Guidelines for Symposium Abstracts for BCCE 2026

We encourage contributors who wish to share insights, questions, and work related to chemistry teaching and learning (including research, instructional innovations, curriculum design, assessment practices, and reflective or emerging ideas) to consider submitting an oral presentation abstract to the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) 2026 program.

At BCCE 2026, oral presentations are organized within two types of symposia:

  • In-person, topic-specific symposia, which are organized around defined symposium themes and take place on site in Madison, and
  • Global remote symposia, which are organized around shared Conference Contexts and bring together oral presentations that are not affiliated with a specific in-person symposium.

Both symposium types include Talks and Distillations and are designed to support meaningful scholarly exchange within the chemistry education community.

Oral Presentation Formats

  • Talks (15 min + 5 minutes for discussion). Talks are appropriate for sharing: chemistry education research findings; tested and well-developed learning activities; sustained instructional or curricular initiatives; and other mature work with clear implications for teaching and learning.
  • Distillations (5 min each, grouped in sets of four, + 20 min open discussion): Distillations are concise contributions well suited for: emerging or exploratory projects; soliciting feedback on ideas or approaches; presenting focused teaching strategies or learning activities, and discussing studies with preliminary or inconclusive results.

Submitting a Symposium Abstract 

We welcome symposium abstract submissions for both Talks and Distillations from all members of the global chemistry education community. Before submitting, authors should first determine whether they are submitting to an in-person symposium or to a global remote symposium.

In-person symposium abstracts 
Authors submitting an in-person oral presentation abstract should:

Global remote symposium abstracts 
Authors submitting a remote oral presentation abstract should:

Abstracts length limits

  • Talk abstracts: maximum 300 words
  • Distillation abstracts: maximum 100 words

👉 Submit an in-person symposium abstract via ExOrdo: https://bcce2026.exordo.com/ 

👉 Submit a global remote symposium abstract via the BCCE 2026 Virtual Site (ExOrdo): https://virtualbcce2026.exordo.com/

Review and Scheduling Process

Symposium organizers review submitted abstracts based on:

  • alignment with the goals and scope of the symposium
  • coherence of the overall symposium session
  • available presentation time

 To enhance meaningful engagement while limiting the number of concurrent sessions (consistent with ACS initiatives and feedback from past BCCE conferences) all symposia are limited to one full day, or the equivalent of twelve 20-minute presentation slots. As a result, symposium organizers may:

  • request that a full talk be converted to a distillation
  • recommend moving an abstract to a different symposium with better alignment
  • suggest converting an abstract to a poster presentation

 These decisions are made to support strong, coherent symposia and an overall balanced program.

Important Dates

All deadlines are firm deadlines

  • Abstract submission opens: January 12, 2026
  • Abstract submission closes: March 1, 2026
  • Symposium organizers complete review and session scheduling completed: March 31, 2026
  • Program schedule posted: June 1, 2026

Presenter Expectations and Policies

By submitting a symposium abstract, you acknowledge and agree to the following:

 If your symposium abstract is accepted, you are expected to:

  • Register for and attend BCCE 2026
  • Understand that BCCE cannot provide registration, lodging, or travel support, nor offer presenter discounts

 Additional notes:

  • For invitation-only symposia, authors must have received an invitation from a symposium organizer prior to submitting an abstract.
  • To limit conflicts, reduce excessive concurrency, and ensure equitable thematic distribution across the week, the Program Committee cannot accommodate requests for specific days or times for symposium sessions.

Presentation Authorship Limits 

BCCE follows the Rule of Two, which limits the number of presentations by any individual to one of the following combinations:   

  • 2 oral presentations (full talk or distillation)
  • 2 posters
  • 2 workshops
  • 1 oral presentation and 1 poster
  • 1 oral presentation and 1 workshop
  • 1 poster and 1 workshop

We look forward to your contributions to BCCE 2026 and to the conversations they will spark within the chemistry education community.