Interactive Symposia

An Interactive Symposium is a 75-minute session that features interaction between and among expert Presenters and the audience to advance knowledge of a particular research problem, theory, or higher education issue. Rather than present the results of discrete research studies as in a paper session, participants in an interactive symposium session draw from research and/or experience to foster dialogue
and interactions.

A typical Interactive Symposium session might begin with brief presentations from the panelists (or interactive Q&A between the moderator and panelists) about the session’s topic, followed by ample time for discussion and activities among the panelists and between the panelists and attendees. 


Arriving at Interactive Symposia Session (15 minutes prior to your session)

  • Locate your session’s room assignment in the Conference Program. Plan to arrive 15 minutes early. Please note that there is a 15-minute break between sessions, so the previous session may still be wrapping up when you arrive.
  • In the 15 minutes before your session starting, the Session Chair and Authors can discuss: 
    • Name pronunciations and preferred names for Authors (e.g., Jason vs. Dr. Guilbeau)
    • Process for selecting questions for the Q and A section
    • Process for Q and A section of the session


Interactive Symposia Format

  • All Presenters MUST use the microphone, as must audience members who pose questions. There will be one microphone on the podium, one for each presenter, and one for the audience. If anyone is speaking and not using the microphone, the Chair will step in to ask them to use the microphone or repeat what was said; if the Chair does not step in, we encourage community accountability and ask for any attendee to step in to ask for usage of the microphone.
  • All Presenters must use the ASHE laptop provided in the meeting space for their presentation. We recommend uploading your presentation to a USB drive and then saving it onto the ASHE laptop desktop before your presentation.


Interactive Symposia Agenda (75 minutes)

Interactive Symposium Presenters are responsible for coordinating the presenters and flow of your session.

Session Chairs will begin each session by introducing themselves, providing a land acknowledgment, and allowing Presenters to introduce themselves similarly. 

Presenters in an interactive symposium session draw from research and/or experience to foster dialogue and interactions. The Interactive Symposia session format is as follows:
  1. A brief presentation from the panelists (or interactive Q&A between the moderator and panelists) about the session’s topic
  2. Discussion and activities among the panelists and between the panelists and attendees


Interactive Symposia Audio/Video Provisions

ASHE will provide:
  • Projector and screen
  • Laptop computer with a hard-wired internet connection and audio connection. We recommend uploading your presentation to a USB drive and then saving it onto the ASHE laptop desktop before your presentation. 
  • Podium with microphone
  • 2-3 Head tables with 4-6 microphones

Example Room Set Up (photo)

Photo of three people at a table with microphones and one person at podium.