STEMatics

Digital Breakout Part 2

Tuesday, December 8th
4:30 PM EDT

Every state has its own set of standards for each subject. As a result, it is often difficult to find resources that fit our exact instructional needs. Creating our own lessons then becomes necessary. In this session, we will show how to design specific Digital Breakouts for your students' unique learning requirements.

Digital Breakout Part 1

Tuesday, November 10th 
4:30 PM EDT

Content-rich Breakout Games are perfect for increasing our students' critical thinking. However, most of us do not have the equipment nor space to run physical breakout sessions for an entire class. The genius of Digital Breakouts is the only equipment you need is a computer. Join us as we explore a variety of Digital Breakouts and see how they can be incorporated in any grade level and in any subject.

Digital Note-Booking

Tuesday, October 13th
4:30 PM EDT

Would you like your students to keep an interactive notebook but are limited by the number of copies you can make? Are you used to note-booking in a face-to-face setting and are now wondering how students can keep an interactive notebook in a virtual environment? If your answer was "yes" to either question, this session is for you. We will explain what a digital notebook is and show how easy it is to create one. Your K - 12 learners will benefit from this interactive method of learning.

Becoming Tech-Savvy

Tuesday, September 8th
4:30 PM EDT

Effective teachers need as many tools as possible to ensure their students are engaged face-to-face and virtually. Join this highly interactive session to learn how to incorporate technology in your lessons. We will demonstrate how Nearpod, Kami, FlipGrid, and other resources can transform teaching and learning to increase student motivation and engagement for K-12 learners.

Picture Perfect Science

Tuesday, April 13th
4:30 PM EDT

Students love picture books! So, why not use these books to pique your students’ curiosity and propel them to explore? We will use picture books as our focal point to employ a guided approach to inquiry and utilize the 5E Model – Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. While this session may be more appealing to elementary teachers, middle and high school instructors can glean ways to use this creative tool to engage their students in a deeper dive into science.

Argument-Driven Inquiry

Tuesday, March 9th
4:30 PM EDT

Argument-driven inquiry (ADI) is a student-centered approach that can be used in any classroom to encourage students to think critically, collaborate with peers, infuse creativity in their solutions, and clearly communicate their findings with others. In this session, we will focus on how the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning portion of ADI can F1NE-TUNE mundane lessons to increase exploration and rigor.

Teaching Soft Skills

Tuesday, February 9th 
4:30 PM EDT

The accomplishments of our students in their career fields are contingent upon their mastery of soft skills. However, these vital competencies are often overlooked in traditional classrooms. As 21st century educators, we must be intentional about incorporating the development of soft skills in our instructional activities. This session will show how to implement the 4Cs – Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking into our daily lessons.

The Inquiry Mindset

Tuesday, January 12th
4:30 PM EDT

Do you desire to bring curiosity and wondering back into your classroom? Well, it all begins with changing your mindset so you can, in turn, change the mindset of your students. Embark on this journey into inquiry mindset, which fosters investigation and exploration. This form of learning not only engages students, but it ultimately leads to their college and career success.

Dr. Karla McInnis

STEMatics Co-Facilitator

Karla is a multifaceted student instructor and teacher leader who loves to see others excel in science. She is also the exemplar of a lifelong learner. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from the University of South Alabama (USA). She attained a Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Immunology from USA’s College of Medicine. Since that time, she has spent several years as a postdoctoral fellow broadening her science background at both Louisiana State University Health-Shreveport and the Mitchell Cancer Institute. These experiences have left Karla with a broad understanding of the different fields available to students, which propels her collaboration with educators to help their learners explore them all.

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Karla has received several recognitions in her field. She was named National Teacher of the Year by Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics, and Enrichment (SECME); ambassador for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; high school director and program chair for the 2021 Conference for the Alabama Science Teachers Association; ambassador for the Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network; and awardee of multiple grants.

Engineering and Entrepreneurship

Tuesday, May 11 th
4:30 PM EDT

Bill Aulet, managing director of the MIT Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, said entrepreneurship is fundamentally about having control over one’s destiny, and the only way to control our destiny is to create it. By incorporating the Engineering Design Process, which by the way is not just for engineers, you can transform regular instructional activities into more student-centered lessons that will help students shape their own future. If you are wondering how, come on and join this session because we are ready to tell you!