1. American Dental Education Association (ADEA) policy stipulates that priority will be given to abstracts submitted on time that adhere to the approved rubric(s). Acceptance is based on space, scoring, criteria based on the approved rubric(s), and topic relevancy; however, not all submissions will be accepted solely for these reasons. 
2. Presenters are required to cover the full cost associated with attending the conference, including conference registration fees, transportation, and hotel.
3. Presenters must stay within the allotted session track time. The ADEA Annual Session Program Committee reserves the right to change the session track time, and will notify presenters if the track time is altered. The Committee makes all final decisions on presentation format. 
4. Speakers may be asked to share a 90-minute time slot with other presenters.
5. If selected to present, the speaker agrees to be available to give the presentation on the date and time determined by the ADEA Annual Session Program Committee during March 16–19, 2019. 
6. If selected for a poster presentation, the speaker is responsible for the costs to produce the poster.
7. All presentations will be posted on the ADEA website and mobile app during and at the conclusion of the conference.

• Individuals are responsible for reading all information applicable to their proposals here and on the Presenters Corner prior to making their submissions.
• Individuals may submit up to two educational session proposals.
• No individual may participate as a speaker, panelist and/or moderator more than two times during the 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.
• The number of co-speakers is limited based on the presentation format.
• Programs should be brand and vendor neutral. Submissions promoting specific product bands, services or technologies will not be considered. Large equipment cannot be demonstrated.
• Selling or promoting products is prohibited.
• Individuals submitting proposals must observe copyright and trademark rules and obtain appropriate permissions prior to submission.
• Submitters may withdraw proposals by logging into their profiles and deleting the submission by the due date.
• Late submissions will not be accepted.
• All presenters must be registered for the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition and pay the conference rates. Registration will open in late November.

ADEA invites program proposals from all professionals in the dental education and health care community, including:

• Academic affairs administrators
• ADEA Leadership Institute alumni
• Advanced dental educators and students
• Association members
• Allied dental educators and students
• Biomedical science faculty
• ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI) Liaisons
• Clinic administrators
• Clinicians
• Clinical faculty
• Corporations
• Curriculum developers
• Deans
• Government relations experts
• Health professions advisors
• Informatics experts
• Interdisciplinary teams
• Leadership trainers
• Predoctoral dental educators and students
• Program directors
• Public health and community health specialists
• Researchers
• ADEA Sections and Special Interest Groups
• Student Affairs professionals
• Technology specialists

Submissions are accepted for:

1. Educational sessions.
2. Poster presentations.
3. ADEA TechExpo presentations.
4. Corporate Council submissions.

Learn more about 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition presentation formats. 

Although programs for all levels of experience are welcome, the ADEA Annual Session Program Committee seeks to increase the proportion of higher-level programs that would be of interest to faculty with 10 or more years of experience. The Annual Session Program Committee seeks a balance of programming to reflect the experience levels of attendees:

The ADEA Annual Session Program Committee is especially interested in receiving educational submissions for topics in these areas:

• Education to meet the oral health needs of the future.
• The diversity imperative in dental education.
• Financial Viability of Dental Education; value based care and health outcomes.
• Interprofessional education and community based education.
• Student-centered learning.
• Timely allied dental focused sessions on IT and electronic health record.
• Understanding business affairs and clinical financial management in dental education.
• Effective teaching strategies for clinical faculty.
• Faculty development sessions on preparing for promotion and tenure.
• Legal topics, including standards of care and dental malpractice.
• Student-led sessions providing perspectives on their learning; e.g., how students like to learn, effective teaching and learning strategies, etc.
• Various dental education career paths intended for a student audience.
• Simulation innovations; e.g., haptics, workstation based clinical care.

Please note: Submitting a proposal for one of these topics does not guarantee acceptance. The order of the topics listed does not imply any order of preference. Proposals addressing topics other than these are also welcome.

View Putting the “Pro” Back in Program: Creating Winning ADEA Annual Session Proposals. 

We recommend that you write your proposal in a word processing program and then paste it into the submission site. Please avoid using abbreviations and commercial product names.

Titles: Abstract titles are limited to 10 words and should be entered in title case, following AP style. Titles should not be bold, italicized or in “all caps.” 

Remember: Make the title dynamic and conclusive, rather than descriptive. A powerful title excites the reader and should convince someone to attend your presentation. 

Authors: Each author should be added separately to the submission. The first author listed in your submission will be identified as the presenting author. The order of the authors can be modified at any time prior to the abstract deadline. 

Abstract Text: Educational session abstracts should contain no more than 100 words. Do not include references. If your proposal is accepted, your abstract text will be posted online in the program planner and app.

Remember: When developing your session abstract, focus on what the participants will “take away” from the presentation. Write concisely and in the second person (e.g., “you will learn" rather than “I” or “we”). Avoid writing opinions about the topic or advertisements for the presenter. 

Description: Educational session descriptions should be formatted as an outline including content, activities and timing of segments and should contain no more than 100 words. See examples here. The description is used for the review process only and will not be posted online. 

Purpose, Methods, Findings and/or Conclusion Text: Poster descriptions should be 300 words or less. Abstracts for ADEA TechExpos should be 100 words or less.

Learning Objectives: Write clear and focused learning objectives. Learning objectives tell participants what the programming will teach them or enable them to do.

Remember: Complete this stem: “Following this program participants will be able to…” Begin each objective with an action verb. Focus on what the participant will learn, rather than on what the presenter or content will cover.  

Audience Interaction: Describe how your educational session will engage the audience and solicit participation in no more than 50 words. Adults learn most effectively through engagement and interactivity. All educational programs must include participant interaction activities. Some ideas for interactive activities can be found here: 

• Strategies To Help Presenters Leverage Adult Learning Principles
• 10 Brainbased Learning Laws that Trump Traditional Education
• Presenting and Training Approaches including List of Participant Engagement Techniques

Designations: When submitting educational programs, you may indicate whether you would like your session to be considered for an ADEA SoTLfest, ADEA CCI, ADEA LIAA, or ADEA Section or SIG designation.  

Keywords: Proposals must include one professional interest keywords, one learning foci, one dental education keyword, one target audience and one target specialty. Keyword choices will be provided on the submission site. 

Submitting your proposal: Proofread your submission before submitting it. We recommend that you write your proposal in a word processing program and then paste it into the submission site. Once the deadline passes, you will not be able to edit your proposal.

View examples of poster proposals.

Download the Preparing Your Submission Checklist.

ADEA welcomes submissions by members of the ADEA Corporate Council for educational programming. All submissions must be in compliance with ADA CERP guidelines to avoid promotional or commercial conflicts of interest. When preparing your submission, please keep the following requirements in mind:

• The educational session should promote improvements in dental care or dental education and not a specific drug, device, service or technique of a commercial entity.
• The educational session must not include promotional materials for any products your company supports.
• Use generic, nonbranded names when referring to services or products (e.g., tablet instead of iPad, fluoride varnish instead of XYZ Brand).
• You may not engage in sales or promotional activities while conducting this educational session.

In addition to the guidance provided under “Preparing your submission,” please keep the following guidelines in mind: 

• Authors: One author should be identified as the poster presenter.
• Abstract Text: All poster abstracts should be 300 words or less. If the abstract is based on research that was funded entirely or partially by an outside source, please be sure to list the funding agency and grant number at the end of the text. 
• Abstract Content: All abstracts must contain the following section headings:
• Objectives
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusion
• Learning Focuses: Each poster proposal must include an ADEA Annual Session Learning Focus based on the abstract’s content. An abstract’s Learning Focus determines the group of peer reviewers who will evaluate it, as well as the grouping of posters onsite at Annual Session. Authors must select one of the following nine Learning Focuses (listed below) for each submitted poster abstract.
• Institutional Review Board (IRB): When prompted, the authors should list whether the project was IRB-approved for use of human subjects or whether the project was exempt from review.

Learn more about 2019 ADEA Annual Session poster requirements, and what is involved in a poster presentation. 

At the 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition, there are nine learning focuses to help attendees find the most relevant programs: 

Admissions, Financial Aid and Student Services:
Programs and posters focused on student recruitment and enrollment including diversity pipeline issues, financial aid, student services and research related to these topics.

Advocacy and Public Policy:
Programs and posters related to the relationships among dental education, state and national politics, the legislative process and research related to these topics.

Assessment: 
Programs and posters focused on best practices for a wide variety of specialized types of assessments used in dental education, including didactic, qualitative, quantitative, case-based, capstone and milestone assessments. Sessions may focus on student assessment, self-assessment, faculty assessment, program assessment, course evaluation and research related to these topics.

Business Administration/Clinic Operations:
Programs and posters related to the financial and clinical operations of academic dental institutions including diversification of revenues, fund raising, continuing education, building renovation and construction, operational efficiency, community-based clinics and research related to these topics.

Curriculum Development:
Programs and posters on course design, curriculum revisions, accreditation issues and preparation, faculty development resources to help support innovations in curriculum and research related to these topics.

Emerging Issues and Trends:
Programs and posters that address new developments in higher education and health professions education that may affect or is affecting dental education, such as interprofessional education, interprofessional practice, national boards, clinical licensure, dentistry as part of primary care and research related to these topics.

Leadership and Career Development: 
Programs and posters focused on communication techniques, coaching and team-building strategies, leading change, diversity and inclusion leadership skills, and personal effectiveness. In addition, grant-writing, promotion and tenure issues, professional development benefits, mentor/mentee programs and research related to these topics. 

Teaching and Learning:
Programs and posters focused on clinical instruction, preclinical/simulation instruction, community-based learning, instructional techniques especially using changing technology, teaching methodology, learning theory, understanding of students as learners and research related to these topics. 

Technological Innovations:
Programs and posters addressing both use of technology as a teaching/learning tool and technology as a topic, including dental informatics and remarkable technological advances in dentistry and dental education and research related to these topics.

Program proposals are assessed based on their content and relevance, clarity, format and degree of learner interactivity, quality of writing, value of learning objectives, past successes of similar presentations, number of other submissions on the same topic, historical speaker evaluation ratings and the proposal’s overall contribution to the 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.

Each completed submission is peer reviewed and evaluated by the Annual Session Program Committee using the criteria provided in the following evaluation rubrics: 

• Educational Programs (Seminars, Workshops, Short Talks and Small Group Discussions) Rubric
• Educational Programs (Corporate Track) Rubric
• ADEA New Idea Rubric
• ADEA TechExpo Rubric
• Educational Poster Rubric
• ADEA New Program Poster Rubric

View examples of a well-written educational session and poster proposals.

The American Dental Education Association is an ADA CERP recognized provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. 

Programs of 15 minutes or more are eligible for CE. ADEA will announce the maximum number of continuing education credit available by early November.