Thinking Matters will be hosted in-person on the USM Portland Campus at the Abromson Center.

The Agenda and Schedule page will have your time slot for the in-person event.

  • Your Project Mentor will be asked to review this presentation and provide their approval.
  • We recommend posters be created in PowerPoint or Google Slides and saved as a PDF.  Using the templates provided will ensure an accurate size for printing. Apply and Prepare
  • Poster PDFs will be due a few weeks before the in-person event to provide time to print them.
  • You have the option of using another printer at your own expense.
    • 48 inches x 36 inches, landscape orientation, heavyweight coated paper
  • Abstract and poster PDF file can be uploaded to Digital Commons.
  • At the in-person event you will be by your poster.  You may have a short prepared description ready to answer questions.
  • Posters will be available for pick up prior to the event. Otherwise, they will be brought to the main site the morning of the event.
  • Poster time slots are about 2 hours long. There are morning and afternoon sessions.
  • Your Project Mentor will be asked to review your presentation and provide their approval. 
  • Oral presentations should be about 15-20 minutes, which includes time for any questions.  You are assigned in small groups to a time and place where you take turns presenting.
  • Arrive a few minutes early to set up any AV with ITMS.
  • A moderator will be in the room to keep it on time.
  • We recommend creating a PowerPoint or Google Slide deck to accompany your oral presentation.
  • Students submit an abstract via Google form, which becomes a Google doc. The reviewer will be assigned privileges to a set of individual abstracts. The student and faculty advisor cannot see comments until they are assigned to the Google doc to see comments and make any suggested changes.  We try to assign abstracts to reviewers by general areas of expertise; that was not always possible.
  • What we are looking for is for you to have read through, lightly edited (if necessary), and create a comment upon each of the abstracts assigned to you, with the following comments (explained below): “Accepted,” “Accepted; slight revisions made,” “Reject and Revise,” or “Not accepted.”
  • Thinking Matters staff will send links to the individual abstracts in Google Docs. Students will be able to see your comments and the fact that you made the comments in Google Docs. If you wish to remain anonymous, please request an alternative method of reviewing.

Things to Keep in Mind when Editing: 

  • Make sure the Google doc is in “Suggesting Mode” aka track changes;
  • Feel free to correct basic spelling and grammatical errors;
  • Keep in mind that these are undergraduate and graduate student works, and comment accordingly;
  • If you think an abstract needs to be substantively changed or rewritten (especially in terms of content), please write a comment that says “Reject and Revise,” so we can get back to the student. Please add a comment as to why.
  • If you think an abstract is fine as written, please write a comment that says, “Accepted.”
  • If you made any discretionary edits (spelling/grammar, etc.) but the abstract is otherwise fine, write a comment that says “Accepted; slight revisions made.”  Please use track changes.
  • We intend this to be a very inclusive event, supporting students at different stages of their careers. Very occasionally, we find an abstract that are very poorly written, or describes a problematic project, etc. If you encounter one of these, please add a comment that says “Not Accepted,” and add a brief comment as to why.
  • Once you have completed all of your reviews, please let Thinking Matters staff know you are finished reviewing.
  • Thanks, and please feel free to get in touch with any questions about accessing the files. We are happy to field any questions about abstracts.
  • Happy Reading!

If you would like to volunteer at this event, please let us know.

Thank you for your support of Thinking Matters!!! With your help, we can ensure that the oral sessions run smoothly, that each student has at least 10 minutes to present their work, and that the audience has time to participate in a question and answer session at the end of the panel presentation. Below is a brief list of instructions:

  1. Before the session starts, ask students to pronounce their names for you and confirm their oral presentation title.
  2. Convene the session with a brief welcome. Explain to the audience that each of the students will present first, with the question/answer period at the end of the session. DO NOT allow the audience to ask questions between student presentations–this is a sure way to lose track of time, and we want to ensure that all students have a chance to present their work.
  3. Time each student presentation. We are aiming for students to present for 10 minutes. This will ensure that there is time at the end for questions and discussion. At the 7-minute mark, display the “3 Minute” warning card; at 9 minutes, display the “1 Minute” warning card. At 10 minutes, display the “STOP” card. When the student has completed his/her presentation, clap, and introduce the next student. Repeat until all students have presented.
  4. After all students have presented, invite the audience to ask questions of the presenters.
  5. Gently moderate the discussion; try to ensure that there is broad audience participation (if possible, do not allow one active audience member to dominate the Q&A period). Feel free to interject to move things along.
  6. If the audience is silent, begin by asking a question of the whole panel (e.g. “what was the most difficult thing you encountered during your research?” “what do you plan to do with this research now that the project has come to a conclusion?” etc.). The question itself is not that important… keep things open-ended and light. The point here is to spark discussion, and to ease the nerves of students who are presenting their work in a public forum for the first time.

If you would like to volunteer at this event, please let us know.

Digital Commons: How to Submit Presentations (pdf) instructions. Abstract, recording, presentation slide deck and all supporting documentation can be uploaded into Digital Commons.

Upload to Thinking Matters under Author Corner: Submit Presentation. Presentations will be reviewed and submitted for publication after the event.

Get the most out of your research with Digital Commons—a web-based, open-access institutional repository that is managed by USM Libraries. Content within Digital Commons is highly searchable in web browsers and is fully indexed with Google and Google Scholar, which gives your work the potential to reach a global audience.  Student research is the most popular materials on the USM Digital Commons.

By adding your research to Digital Commons, your work has a visible and lasting home where your accomplishments can be shared with potential employers, graduate schools, added to your resume or e-portfolio, or shared with whoever you want to know about your great Thinking Matters work.

Past presentations can be found on through the USM Libraries.

By utilizing Digital Commons:

  • Approved abstracts, pdf of posters, slides, and recordings of presentations can be uploaded into Digital Commons
  • Digital Commons — a web-based, open-access institutional repository that is managed by USM Libraries
  • Published presentations provide our students with a permanent URL that can be used in their professional resumes or CVs
  • Greater public exposure to the range of research that is being done at our university.
  • The work is digitally archived
  • Presentations are available as examples for future students
  • We recommend creating a PowerPoint or Google Slide deck to accompany your oral presentation for Digital Commons.
  • Once uploaded, it may take a few days for Thinking Matters staff to approve them to go live.

What is the day going to be like? Find out from past student presenters and our supportive faculty.