Short Courses

Short Courses Director
Abbe Depretis
Carnegie Mellon University
adepreti@andrew.cmu.edu

What are Short Courses?

Short courses are 75-minute interactive workshops designed to provide training and/or practical application of information. In short courses, you may cover topics such as teaching innovations, research ideas or methods, application of pedagogical theory, skill development, or other topics of interest to communication instructors and scholars. The focus of short courses should be on "instructional application."

Please incorporate the theme "Full Circle" into your course proposal. Topics can focus on current socio-political issues, scholarship, teaching, outreach initiatives, social activism, or technology. Using “Full Circle,” I encourage you to consider any variations of the following questions:

• In what ways can foundational communication theories and pedagogies, revisited through a contemporary lens, offer renewed solutions to today's societal, ecological, geopolitical, technological, and economic issues?
• As new technology reshapes the classroom, how can educators draw on time-tested communication principles to bring instruction full circle by pairing old wisdom with new tools?
• As concerns about unethical uses of technology resurface in new forms, what can educators learn from earlier ethical debates in the field to address these recurring challenges?
• As generational characteristics shift and cycle over time, which instructional strategies help bridge the gap between traditional approaches and the needs of today's students?
• As Communication Studies extends into settings outside the discipline, how does that outward reach ultimately loop back to strengthen and inform scholarship, teaching, and practice within the field?
• How have foundational communication theories cycled back into relevance, and what does their return reveal about the discipline's evolution?
• How does the relationship between communication educators and their former students evolve over a career, and what does that cycle teach us about mentorship in the field
• How can instructors design curricula that connect students' past communication experiences to future professional or civic life, creating a "full circle" learning arc?

Submission Requirements

• Proposals for short courses can only be submitted via ECA’s Attendee Interactive convention site. Submissions require the following information:
  • Title - Title of the short course. (avoid general or vague titles)
  • Participants - Names, full addresses, email addresses, and affiliation of all presenters/participants
  • Description –  A 150-word description of the course 
  • Categories – Indicate if any presenter(s) are Lambda Pi Eta members.
  • Short Course Information - Specific information about your short course, including:
    • AV Equipment – Are there any technology needs to present the course?
    • Learning Objectives – What are the pedagogical objectives of the course?
    • Outline of Topics – What topics/content will be covered in the course
    • Special Requests – Are there special needs required (room set-up, etc.)?
    • Target Audience – Who would benefit from attending this course?
    • Teaching Methods – What pedagogical strategies will be used to achieve the learning outcomes (e.g., lectures, group discussions, activities), and the estimated time allocated to each learning objective.

Once all required information has been entered, you will be asked to “Preview the Submission” and “Finalize” the submission. To finalize and submit the proposal, you must agree to the following ECA Statement of Professional Responsibility:

In submitting the attached short course, I/We recognize that this submission is considered a professional responsibility. I/We agree to present this short course if it is accepted and programmed. I/We further recognize that all who attend and present at ECA’s annual meeting must register and pay the required fees.

Additional Submission Information:

ECA uses Attendee Interactive to manage submissions and reviews. The deadline for submissions is Friday, October 9, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PST.

All submissions must be uploaded to Attendee Interactive, which can be accessed on the ECA website. Please note that your Attendee Interactive login and your ECA Membership login may be different. If you do not already have an ECA Attendee Interactive account, you will be prompted to create an account with a new User ID and password to submit your proposal.

Convention Acceptance Notifications: January 2027

All short course proposals will be competitively reviewed and selected. Any questions about short courses or short course proposals should be sent to Dr. Abbe Depretis at adepreti@andrew.cmu.edu.

All Short Courses