Present at the Ohio STEM Innovation Summit
Share how you inspire students with other STEM educators
The 2024 Ohio STEM Innovation Summit will be held on June 4, 2024 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in the Short North Ballroom. The summit will showcase innovative STEM strategies from teachers and administrators across the state.
The call for presenters for the summit is now open. The Ohio STEM Learning Network seeks presenters who can share insights on how to:
- advance STEM integration in the classroom,
- guide attendees on where to start planning high-quality STEM initiatives,
- grow existing programs, or
- engage the community to solve STEM education’s most pressing problems
Proposing a session
Learning sessions will be 60 minutes long. Session areas of focus have been aligned to Ohio’s Quality Model for STEM and STEAM Schools and presentations should be interactive and/or hands-on and designed to stimulate thinking across a broad range of subject areas and grade levels. OSLN is also launching four session types that will give educators the opportunity to not only share best practices, but to tap into the strength of the STEM community across Ohio to solve education’s biggest problems.
The Ohio STEM Innovation Summit will showcase the strength of the STEM community across Ohio that advances high quality STEM education within their communities. Join us to amplify best practices, tackle challenges, and forge connections.
Presenter applications close January 22, 2024
Apply to review session proposals
Interested in joining OSLN in the work of selecting sessions for summit? Apply to be a reviewer today!
Tips for applying to present
Here’s what we’ll be looking for in presentation applications.
Successful presenters will:Â
- Align with one of the following themes listed belowÂ
- Share tools and methods to help build STEM community and support industry partnerships;Â
- Engage disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in STEM;
- Have firsthand experience with their topic and understand their audience;
- Provide practical, application-focused teaching and learning strategies for teachers and school leaders;
- Present effective, STEM-based strategies for teachers and school leaders;
- Include an interactive focus with participant engagement;
- Demonstrate ideas, activities, teaching practices, etc. with proven effectiveness.
Focus areas for the Ohio STEM Innovation Summit
Learning sessions should target timely, relevant topics centered on one of four focus areas for the summit. These areas match the domains and attributes of Ohio's Quality Model for STEM and STEAM Schools. The areas are summarized below. Proposals must select a focus areas and sub-domain, unless otherwise specified:
Culture for Learning (Domain 1)
STEM cultural strategies (1.1)
STEM and STEAM schools exhibit age-appropriate, school-wide cultural strategies reflecting innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit, inquiry, and collaboration with individual accountability.
Creating an inclusive mission (1.2)
Schools assert their best effort to attract a diverse student body that reflects the community, and schools recruit students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. Schools create an inclusive and culturally responsive environment for all students.
Personalized learning (1.3)
STEM and STEAM schools provide opportunities for students to engage in personalized learning, an educational approach that tailors instruction and curriculum to meet the individual needs, interests, and learning styles of each student.
STEM leadership (1.4)
Leadership creates a schoolwide vision for STEM and creates structures and expectations to support all staff in growing their STEM practice.
Governing Body, STEM/STEAM Advisory Board, and Curriculum Teams (1.5)
Leveraging a school’s partners in advisory and curriculum committees to strengthen STEM curriculum and best practices.
Learning and Teaching (Domain 2)
Authentic, problem-based learning and design thinking (2.2)
Students learn by doing through activities that connect learning to real issues with PBL and design thinking.
Computational Thinking and Modern Technologies (2.3)
Students learn how to identify and use modern technology to solve problems. Schools integrate computational thinking into instruction and/or offer computer science courses to students.
Dynamic assessment (2.4)
Using authentic performance-based assessments and finding ways for students to have a voice in how they demonstrate learning.
Preparing STEM/STEAM teaching staff (2.5)
Schools will participate in regular STEM-focused professional development and share knowledge of best practices.
Pathways to Success in Careers (Domain 3)
Career access and exploration (3.1)
Schools provide intentional age-appropriate opportunities to explicitly connect learning to professional STEM/STEAM careers and provide business and industry awareness.
Partnerships which extend learning opportunities (3.2)
Schools have established partnerships with institutions of higher education and businesses that share resources and provide support in instruction by providing ideas for design challenges and problem-based learning. For high schools, partners provide opportunities for internships and assisting in credential alignment.
STEM-rich local community learning experiences (3.3)
Schools ground student learning in their local community, including providing opportunities for service learning and solving authentic problems relevant to students and their communities.
Disadvantaged and Underrepresented Groups in STEM
This fourth focus area can be selected without a sub-category. This area cuts across many elements of STEM in Ohio.