In this session, we will explore how podcasting can be used to amplify student voice, encourage creativity, and support meaningful learning in the classroom. Participants will learn the basics of planning, recording, and sharing podcasts with students, while also exploring classroom-friendly tools and strategies for getting started. We will discuss ways to use podcasts for storytelling, reflection, research, interviews, and content review. By the end of the session, teachers will leave with practical ideas for creating engaging podcasting experiences that help students communicate, collaborate, and share their learning in a new way. Location: Bishop Room - Curtis
Quality Instruction: Do you ever wonder how to mesh play and academics in your preschool classroom? This session will provide teachers with the opportunity to use curricular resources to plan fun, hands-on, and engaging activities for each unit of Benchmark Ready to Advance. Location: Bishop Room - Curtis
This session bridges the gap between state-level guidance and classroom reality. We will explore the Indigenous Peoples and Nations of Kansas document as a roadmap for intentional resource selection. A highlight of the session will include a virtual guest lecture via Zoom by UVU Professor Dezi Lynn, who will provide expert modeling of book reviews.Following the presentation,educators will collaborate on book reviews for various grade bands (k-12) using the NIEA Rubric. Location: Bishop Room - Pierce
This session focuses on the “meaning-making” side of literacy, equipping educators with targeted, research-informed comprehension interventions that support students in thinking deeply about text. Participants will explore key components of comprehension—such as background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, and strategic thinking—and how to explicitly teach and reinforce these skills. The session will focus and tried and true as well as next district interventions that you can use in your classroom throughout the school year. Location: Bishop Room - Pierce
Dr. Liljedahl's research shows that when students work on thinking tasks in random groups on a vertical whiteboard, they are capable of co-creating incredible amounts of mathematical meaning and collective knowing-and-doing. In this session, participants will look at the Thinking Classroom practices that help students move this collective knowing-and-doing into individual knowing-and-doing while, at the same time, beginning to take responsibility for their own learning. The practices discussed will intertwine with, and make extensive references to, the recently published book, Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics (Grades K-12): 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning. Location: Bishop Room - Monroe C
