Invisible College 2026 Call for Proposals
Invisible College for Research on Teaching Theme: Untold Stories
We invite you to join us for Invisible College.
Call for Papers:
Dear members of Invisible College for Research on Teaching,
We invite you to join us in Los Angeles, California, USA, for Invisible College.
This year, Invisible College for Research on Teaching will be held on Tuesday, April 7th, 2026, the day before the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting begins in Los Angeles, California, USA. The theme is untold stories. (Please note that the location of Invisible College is yet to be determined.)
Invisible College for Research on Teaching invites stories that remain untold, unspoken, and perhaps unacted upon. We understand that stories are “portal[s] through which a person enters the world” (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006, p. 477). As Xu and Connelly (2010) further explicate, “The idea that story is a portal to experience means that every experience is encountered in the context of a web of historical meaning and significance. We call this web of meaning and significance “story” (p. 352). To better understand teacher/teacher educator/researcher experience, we invite you to share your untold story that may inform the wider educational context.
Stories remain untold for various reasons. They may be too politically charged or too closely tied to our current context to be shared when they occur. Or perhaps an audience was not yet ready to hear a particular story. Some stories may be too raw to retell soon after they occur, requiring time to heal. Other stories may center on periods of unstable ground, needing time and reflection to process and reframe, understand, and make new meaning. Stories of excluded and alienated peoples, ideas, methodologies, research and varied ‘otherness’ are encouraged.
We encourage stories that could not or have not been told until this point; stories that describe untenable moments, that are too dangerous, or are often excluded from the educational contexts and discourse.
We imagine educational stories that could include, but are not limited to:
- Teacher Stories
- Teacher Educator Stories
- Researcher Stories
- Collaborative Stories
- Administrator Stories
- Institutional Stories
- Political and Policy Stories
- Community Stories
We understand–and fully expect–that when retelling sensitive stories it is often necessary to utilize fictionalization (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990); that is to somewhat obscure contexts and to de-identify individuals in order to promote anonymity. We look forward to your proposal submission.
References
Caine, V., Murphy, M. S., Estefan, A., Clandinin, D. J., Steeves, P., & Huber, J. (2017). Exploring the purposes of fictionalization in narrative inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(3), 215-221.
Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (2006). Narrative inquiry. In J. L. Green, G. Camilli, & P. Elmore (Eds.), Complementary methods for research in education (3rd ed.) (pp. 477–488). Washington, D.C.: American Educational Research Association.
Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19(5), 2-14.
Xu, S., & Connelly, M. (2010). Narrative inquiry for school-based research. Narrative inquiry, 20(2), 349-370.
Please submit your proposal by February 15th for consideration for the Invisible College for Research on Teaching. Proposals may follow the conference theme or be of your own choosing.
*Note: If you are unable to submit the Google Form, please email your proposal to invisiblecollege4teacherrsch@gmail.com by the February 15th deadline.
Please include the following in a word document or pdf.
Your name:
Title of Session Proposed:
Participants (names, affiliation, contacts)
Corresponding Author Name and Email:
Proposal should contain:
- 150 word Abstract of your session: (For inclusion in the Conference Program)
- < 500 word description of the session
Please share this information with colleagues that may be interested in sharing their work.
We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles!
Invisible College for Research on Teaching
Registration Fee: $75
Why Choose Invisible College for Research on Teaching?
Invisible Colleges were initially formed as extra-institutional groups of scholars who met together to forward ideas. This year we would like to posit the theme of Dead Spaces as a reflective device that may guide our work.
Dewey (1938) described dead spaces are spaces where there is a lack of “imagination… rich(ness)... growth… and connection” in the activities in which students/teachers/teachers educators are expected to engage”.
*Note: If you are unable to submit the Google Form, please email your proposal to invisiblecollege4teacherrsch@gmail.com deadline to February 15, 2026.