“Rockets Away '' curriculum revealed that the predominantly female staff was uneasy and hesitant to use launching equipment. A “Science Squad” assisted the teachers with the physics knowledge, building, and launching of the rockets. Then the creation of videos to show the proper techniques for rocketry and voice overlay ppt to ensure the accuracy of the physics concepts. Teachers became certified in Rocketry. Many 3rd-grade teachers provided inquiry science in the form of dioramas for their life science unit. The introduction of “Chickquest” was essential to providing inquiry-based learning. Early on, a “Science Squad” dressed in white coats, funny chick glasses, and hats assisted the teachers in the classroom with setting-up incubators, candling eggs, and troubleshooting student questions to WebCams for students to witness the live hatching 24/7. These STEM activities evolved into humanity lessons such as students reading to the chicks and sharing their hatches with each other.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to leverage technology & personnel for elementary teachers to engage students in authentic science and engineering concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Johnna O'Neal (Instructional Specialist: No City, No State), Katrina Halasa (Akron Public Schools: Akron, OH)

The presenters will share the development of an elementary science lesson that incorporates art into science as a meaningful tool, not a fun supplemental activity. Participants will then complete the example activity that involves developing a solution to a real-world problem using a combination of science and art knowledge and skills. At the conclusion of the example activity, the presenters will provide information on the development of the activity and participants will have the opportunity to begin developing their own science and art-infused lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Art does not have to only be a supplemental activity that is added after a science lesson, it can be an integral part of a STEAM lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Amber Mintert (Associate Professor of Art: Joplin, MO), Laura Schisler (Missouri Southern State University: Joplin, MO)

Even if educators understand the role of an engineer, they often do not know how to teach it at an elementary level. In this session, I will explain the components of the engineering design process, including ask, imagine, plan, create, test, and improve. A comparison will be made between the scientific and engineering design processes. A description of STEM will be presented that centers on the engineering design process. Participants will explore the alignment of the engineering design process and the next-generation science standards. A simple STEM project will be analyzed through the engineering design lens in order to identify potential adjustments to foster the inclusion of critical thinking of an engineer.

TAKEAWAYS:
What is engineering, and how can it be used to enhance my STEM teaching?

SPEAKERS:
Erika Neuman (University of Texas at San Antonio: No City, No State)

Participants learn hands-on how to engage students in a STEM design challenge. They discover the importance of research through experimentation while investigating 4 variables that affect a straw rocket’s flight. They’ll create a series of straw rockets, testing each variable through launching. Participants will learn strategies to teach students measurement and data collection skills with any experimental design process for any level; whether that is beginning measurement in Pre-K and K to the importance of significant figures in measurement with high school. Teachers will experience strategies for classroom data analysis and use this in their ultimate challenge: designing and engineering the ideal straw rocket to test in a distance competition. Teachers will learn strategies to differentiate this concept in any K-12 classroom and see testimonials on this from the Air Camp Programming and Teacher Air Camp alumni.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn hands-on strategies to help students develop measurement, data collection, and analysis skills they can apply in engineering design lessons. You will learn methods to differentiate this in any K-12 setting and leave with free resources for your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Stormer (3-6 STEM Teacher/ Elementary and Teacher Curriculum Specialist, Air Camp USA: Union, OH), Christina Davis (Air Camp USA, Inc.: Dayton, OH)

Through an interactive presentation, participants will engage with the learning concepts presented a "Sagging Circuits" lesson. Participants will build an electric grid using materials provided by The Energy Coalition’s program: Energy is Everything. The lesson will connect to real-world scenarios by portraying a town’s electric grid and monitoring the supply and demand. The lesson incorporates a story describing the various energy-use activities occurring to monitor the town’s energy consumption and manage the city’s electricity supply. Participants will be instructed to build a series of circuits to depict the energy load on the electrical grid and record their data on a handout and graph their daily load profiles on graph paper. Additionally, the lesson will inspire a discussion of the impact of renewable energy resources on the power grid.

TAKEAWAYS:
This hands-on, standards-aligned workshop will show the influence of engineering, technology, and science on society and the natural world. Participants will leave the workshop with concepts and strategies to implement a similar lesson with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Hanna Buechi (Sr. Project Coordinator: Irvine, CA), Jasmine Pineda (Project Manager: Irvine, CA)

Many educators do not utilize integrative STEM to its full potential. Integrative STEM benefits all students but can be especially impactful for gifted learners for whom academics come easy and struggling learners who constantly overcome failures. When STEM is done in homogeneous groups, students often contend with collaboration challenges and are forced to compromise. When working in heterogeneous groups, it is often the struggling students who are able to persevere in the face of failure and adversity that serve as leaders. In this session, attendees will be presented with the benefits of integrative STEM for their diverse learners. Examples of the positive impact it has on struggling learners and high achievers will be shared. Finally, attendees will leave with ideas about how to implement integrative STEM in their own classrooms based on their individual needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how integrative STEM benefits all students when done collaboratively.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Neuman (University of Texas at San Antonio: No City, No State)

STEM Education in rural areas needs to meet students where they are at, not push progress and advancement by utilizing non-relatable curriculums and extensions. Rural community culture needs to be recognized and respected as well as incorporated into STEM learning in order to achieve the most beneficial outcome for the student. The GO STEM Mobile Maker Lab is using & developing curriculum influenced by students and supported by teachers to elevate rural STEM Education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Awareness and insight into exploratory STEM education methods and tools designed to enhance classroom experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Kyle Koyle (GO STEM: La Grande, OR)

The vision of the Fairport STEAM Lab is to support, challenge, and prepare all Fairport students to be Future Ready. We believe that by engaging with curricular and extracurricular projects and inquiries, students will utilize their innate creativity to actively construct knowledge. Students engage with materials and technologies that help them share their learning and tell their stories. The Labs are a place for young people to develop skills that they can transfer to other parts of their lives as they prepare themselves for the future. The presenters will share our experience with building a Lab with attendees that are interested in creating them in their districts and how we have expanded our work to other area districts. We will explore how our curriculum is scaffolded to increase levels of sophistication regarding engineering design, computer science, and digital literacy concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with recommendations for creating STEAM Labs in their districts based on the blueprint that Fairport used to launch Labs that incorporate the NGSS Engineering Design standards, Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards, and a focus on social-emotional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Travis Wood (Fairport Central School District: No City, No State), Kristin Larsen (Honeoye Falls- Lima CSD: Honeoye Falls, NY)

This presentation will give an overview of how to incorporate an Innovations Technology STEM class into the elementary building schedule. This STEM and engineering course has been offered for grades K-5 at Orchard Farm School District in St. Charles Missouri for years. Often science is overlooked in the elementary school schedule and is often pushed to the side for more time for ELA and mathematics, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. This course has enabled our students to stay ahead of the curve as engineering scientists, and this presentation will enable participants to ask questions, explore curriculum, as well as give benefits they could bring back to their buildings to incorporate a class like this at their schools. Participants will explore how NGSS standards, makerspace opportunities, and CS curriculum are all used to build a creative curriculum to engage the littlest scientists on a consistent basis!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn the characteristics of Orchard Farm School District's Innovation Technology class at the elementary level, including curriculum ideas, ways to build the course into an existing schedule, and STEM and NGSS implications!

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Tackett (Innovations Technology Teacher: , MO)

This presentation explores transdisciplinary STEM strategies that foster critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and resilience in students. The session will focus on providing learning opportunities that prioritize contexts of societal relevance and student/community interests, while highlighting the importance of having the skills and knowledge necessary to solve real-world problems. Participants will learn about phenomenon-based learning, unit planning with NGSS, inquiry-based lesson planning, and other strategies that promote student-centered learning. The presentation will also showcase strategies for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into the learning experience, emphasizing the importance of inclusive practices that recognize and value diverse perspectives. Through this session, participants will gain insights into how to create more inclusive and equitable learning environments in STEM education.

TAKEAWAYS:
This workshop focuses on equipping students with skills to solve real-world problems in STEM fields through relevant learning opportunities, effective tools and strategies, and the integration of 21st century skills.

SPEAKERS:
Kara Ball (Academic Officer: , MD)

Using a story, such as Fish in a Tree, that is already being used in the classroom as the structure and inspiration for STEM-related activities is one way to incorporate additional time into the week for STEM. Some of our school districts have 45 minutes every other week dedicated to Science, so the idea is to incorporate scientific thinking and activities into the Literacy and Math blocks. Fish in a Tree is a perfect example of ways to incorporate science habits of mind from a non-science specific book. In this presentation, attendees will explore connections between the three dimensions of NGSS through the lens of literature, including the tools to create questioning strategies and prompts to incorporate into any book they and their students are reading. This session will provide attendees with the skills to take any reading and layer science and engineering into the context of the literature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take a deep dive into ways to incorporate aspects of three-dimensional science instruction through questioning strategies and activities using Fish in a Tree as the example literature. These strategies can be applied to any book you use with your students.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Summers (Project ECHO for Education)

In this presentation, we will be reviewing how our district has built a STEM Pathway program that has developed a community of STEM learners and led to the creation of programming opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom that builds knowledge of STEM careers, foster STEM skills, and ultimately begins to create a community of real-world problem solvers. In addition to discussing the programs, we will discuss how we have leveraged community resources, how the program has branched out to create other unique STEM opportunities for our students and has ultimately allowed us to close the gender gap for STEM in our schools, reach our diverse population, and promote our founding belief that STEM is for all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with resources and tangible ways to build a STEM community and provide a variety of opportunities for all students to participate and deepen their understanding of the STEM field.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Curtiss (Coordinating Supervisor of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Business: Parsippany, NJ), Rachel Villanova (Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Schools: Parsippany, NJ)

During this session, we will look at various units of study appropriate for 3-5 grade curriculum and how all the contents interconnect. Lessons will focus on Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math integration. Samples of Lessons will be shared and participants will be asked to share how they are currently implementing STEM, STEAM, or STREAM lessons in their classrooms. Strategies that help students make connections between content areas and with the real-world help to drive a deeper understanding and allows students to build on their interests and wonderings. Now STREAMing lessons drive creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see examples of how to break lessons down into the STREAM elements while making connections with interdisciplinary standards.

SPEAKERS:
Tara Burnham (Assistant Professor of Education)