Session Summary:

At the heart of any good STEM curriculum is a problem solving mindset. But how do you take your youngest learners — many of whom are still learning how to “do school” — and build a culture of independent problem solving?

As daunting a task as that feels at times, it’s easier than you think! Come learn about how you can lean into the research on play-based learning while simultaneously challenging students to develop lifelong engineering skills such as critical thinking, grit, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

Leave with strategies on how to ensure all students, regardless of their background, find a love of STEM and confidence in their problem solving skills..

About:

PreK-4 STEM Specialist

Brittney Tarr works as a PreK-4 STEM specialist at Thomas Metcalf. She holds a master's degree in special education and a graduate certificate in STEM Education and Leadership, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in teaching and learning from Illinois State University.

Her research interests include early childhood STEM education and STEM identity. Her professional goals aim to ensure access to high-quality STEM education for all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

Social Media: 

Instagram

Session Summary:

Master the basics of Canva and unlock tools to create polished posters, engaging presentations, and eye-catching graphics that elevate your teaching materials.

About:

K-5 STEM Specialist

I'm a mother of four daughters and the wife of a retired soldier. I taught in New York and Germany before we settled in Texas. With a decade of experience as a classroom teacher, I transitioned to STEM education in 2021.

Currently, I oversee the STEM program for our K-5 students on a local Air Force Base. Additionally, I have the honor of collaborating with Carly & Adam on developing STEM curriculum for our wonderful group!.

Social Media: 

https://www.instagram.com/stem_tasticmama/

Session Summary:

In this session, participants will explore how to use 3D printing to make real-world connections, foster creativity, and extend learning in the literacy curriculum.

We’ll focus on using Tinkercad to design custom models that combine literacy and the design process.

Participants will leave with ready to use lesson ideas and templates and knowledge on how to construct engaging lessons based on the books they’re teaching and the goals they have for their students.

We’ll also cover practical tips for 3D printing and offer alternatives for educators without access to a 3D printer.

About:

Technology Teacher

Melanie Sowa-Li is an experienced technology teacher and library media specialist with over 11 years in education, specializing in integrating educational technology, coding, 3D design, and makerspace activities into K-5 and intermediate-level curricula.

She has presented at numerous district, regional and state conferences where she has led sessions on topics such as 3D printing, AR/VR in the classroom, and gamification.

Melanie is passionate about collaborating with fellow educators to create engaging, tech-enhanced learning experiences that foster creativity and student success.

Session Summary:

STEM is a natural, authentic, and meaningful opportunity to embed the nonfiction reading and writing standards.

Reflective writing is a powerful way to foster metacognition, perseverance, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication after engaging in the engineering design process.

This session will show educators classroom examples of quick-writes, diagramming, anchor charts, and sentence stems! We'll discuss ways to integrate more literacy with STEM!

About:

K-5 STEM Specialist, Author/Illustrator

Ekuwah Mends Moses is a national award-winning educator, published author-illustrator of two nonfiction picture books, and an international keynote speaker. Ekuwah is a specialist who teaches K-5th grade Engineering to approximately 750 students on a seven-day rotation.

She was selected as the 2023-2024 National Life Group LifeChanger of the Year grand prize winner. Ekuwah is the 2023 Educator of the Year at D.L. “Dusty” Dickens STEM Academy of Engineering and Design. She received the 2023 City of North Las Vegas Mayor’s Innovative Teaching Award.

During her 24 years of teaching in the Clark County School District, she previously worked as a Family Learning Facilitator, Performance Zone Instructional Coach, K-5 Literacy Specialist, Learning Strategist, and an elementary classroom teacher.

Her debut children’s book, My Name is an Address, is featured in the School Library Journal.

Social Media:

Facebook

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Instagram

Website

Session Summary:

In this session, I share my insights on how I incorporate books within my STEM lessons and build off of my previous session Teaching STEM Con Books.

I will mainly focus on how I utilize STEM and stories with Kindergarten - 2nd Grade students along with a couple of lessons for 3rd grade - 5th grade students.

I will share lesson ideas for Back To School STEM and many more stories that you could incorporate into your classroom.

Lastly, I am going to speak on how I meet the needs of my bilingual students and help them better comprehend our lessons.

You will be able to walk away with teacher slides and ideas to utilize in your classroom.

About:

K-5 STEM Teacher

Alma Torrez is a K-5 STEM teacher in Texas. She currently is the only STEM teacher at an elementary level in her district. Her students have worked on coding all sorts of robots and do a lot of engineering with recycled materials.

Alma is always eager to bring in new ideas to her classroom and find what works for her students. She also schedules and assists in their school garden where they successfully have grown lots of onions, peppers, and more.

Many of Alma's students come from low-income families, so she is passionate about educating them about careers in STEM while creating memorable lessons.

Alma also loves to utilize literature that her students can see themselves in as her school is over 90% Latino/Hispanic. She is no celebrity but her students sure do make her feel like she is when she walks the halls.

 Social Media:

Instagram

Session Summary:

Computational Thinking is the skill every future coder will need. Kids learn how to break big problems into small problems, look for patterns, create step-by-step plans, and think outside the box.

In this session, we will review the four elements of computer science and provide you with easy to implement ideas for your classroom. We will review picture books that have computational thinking elements and provide activities to use with them.

We will discuss games you can play to practice computational thinking strategies in your classroom.

Finally, we will put it all together with coding resources. Coding is computational thinking in action!

About:

K-6 STEM Specialist

Carrie works as a K-6 STEM specialist in an urban school district in Toledo, Ohio. She has a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and has always loved creating engaging lessons for students.

After 20 years in general education, she switched to STEM specialist when her school district implemented a new STEM program for elementary grades. As a former primary teacher, she loves STEM lessons that incorporate her favorite picture books.

Carrie is passionate about growth mindset and helping students welcome failures as learning opportunities.

Her favorite quote to share with students is: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” ― Thomas A. Edison.

STEM is not just a class we teach, but a mindset we build. Carrie is a 2024 grant recipient from OSLN and is currently pursuing a teacher license in Computer Science through their program.

 Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/its_all_elementary_stem/

Session Summary:

STEAM is naturally built into the learning and development of both preschool and neurodiverse learners. These learners make exploring STEAM a dream! Let's discuss ways to expand ALL your learners' engagement, empowerment, and accessibility.

About:

Education Empowerment Consultant & Special Education Teacher

Taralee is an educator, advocate, and published author. She is currently in year 25 of passionately contributing to the field of special education. Taralee excels at recognizing each child’s unique gift and ignites their love of learning through play, exploration, discovery, and out-of-the-box activities.

She believes building solid relationships and reaching students through fun, meaningful, and relevant activities allows them to be successful mind, body, and spirit learners.

 Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/omalley_hurff

https://x.com/tlee99sunshine

Yes. Contact [email protected].

A least 21 Hours of Professional Development. 

The Elementary STEM Teachers Club Membership is for K-5 teachers.

However, we do have many middle school teachers who have joined and love it!