Standards & Learning

Foundations of AI: What Educators Need to Know (morning session)

This session introduces the core concepts of artificial intelligence, helping educators understand what AI is, how it works, and what it means for teaching and learning. Participants will explore key literacy components, limitations, and responsible use aligned with Oklahoma’s human‑centered approach to AI. By the end, educators will have a clear foundation for evaluating AI tools and supporting students confidently and safely.

Designing with AI: Practical Tools to Build Classroom-Ready Resources (afternoon session)

In this hands-on session, educators will use AI tools to create, adapt, and enhance instructional materials they can take back to their classrooms. The workshop focuses on safe, ethical, and educator-directed use of AI while demonstrating practical workflows that save time and support differentiated learning. Participants will leave with ready-to-use examples and strategies grounded in state guidance.

Play is the Rigorous Option

Young children do their most rigorous thinking through play. In this hands-on session for early childhood educators, participants will explore open-ended play firsthand, then identify the Oklahoma Academic Standards within it. Participants will also design a play-based learning experience for a standard of their choosing, practice writing observational documentation that makes children's learning visible, and leave with practical language for describing that learning to families, colleagues, and administrators. Come ready to play!

Teaching Computer Science in High School: What Matters Most Right Now

Teachers of computer science will examine what meaningful computer science looks like in Oklahoma classrooms. This session clarifies the state’s secondary computer science structure, highlights essential student experiences, shows where AI fits, and connects instruction to future pathway opportunities in practical, actionable ways. 

Registration coming soon

Building Strong Readers and Strong Citizens: Integrating Literacy and Social Studies

Discover how literacy and social studies work together to build strong readers and strong citizens in the elementary classroom. This full-day session brings together two connected learning experiences: easy-to-implement literacy centers that integrate social studies content, and exploration of how meaningful social studies instruction supports vocabulary, background knowledge, discussion, and comprehension. Walk away with concrete strategies, engaging activities, and tools you can use right away with your students. 

Tackling Tough Texts: Strategies for Teaching Serious Themes

Secondary English teachers will learn practical approaches for guiding students through serious themes in literature. Whether students are reading about injustice in a novel, the Holocaust in a memoir, or grief in a poem, teachers must create classroom environments where discourse and community can flourish. Participants will review protocols for creating safe, structured discussion spaces and previewing challenging content responsibly. They will then explore text‑based strategies that keep analysis academic, supportive, and standards‑aligned. Finally, participants will apply these ideas to a text through a lesson plan that ensures serious topics are taught with care and clarity.

Accessibility in Visual and Performing Arts Education

Starting in April 2027, all web content and mobile apps in school districts or colleges with populations of 50,000 or more must comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards for digital accessibility. In April 2028, schools of any size must comply with the new federal regulations. What does this mean for the arts classroom and performance hall? Join us to learn what steps you should take to ensure your classroom, performance spaces, and online platforms are fully accessible for all students.

Teach Up: Practical Strategies to Challenge Every Learner

Ready to move beyond “one-size-fits-all” instruction? Join this interactive session to discover practical, classroom-ready strategies that challenge gifted learners, support struggling students, and engage every learner in between. Explore powerful differentiation techniques, creative ways to increase rigor, and questioning strategies that promote deeper thinking through Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. Walk away with ready-to-use tools, real classroom examples, and fresh ideas you can implement immediately to create a learning environment where all students are challenged, supported, and inspired to grow.

Movement Matters: Meaningful Physical Education

Physical education teachers will explore practical approaches for creating meaningful and standards-aligned learning experiences for all students. Participants will review the features of Meaningful Physical Education (MPE) and examine how these principles can enhance student engagement, personal relevance, social interaction, challenge, and fun in physical education. They will explore Oklahoma’s Open Educational Resources (OER) for Physical Education and participate in OER activities designed to support meaningful learning experiences. Additonally, participants will examine the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Physical Education and explore the alignment between the standards and OER lesson plans.

Using AI to Create 3-Dimensional Science Assessment Tasks

Explore how AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini can help teachers create 3-dimensional science assessment tasks aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (OAS-S). Learn practical prompting strategies to generate phenomenon-based questions that build students' reasoning and prepare them for OSTP-style science assessments.

Registration coming soon

Beyond the Standards: Building Thinking, Discussion, and Engagement in Social Studies

Move beyond simply covering the standards to creating learning experiences that inspire curiosity and active participation. Participants will explore high-impact instructional strategies, discussion structures, and classroom practices that encourage students to analyze evidence, consider multiple perspectives, and communicate informed conclusions while meeting the expectations of the new social studies standards.