Call for Proposals

Technology continues to shape how students read, write, communicate, create, and participate in digital communities. This strand explores innovative approaches to technology and literacy instruction.

• Artificial intelligence and literacy instruction
• Digital storytelling, podcasting, video production, and multimedia composition
• Digital tools that support reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary, or differentiated instruction
• Student voice and advocacy through blogs, digital magazines, social media campaigns, documentaries, or public awareness projects
• Virtual and augmented reality as tools for literacy learning
• Critical digital literacy and responsible technology use

We seek presentations that provide practical strategies, classroom examples, student work, research findings, or evidence of impact.

Hip-hop is more than a source of lyrics for classroom analysis. It represents a complex literacy system involving visual rhetoric, branding, sampling, performance, spatial design, production, digital circulation, and audience construction. This strand examines how educators can engage hip-hop as a multidisciplinary literacy practice and intellectual tradition.

• Hip-hop pedagogy and student learning
• Connections between hip-hop and science, mathematics, social studies, or other content areas
• Critical thinking, media literacy, and cultural analysis
• Graffiti, dance, spoken word, entrepreneurship, DJing, music production, and other elements of hip-hop culture
• Student identity, voice, agency, and community engagement
• Research and case studies examining the educational impact of hip-hop

We seek presentations that demonstrate how hip-hop supports meaningful learning and extends literacy beyond traditional print-based approaches.

Women and girls have shaped hip-hop as writers, emcees, producers, DJs, entrepreneurs, visual artists, executives, scholars, and cultural leaders. This strand examines how women in hip-hop influence discourse, authorship, identity, representation, and literacy across classrooms and communities.

• Narrative authority, voice, and identity formation
• Literacy as resistance
• Women emcees, producers, DJs, entrepreneurs, and cultural leaders
• Classroom applications using the work and contributions of women in hip-hop
• Representation and equity in curriculum design
• Critical reading and writing through the study of women in hip-hop
• Girlhood, agency, authorship, and cultural expression

Proposals should demonstrate how examining women in hip-hop strengthens students' reading, writing, critical thinking, and interpretive skills.

What does hip-hop-informed leadership look like in schools? This strand examines leadership, organizational culture, and institutional practice through principles and practices associated with hip-hop culture. We invite school and district leaders to share approaches grounded in authenticity, creativity, accountability, collaboration, voice, and community engagement.

• Hip-hop-informed approaches to school culture
• Leadership practices that strengthen trust and belonging
• Authenticity and relationship-building in educational leadership
• Staff engagement and professional culture
• Community partnerships and family engagement
• Culturally sustaining leadership
• Leadership approaches connected to student achievement, teacher retention, school climate, or organizational improvement

Proposals should include concrete examples, implementation strategies, and evidence of outcomes whenever possible.