Guidelines for Breakout Session Moderators

As a breakout session moderator, you might find the following helpful in organizing your thoughts as you begin planning to lead a session that stimulates vigorous participant involvement while ensuring that everyone in attendance comes away with a clear sense of important lessons learned and practical, useful tips they can use in their own Centers.

As in everything, good planning is the key to success. Thinking through these questions should help you in developing the content and format of a successful session.

• What is/are the overall goal(s) or purpose(s) of the breakout session?
• How will the session be relevant to actual current needs of the participants?
• What will participants take away from the session that is practical and applicable to their work at their respective Centers?
• How will the session further the I/UCRC Program’s goals?
• What are the session’s major agenda topics? Can they be comfortably covered in the available time?
• How will each presentation and subsequent discussion further the overall goals/purposes of the session?  Is each presenter clear about content, format, and timing?
• What facilitation techniques will you use to encourage participation, critical thinking, and creative exchange of ideas?  How will you manage each presenter and the overall session to ensure sufficient time for audience interaction and discussion?

It is important to hold at least one conference call with all presenters/panelists in the session before they begin preparing their presentations, and the deadline for submitting presentations is December 30, 2011.  The purpose of this call is primarily to communicate the overall purpose and objectives for the session and to discuss the session agenda and format in detail so that they strive to meet the needs of the participants.

In addition, it is important to share the following information:

• If presenters will be focusing on problems or challenges, urge them to leave the participants with suggested solutions, strategies, or critical issues that must be addressed to reach a solution.
• Underscore the need for the presenters to submit electronic copies of their presentations by December 30, 2011, so that they may be posted on the Annual Meeting website in lieu of handouts
• Remind presenters to bring their presentations on jump drives with them to the meeting, even though the submitted presentation will be preloaded in the session rooms.

If you have any questions, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Thank you.