Group activities

49th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education PME 49
Guidelines for

Group activities are intended to provide attendees with the opportunity to exchange information and ideas related to the PME. Conference participants will need to select which sessions they would prefer to attend and indicate this in their registration. Group activities will take place during parallel time allotments, and will have limited space.  

All group activities (except RF proposals) are submitted for review through ConfTool, the online conference registration system (see the Submission page at the PME 49 website).  ConfTool is configured to only accept submissions from presenters who are registered in the ConfTool system and have paid the non-refundable conference deposit. Please refer also to section 5.2.1 for Restrictions on number of contributions. 

Research Forum (RF)

A Research Forum is a format of group presentation undertaken by a group of at least five researchers. The goal of a Research Forum is to provide PME members a comprehensive overview on the state of the art on a topic where substantial research has been undertaken in the last 5-10 years and that is of ongoing interest for the PME members. The researchers are expected to be experts with respect to the research topic and offer coherently structured activities during 2 slots of 90 minutes each, as well as a comprehensive contribution (30 pages) to the conference proceedings. See also information about research forum form IGPME.org.  

A Research Forum is not supposed to be a collection of individual research presentations (see Colloquium format), but instead is meant to convey an overview of research, highlighting contemporary academic debates and perspectives in the field. In contrast to the Working Group format for evolving research topics, Research Forums are considered to mark significant advances with respect to established research topics.  

A Research Forum:  

  • focuses on a topic which is of substantial interest within the work of PME;
  • has a coherent structure that enables to attain a comprehensive overview of the topic;
  • contrasts and integrates different research approaches through the consideration of multiple perspectives;
  • includes structural opportunities for academic debate in interaction with the audience;
  • provides the participants with the opportunity to prepare for the participation through the provision of reading materials prior to the activity;
  • is developed by at least five researchers who are experts with respect to the research topic;
  • covers 2 slots of 90 minutes each; and
  • is represented in a comprehensive and coherent 30-page contribution in the conference proceedings. 

Submission and Reviewing Process  

Research Forums are highest-quality contributions to PME conferences and, as such, they are subject to a review process. In order to allow the researchers to adequately prepare the Research Forum, the deadline for initial proposals is January 19, 2026. A proposal should not exceed 5 pages, including references, and should be emailed to both pme49@helsinki.fi and info@igpme.org.   

The International Program Committee (IPC) pre-reviews the proposals. If necessary, the IPC provides feedback to the coordinators with the opportunity to revise the proposal until February 7, 2026. This revised proposal should also be sent by email. The IPC will then decide on the acceptance of the Research Forums. If accepted, the final contribution for the conference proceedings (30 pages) must be handed in by March 17, 2026, using ConfTool.  

Proposals must include:  

  • the topic, title, and focus of the Research Forum;
  • the names of all researchers contributing as presenting authors (minimum of 5);
  • the name of the coordinator(s) (corresponding researcher);
  • an outline of the theoretical background of the research topic;
  • a detailed description of the proposed layout of the Research Forum, including thematic structuring, time structuring for 2 slots of 90 minutes each, as well as descriptions of the planned presentations and audience interactions;
  • prior reading suggestions for attendants and details on accessibility (if needed, organizers may use the PME communication infrastructure at http://www.igpme.org/; and
  • information on the planned structure of the contribution in the conference proceedings.  

Presentation and Proceedings  

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

Please note the following requirements related to the presentation format at the conference:  

  • The coordinator(s) as well as all the persons listed as presenting authors of a Research Forum need to be registered conference participants and need to participate to the research forum in person.
  • If a coordinator or a presenting author of a Research Forum has to cancel last minute – for whatever reasons – their presentation needs to either be presented locally by (i) co-authors of the Research Forum, (ii) co-authors of the presented research that are registered participants of the conference, or (iii) cancelled. That is, for coordinators and presenting authors of a Research Forum there is no option for digital participation.
  • If the coordinators of the Research Forum plan to include additional persons digitally in the Research Forum, which are not listed as co-authors of Research Forum, this can be done either in a hybrid mode or via a pre-recorded video under the following conditions:
  • The digital participation is less than five minutes per person (i.e., a person giving a short reaction or input).
  • The digital participation is announced up front in the submission of the research forum together with an indication why physical attendance is not possible and why no other (physically present) person could take this part.
  • If a hybrid participation is planned, a prerecorded video is necessary as a backup in case of technical issues. 

The decision regarding digital participation will be made by the IPC. 

The proposal and conference proceeding contribution should follow the PME formatting guidelines. The final contribution for the conference proceedings should not exceed 30 pages, including references. For accepted papers to be included in the proceedings, all coordinators and presenting authors to the Research Forum have to make a full registration by May 17, 2026, at the latest. 

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). See also working group information at IGPME.org.  

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;
  • is provided by at least two researchers who are actively working within the research topic;
  • covers 2 slots of 90 minutes each;
  • is represented via the 2-page proposal in the conference proceedings; and
  • will be portrayed in 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, 2026, via ConfTool. The International Program Committee (IPC) reviews the proposals for Working Groups and decides on their acceptance during the Second IPC meeting (April).  

Proposals must include: 

  • the topic, title, goal, and strategy to reach the goal of the Working Group;
  • the names of all researchers contributing (minimum of 2);
  • the 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, Colloquium, 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 IGPME.org 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. All Working Groups will take place on site during the conference.  

The proposals should follow the PME formatting guidelines. The total length of the proposal is 2 pages, including references. If accepted, this proposal will be included in the conference proceedings. For accepted papers to be included in the proceedings, all researchers contributing to the Working Group have to make a full registration May 17, 2026, at the latest.  

After 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 2026. This report may be included in the following PME Newsletter. 

The goal of a Seminar is the professional development of PME participants, especially new researchers and/or first comers, in different topics related to scientific PME activities. This encompasses, for example, aspects like research methods, academic writing or reviewing. A Seminar is not intended to be only a presentation but should involve the participants actively. PME can give a certificate of attendance to participants of the Seminar. Facilitating a seminar will not count as a contribution for the existing restrictions on conference contributions.  

Submission and review process  

A SE application must include: 

  • name of a coordinator;
  • information about the topic and the goals of the SE as well as descriptions of specific tasks or activities to be carried out in the sessions; and
  • a short outline about the goals and/or activities planned for each of the two 90 minutes’ sessions. 

Two-page proposals for a SE must be submitted not later than March 1, 2026 via ConfTool. The International Program Committee reviews and selects SEs during the second IPC meeting. Notification of the decision of the IPC to accept or reject a proposal for SE will be communicated in April 2026. 

Presentation and Proceedings  

The two-page proposals of accepted Seminars will be included in the Conference Proceedings. Two 90-minute sessions will be allocated to Seminars. After presentation, the coordinators of each SE are required to send a report of its activities to the PME Administrative Manager (e-mail address: info@igpme.org). This report may be included in the PME newsletter. This report is due by the end of September 2026. 

 

 

Ad Hoc Meeting (AH) 

Ad Hoc Meetings are a form of conference activity approved in 2010. During the conference, PME provides time slots and rooms for meetings of ‘ad hoc’ groups. The idea is that researchers can meet and discuss research topics that spontaneously came up during discussions of previous presentations at the conference. The Ad Hoc Meetings are reserved only for discussions; presentations or a continuation of a Research Report or Publication Report or Oral Communication are not allowed. To organize an Ad Hoc Meeting, at least two people should prepare an announcement with a short and precise description of the topic, the names of the organizers, and the preferred time slot, and deliver it to the PME Administrative Manager (info@igpme.org). The Administrative Manager will then assign times and rooms. Since there are only a few time slots and rooms, proposals will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.