreed pattern for presentation (eg questions and comments at the end of each paper and then perhaps further questions at the end). Keep time strictly. This is probably the most important success factor for a conference session and sometimes one of the most difficult to achieve. You might need to be assertive or even ruthless towards the presenters (and yourself). Remember that it is unfair to the following presenters if the first presenter uses more than the time allotted and agreed. It is also unfair to the audience if you have allocated time for comments and questions and there is no time to ask them let alone pursue them. It is unfair to the Conference organisers if a group is late for tea or meal breaks. Use your judgement in dealing with comments and questions. In some instances it might be necessary for you to restate a question so that all can hear it. At the end of the session make a few brief remarks (no more than 2 minutes) about the presentations as a whole relating them to the relevant theme of the Conference, thank the presenters and invite the audience to acknowledge the presenters and their papers. Finally thank the audience for their attendance and their contributions and foreshadow the next session as well as tea or meal break. |
 Keynote Speaker: Louisa Hargrave |
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