It was a busy Saturday for over 50 local teachers attending the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, Inc., at the IU School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, where they heard from IU researchers, learned how to incorporate new statewide Science of Reading standards into their lessons, and addressed the use of AI in classrooms.
Spencer Perry is a Ph.D. student in science education at the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and a primary organizer of the conference, along with Adam Scribner, director of STEM ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Initiatives and Kristen Poindexter, current HASTI President and an alumna of the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø.
Perry said conferences like this one can help build professional connections with other teachers who are trying to do good science in their classrooms.
“A lot of times those informal relationships lead to really good things. Some of the best science teaching I’ve ever done started as a chat at a conference like this one,” Perry said.
As a conference organizer, Perry hopes teachers walked away with something that’s “Monday ready,” meaning that they have something they can do in their classroom immediately.
“Another hopeful outcome I want to see is that teachers leave feeling like they are part of an energized community,” he added. “Teaching can be hard, but only part of that is because of lesson planning and teaching. It can feel lonely sometimes if you don’t get to spend time with other teachers who are trying to teach at a high level. When you bring these teachers together in the right way like we are trying to do, they can feed off of each other in all the best ways.”