Working Group (WG)

A Working Group is a format of group presentation undertaken by a group of at least two researchers. The aim of a Working Group is that PME participants are offered the opportunity to engage in exchange or to collaborate in respect to a common research topic (e.g. start a joint research activity, share research experiences, continue or engage in academic discourse).

A Working Group may deal with emerging topics (in the sense of newly developing) as well as topics that are not new but possibly subject to changes.

A Working Group needs a clear goal (outcome) and a strategy to reach this goal in collaboration with the participants. It must provide opportunities for contributions of the participants that are aligned with the goal (e.g. share materials, work collaboratively on texts, discuss well-specified questions).

A Working Group is not supposed to be a collection of individual research presentations (see Colloquium format), but instead is meant to build a coherent opportunity to work on a common research topic. In contrast to the Research Forum format that is meant to present the state of the art of established research topics, Working Groups are considered to involve fields where research topics are evolving.

A Working Group:

  • Focuses on a research topic of substantial interest within the PME community,
  • Has a clear goal and a strategy to reach this goal in collaboration with the participants,
  • Includes structural opportunities for contributions by the participants to reach the goal,
  • Involves only a minimum of planned presentations to stimulate the specific collaboration or exchange,
  • Provided by at least two researchers who are actively working within the research topic,
  • Covers 2 slots of 90 minutes each,
  • Represented via the 2-page proposal in the conference proceedings, and
  • Will be portrayed with respect to its outcomes, after the conference, in a report to be included in the following PME newsletter.

Submission and Reviewing Process

Working Groups are subject to review in order to ensure the fit to the goals of PME as an organization. The deadline for proposals (2 pages) is March, 1st. The International Programme Committee (IPC) reviews the proposals for Working Groups and decides on their acceptance during the Second IPC meeting (April).

Proposals must include:

  • Topic, title, goal, and strategy to reach the goal of the Working Group;
  • Names of all researchers contributing (minimum of 2);
  • Name of the coordinator (corresponding researcher);
  • An outline of the theoretical background of the research topic;
  • An explicit statement on the way the participants are expected to engage in collaboration and/or exchange in the Working Group;
  • An explicit statement if the Working Group is a new initiative or a follow up on previous PME activities, as well as an indication of tentative,  follow up activities at future PME conferences (further WGs, RRs, colloquia, etc.);
  • A detailed description of the proposed layout of the Working Group, including thematic structuring, time structuring for 2 slots of 90 minutes each, as well as descriptions of planned presentations and participants’ exchange/collaboration activities;
  • Opportunities to contribute by participants and details on the organizational process (if needed, organizers may use the PME communication infrastructure at http://www.igpme.net/ for collaboration).

Presentation and Proceedings

Two 90-minute slots will be devoted to each Working Group. The conference chairs are asked to schedule the slots subsequent whenever possible, although this cannot be guaranteed.

The proposals should follow the PME formatting guidelines and must be in accordance with the PME publication ethics. The total length for the proposal is 2 pages including references. If accepted, this proposal will be included in the conference proceedings.

After the presentation, each Working Group is required to send a report of its activities and the goals reached to the PME Administrative Manager (info@igpme.org) by September after the conference. This report may be included in the following PME Newsletter.