Call for Papers

The Seventh International Conference on Concept Mapping will take place in Tallinn, Estonia from Sept 5-9, 2016, and will include a cruise trip to Stockholm, Sweden.

CMC2016 follows on the success of the first six Conferences held in Pamplona (Spain), San José (Costa Rica), Tallinn (Estonia) & Helsinki (Finland), Viña del Mar (Chile), Valletta (Malta) and Santos (Brazil) in bringing together scholars and practitioners interested in concept mapping. It is being organized by Tallinn University,  the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, USA, and the Concept Mapping Academy, Estonia. (Follow these links for the Academic Program and links to papers from cmc2004, cmc2006, cmc2008, cmc2010, cmc2012 and cmc2014. All Proceedings can be downloaded from the CMC Proceedings Page).

The Conference is aimed at all persons interested in the use of concept maps (based on the work of Dr. Joseph Novak), including, but not limited to: facilitation of learning; eliciting, capturing, archiving, and using “expert” knowledge; planning instruction; assessment of “deep” understandings; research planning; collaborative knowledge modeling; creation of “knowledge portfolios”; curriculum design; eLearning, and administrative and strategic planning and monitoring. We expect participants from a broad range of fields presenting a wide variety of research and applications of concept mapping. All presentations at the conference are expected to include time for questions, answers, and scholarly discussion.

Languages

CMC2016 offers the opportunity for presentations in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

CMC2016’s official language is English. However, one of the parallel sessions will include simultaneous translation of oral presentations from Spanish and Portuguese to English. So a number of oral presentations papers will be accepted in Spanish or Portuguese for this session. Posters and Innovative Experiences can also be submitted in English, Spanish or Portuguese. However, the rest of the conference will be held in English with no translation.

Presentation Categories

Presentation categories include:

  • Oral Presentations (with paper)
  • Virtual Presentations (with paper)
  • Poster Presentation (with paper)
  • Poster Presentation (without paper)
  • Virtual Poster Presentation (with paper)
  • Virtual Poster Presentation (without paper)
  • Presentations of Innovative Experiences (without paper)

All submissions will be evaluated and selected by the Program Committee.

Virtual presentations are provided for authors who beforehand know they will not be able to attend, but want their contribution to be part of the conference. Each category is explained below.

  • Oral Presentations with Paper: Full papers are reports of completed research accepted by a panel of experts and peers (the Program Committee) and will be published in the conference proceedings. There are three categories for papers: (a) empirical research, (b) model or theory development, and (c) theorizing from the literature. The time allotted for each session is 30 minutes (20 minutes presentation/10 minutes discussion). Audience participation, as a principle of adult education, is stressed. Full papers submissions have a length of up to 10 pages (increased from the original limit of 8 pages). Authors of accepted Oral Presentations with Paper are expected to physically attend the conference to present their paper in order for the paper to be included in the Proceedings and as part of the Program. Papers submitted but not accepted for Oral Presentation may be recommended accepted as a Poster Presentation with Paper.
  • Virtual Presentations with Paper: Full papers are reports of completed research accepted by a panel of experts and peers (the Program Committee) and will be published in the conference proceedings. There are three categories for papers: (a) empirical research, (b) model or theory development, and (c) theorizing from the literature. Full papers submissions have a length of up to 10 pages (increased from the origina limit of 8 pages). This category is specific for authors who know they will not be able to physical attend the conference. Authors, in addition to submitting the final version of their Paper, must submit a Power Point (or equivalent) presentation (with audio) or a video that will be uploaded to the conference Web site. The presentation will therefore be accessible for all participants during and after the conference. There will not be on-line or remote presentations by the author.
  • Poster Presentations with Paper: The posters will form a visual display prepared by conference participants describing a research initiative, program, pedagogical model, and/or best practice on how concept mapping is applied in a variety of settings. Poster presentations serve as an effective forum for the exchange of information and a means to communicate ideas, research, and programs. Poster papers should have a maximum length of 4 pages and will be published in the conference proceedings. Authors of accepted Poster Presentations with Paper are expected to attend the conference to present and explain their poster.
  • Poster Presentations without Paper: Posters that do not include a formal paper will also be accepted for presentation at the conference. Participants can submit a 500 word abstract if they are interested in presenting a poster without writing a formal paper. The abstract will be published in the conference proceedings. Authors of accepted Poster Presentations without Paper are expected to attend the conference to present and explain their poster.
  • Virtual Poster Presentations with Paper: The posters will form a visual display prepared by conference participants describing a research initiative, program, pedagogical model, and/or best practice on how concept mapping is applied in a variety of settings. Poster presentations serve as an effective forum for the exchange of information and a means to communicate ideas, research, and programs. Poster papers should have a maximum length of 4 pages and will be published in the conference proceedings. Authors of accepted Virtual Poster Presentations with Paper should submit a PDF file with their poster, which will be printed by the organizing committee and included as part of the poster displays.
  • Virtual Poster Presentations without Paper: Posters that do not include a formal paper will also be accepted for presentation at the conference. Participants can submit a 500 word abstract if they are interested in presenting a poster without writing a formal paper.  The abstract will be published in the conference proceedings. Authors of accepted Virtual Poster Presentations without Paper should submit a PDF file with their poster, which will be printed by the organizing committee and included as part of the poster displays. Poster 
  • Innovative Experiences: Sessions will include 15 minute presentations of Innovative Experiences in the use of concept mapping, whether its in the classroom, in industry, in organizations, or personal uses. Teachers are encourage to share innovative ways of introducing or using concept mapping with their students;, for curriculum design, etc. Practitioners are encouraged to present innovative uses of concept mapping in organizations, corporations, industry, consulting, etc. Measured, quantitative or qualitative results are not needed, as the focus is on sharing experiences, not research results. Authors need to submit a two-page description of their Innovative Experience (increased from the original limit of one page). Accepted descriptions will be published in the conference proceedings. Authors of accepted Innovative Experiences are expected to physical attend the conference to present their work.

Authors of all accepted submissions, whether for physical presentations or virtual presentations, need to pay the corresponding conference fee for the submission to be included in the Proceedings and included in the Academic Program of the conference. Virtual presentations pay a reduced fee.

All submissions will be done electronically through the CMC2016 submissions webpage.

The best 40-50 Oral and Virtual Presentations with Paper in English will be printed as a special volume of Springer’s  Communication in Computer and Information Science (CCIS) Series. The rest of the Oral and Virtual Presentations with Paper, including all the papers in Spanish and Portuguese, all Poster Presentations with Paper and without Paper, and Innovative Experience descriptions will be included in a Proceedings of the Conference book published by Tallinn University and posted on the Conference website.

Submission Dates

Early Submission

CMC2016 includes an Early Submission date for authors that need an early response to their paper submission. Authors who require a longer period of time to obtain financial support to participate in the conference should consider the Early Submission. Proposals accepted during the Early Submission process don’t need to submit again during the regular submission process.

Early Submission Deadline: April 1, 2016

Early Submission Notification of Acceptance: April 18, 2016

Submission Deadline: For all proposals and papers: April 29, 2016 (extended to May 6, 2016)

Notification of Acceptance: May 27, 2016 (June 6, given the extension provided for submissions)

Final Camera-ready Submissions: June 24, 2016 (July 8, given the prior extensions)

Late Submission Deadline: August 6, 2016

Instructions on how to prepare and submit a proposal are posted here.