Idaho Annual STEM Conference: The Magic of STEM 2026: Full Schedule

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1:00pm MDT

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

Join Katie Bosch-Wilson from the Idaho Department of Education to learn about key AI updates. This session will cover the new AI legislation passed in early 2026, including requirements, how the Department is supporting new AI standards, a statewide framework, and discussion around available professional development opportunities. Walk away with hands on ideas of utilization of AI in your classroom. Time will also be included for questions and discussion on what these changes may look like in practice.

Speakers

Katie Bosch-Wilson

Current ICTM Member; Current CSTA Member, Idaho Department of Education

Computer Science and Secondary Math Coordinator

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
TBA

Computer Science, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 | Technology, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

global Y

1:00pm MDT

Modernizing Mathematics: Integrating Future-Ready Skills into the Standards for Mathematical Practice

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

TBA

The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) were designed to describe how students engage with mathematics, yet in many classrooms they remain disconnected from daily instruction. This session introduces a modernized vision of the SMPs that integrates them directly with grade-level content, emphasizing coherence, student agency, and real-world application. Participants will explore practical frameworks for embedding the SMPs into lesson design, with a focus on sense-making, discourse, and purposeful use of representations—including data visualizations tied to audience and context. Through concrete examples, we will demonstrate how aligning content and practice creates richer learning experiences without adding instructional burden. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies and a visual planning tool to support immediate implementation in their classrooms or districts.

Speakers

Shelbi Cole

None of the above, Leading Educators

Deeply committed to ensuring that children have opportunities to experience mathematics that is meaningful and relevant to the world that they will continue to shape.

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
TBA

Math, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 | Technology, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

global Y

1:00pm MDT

If We Don’t Name It, Students Can’t Use It: Making STEM Skills Visible Through Competencies

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT

TBA

STEM classrooms are full of problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking, but those skills are not always named or reinforced in a consistent way. When that happens, students complete the work without always understanding what they are building or how it applies beyond school.
This session explores how the Idaho Career Readiness Competencies can serve as a shared language for making STEM skills more visible and transferable. Participants will look at how competencies already exist within STEM instruction and how small shifts in language, reflection, and feedback can help students recognize and apply those skills across contexts.
Examples from K-12, postsecondary, and workforce settings will highlight how a common language strengthens alignment and clarity. Participants will leave with one practical way to name and reinforce a competency in their own classroom. The goal is not to add more, but to make what is already happening more intentional.

Speakers

Jacque Deahl

None of the above, Idaho Department of Education

Jacque Deahl serves as the GEAR UP Idaho Statewide Coordinator at the Idaho State Department of Education, where she works with colleagues and partners across the state to support college and career readiness efforts for students. Her work focuses on strengthening career connected... Read More →

Wednesday July 29, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm MDT
TBA

global Y

2:15pm MDT

Attraction and Repulsion-It’s Magnetic

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT

TBA

Become part of an amusement park design team as we explore the laws of
repulsion and attraction through magnetic experimentation! Participants
will experience a simulated elementary lesson using magnetic poles to
exert pushes and pulls onto an object without touching it.

Speakers

Cameron Barger

None of the above; Conference Exhibitor, Imagine Learning: Twig Science

I’m Cameron Barger, and I’ve spent the last 20 years teaching STEM in K–12 classrooms in Kansas. Most of my work has focused on helping teachers create classrooms where students are actively thinking, problem‑solving, and making sense of learning together. I now work as a... Read More →

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT
TBA

Science, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 | Technology, K-2, 3-5, 6-8 | Engineering, K-2, 3-5, 6-8

global Y

2:15pm MDT

AI Literacy: Resources for Teaching Students

Wednesday July 29, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm MDT

TBA

This session will explore practical strategies and resources for teaching AI literacy to students. I will share a range of open-source curriculum materials suitable for grades K–12, including those I use in my own classroom, as well as our schoolwide “Hour of AI” curriculum we designed for grades K–6.

Please note: this session does not focus on using AI tools to streamline teaching tasks. Instead, it centers on helping students understand what AI is, how it works, and how it will shape their future. Participants are encouraged to bring a computer for hands-on exploration.

Speakers