Initial Publication Date: November 18, 2024

Call for NC-FEW Conference Proceedings

The abstract submission deadline has passed.

National Collaboration on Food, Energy and Water (NC-FEW) invites you to submit your abstract for the 2025 NC-FEW Conference: Education Research and Practice in the FEW-Nexus to be held on March 27-28, 2025 at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota. Abstracts can focus on either Research or Practice for FEW-Nexus education. The NC-FEW vision encompasses: (1) intentional integration of food, energy, and water systems through interdisciplinary educational contexts: (2) decision-making about management of natural resources, which support sustainable use and development, in which a complex system is centered; and (3), the nexus perspective, which emphasizes connections between food, energy, and water systems, is utilized in consideration of trade-offs in potential solutions.

We encourage people from different disciplinary perspectives who are interested in sharing education research findings and innovative ideas related to the NC-FEW vision. Professionals and researchers in educational spaces, including K-12, higher education, and informal/non-formal education with different FEW-nexus entry points are all encouraged to join. We invite people with different FEW-nexus entry points with specialties in food, energy, and/or water with intersectionality of FEW.

 

How to decide if your submission should be focused on and formatted for either the research or practice category:

  • Research submissions should be focused on empirical, theoretical, and/or methodological educational research within the FEW-Nexus. The intent of research submissions is to inform future educational research and best practices in the FEW-Nexus.
  • Practice submissions should be focused on formal and/or informal practices describing FEW-Nexus education processes (i.e., strategies) and products (i.e., learning modules, curriculum). The intent of practice submissions is to share educational strategies, materials, and/or experiences that engage learners in the FEW-Nexus. Reflections, what was learned, and outcomes can be based on participants' and/or the educator's experiences (evidence does not need to be based on a research study or scholarship of teaching and learning [SoTL] project). The purpose is to share practical examples that would promote networking and sharing of ideas.

Abstract Submission Format

  • Prepare the abstract in Microsoft Word.
  • Abstract should be 500 to 1,000 words in length, including all tables/figures but excluding references.
  • The title of the abstract should be the first line of page 1.
  • List all authors immediately following the title of the abstract. Authors' information (email, title, and institution) should be listed in order as a footnote on the first page of the abstract.
  • Suggested abstract section headings
    • For a Research Abstract: Introduction; Theoretical/Conceptual Framework; Purpose and Hypotheses, Objectives, and/or Research Questions; Methods/Procedures; Findings/Results; Conclusions, Discussion/Implications, Recommendations for Research; and References (headings may vary for theoretical and/or methodological or qualitative / interpretive research)
    • For a Practice Abstract: Introduction & Need for Strategy; Connection to Literature; How It Works & Implementation of Strategy; Results/Reflections/Outcomes to Date/Implications/Impact; Future Plans/Advice to Others/Possible Resources to Share; and References
  • Document must be formatted in 12-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced, but double-space between paragraphs, headings and text, tables and text, etc. with 1" margins.
  • Abstracts not conforming to the required submission guidelines or format may be rejected prior to the review process.
  • The abstract submission deadline has passed.

Next steps

Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to register for the 2025 NC-FEW Conference: Education Research and Practice in the FEW-Nexus. Authors will receive feedback on their abstracts from the peer reviewers and are expected to make revisions and re-submit their abstracts for inclusion in the published conference proceedings prior to attending the event.

Contact Information of Contributed Program Co-Chairs

Research Co-Chair: Neil Knobloch, Purdue University, nknobloc at purdue dot edu
Research Co-Chair: Bhawani Venkataraman, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School, venkatab at newschool dot edu

Practice Co-Chair: Shamili Ajgaonkar, College of DuPage, sandifor at cod dot edu
Practice Co-Chair: Susan Caplow, University of St. Thomas, scaplow at stthomas dot edu