Explore an innovative, skills-based approach to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) career discovery with CareerXplorer, a free tool from LabXchange. In this session, participants will experience how integrative tools can connect learners to a wide range of real-world STEMM opportunities through skill development. With interactive activities, participants will explore STEMM careers and discover how to empower students to connect their classroom learning with real-world career skills and chart their own futures in STEMM. Leave the workshop with practical strategies and lesson plan ideas for integrating these free digital career-connected resources into your own learning spaces and educational standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain practical tools and strategies to empower students to explore diverse STEMM careers through skills-based learning with CareerXplorer by LabXchange.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Sjoblom

How can we inspire young learners to see themselves as future innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders in STEM? This session explores how computer science and STEM can be meaningfully integrated into elementary classrooms in ways that are both engaging and accessible. In our district’s Imagineer Studio, teachers help students build problem-solving, algorithmic thinking, and logical reasoning skills while fostering a classroom culture that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Through hands-on STEM experiences and career-focused investigations, students begin to recognize clear connections between their classroom learning and real-world STEM careers. Participants will gain practical strategies and classroom-tested approaches that make STEM and computer science exciting, relevant, and aspirational, while equipping young learners to envision their own futures in STEM fields.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this session with practical strategies to make STEM and computer science engaging, relevant, and tied to real-world careers, helping students develop skills and envision future opportunities in STEM fields.

SPEAKERS:
Sharon Wiggins, Christopher Bowen

Come and explore the connections between the teaching and learning of science, CTE, and climate literacy, including intersections with workforce development.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees learn strategies for interweaving science, CTE, and climate learning into a variety of learning contexts and courses.

SPEAKERS:
Johanna Brown, Carol ODonnell, Deb Morrison

Every lab comes with risk, and when there is a significant injury, the average settlement in the US exceeds $ 4 million. However, with the right tools, teachers can make every activity safer, smarter, and more engaging. In this interactive session, explore how VERA AI, a teacher-centered safety system, supports lesson planning, lab prep, and classroom management through real-time risk analysis and safer material substitutions. Using real K–12 scenarios, participants will experience how AI “safety wrappers” transform everyday lab routines into proactive safety checks that build student awareness and confidence. Learn how to integrate these AI tools to save time, strengthen compliance, and foster a shared culture of safety in science and makerspace learning. Walk away with free access to VERA AI and ready-to-use strategies for your next lab day.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to utilize free VERA AI tools to proactively identify lab risks, make safer substitutions, and save planning time—enabling them to focus more on meaningful, hands-on learning and feel confident teaching students in a safe learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Edward Cohen

The work of geoscientists is essential for protecting the environment, responding to natural hazards, and using resources responsibly – making geoscience careers vital and rewarding. To help students make these connections, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has developed free online resources that link student interests with global challenges and career pathways. A new Sustainability Interactive introduces real-world scenarios tied to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and encourages students to reflect on what matters most to them. When paired with AGI’s Career Explorer, which highlights geoscience-related careers, this resource provides teachers with engaging ways to help students explore how their interests align with sustainability issues and discover how geoscience can contribute to solutions. Educator resources, including lesson plans designed to help teachers integrate these applications into the classroom, will also be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about and can explore AGI’s free online applications that connect student interests with global sustainability challenges and geoscience careers.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren Brase, Lindsay Mossa

How can teachers design assessments that capture what students know, can do, and can explain across diverse high school science courses? This interactive session explores three-dimensional (3D) assessment strategies for Chemistry, IB Sports Science, and Forensic Science. Participants will examine freely available OER tasks, rubrics, and student work examples aligned to the NRC Framework, NGSS, and state standards. Through collaboration, teachers will adapt tasks for their own classrooms, taking into account issues of equity, accessibility, and disciplinary relevance.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with ready-to-use, open-access 3D assessment tools and strategies to evaluate student sensemaking in Chemistry, IB Sports Science, and Forensic Science while addressing equity and instructional alignment.

SPEAKERS:
Ramon Reeves, Shannon Harris, Tracy Joyner, Dana Peeples

This session explores how the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) can serve as a powerful foundation for helping students connect phenomena-driven learning to high-skill, high-wage, in-demand careers. This session will offer practical insights into the current postsecondary and workforce landscape and demonstrate how career-connected learning can increase student engagement by making science more relevant and purposeful.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using state science standards as a foundation for career connected learning helps students see science as purposeful and relevant by directly linking science content and application to in-demand career pathways boosting both engagement and motivation.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Assume the role of a crime scene investigator to solve a realistic crime scenario. Students use fingerprint, hair analysis, tire track impressions, blood typing, forensic entomology, and a police log review to identify a primary suspect from a pool of 6 alleged perpetrators.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Discover how STEM goes beyond traditional math and science. This interactive session helps teachers find hidden STEM jobs, and plan learning pathways for students of all grades, from early exposure to high school specialization. Educators will leave with a wide range of tools they need to help every student believe that they can succeed in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will uncover a wide range of STEM-connected careers, begin to map learning pathways from elementary to high school, and leave with ready-to-use tools assisting teachers in helping students see themselves as capable problem-solvers with real-world futures in STEM..

SPEAKERS:
Kia Thomas, Randy Kolset

Look up at the ceiling when you’re at the grocery store, your school, or offices. What will you often see? Fire sprinklers! What role do fire sprinklers have in engineering and designing fire-safe spaces? In this workshop we evaluate the structure and function of a fire sprinkler to understand how thermodynamics lead to the bulb breaking and how a system of fire sprinklers work to limit the impact of fire. Xplorlabs: The Science of Fire Safety was developed in partnership with UL Research Institutes' Fire Safety Research Institute and the National Fire Sprinkler Association. Participants will preview the no-cost Science of Fire Safety pathway and consider its potential as part of their classroom curriculum. During which they will observe the effectiveness of a home sprinkler system using actual lab footage from ULRI, explore the phenomenon of thermal expansion to activate a sprinkler, and ideate how students can use this to design fire safe spaces.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants leave inspired to consider ways for students to design safer spaces and make informed fire safety decisions based on safety science. Participants also consider the opportunity to integrate any of the no-cost Xplorlabs pathways as part of their classroom curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Sternberg, Jessica Sparacino, Abi NeSmith, Justin Guida

Sponsoring Company: The Energy Coalition

Inspire students to lead energy actions and the transition to clean energy! This hands-on workshop is designed to bring renewable energy to life in the classroom. The session will equip educators with practical knowledge and resources to engage students in energy-related concepts, including renewable resources, while fostering energy literacy and sustainability awareness. During the session, participants will accomplish the following: - Understand the country’s energy system, energy resilience, and the different types of energy sources. - Build a model wind turbine and test the energy output with digital multimeters. - Reflect on and discuss their own learning, and consider how they could implement the activity in their own classrooms using the provided resources.

SPEAKERS:
Bianca Avina

Sponsoring Company: Dean Vaughn

Dean Vaughn's Medical Terminology by Body Systems course in a one of kind tool to help students master the memorization and pronunciation of complex Greek and Latin words. Set your students up for future success by learning how to make Medical Terminology less intimidating for students while ensuring it sticks the first time.

SPEAKERS:
Gregory Newcomb

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Learn how to spark curiosity and develop scientific thinking using molecular biology techniques adapted for middle school students. This session highlights a collaborative pilot program designed to build confidence, support hands-on learning, and connect biotech to issues students care about. Take away practical strategies and classroom-ready activities that encourage teamwork, perseverance, and authentic exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

Students often wonder how the science they learn in class connects to life beyond school. This session tackles that question by showcasing practical strategies for bridging core science instruction with Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways and career applications. Participants will explore how phenomena-driven, three-dimensional science learning naturally aligns with the skills and knowledge used in engineering, health sciences, technology fields, agriculture, and more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through examples, discussion, and ready-to-use ideas, attendees will discover how to help students see the relevance of scientific thinking in authentic career contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Join the excitement, escape the rat-race, and experience the superior quality of Carolina's Perfect Solution® specimens with our preserved rat dissection! Engage 3D instruction as we discuss the relationship between structure and function, as well as the interdependence between systems. During this hands-on guided dissection, each participant explores the rat’s external anatomy, internal body systems, and individual organs. These specimens are economical, simple to dissect, and great mammalian models for your next lab!

SPEAKERS:
Patti Kopkau

Sponsoring Company: STEMfinity

Esports is far more than just gaming. The esports ecosystem comprises over 100 careers, spanning design and marketing, development, network infrastructure, event planning, medical sciences, and entrepreneurship. Participants will learn how to leverage their current classes and coursework to equip students with the career-ready skills esports encompasses, including the hard skills necessary to enter the ecosystem workforce and the soft skills needed for employment anywhere. We'll also touch on how esports creates community and a sense of belonging for underrepresented and marginalized students, builds efficacy, brings funding back into the district, increases grades and overall student well-being, and decreases behavioral issues and suspension rates. We'll top it off by exploring networking for partnerships and internships, and by navigating the esports competition space.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Mavrogeorge

Our fingers help us play instruments, game, communicate, and hold our favorite beverage. How do fingers function when they have no muscles? Using this relatable, everyday phenomenon, students explore the structure and function (DCI LS1.A) of fingers by sharing their own experiences with how they use their fingers in everyday life, asking questions to explain the phenomenon, digging into the histology of the different tissues that make up the parts of the finger, and developing and using models (SEP) to explain their findings. Intentional engagement which encourages students to share their personal experiences as they relate to their own cultural and linguistic norms, including translanguaging, will be explored and modeled. Alternative activities are provided for classrooms that do not have access to microscopes or the needed histology slides. Attendees will participate in the student experience. This lesson is structured to align with NGSS Performance Expectation HS-LS1-2.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be provided with a hand-on experience and lesson plan to explore the structure and function of the fingers. We will use the pillars of sensemaking to study histology. This lesson is relevant to those who teach Anatomy & Physiology.

SPEAKERS:
Sophia Garcia

What do recipes, kitchens, and food science have to do with STEM? Everything! This session will explore how culinary arts provide a powerful and engaging way to teach science, technology, engineering, and math. Participants will discover hands-on strategies and classroom activities that connect cooking to STEM concepts such as chemistry, heat transfer, measurement, ratios, data analysis, and the engineering design process. From scaling recipes to experimenting with food science, educators will walk away with practical ideas they can bring back to their classrooms. The session will also highlight career connections—from nutritionist and dietitian to food scientist and agricultural engineer—showing students the many STEM pathways that begin in the kitchen. Join us to learn how food can spark curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving while making STEM meaningful and memorable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use food and culinary arts as engaging, hands-on tools to teach core STEM concepts—linking science, technology, engineering, and math to real-world experiences and career pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Daniell Cossey

Learn how local industry can provide pathways to sustainable careers for students through a novel project-based learning Science & CTE course. Gain development insights and resources to empower students with skills for the growing clean energy sector and beyond. See Sprocket for the OER curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain tools to implement this curriculum in their own contexts, as well as an understanding of the development process, enabling them to expand the work into other topics and promote an educational movement that integrates sustainability and career readiness with academic content.

SPEAKERS:
Adrian Baez-Alicea

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Come show us your surgical skills in this engaging, hands-on workshop! Participants dissect several mammalian organs and explore the important link between their anatomy and physiology. We explore real-world examples while connecting structure to function in several mammalian organs from different body systems, including the nervous (cow eye), cardiovascular (sheep heart), and reproductive (bull testicle) systems! Use these workshop objectives to bolster your 3-dimensional instruction

SPEAKERS:
Patti Kopkau

Corporate AI companies invest billions in education, yet most districts miss partnership opportunities by approaching them as customers rather than research collaborators. This hands-on workshop teaches leaders to build mutually beneficial AI partnerships providing sustainable funding, professional development, and cutting-edge tools for equitable STEM programming. Participants engage in live partnership mapping exercises, practice equity-centered pitches with honest company profiles, and develop 90-day action plans. Discover insider strategies that have secured over $ 450 K in partnerships by positioning districts as valuable testing environments for AI innovation. Address current AI implementation challenges while building sustainable funding models that serve all learners, especially multilingual students and those in under-resourced communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leaders will master the Partnership Accelerator Process™ for securing sustainable corporate AI partnerships that fund equitable STEM programming by positioning districts as research collaborators, not customers.

SPEAKERS:
Natoshia Anderson

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Discover how DNA evidence contributes to selective breeding strategies to benefit both farmers and consumers, and health mangement of dairy cows. In this hands-on workshop, participants use agarose electrophoresis to genotype bulls and cows for a gene linked to high-value milk protein used in cheese production. Analyze your results, apply Punnett squares to predict offspring outcomes, and make evidence-based recommendations to a dairy farmer. Learn how to bring authentic biotechnology and agricultural problem-solving into your classroom—and identify the ultimate Ca$h Cows!

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Food and environmental allergies are a growing health concern worldwide. In this workshop, you’ll learn about the steps an allergist takes to diagnose and treat these dangerous reactions. First, you will review the patient's symptoms and meal history to identify potential triggers from their diet. Next, you’ll perform simulated skin prick and component-resolved blood tests to distinguish true food allergies from cross-reactivity like oral allergy syndrome. By analyzing the results and presenting their conclusions, students model the process that health professionals use to diagnose and treat allergies.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Step into the world of the very small with this interactive workshop on nanotechnology designed for middle school science classrooms. Participants will experience NGSS aligned, hands on labs that reveal how nanoscale science connects to everyday life and emerging technologies. From exploring how nanomaterials are used in medicine, electronics, and clean energy to modeling the unique behaviors of matter at the nanoscale, teachers will leave with classroom ready investigations that spark curiosity and foster sensemaking. The session emphasizes building critical STEM skills such as problem solving, collaboration, and data analysis while highlighting clear workforce pathways that link middle school science to future careers in engineering, medicine, sustainability, and technology. Educators will walk away with lesson plans, career connections, and strategies to inspire students to see themselves as future innovators and problem solvers in the growing field of nanotechnology.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain NGSS aligned, hands on nanotechnology labs and resources that connect middle school science to real world applications, helping students build STEM skills and see clear pathways to future careers.

SPEAKERS:
Marianna O'Brien, Linh Ho

I will share my experience using the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope (CHART) in my high school classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
I will explain why and how we should teach radio astronomy in high school.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Palmer

There is a critical shortage of professionals in the healthcare industry due, in part, to the significant toll of the pandemic. This has led to increased efforts to attract people to the field at many levels, the most significant of which is the middle school years. These years have been shown to be a time when students can benefit from a process of building self-awareness and learning about careers. This is the underpinning for Indiana University’s Medical Research Education Project. This poster presentation will provide information about the project and how teachers can get involved. The presenters will also highlight a few hands-on exemplar, inquiry-based lessons that have been co-designed and tested by middle-level teachers, biomedical researchers, and education faculty. Alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards, and links to literature will also be emphasized. This project is funded by the National Institute of Health.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Medical Research Education Project at Indiana University is working with middle level teachers to determine the best ways to teach about medical research generally and cancer research specifically in the hopes of creating the next generation of medical and cancer researchers.

SPEAKERS:
Gayle Buck, Adam Scribner

Can your students outsmart artificial intelligence? In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore an engaging classroom activity where students train an AI image-recognition model to identify four major tissue types: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous. After training, students test the model with unknown samples and compare its accuracy to their own. Along the way, participants will discover how this activity strengthens student understanding of tissue structure and function while also introducing critical conversations about the role of AI in science, data quality, and human vs. machine learning. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use materials, strategies for integrating AI tools like Google Teachable Machine into NGSS-aligned instruction, and ideas for extending the activity into other science disciplines and grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a ready-to-use, NGSS-aligned classroom activity that demonstrates how to integrate AI tools into science instruction—engaging students in comparing human and machine learning while building content knowledge and transferable skills that extend across disciplines and grad

SPEAKERS:
Katelyn Christensen

The Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) of the Next Generation Science Standards already mirror many of the skills employers value most: problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and iterative design. This session explores how intentionally pairing the SEPs with Career Readiness Competencies can help students build transferable workforce skills while engaging in authentic science learning. Participants will examine classroom examples and instructional strategies that make these connections explicit, allowing students to practice thinking and working like scientists and engineers while developing skills essential for college, careers, and the modern workforce.

TAKEAWAYS:
When the Science and Engineering Practices are intentionally aligned with Career Readiness Competencies, everyday science instruction becomes a powerful way for students to develop real, transferable workforce skills without adding “one more thing” to the curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Assume the role of a crime scene investigator to solve a realistic crime scenario. Students use fingerprint, hair analysis, tire track impressions, blood typing, forensic entomology, and a police log review to identify a primary suspect from a pool of 6 alleged perpetrators.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Learn how to reveal the molecular basis for the purple phenotype in Rapid Cycling Brassica's! Students will score the "purpleness" of seedlings and using PCR and electrophoresis will determine the genotype of each sample. Students can then compare the genotypes to the amount of purple in the plant. By sharing their data in a common database, students will help determine if there is any correlation between homozygous/heterozygous and the amount of purple seen on the seedlings.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Hagins, Erika Fong

Science educators can lead transformative, interdisciplinary learning by building strategic partnerships that expand STEM opportunities for students. This session shares a practical framework for initiating collaborations with CTE programs, design pathways, and community or industry partners to create NGSS-aligned projects that connect science learning to real-world applications. Drawing from a pilot in an urban high school, we’ll explore how science teachers launched collaborative projects that integrated engineering, design, and technology while remaining grounded in core science ideas and three-dimensional learning. These partnerships engaged students in authentic problem-solving and revealed pathways into STEM careers — from technical roles to leadership positions. Attendees will leave with a simple, actionable partnership planning tool and steps to initiate science-centered collaboration in their own schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a practical framework for initiating science-centered partnerships with CTE, design, and community organizations and leave with actionable tools to launch interdisciplinary, NGSS-aligned projects that expand STEM opportunities for students.

SPEAKERS:
Maafi Cook

This 60-minute hands-on workshop dives into how our team uses underwater robotics as a gateway to teach core naval science, engineering, and technical trades to middle school students. Using the SeaPerch platform, students explore principles of buoyancy, propulsion, and circuitry while building teamwork and problem-solving skills. The session will demonstrate how these activities can be implemented across different learning environments—classrooms, after-school programs, and summer camps—and how near-peer mentors and dedicated staff support sustained engagement. Participants will also learn strategies for partnering with local industry and academic institutions to align these experiences with real-world career pathways and regional workforce needs. By integrating hands-on design and naval technology concepts, this approach connects curiosity-driven learning with tangible STEM skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to implement hands-on underwater robotics projects that connect middle school learners to naval science, core trades, and career pathways through adaptable, partnership-based models.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Logue, Zeynep Akdemir-Beveridge

What do recipes, kitchens, and food science have to do with STEM? Everything! This session will explore how culinary arts provide a powerful and engaging way to teach science, technology, engineering, and math. Participants will discover hands-on strategies and classroom activities that connect cooking to STEM concepts such as chemistry, heat transfer, measurement, ratios, data analysis, and the engineering design process. From scaling recipes to experimenting with food science, educators will walk away with practical ideas they can bring back to their classrooms. The session will also highlight career connections—from nutritionist and dietitian to food scientist and agricultural engineer—showing students the many STEM pathways that begin in the kitchen. Join us to learn how food can spark curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving while making STEM meaningful and memorable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use food and culinary arts as engaging, hands-on tools to teach core STEM concepts—linking science, technology, engineering, and math to real-world experiences and career pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Daniell Cossey

Many educators face the challenge of answering students’ persistent question: “When will I use this in real life?” This session highlights the importance of connecting classroom content to local career opportunities. Participants will explore strategies for identifying relevant careers using tools such as O*NET, Indeed, LinkedIn, Gladeo, and NACE. The session will share examples of how to integrate career awareness into existing curricula by linking lessons to authentic career connections. Attendees will learn how to leverage local college career centers, regional workforce data, and high school-level programs to expose students to real opportunities. The session also demonstrates how AI tools like ChatGPT can streamline searches for local resources and job examples. Finally, attendees will discover ways to locate skill-building programs, such as resume writing and interview preparation, that empower students to confidently pursue goals and thrive in their chosen careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators can connect classroom learning to real-world careers by using online tools, local workforce data, and AI resources. This approach helps students explore authentic opportunities, build career skills, and confidently prepare for future success.

SPEAKERS:
Trent Stanforth, Courtney Behrle

So far, most (legitimate) use of AI in schooling seems to focus on chat bots serving as personal tutors, to differentiate instruction. But what about using AI to help differentiate curriculum? Can AI help to generate ambitious science curricula tailored to each student? With AI and the Internet, can students explore their interests with others beyond the walls of their classrooms and the boundaries of existing content? In this session, we will imagine how educators and students might use technology for tailoring curricula so that every student can love learning, find their passion, explore career paths, and start to take ownership of their learning. Whether you have tried this or wonder how this might work, come to this session for ideas and strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to take steps towards differentiating curricula with AI and the Internet no matter what their curricular situation—whether they have a scripted curriculum and standards-based testing or not.

SPEAKERS:
Nicholas Balisciano

Preparing the next generation of STEM innovators begins with the educators who shape early student engagement. The Undersea Naval Innovation through Teacher Education (UNITE) integrates emerging naval technologies into K–8 classrooms through pre-service teacher education. UNITE targets elementary education majors, increasing future educator awareness of STEM careers with naval applications. The program includes professional development that exposes elementary education majors to hands-on naval science and technology classroom instruction, veteran educators, and naval research. Anchored by a partnership between the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island’s Guiding Education in Math and Science Network (GEMS-Net), this initiative empowers pre-service teachers to integrate engineering and undersea science concepts into elementary and middle school classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into how this approach balances the technical depth of naval research with the pedagogical needs of pre-service teachers. Presenters will highlight lessons learned in program design, hands-on classroom visits, and teacher leadership development.

SPEAKERS:
Charlene Tuttle, Elizabeth DeLoreto, Rachele Limberakis

BioNetwork facilitates career pathway development for students pursuing careers in life science industries across North Carolina. Our newest interactive program, Speed Gowning, has gained significant traction among students, educators, and industry professionals as an effective educational tool. This session will explore the development and implementation of this hands-on activity, demonstrate how it connects students to diverse STEM career opportunities in a variety of fields (from biotechnology to health sciences, and more), while providing practical strategies for adapting the program across various educational contexts. Participants will gain actionable insights for implementing similar experiential learning approaches in their own institutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to create classroom experiences that help students visualize themselves in STEM careers by connecting lesson content to real workplace skills and industry practices.

SPEAKERS:
Courtney Behrle, Trent Stanforth

Medicine is at a fundamental tipping point, transforming from a reactive disease-care system to a proactive Systems Medicine discipline that utilizes a breadth of personalized data to optimize wellness and minimize disease. To help individuals thrive now and in the future, scientists at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) are working to understand the biological complexities of wellness and disease. Hundreds of teachers, students, scientists and physicians have come together to develop and pilot a free and accessible 180-hour course for 11-12 graders to learn about these complexities and the emerging careers around them. We will begin with a high-level overview of the modular course, providing a brief overview of the paradigm shifts and technologic advances that led us to this tipping point. Then in groups we’ll explore this “Systems Medicine” curriculum from a student’s perspective while completing sample hands-on activities and viewing student work and lab set ups.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Systems Medicine free 180-hour course will guide you through a variety of engaging pedagogical strategies for 11-12 graders as they apply their biology knowledge to learn new interdisciplinary STEM content while exploring the many careers around this new field.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Steffens

Explore the significance of antibody-antigen interaction and its role in immunoprecipitation testing by participating in this hands-on activity! Most people will use an immunoassay test several times in their lives. This technology that harnesses an immune system mechanism is used for pregnancy tests, COVID tests, illegal drug tests, and many more. After simulating an immunoassay lab test in small groups from a student perspective, we will explore the versatility of this activity with various storylines to fit your course and standards. Participants will receive an educator’s guide with lesson plans and resources for several immunoassay activities and will be entered to win a class set of materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about the science of immunoprecipitation testing and how to apply it in a standards-aligned, hands-on activity in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Bethany Kenyon, Lily Dancy-Jones