RIT PLTW STEM Educators Conference

Check in to the conference and enjoy our complimentary breakfast.
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240 - 2210

Choose from one of the following sessions to attend:

Gateway Curriculum Updates and Networking

Join members of the Project Lead The Way Programs team to learn about curriculum and assessment updates. This session will also include time to network with your Gateway peers.
Presenters: Rachel Allard (virtual), Denise Mutlu (in-person), Terry Ausman (virtual), Brian Jones (virtual), Partnerships team member (in-person)
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2130

Computer Science Curriculum Updates and Networking

Join members of the Project Lead The Way Programs team to learn about curriculum updates. This session will also include time to network with your high school Computer Science peers.
Presenters: Karine Laidley (virtual) and Partnerships team member (in-person)
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2140

Engineering Curriculum Updates and Networking

Join members of the Project Lead The Way Programs team to learn about curriculum updates. This session will also include time to network with your high school Engineering peers.
Presenters: Brendan Murphy (virtual) Partnership team member (in-person)
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2150

Biomedical Science Curriculum Updates and Networking

Join members of the Project Lead The Way Programs team to learn about curriculum updates. This session will also include time to network with your high school Biomedical Science peers.
Presenters: Stephanie Poll (virtual) Partnerships team member (in-person)
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2120

PLTW Overview, Scheduling, Training, and Sustainability for Counselors and Administrators

Join members of the PLTW Engagement team in reviewing the PLTW programs, scheduling your PLTW courses, training your teachers, and sustaining your school's programs. We will also talk about the different successes and challenges facing smaller and larger districts.
Presenters: Cheryl Rosenberg and Taylor Baldwin (virtual), Eric Windover and Liz Tabone (in-person)
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2170

Choose from one of the following sessions to attend:

The Evolving State of the College Admissions Landscape

During this session, we’ll review what the current state of college admissions looks like including test-optional admissions, pre-requisites, and other information that will help you talk with your students as they begin their college career journey.
Presenter: Mark Muenzer
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240

PLC: Deep Dive – End of Course Assessment

It’s never too early to prepare for the End of Course Assessment. Led by the PLTW Assessment Team, learn more about the exam, its value, and why you should be having your students take the EoC.  We’ll also review how the courses align with skill sets as well as EoC trends and performance. 
Presenters: Denise Mutlu, Brian Jones (virtual), and Terry Ausman (virtual)
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2140

Makers and PBL Learning

Description and presenter to be announced.
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2130

Grant Funding and Partnership Ideas for Your PLTW Programs

In this session, we will consider local and national funding opportunities that may be used for PLTW programs. In addition, we will explore ways to build new and leverage existing CTE partnerships with businesses and industries to bring resources to your programs.
Presenter: Rusti Berent, Ward’s Science
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2120

Choose from one of the following sessions to attend:

PLC Deep Dive: VEX 5

This session reviews changes with VEX 5, including best practices, sensor and motor setup, and programming.  Participants work through sample setups and problems.
If you are planning to attend this session, please bring a laptop with Vexcode V5 loaded on it.
Presenter: Steve Thering
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240

KEEN: The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network

In this session, you’ll learn more about KEEN, a partnership of colleges and universities across the country, and what they strive to accomplish. We’ll discuss the 3 Cs of an entrepreneurial mindset, and see how KEEN is integrated into college-level coursework.
Presenter: Jennifer O’Neil
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall 2130

Innovative Projects in the Engineering Program

Description and presenter to be announced.
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2120

Choose from one of the following sessions to attend:

PLTW and Career and Workforce Development

This will be a panel discussion aimed at getting your students ready for college, careers, and the workforce. Panel members will be scientists from Wards, CTE teachers, and representatives from the industry who will share their experiences and field questions from the session participants.
Panelists: Will be announced soon
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240

Game Design and Cybersecurity: Beyond Computer Science

Game Design and Cybersecurity is more than writing code. In this session, you’ll learn more about how these disciplines need experts across many different fields and the different career pathways included in them. We’ll hold a demonstration of how we’ve brought these concepts together in a custom-built game that helps high school students learn about cyber careers.
Presenters: Justin Pelletier and David Schwartz
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2140

RIT Opportunities for PLTW Students, Teachers, and Schools

Join members of RIT’s Office of Project Lead The Way to learn more about opportunities for PLTW students, teachers, and schools. We’ll review our undergraduate credit, graduate credit, and mini-grant programs as well as our first-year student merit scholarship. There will be ample time for questions and answers.
Presenters: George Zion and Deborah Cooper
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall 2140

Inclusive Education for STEM: Inviting and Sustaining a Community

Students enter our secondary schools with a wide spectrum of experiences, identities, skills, and knowledge. This presentation will share some insights into the visible and invisible diversity of current secondary students in order to support more effectively inviting and sustaining a diverse community of learners in STEM classes.

Presenters: Meg Callahan-Steckley, Ph.D. and Gena Merliss

Meg Callahan-Steckley, Ph.D. has served as a professor in the field of adolescent education for 22 years, 7 at the University of Rochester's Warner Graduate School of Education, and for the last 15 years at Nazareth College (now University). At Nazareth University, she has served as a program director, department chair, and associate dean. Her areas of interest and expertise include adolescent literacy, media literacy, language acquisition, and adolescent development.

Gena Merliss began her career teaching middle and high school science. She taught developmental math and English and led the Teaching and Creativity Center at Monroe Community College for 14 years. Currently, she serves as an assistant professor in inclusive education at Nazareth University. Her research focuses on novice teacher development, specifically around justice-centered STEM teaching.

Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240 - 2210

Hear how the PLTW curriculums, learning activities, and assessments help position students for college. There will be time for questions after a short formal discussion. 
Panelists: Will be announced soon
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240 - 2210

See how the RIT Student Hall for Exploration and Development is bringing learning to an entirely new level!
Presenters: Michael Buffalin
Location: Louise Slaughter Hall Rm. 2240 - 2210

Choose from one of the followings tours to attend:

RIT Student Hall for Exploration and Development

Spend some time exploring the SHED, and experiencing the excitement of the newest addition to RIT!  To best accommodate our group, this event will require formal registration. 
Tour Guide: Michael Buffalin
Location: Tour will depart from Louise Slaughter Hall back patio

RIT’s ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute

This recently opened building is a nexus of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence research and education. On this tour, you’ll see how the ESL GCI offers students, researchers, and industry access to cutting-edge technology and multidisciplinary talent and knowledge. To best accommodate our group, this event will require formal registration.
Tour Guide: Justin Pelletier
Location: Tour will depart from Louise Slaughter Hall back patio

Ward’s Science

The Ward’s Science Tour Area will be open for you to see Ward’s offerings that support your PLTW programs.
To best accommodate our group, this event will require formal registration. 
Tour Guide: Ward’s Staff
Location: Located at 5100 West Henrietta Road, Henrietta, NY 14586