This session will involve a synthesis of my two accepted conference sessions, each of which deals with a different NSTA Press Book.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard (Discovery Education: Silver Spring, MD)

Teacher leaders are super heros. This STEM Share-a-Thon presentation will focus on being a teacher leader for STEM education. Participants will walk away with valuable information on how they can impove STEM education by following the Teacher Leader Model Standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with valuable information on how to improve their teacher leadership skills in the area of STEM education.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Wagenmaker (Holton Middle School: Holton, MI)

Female student engagement in the STEM fields does not currently match the level at which male students are engaged. Whether it is in high school course enrollment, college, or careers, males outnumber females in terms of enrollment and study of advanced STEM fields, particularly physics, and engineering. Incorporating Advanced Placement Potential as a measure of demonstrated aptitude, this program will review the current research findings and intervention strategies, including action steps to reverse this trend and promote a more proportional, and equitable, enrollment of males and females in advanced STEM courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Awareness of current enrollment trends, the phenomenology inherent in gender disproportionality, and the sharing of action steps to take to reduce gender disproportionality that are designed to increase enrollment for female students with documented individual Advanced Placement Potential.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Stec (West Windsor-Plainsboro High School: Hamilton, NJ)

A quality STEM program is key to developing within students the skills needed to be happy, healthy, and productive citizens. This requires quality STEM instructional practices to be employed in our classrooms. The majority of school districts in Indiana have a single evaluation instrument to evaluate all certified teachers, with no specific focus on STEM instructional practices. Providing teachers actionable feedback, specific to STEM instructional practices, is a critical component of this work. The tool created for this work can be adapted to any local teacher evaluation instrument.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with a tool, that they can adapt to their own district, to support identifying and providing actionable feedback for STEM instructional practices.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Hilton (Central Indiana Educational Service Center: Indianapolis, IN)

During this session, participants will discover how our school utilizes all resources to make PBL a learning experience like no other! Learn how our school collaborates with experts and stakeholders throughout the community to bring experiential learning to our students in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how our school implements PBL through cross-curricular concepts using art, technology, and research integration as well as bringing in community experts to make for an immersive learning experience.

SPEAKERS:
Tyler Lappe (Instructional Coach: Cape Girardeau, MO)

Teacher retention is a big topic across the nation today. While many teachers have retired early, quit in the first few years, or even in mid-career, there are many strategies to up one's classroom management game -- NGSS-style. Beyond that, we want to ensure that we are also taking care of ourselves and planning for our future. This presentation will go over a list of things we can do to stay sane now, and plan for the time when we do transition out of education. It will also give teachers, administrators, and others ways to address the root causes of the exodus. For instance, one school district worked with parents, the community, teachers, and students to implement an almost-total restriction of phone use during the school day (through the use of Faraday bags), with the result of all their schools returning to animated happy kids, eager to learn and participate in class. Other "future focused" strategies will be featured in this guided discussion of options for teachers and schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take away strategies for successfully staying in teaching, reducing stress, and engaging in one major strategy for staying in-- planning for the future! De-stressify, and get ready for the next chapter in your life, while staying sane where you are!

SPEAKERS:
Julie A. Smith (Lennox Middle School: Lennox, CA)