Region One Education Service Center

2nd Annual
South Texas STEM Summit  
Isla Grand Beach Resort
South Padre Island 
February 23-24, 2017 
 
STEM Summit 2017 Flyer

If you are searching for ways to immediately and effectively apply STEM education in a K–12 setting or to implement STEM as a best practice, you should plan to attend this event. Attending the Annual STEM Summit of South Texas, hosted by the Region One ESC, provides networking opportunities to learn and interact with vendors, colleagues, and other entities vested in strengthening STEM education in the region. 

STEM-Elem (Elementary Strand)

Taking advantage of a child’s natural curiosity is a cornerstone for STEM education. We simply need to provide learning environments that allow a child’s innate curiosity to flourish, and harness their sense of wonder to ask questions as they begin to understand the world around them. STEM literacy is age-independent. Students at any level can benefit from innovative experiences that focus on open-ended questions to spur active exploration, meaningful play, and natural investigation opportunities of the real world. Foundational skills (teamwork, critical-thinking, collaboration, and presentation) in the early years set the tone for higher levels of mastery in years to come, especially in the areas of science and math. Confidence in STEM translates to personal confidence to meet any challenge. The STEM-Elem strand  will feature sessions to learn how to integrate instructional strategies, tools, and techniques to build a strong STEM classroom culture that benefits all children.

Navigating through middle school can be a stressful time for children. A period of time marked by many changes in adolescence, helping students navigate through middle school is a perfect opportunity to reinforce skills sets that may lead to rewarding STEM careers. All students deserve an opportunity to experience quality learning experiences to explore their interest and develop competencies in the STEM subjects. The STEM-Mid strand will feature sessions to help build interest in STEM careers and develop a STEM program recognized for creativity, innovation, communication, and collaboration via projects that are both personally meaningful and anchored to solid learning goals and academic content.

As we prepare high school students to enter the workforce and college, students must not only understand but apply their understanding in the context of real-world problem solving. Nowhere is this more important than in STEM for grades 9–12. STEM endorsement pathways in computer science, healthcare, engineering, and many other areas depend on solid core knowledge in math, science,and technology, but also on employable skills such as communication, research, critical-thinking, and problem-solving. The sessions in this strand will highlight innovative, hands-on, student-centered approaches to STEM topics that cross many subject boundaries. For STEM administrators - Successful STEM programs at the primary and secondary levels require short and long-range goals. General sessions in project based learning, capstone course design and implementation, and STEM endorsement graduation requirements will be offered as part of this strand.