CALL FOR PROGRAMS

LCA CONFERENCE CALL FOR Poster Sessions

The Louisiana Counseling Association invites all graduate student members of LCA to submit a presentation to share research projects .  Graduate Students should have completed the research in conjunction with a university professor or with other professionals.

Click here to access the online form

The Louisiana Counseling Association invites you to submit a poster session proposal for the LCA Conference, proposals must be received by May 15.

Program Proposal Guidelines

• Poster Sessions will be reviewed by the Professional Development Committee.  Poster Session Presenters will be notified by July 1 if their session has been accepted.
• All presenters must be a member of LCA and must register and pay for conference.  Poster Session presenters are encouraged to apply for an LCA Conference scholarship.
  https://www.lacounseling.org/lca/Conference_Scholarship.asp
• Poster Sessions are designed to convey research findings in a poster format.  Through an "Interactive Style" attendees will be encouraged to "stop by" and visit with as many presenters of the poster sessions as they want and engage in interactive dialogue.  Some attendees may stay for only a few minutes and then move on to another presentation while other will want to stay longer and go more in-depth on your topic.
• The basic content of the Poster Session should include but not be limited to the following:
  1. A Title that appropriately describes your session
  2. An abstract or an outline of a thesis, problem
  3. The method(s) used to achieve a solution to a problem
  4. A results section.  If appropriate, Statistical Data should be titled and summarized in a clear, concise format.
  5. A clear, concise conclusion
• Your Poster must have a professional appearance.  Use large enough print, graphs, charts or designs to be easily viewed from a distance of 8-10 feet.  We suggest using a bullet or outline format.  All type should be a minimum of 24-font size.
• Ensure that the name and email address of each presenter is presented in an easily accessible way
• You must include the university you are representing clearly on your poster.
• When constructing your poster, consider that a poster number will go in the top left hand corner of your poster..
• You must remain with your poster during the scheduled time to discuss your projects, research finds and/or novel approaches  with attendees.  Poster should not be flimsy so they can stand in the easel. 
• Selling of products or services during your session is not permitted.
• Handouts: Presenters  are required to have handouts available at the presentation. Handouts should be original to the presenter or used with permission of the copyright holder over the materials. We suggest including contact information and an abstract if you have one.

Tips for Poster Preparation

• Posters should stimulate discussion, not give a long presentation. Therefore, keep text to a minimum, emphasize graphics, and make sure every item included in your poster is necessary.
• Utilize handouts to supplement your poster.
• Aim for: 20% text, 40% graphics, 40% space.
• Make sure ideas flow logically from one section to the next.
• Use charts and graphs to illustrate data (avoid large tables of raw data).
• Use high resolution photographs (web images often will not work).
• Do not use all capital letters.
• Avoid the use of typewritten, handwritten or a printed PowerPoint™ presentation as a poster.
• Be consistent.
• Keep consistent margins
• Keep consistent line spacing
• Keep the color, style, shading, and thickness of borders the same
• Choose no more than 2-3 fonts and no more than 2-3 colors
• Test the readability. Title banner should be legible from 20 feet away and the rest of your content readable from 10 feet away

Selection of Sessions?

• Proposals will be reviewed and selected by the Professional Development Committee. 
• Selected proposals will be notified July 1 and will agree to present at the time determined by the Conference Committee.
• Presenters must be members of LCA.
• Presenters must register and pay for conference.   Presenters are encouraged to apply for a scholarship.
•  Presenters must check in at the Presenter Registration Table and obtain the Conference registration packet.

Contest Judging Criteria

Judging criteria adapted from The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM)

The following criteria are used to evaluate the posters:

• Ability to Stand Alone: The poster should be able to stand alone as a clear communication of the project without the team present.
• Balance: he poster should be a balance of text, figures, and space. Excess text should be avoided - figures should play a dominant role in communicating the project on the poster. There should be adequate space around text and figures to avoid a crowded appearance. Judges will place heavy emphasis on balance.
• Overall Visual Appeal: Color and font changes should be used appropriately. The use of too many colors creates an unprofessional appearance. Dramatic colors should be used only to illustrate dramatic points – overuse is simply confusing. There should be consistent use of color throughout the poster to represent the same concept - the colors should not be randomly switched. Due to red-green color-blindness, use of these colors to represent contrasting concepts should be avoided. A poster with overall visual appeal stands out among other posters.
• Legibility: The poster should be easy to read. There should be high contrast between the text and background. The background should not be busy and distracting. The resolution of the printed poster should be high enough that the text is clear and there is sharp detail on the figures. Avoid use of poor quality micrographs and other images on the poster. Poster text and figures may appear clearer on screen than on paper; therefore, a printout of the poster should be viewed prior to display.
• Quality of Graphics: The key concepts of the project should be diagrammatically represented. It is ideal if a single figure represents the entire concept. Figures should be well labeled and have clear legends. It should not be necessary for presenters to explain the figures.
• Conciseness: The content of the poster should be technically written. It should take no longer than 10 minutes for someone to read the poster.
• Flow: The poster content should follow a logical sequence. The reader should be able to navigate the poster with ease.
• Appropriate and Relevant Content: Careful thought should be put into selection of poster content. Redundancy in the presentation of information becomes tedious and exists at the expense of other information.
• Accuracy of Information Presented: The scientific content of the poster should be accurate. Models should be free of mathematical error. The poster reveals the STEM literacy of the team.
• Grammar/Spelling Posters should be critiqued before printing for spelling and grammar errors. Scientific names and mathematical units should be presented correctly.
• Oral Presentation of Poster The poster presentations provide judges the opportunity for detailed probing. The team should be able to answer in-depth questions. This opportunity lets judges find out whether teams really understand the project.