Convening a workshop at the yearly CEDAR meeting is an excellent way to
bring together experts on a particular science topic, review recent results
from an ongoing experimental campaign, plan a new project, or increase
visibility and awareness of a given area of research. Although recent
workshops have gravitated towards a two-hour, fully scheduled period of
ten-minute talks, we would like to remind conveners that this might not
be the most effective format. Depending on the goals for the workshop,
a small discussion group or panel might be a better use of the time slot.
Regardless of the specific format chosen, there are several guiding
principles that CEDAR has endorsed and that all workshops should adhere to:
Many of the attendees to the CEDAR meeting are students. It is important
to introduce the topic of the workshop in general terms and to provide context
for the non-specialists attending the workshop.
Discussion is a vital aspect
of any successful CEDAR workshop. Sufficient time should be reserved in the
workshop schedule to allow for it.
CEDAR is a broad and open community.
When deciding on the participants for a workshop, give consideration to all
interested scientists, not just those you may have initially thought of when
planning the workshop.
One of the goals of CEDAR is to encourage the next
generation of scientists. Student participation, where appropriate, should be
encouraged in any workshop.
When proposing a workshop, potential conveners
are required to denote what type of format they intend on following. The format
may be one of the following:
Scheduled short-presentations. These workshops
are very similar in style to a session at the semi-annual American Geophysical
Union meetings and are generally referred to as "AGU-style" workshops. They
typically consist of a schedule of approximately eight ten-minute talks on a
given subject with time allotted at the end of each presentation for questions.
This format may be appropriate when the workshop is focused on presenting
campaign/mission/instrument results. It is expected that these workshops
would concern a topic of broad interest to the community and that the attendance
would be relatively high.
Panel discussion. These workshops consist of inviting a "panel of experts"
to discuss their views on a topic and then answer questions from members of the
audience. This workshop format is most successful when the topic is more
programmatic in nature. Focus should be given to allowing ample time for
the audience to question the panel. It is expected that the attendance
would be relatively high.
Tutorial. This format is appropriate when the goal of the workshop is to
present a given technique, approach, or new topic to the community. It is
expected that fewer speakers would be presenting material than in format (1).
Each speaker, however, would likely go into more depth on their material and
be allotted a longer speaking slot. Planning sufficient discussion time
(preferably after each speaker) is critical for the success of this type
of workshop. It is expected that the topic of these workshops might be
somewhat specialized and that the attendance would be moderate.
Round-table discussion. This small-group/working-group format is appropriate
when the proposed topic is quite specialized and perhaps controversial. The
point is to allow for face-to-face discussion on the topic. Participants in
the round-table format are encouraged to bring material to present, but the
focus is on the discussion. Outside of perhaps having a short overview of
the topic at the beginning, the bulk of the time is reserved to discussing
the topic. This format is also useful for planning future projects. It is
expected that the attendance for these workshops would be small. The possibility
exists to hold these smaller discussions outside of the typical meeting schedule
(before the morning plenary sessions or after the afternoon workshops).
There are several additional points to keep in mind when planning your workshop:
After being held, all workshops must be documented. This includes writing a
summary of the workshop, how many people attended, what was discussed, etc. In
addition, we encourage that any presentation slides are archived on the CEDAR
website. Ask your participants to provide digital copies of their slides for
this purpose. Accepted formats for archival in the CEDAR database are .pdf,
.ps, .eps, and .html.
The success of a workshop should not be judged solely on the number of people
who are sitting in the audience. The quality of the material presented and the
discussions fostered are more important than a simple headcount.
A wide range of technology is available for integration into a workshop.
When proposing a workshop, please request any support you will need (LCD projector,
access to the internet, a database where presentations/data/models will be accessed
in real time, etc.).
Be creative in organizing your workshop. If you have an idea for a type of
workshop not suggested above, go for it! You will not be refused the opportunity
to host another workshop at a future CEDAR meeting if your workshop does not work
out the way you wanted because you tried a new idea.
In order to propose a workshop, potential conveners should submit the following
information to the Workshop Planning Committee (lwaldrop@uiuc.edu)
by April 06, 2007:
Title of the workshop
Format of the workshop (as described above)
Duration (2 hours by default)
Estimated attendance
Conflicts with other workshops to avoid
An initial (brief) description of the workshop
Special technology requests (as described above)
After the proposal deadline, a schedule of workshops will be created.
Conveners of approved workshops will be required to submit a more detailed
workshop description that will be posted on the CEDAR website and distributed
to the CEDAR community. Conveners also will be required to submit a student-
oriented version of their workshop description that will be distributed on
Sunday, June 24, during the CEDAR Student Workshop. Geared toward students
who may be unfamiliar with the workshop topic, this version should include a
general description of the context and importance of the topic while avoiding
specialized jargon.
Any comments on the workshops at the CEDAR meeting
should be directed to the Workshop Planning Committee (lwaldrop@uiuc.edu,
jchau@jro.igp.gob.pe, liuh@ucar.edu).
