Arizona’s teachers embrace the challenge of teaching STEM in the 21st Century

What does it take to create a conference for STEM teachers?

If you’re in Arizona in 2016, it takes vision, determination, and a dash of moxie.

The 21st Century STEM: Integrate 2 Innovate Conference on January 22-23 brings teachers from all corners of Arizona and the United States to the Phoenix Convention Center for two days. They will examine the interesting ways that STEM is currently being taught in Arizona’s K-12 classrooms, and will look ahead at the future of STEM learning in the state.

Spearheaded by representatives from organizations like Science Foundation Arizona, the Arizona Science Teachers Association, the Arizona Technology in Education Association, and the Arizona Association of Teachers of Mathematics, the Arizona STEM Collaborative decided it was time to showcase both what our state is doing right in STEM education and the ways that Arizona is becoming a powerhouse of innovative STEM teaching and learning.

The two-day conference features sessions , panel discussions, and speakers focusing on the wide world of STEM, from coding, 3D printing, robotics, and traditional STEM subjects, to STEM in the larger context of schools and communities. Many of the sessions focus on applications of STEM here in Arizona. In the session, How Did the Elk Cross the Road? (Eco-STEM in Action), teams of teachers will work with real data to  problem-solve ways to get elk across roadways without impacting humans. [What’s that you say? Elk in Arizona? You bet. Arizona encompasses an incredibly diverse range of terrain, fauna, and flora!]

While I am at the conference, I will be tweeting live, so be sure to follow me @agentsofsteam. That way, even if you aren’t at the conference in person, you can pick up some interesting tidbits of information and facts that I run across during talks and sessions.

And please be sure to check back here after the conference, where I will include a post-conference wrap-up, plus photos.