Call For Proposals
Have an idea, strategy or research finding to share? The 2026 º£½ÇÖ±²¥ Conference for Undergraduate Educators invites you to contribute to a dynamic program built by educators, for educators—where collaboration, creativity and impact take center stage.
The 2026 º£½ÇÖ±²¥ Conference for Undergraduate Educators Call for Proposals is open!
Deadline: July 15, 2026, 5 p.m. ET
Proposal Types & Rubrics
º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE has an open call for 4 types of submissions: mini-workshops, biology education research posters, roundtable discussions and microbrews. Each proposal type has different type of content, format and review criteria.
- Microbrews: are an opportunity to receive feedback on an activity or idea for any classroom or lab in the biological sciences. Microbrews are a great option for a first-time presenter, and are unique to º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE!
- Mini-workshops: introduce attendees to innovative and relevant strategies for undergraduate biology education by building awareness and understanding of new vocabulary, concepts and ways of thinking.
- Biology Education Research Posters: focus on education research outcomes associated with any of the subdisciplines in the biological sciences.
- Roundtable Discussions: group discussions about a timely topic in biology education or an affinity group to gather educators around a common interest.
Some Topics of Particular Interest to the º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE Planning Committee:
- Topics aligned to Saturday’s track-based programming.
- New findings and initiatives in biology education research.
- Classroom practices and policies to support teaching for a broad range of students.
- Supporting success in the biology classroom for students from all backgrounds.
- Ideas and outcomes for course-based undergraduate research experiences.
- Career development for educators.
Notes About the Proposal Application:
- Only list presenters who will deliver the presentation at the in-person conference.
- Applicants can save progress on their application and return to complete at a later time.
- “Attendee” refers to the º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE conference attendee, and “student” refers to individuals that attendees teach at their home institutions/organizations. “Strategy” refers to the concept, skill, task, approach or method of learning or instruction that is being described.
- AI Policy: Authors submitting an abstract to º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE are required to disclose use of AI tools (e.g., for language editing, data analysis or content generation) within their abstract submission. Content completely generated by an AI tool without any significant human contribution is prohibited; however, AI tools can be used to improve the language, accessibility or quality of human-generated text. All submitted abstracts must be original. Failure to abide by these rules will result in the abstract being rejected from the conference.
Review Criteria
Proposals should be well-organized, present the idea or activity clearly and define the attendee learning outcomes. All submissions are reviewed by the º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE Reviewers according to the rubrics. The committee reserves the right to contact authors for more information and to transfer submissions, if warranted, to another presentation format within the conference program. Rubric for each proposal type can be found under the category below.
Commercial Products/Services
A proposal must discuss any commercial product or service, name the product and disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Proposals that promote a specific commercial product or service for purchase will be recommended for the º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE Exhibit and Sponsorship Program.
Microbrews
Format
Microbrews will be presentations on a printed poster during Exhibit & Poster Hall hours on Thursday, Nov. 19 and Friday, Nov. 20. A few microbrew proposals might be chosen for an oral presentation within Saturday’s track-based programming.
Overview
A microbrew showcases a “brewing idea” in any of the subdisciplines in the biological sciences, and assessment data are not required. New this year: The rubric and application process are simpler, hence making it easier than ever to submit a proposal. Microbrews are a wonderful entry point for any educator to showcase their scholarship at a national teaching conference.
The committee encourages presenters to share ideas and activities for the classroom and/or lab. This is an ideal forum to share or field test new ideas and solicit feedback for improvement from other educators with similar interests.
Key Application Components
- Project description, relevance to º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE audience and attendee learning goals.
Mini-workshops
Format
An interactive talk with standard A&V and projector. In the application, please indicate a preferred duration: 30 minutes, 1 hour or 1.5 hours. Mini-workshops could be selected for Saturday’s track-based programming. This category is most similar to “education sessions” at past º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE meetings.
Overview
Mini-workshops are opportunities to introduce attendees to innovative and relevant strategies for undergraduate biology education by building awareness and understanding of new vocabulary, concepts and ways of thinking. Topics could include, but are not limited to: (a) innovative teaching techniques or strategies; (b) effective assessment tools or concept inventories; (c) lecture or laboratory course reform; (d) discipline-based educational research; or (e) metacognition and affective learning.
Proposals must include a description of evidence and/or data that have been collected to support the effectiveness of the approach in improving student learning or achieving student learning outcomes.
Key Application Components:
- º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE attendee learning outcomes and engagement plan. These are not lectures and must include learning activities for º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE attendees.
- Context of strategy, student learning outcomes and evidence/data that support effectiveness.
- Brief description and lead presenter biography.
Biology Education Research Posters
Format
A printed poster in the Exhibit and Poster Hall. These presentations will be on Friday, Nov. 20 in the morning during Exhibit & Poster Hall hours.
Overview
The subject of all this category at º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE is the scholarship of teaching and learning, biology education research and similar fields; º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE does not accept poster submissions that discuss scientific research (i.e., bench, laboratory, field, modelling). The abstract should describe innovative teaching approaches or the specific activities conducted by students or faculty and indicate, with assessment data, how those changes affected learning. Work described in the abstract must have been tested on students, and assessment of the activity’s outcomes must be described. Analyzed data and conclusions must be included.
Abstracts must be based on results that have not been published in any peer-reviewed journal before Nov. 19, 2026. Pre-print journal publications are exempt. º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE allows submission of posters that are based on results presented at other conferences.
Key Abstract Components:
- Background.
- Statement of Research Question.
- Study design and methods
- Data supporting effectiveness of strategy and conclusion. Descriptive statistics, inferential statistics or exploratory data analysis would fulfill this requirement.
- Concluding statement.
Roundtable Discussions
Format
This category is new in 2026! For this category, the author will propose a group discussion about a timely topic in biology education or an affinity group to gather educators around a common interest. The room will have round tables with standard A&V and projector. These could be scheduled during Saturday’s track-based programming, if the content aligns with the track.
Overview
The top reason that people attend º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE is for in-person networking with educators of similar interests! This category aims to help educators achieve this goal and leave with lasting connections. Whether you are recruiting educators for a new network or project or want to gauge the “hivemind” for a topic of broad interest, roundtable discussions might be a good fit for your proposal.
Key Abstract Components:
- Relevant to º£½ÇÖ±²¥CUE audience and/or timely topic.
- Attendee learning outcomes.
- Proposed method of attendee engagement.