Learning Lab

Carrie Bassett, Akron Zoo
Amy Moehring, Akron Zoo

Have you ever wanted to incorporate lions, tigers, or bears (oh my!) into your lessons? Learn about what the Akron Zoo is doing through partnerships and programs with schools, from problem-based learning to social emotional learning and community science. We will discuss our programming before giving everyone a chance to try some different hands-on activities that our learners (young and old) have enjoyed.

Learning Lab

Shana Wyndra, Steubenville City Schools
Natalie Campana, Steubenville High School

This Learning Lab highlights a vertically aligned aerospace engineering pathway implemented across Steubenville City Schools that intentionally develops flight-related engineering thinking and STEM Habits of Mind from elementary through high school. Participants will explore how foundational concepts introduced in PLTW Launch are extended through PLTW Gateway Flight & Space and culminate in a high school Aerospace Engineering pathway. Using authentic student work samples, facilitators model how low-floor/high-ceiling design challenges scaffold problem solving, collaboration, iteration, and data-driven decision making. Participants will engage in a hands-on design experience, analyze student learning progression, and reflect on how intentional vertical alignment supports rigorous, career-connected STEM learning.

Learning Lab

Elijah Stambaugh, Heartland Christian School

You know every student in your class: what they’re good at, where they struggle, what makes them tick. But there’s no way to put all of that into a newsletter that is sent home to 30 families every week. There’s just not enough time. In this Lab, you’ll build a system that does exactly that. You’ll organize what you already know about your students, write instructions that capture how you’d personally communicate with each family, and connect it so 30 individualized newsletters generate in minutes with each one referencing that student’s specific progress, interests, and next steps. Harness AI. No coding. You’ll walk through the 4 refining habits framework that work for newsletters today and for lesson plans, exit tickets, progress reports, or anything else you do repeatedly tomorrow. You leave with templates you can use Monday morning.

Learning Lab

Jennifer Garin, Metro Elementary School

When I began my journey as a STEM teacher I was interested in creating fully integrative STEM units that combined Ohio Learning Standards(bolstered by NGSS), career connections, and hands on experiences to build a STEM foundation for my elementary students. Creating a plan, guided by an instructional slide deck, gave me the framework to curate an experience that follows the Design Thinking Process to build background knowledge and fosters student understanding through hands on inquiry practices. In this session, you will be given unit ideas and a template to support the creation of your own STEM/STEAM unit resources to streamline lesson planning and implementation consistency.

Learning Lab

Dana Letts, Chillicothe City School District
Heather Tarlton, Chillicothe Primary School

Put your elementary students in the driver’s seat! Join us to discover how our V.O.I.C.E. (Variety Of Individualized Choices in Education) framework engages over 1,000 students in choice-based learning every year. Learn how to provide every elementary student with a passion-based learning experience that connects their interests to the standards. We will teach you how to navigate student grouping, scheduling, and coordination with community partners using our system. Throughout the presentation, you will find ideas for how to efficiently create learning experiences that respond to student interests – from culinary arts and podcasting to snakes and Legos! You will walk away with ideas for how to bring in community partners, templates for planning and a network of thought partners!

Learning Lab

Jason Hubbard, Perrysburg Schools

Humans are like cars…we work better when we’re warmed up! Icebreakers can help, but we also need fun interactive activities in our classrooms that promote well-being, remove barriers, and build trust. This session will invite participants to try out and explore several easy-to-implement activities that connect students to each other and to their purpose for learning together. So come join in the fun as we learn how to better make meaningful connections in our classrooms (before and as we teach the content)!

Learning Lab

Anne Hribar, Incarnate Word Academy
Kristy Lubiejewski, Marshall STEMM Academy

Connect students’ growing STEM skills to the trends shaping the world. Discover experiential activities that explore human ecology concepts including population dynamics, natural resource use, and how humans are forever changing Earth’s landscape, habitats, air and water. At the same time, understanding human ecology concepts requires knowledge and practice in mathematical functions such as computation, measurement, graphical representation, statistical analysis and more. In this hands-on workshop, engage in several collaborative STEM-based activities including collaborative problem-solving challenges, simulations, and mathematical modeling that integrate middle school math and science content and skills. Receive lesson plans aligned with Ohio Learning Standards.

Learning Lab

Melanie Mugge, Tree of Life Christian School
Brittany Armstrong, Tree of Life Christian School

This elementary PBL places students in the role of science fiction travel agents, engaging Earth and Space standards through an imaginative, problem-based task. Students combine science, math, opinion writing, and technology to create and market a planet for future travelers. Attendees will walk away with a fully developed PBL experience along with design strategies for creating interdisciplinary, student-driven projects that extend far beyond this single topic. Join our teaching team to experience how this zany scenario fosters deep learning and student ownership.

Learning Lab

Robin Sheffield, Chase STEMM Academy
Roxanne Allen, Chase STEMM Academy

In this session, presenters will share their journey as the Backyard PBL moves into Year 2, expanding from the Manhattan Marsh to include on-campus prairie learning and additional community partners: the Toledo Zoo and University of Toledo (GLOBE Mission Earth). Participants will learn how the school successfully sustained and scaled a building-wide PBL, including strategies to support staff, coordinate multiple partners, and ensure meaningful, hands-on learning experiences for students as citizen scientists. Attendees will leave with practical insights, tools, and strategies for designing collaborative, community-connected PBL in their own schools, fostering both teacher capacity and student engagement.

Learning Lab

Mindy Byrnes, Laurel School

How do we build a culture of innovation, curiosity, and problem-solving in the earliest years of school? In this hands-on Learning Lab, participants will experience how design thinking can be intentionally embedded into K–3 classrooms—not as a single project, but as a daily mindset. Drawing from real classroom examples in early elementary STEAM, this session models developmentally appropriate design thinking routines that support creativity, collaboration, resilience, and iteration. Participants will engage in a short design challenge, explore classroom structures that foster student agency, and examine ways to scaffold the design thinking process for young learners. Educators will leave with practical strategies, language, and tools they can immediately apply to cultivate confident problem-solvers in their own K–3 learning environments.

Learning Lab

Jill Marconi, Ohio Space Grant Consortium

Explore how nature-inspired design can transform STEM learning. This session showcases biomimicry lesson plans developed by an interdisciplinary team through Stepping Stars, a NASA-funded education program. Participants will see how students investigate plants, animals, and natural systems to inspire innovative solutions to real-world engineering challenges. The NGSS-aligned lessons span multiple grade levels and emphasize hands-on learning, the engineering design process, and creative problem-solving connected to aerospace, Earth science, and engineering concepts. Educators will leave with practical, adaptable lesson ideas and strategies for bringing authentic, NASA-inspired STEM experiences into their classrooms or informal education settings.

Learning Lab

Gloria Schmitz, Waggoner Road Junior High
Joseph Knisley, Waggoner Road Junior High

In this session, participants will explore practical strategies for integrating computer science and robotics into all subject areas. We will showcase classroom-ready lessons that engage students in coding and robotics while aligning with standards in science, math, language arts, and social studies. Attendees will leave with concrete tools, cross-curricular ideas, and innovative approaches to bring 21st-century learning into any classroom, no matter the content area.

Learning Lab

Leah LaCrosse, McCormick Middle School
Chris Brown, Glandorf Elementary

Nature journaling asks our students to calm their mind, engage their observations skills, record the world around them, and make connections. With a journal, sketching materials, and guidance, our middle school students can tap into an activity that will unlock the natural world and the STEM within it. Nature journaling brings all the pieces of STEM together. Teachers in all settings, rural to urban, will find ways to bring this teaching strategy to their students. Join Chris Brown and Leah LaCrosse as they share the WHY, HOW, and tips for nature journaling.

Learning Lab

Julie Snyder, Regional Program Manager at National Inventors Hall of Fame
Chris Brown, Glandorf Elementary

Have fun creating your own innovative designs in this immersive, hands-on learning session where we will explore STEM through Invention Education. Explore the National Inventors Hall of Fame® Invention Education pedagogy, the I Can Invent® Mindset, that supports inquiry-based, student-led learning. Continue the hands-on fun during an immersive experience with the Camp Invention® Design Thinking Process. This interactive workshop will provide teachers with immediate strategies to use in the classroom to engage and empower students.

Learning Lab

Jessica Short, Dayton Regional STEM Center
Laura Drager, Montgomery County ESC

Discover how the Next Gem Innovators program is transforming STEM education across the Dayton Region through a powerful collaboration with the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). This session will introduce the structure, impact, and opportunities within the program—designed for educators who are ready to lead real-world, innovation-driven learning both in and outside of the classroom. Participants will engage in a collaborative discussion around current challenges in bringing innovation into the classroom and explore how programs like NGI can empower educators to lead change. The session will conclude with a hands-on activity rooted in one of NGI’s core STEM principles—industry integration, pedagogical innovation, or leadership development—giving attendees a taste of the NGI experience.

Learning Lab

Latasha Turner, Inquiry Ed Labs/Reynoldsburg City Schools

Ohio’s STEM Quality Model sets strong expectations for Teaching & Learning, yet many schools struggle to translate these standards into consistent, equitable instructional practice. This interactive Learning Lab supports educators and leaders in strengthening STEM instruction using an Opportunity-to-Learn lens. Participants will explore how instructional design, access to rigorous learning experiences, and classroom support structures shape student opportunity and engagement. Using a STEM Opportunity-to-Learn Reflection Tool, attendees will assess current instructional implementation, identify high-impact leverage points, and develop actionable next steps aligned to STEM designation and redesignation expectations.

Learning Lab

Stephanie Matthews, A Tribe for Jazz
Iddrisu Seidu, Makerspace Central

In this interactive Learning Lab, educators will experience the Jazz Lab Improvisational Design Lab, an interdisciplinary learning experience that blends music and engineering to elicit collaborative problem-solving. Using everyday materials—cardboard, rubber bands, string, and tape—participants work in small teams to prototype, test, and refine original sound-making instruments. The process mirrors authentic design practice, emphasizing iteration, creative constraints, and shared decision-making. Following the hands-on sprint, facilitators Stephanie and Iddrisu will briefly walk participants through the design logic behind Jazz Lab, unpacking how improvisation, interdisciplinary learning goals, and rapid prototyping were intentionally structured to support deep engagement.

Learning Lab

Jaimie Morris
Vicki Willet
Stephanie Nowak

In elementary classrooms, instructional time is often dominated by literacy and math, leaving STEM underutilized. This session explores how STEM can be intentionally used as a vehicle to strengthen literacy comprehension rather than compete with it. Participants will examine how hands-on STEM experiences connected to narrative and informational texts support vocabulary development, deepen understanding of key ideas, and improve overall comprehension. By engaging students in investigation, problem-solving, and discussion tied directly to what they read, comprehension becomes active and meaningful. Attendees will leave with practical strategies and classroom-ready examples for integrating STEM into literacy instruction while maximizing instructional time and student engagement.

Learning Lab

Mindy Clarke, Dayton Public Schools/Thurgood Marshall STEM High School

Lauren Allman, Dayton Public Schools/Thurgood Marshall STEM High School

Discover a powerful, replicable model for community partnership (local and national), student leadership and vertical alignment in STEM education. This session details the creation and execution of a STEM Ambassador Program where high school students partner with an elementary school to teach 4th graders the Design Thinking Process. We will provide a practical blueprint covering essential components: high school student selection and training, curriculum development, securing materials and funding, and managing the necessary time commitment.

Learning Lab

Steve Phelps, Mariemont High School

This culminating session brings the PCESC Computer Science Cohort together to celebrate a year of learning, experimentation, and classroom‑based practice. Throughout the school year, cohort members have been exploring best practices in computer science education, trying new approaches with students, and learning from one another along the way. This session creates space to reflect on that collective work, share what’s been tested in real classrooms, and highlight how computer science instruction is evolving across Ohio. Together, we’ll reflect on cohort learning, explore how ideas and practices have evolved over time, and discuss how this work is shaping classroom instruction, leadership decisions, and next steps for the year ahead. While this session centers the PCESC cohort experience, it is intentionally open and welcoming to all educators and leaders interested in computer science—whether you’re deeply engaged in cohort work, new to CS, or simply curious about how schools across the state are expanding access and opportunity through computer science./p>

Learning Lab

Mackenzie Filtz, McCormick Middle School
Amy Bailey, McCormick Middle School
Melissa Freshwater, McCormick Middle School

This presentation shares how a school-wide love of books can bring literacy and STEM together for students in Pre-K through 4th grade. Using shared anchor texts such as Bees, George Washington Carver, Four Figures, Alice in Wonderland, and How to Eat Fried Worms, teachers designed hands-on STEM challenges, problem-based learning experiences, and cross-curricular activities connected to each story. While activities were adapted by grade level, common themes and vocabulary helped students build background knowledge and deepen comprehension. Literacy was embedded through reading, writing, discussion, and reflection, with STEM serving as a meaningful extension of the text. Participants will leave with practical strategies for using shared texts to strengthen collaboration, engagement, and integrated instruction across classrooms.

Learning Lab

David Samblanet, East Canton High School
Lisa Gothard, East Canton High School

How can you maintain interdisciplinary rigor when students move into specialized 11th and 12th-grade pathways? Join us as we map the necessary evolution from early high school ITL to real-world engagement. This presentation offers a practical framework—anchored in Service Learning, CTE, and work-based learning—that transforms senior-year obstacles into opportunities for redesignation and career readiness. This session addresses the unique obstacles of 11th and 12th-grade integration and proposes a strategic shift from “classroom-to-classroom” connections to “classroom-to-world” application.

Learning Lab

Susan Reeve, Community STE(A)M Academy-Xenia
Lorraine Kendall, Community STE(A)M Academy-Xenia

Design thinking doesn’t have to be limited to long, complex projects. In this interactive session, participants will experience a series of quick, one-day activities that introduce and reinforce each stage of the design thinking process in fun, accessible ways. Educators will leave with ready-to-use lessons that build students’ creativity, empathy, and problem-solving skills before they tackle larger, multi-day projects. Featured activities include “The School Re-Entry Kit,” where students design solutions to support classmates returning from an extended break; “Middle School Frustrations,” where they address issues in their school; “The Snow Day Engineering Challenge,” where they build an effective sled; “Sky-Rescue Safe Landing Delivery,” where they design a device to safely deliver aid to a remote community; “The Secret Client Challenge,” designing a tool or comfort object for a specific persona, and “The Purr-fect Prototype Challenge,” creating an enrichment device for a shelter cat.

Learning Lab

Tracey Dingle, Community STE(A)M Academy-Xenia
Kristi Bidinger, Community STE(A)M Academy-Xenia

Whether you teach computer science or are introducing it for the first time, this session offers a clear, practical path forward. Join us to see how the new LEGO® Education CS & AI solutions support Ohio K – 8 educators with intuitive materials, standards-aligned lessons, and an approachable coding platform that helps students build computational thinking skills collaboratively. You’ll experience hands-on builds, simple programming challenges, and age-appropriate AI concepts that make CS instruction engaging, manageable, and meaningful. Perfect for teachers, coaches, and leaders looking to expand computer science opportunities in their schools.

Learning Lab

Chad Ostrowski, Teach Better Team

What if every student in your classroom could succeed—at their own pace? In this highly practical session, you’ll discover how to implement a proven personalized mastery learning framework that meets students where they are—and helps every learner thrive. Built around self-paced Mastery Grids, I have seen this framework succeed in STEM classrooms across Ohio with traditional and PBL models. We’ll cut through the fluff and focus on what actually works: how to create your own mastery grids using state and national standards, how to manage pacing and interventions without feeling overwhelmed, and how to facilitate student ownership of learning. You’ll walk away with strategies and examples from OSLN Schools that have boosted achievement through targeted scaffolding and cross-curricular connections using Mastery and Personalized Learning.”