Denise Ford, Kirkwood School District 

Learn the foundations of play - where it comes from, why it matters and what it truly is. Explore the brain science behind play and its lifelong role in learning, well-being and engagement. Examine how play supports both academic growth and human connection. 

Engage in exploration that models how play enhances learning and instruction. Experience how purposeful play fosters creativity, curiosity and deeper engagement across learning environments. 

Apply simple, classroom-ready strategies to immediately create a more playful learning environment. Use practical ideas to weave play into instruction, relationships and daily routines, supporting joyful learning for both educators and students. 

Theresa Ewald and Dria Setter, i4PL

Learn: Participants will learn how to use John Hattie's high-impact strategies, not just as educator-driven tools, but as a framework for fostering learner-driven education. Participants will discover the "why" and "how" of shifting control from educator-directed planning, design, and assessment to a model where learners drive their own progress. Each participant will gain specific, actionable strategies, enabling them to make the practical shift to a learner-driven classroom environment.

Engage: Participants will engage in small group discussion to process several concrete examples of Hattie's work transformed to be learner driven. Each participant will considers several upcoming units where these learner-driven strategies could be used and commit to at least ONE new practice in the first quarter of learning of the 26-27 school year.

Apply: Using their commitment to a new practice, educators will be able to plan for the necessary scaffolding their learners will need to be learner-driven.

Bryson Reid, Premier Charter School   

Learn how task analysis helps break complex academic, behavioral and life skills into clear, manageable steps. Explore instructional strategies that reduce cognitive overload, increase access and promote student independence across content areas. Examine how modeling, visuals and scaffolds support successful skill development. 

Engage in shared exploration of task analysis through discussion, reflection and optional hands-on learning. Experience how breaking a process into steps clarifies instruction and supports diverse learners. 

Apply task analysis strategies to identify points of overload and redesign instruction for greater clarity and access. Use modeling, visuals and scaffolds to teach skills step-by-step across classrooms, fine arts, practical life, PE and special education. Create actionable plans that increase engagement, reduce frustration and support successful task completion. 

Anissa Williams, The Metamorphosis Lab   

Learn the foundations of bias and implicit bias, including how lived experiences such as family, schooling, media and professional environments shape perceptions. Explore why implicit bias is a common cognitive process rather than a moral failing and how it shows up in classrooms, especially for students from underrepresented groups. Examine research-informed strategies to recognize and reduce bias. 

Engage in reflection and shared exploration to deepen understanding of how bias influences thinking and interactions. Participate in collaborative learning that surfaces perspectives, builds awareness and connects concepts to classroom practice. 

Apply practical strategies such as mindfulness, empathetic communication, cross-group relationships and accountability to interrupt bias. Use bias-aware practices to create more inclusive learning environments and foster classroom cultures grounded in curiosity, representation and growth. 

Lindsey Weatherby, Lindbergh Schools

Learn how AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, Gemini, Diffit and Adobe Firefly can enhance student engagement, creativity and understanding across content areas. Explore strategies to integrate AI responsibly, address ethical considerations and empower students to use technology as a learning tool. Examine real-world classroom examples that turn AI into an effective teaching partner.

Engage in interactive demonstrations, collaborative discussions, and hands-on exploration of AI tools. Experiment with prompts, share ideas, and reflect on practical classroom applications. Explore ways to make AI integration meaningful, creative, and student-centered.

Apply AI tools to create lessons, visuals and learning activities that are ready for immediate classroom use. Gain practical strategies and templates that boost engagement, creativity and student voice.

Tina Lauer, City of St. Charles School District

Learn about a range of AI chatbots while examining key cautions and considerations for using AI. Explore how to design effective prompts that generate standards-aligned essential questions, enduring understandings, transfer goals, student learning targets and proficiency scales with clear learning progressions.

Engage in hands-on AI tasks using content-area state or national standards. Analyze AI-generated outputs, reflect on prompt effectiveness and refine prompts through peer and facilitator feedback.

Apply new learning by creating proficiency scales with level 1–4 learning progressions aligned to grade level or content area. Gain ready-to-use lesson components and the ability to design meaningful learning experiences and assessment tools.

Robyn Haug, School District of Clayton 

Learn why direct instruction is an essential part of effective teaching when aligned with how the brain learns. Explore cognitive science principles through the four Power Tools: retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaving and feedback-driven metacognition. Examine how these strategies energize instruction, improve retention and reduce instructional burden with minimal prep. 

Engage with the science by experiencing the Power Tools as a learner. Interact with examples from multiple content areas to see how brain-compatible direct instruction can be active, efficient and impactful. 

Apply the four Power Tools to any lesson to design direct instruction that sticks. Use classroom-ready strategies to strengthen learning, improve long-term retention and teach with greater clarity and confidence. Gain practical ideas and resources to continue deepening instructional impact through cognitive science. 

Kerry Arens, Webster Groves School District 

Learn how research on experiential learning, motivation and neuroscience connects to increased joy, relevance and student ownership. Explore learning approaches, from low-prep, high-impact entry points to longer-term designs that deepen community connection and shared responsibility for learning.

Engage in collaborative reflection and analyze learning examples across multiple content areas to uncover what makes these experiences powerful and replicable. Reimagine your own instructional practices through guided design time.

Apply earning principles by drafting an initial ExL design aligned to instructional goals and student needs. Gain a flexible framework to use in designing future experiential learning.

Theresa Ewald and Dria Setter, i4PL

Learn: Participants will learn how to use John Hattie's high-impact strategies, not just as educator-driven tools, but as a framework for fostering learner-driven education. Participants will discover the "why" and "how" of shifting control from educator-directed planning, design, and assessment to a model where learners drive their own progress. Each participant will gain specific, actionable strategies, enabling them to make the practical shift to a learner-driven classroom environment.

Engage: Participants will engage in small group discussion to process several concrete examples of Hattie's work transformed to be learner driven. Each participant will considers several upcoming units where these learner-driven strategies could be used and commit to at least ONE new practice in the first quarter of learning of the 26-27 school year.

Apply: Using their commitment to a new practice, educators will be able to plan for the necessary scaffolding their learners will need to be learner-driven.

Daniel Jones, Riverview Gardens School District

Learn the core principles of Grading for Equity and examine how those practices intersect with the growing presence of AI in education. Explore strategies for designing assignments and assessments that may include AI, along with approaches for grading those deliverables equitably.

Engage in collaborative discussion and problem-solving around real-world scenarios that highlight the challenges of equitable grading in the age of AI. Interact with peers and contribute to shared analysis and reflection that deepen understanding and surface practical insights.

Apply an equitable lens to existing lessons and grading practices while accounting for the realities of AI use in classrooms. Gain practical tools and frameworks to navigate AI thoughtfully while ensuring grading practices remain fair, transparent and focused on student learning.

Zak Lenski and Kate Sommerville, i4PL

Learn the core concepts behind effective learner profiles and how they support personalized, meaningful learning. Explore the difference between thoughtful profile design and simple preference questionnaires, emphasizing alignment with learning goals, check-ins and feedback loops.

Engage in collaborative analysis of real classroom examples and team discussions to explore how learner profiles can drive instructional decisions. Map out touchpoints, alignment with learning goals and feedback processes to ensure readiness for launch at the start of the school year.

Apply design principles to begin creating learner profiles, either from scratch or using provided resources for inspiration. Gain actionable steps and a plan for implementing learner profiles in your classroom or team.

Tom Probst and Lauren Fahy, Valley Park School District

Learn how to shift from teacher-centered to student-thinking classrooms using vertical non-permanent surfaces, randomized groups and inquiry-driven tasks. Explore how AI can transform traditional lessons into dynamic thinking activities across content areas.

Engage in a live micro-model of a thinking classroom by working in groups to solve an inquiry task. Explore how AI can accelerate the creation of student-centered work.

Apply a structured launch sequence to decenter your classroom. Gain a framework to transform existing lessons into thinking tasks that can be implemented immediately across content areas.

Dria Setter and Theresa Ewald, i4PL

Learn how to leverage proficiency scales to clearly define learning targets and guide student growth at every level. Explore methods for providing meaningful feedback and using flexible instructional strategies to support learners with different needs. Discover how to meet students where they are while keeping standards and learning targets central.

Engage in reflection around personalized learning and feedback strategies. Analyze examples and explore how these approaches can be adapted to support diverse learners and classroom contexts.

Apply proficiency scale practices to plan scaffolding that supports learner-driven growth.

Don Jeffries, Grandview R-2 School District 

Learn effective, low-prep strategies to prepare students for the ELA MAP Listening test. Explore how audible annotation improves listening comprehension and accuracy for Grades 3–8. Examine how AI, Google Forms and Google Vids can streamline the creation of high-quality listening practice materials. 

Engage with examples and collaborative exploration of MAP-aligned listening tasks. Interact with tools and ideas that demonstrate how technology can support authentic listening practice and assessment readiness. 

Apply a simple, repeatable process to create MAP-style listening passages and questions using AI and Google tools. Design at least one classroom-ready listening assessment that includes an audio or video passage and aligned questions. Build a workflow that allows multiple listening assessments to be created efficiently across grade levels. 

Elizabeth Kean, Special School District of St. Louis County

Learn how PLORA, the Phoneme-Linked Orthographic Reading Approach, makes the sound-to-symbol structure of English more visible and logical for developing or struggling readers. Discover the design thinking behind a one-sound–one-symbol model and examine how this approach reduces guessing while building decoding confidence.

Engage with examples and shared exploration to experience how PLORA supports sound-by-sound decoding. Explore how symbols connect to English spelling, experience the system in action, and reflect on its potential to build confidence and clarity for struggling readers.

Apply a simple one-sound-one-symbol decoding routine using PLORA’s visual sound-mapping approach. Use the sample PLORA sheet to introduce students to sound-by-sound word building, and implement the strategy as a warm-up, small group activity or intervention tool to support decoding and literacy confidence.

Bryson Reid, Premier Charter School   

Learn how task analysis helps break complex academic, behavioral and life skills into clear, manageable steps. Explore instructional strategies that reduce cognitive overload, increase access and promote student independence across content areas. Examine how modeling, visuals and scaffolds support successful skill development. 

Engage in shared exploration of task analysis through discussion, reflection and optional hands-on learning. Experience how breaking a process into steps clarifies instruction and supports diverse learners. 

Apply task analysis strategies to identify points of overload and redesign instruction for greater clarity and access. Use modeling, visuals and scaffolds to teach skills step-by-step across classrooms, fine arts, practical life, PE and special education. Create actionable plans that increase engagement, reduce frustration and support successful task completion. 

Anissa Williams, The Metamorphosis Lab   

Learn the foundations of bias and implicit bias, including how lived experiences such as family, schooling, media and professional environments shape perceptions. Explore why implicit bias is a common cognitive process rather than a moral failing and how it shows up in classrooms, especially for students from underrepresented groups. Examine research-informed strategies to recognize and reduce bias. 

Engage in reflection and shared exploration to deepen understanding of how bias influences thinking and interactions. Participate in collaborative learning that surfaces perspectives, builds awareness and connects concepts to classroom practice. 

Apply practical strategies such as mindfulness, empathetic communication, cross-group relationships and accountability to interrupt bias. Use bias-aware practices to create more inclusive learning environments and foster classroom cultures grounded in curiosity, representation and growth. 

Lindsey Weatherby, Lindbergh Schools

Learn how AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, Gemini, Diffit and Adobe Firefly can enhance student engagement, creativity and understanding across content areas. Explore strategies to integrate AI responsibly, address ethical considerations and empower students to use technology as a learning tool. Examine real-world classroom examples that turn AI into an effective teaching partner.

Engage in interactive demonstrations, collaborative discussions, and hands-on exploration of AI tools. Experiment with prompts, share ideas, and reflect on practical classroom applications. Explore ways to make AI integration meaningful, creative, and student-centered.

Apply AI tools to create lessons, visuals and learning activities that are ready for immediate classroom use. Gain practical strategies and templates that boost engagement, creativity and student voice.

Alicia Kleoppel, North Kansas City School District 

Learn key ethical considerations for student AI use, including academic integrity, bias and responsible tool use aligned to College Board guidance. Examine how ethical AI practices can support curriculum goals while maintaining high expectations for student learning. 

Engage in collaborative discussion around real-world classroom scenarios involving student AI use. Explore shared problem-solving approaches and resources that support ethical decision-making and clear classroom expectations. 

Apply practical strategies to draft or refine a classroom AI policy that promotes responsible use and academic honesty. Use ready-to-go prompts that help students receive feedback on writing without AI-generated revisions, and leverage AI tools to support ethical source selection for research. 

Tina Lauer, City of St. Charles School District

Learn about a range of AI chatbots while examining key cautions and considerations for using AI. Explore how to design effective prompts that generate standards-aligned essential questions, enduring understandings, transfer goals, student learning targets and proficiency scales with clear learning progressions.

Engage in hands-on AI tasks using content-area state or national standards. Analyze AI-generated outputs, reflect on prompt effectiveness and refine prompts through peer and facilitator feedback.

Apply new learning by creating proficiency scales with level 1–4 learning progressions aligned to grade level or content area. Gain ready-to-use lesson components and the ability to design meaningful learning experiences and assessment tools.

Daniel Jones, Riverview Gardens School District

Learn the core principles of Grading for Equity and examine how those practices intersect with the growing presence of AI in education. Explore strategies for designing assignments and assessments that may include AI, along with approaches for grading those deliverables equitably.

Engage in collaborative discussion and problem-solving around real-world scenarios that highlight the challenges of equitable grading in the age of AI. Interact with peers and contribute to shared analysis and reflection that deepen understanding and surface practical insights.

Apply an equitable lens to existing lessons and grading practices while accounting for the realities of AI use in classrooms. Gain practical tools and frameworks to navigate AI thoughtfully while ensuring grading practices remain fair, transparent and focused on student learning.

Dria Setter and Theresa Ewald, i4PL

Learn how to leverage proficiency scales to clearly define learning targets and guide student growth at every level. Explore methods for providing meaningful feedback and using flexible instructional strategies to support learners with different needs. Discover how to meet students where they are while keeping standards and learning targets central.

Engage in reflection around personalized learning and feedback strategies. Analyze examples and explore how these approaches can be adapted to support diverse learners and classroom contexts.

Apply proficiency scale practices to plan scaffolding that supports learner-driven growth.

Don Jeffries, Grandview R-2 School District 

Learn effective, low-prep strategies to prepare students for the ELA MAP Listening test. Explore how audible annotation improves listening comprehension and accuracy for Grades 3–8. Examine how AI, Google Forms and Google Vids can streamline the creation of high-quality listening practice materials. 

Engage with examples and collaborative exploration of MAP-aligned listening tasks. Interact with tools and ideas that demonstrate how technology can support authentic listening practice and assessment readiness. 

Apply a simple, repeatable process to create MAP-style listening passages and questions using AI and Google tools. Design at least one classroom-ready listening assessment that includes an audio or video passage and aligned questions. Build a workflow that allows multiple listening assessments to be created efficiently across grade levels. 

Haydee Taylor-Arnold, Ladue School District

Learn how to integrate Google Gemini as a classroom assistant to enhance language teaching and learning. Explore AI literacy, effective prompting and strategies for using generative AI to plan lessons, design resources and personalize instruction. Examine practical approaches to make teaching more creative, efficient and student-centered.

Engage in hands-on practice using Google Gemini to generate lesson ideas, resources and student tasks. Experiment with prompts, share results and collaborate in real time to explore AI’s potential in classroom learning.

Apply AI strategies and prompt templates to streamline lesson planning and enrich instruction. Use Google Gemini as a collaborative teaching partner to save time, enhance student creativity and implement immediate classroom-ready solutions.

James McKay, Gateway Music Outreach

Learn how to pair wellness practices with technology to restore energy and creativity. Explore ways AI can simplify planning, reflection and communication while maintaining the human touch.

Engage in self-reflection, collaborative discussions, and hands-on exploration of wellness-centered tech strategies. Identify stress points in daily routines, test practical tools and consider how these approaches can be adapted to your own classroom context.

Apply wellness-centered tech strategies to immediately reduce stress and streamline workload. Create a personalized action plan that will protect time, sustain creativity and bring renewed energy to your teaching practice.

Denise Ford, Kirkwood School District 

Learn the foundations of play - where it comes from, why it matters and what it truly is. Explore the brain science behind play and its lifelong role in learning, well-being and engagement. Examine how play supports both academic growth and human connection. 

Engage in exploration that models how play enhances learning and instruction. Experience how purposeful play fosters creativity, curiosity and deeper engagement across learning environments. 

Apply simple, classroom-ready strategies to immediately create a more playful learning environment. Use practical ideas to weave play into instruction, relationships and daily routines, supporting joyful learning for both educators and students.