Embedded Files
9:40-10:30 AM
From Chaos to Creativity: How Structure Unleashes Student Potential in Genius Hour
From Chaos to Creativity: How Structure Unleashes Student Potential in Genius Hour
Room: Susquehanna/Yellow Breeches
Presenter(s): Dyan DiNardi
Description: Discover how implementing Genius Hour, inspired by Andi McNair's 6P's framework, transforms it into a creativity powerhouse with purposeful direction. The structured parameters don't limit innovation; they amplify it by giving students meaningful purpose through four specific categories. Gain strategies for scaffolding creative work while building executive function, routines that foster thinking and reflection, and assessment tools that celebrate artistic risk-taking. Learn how structure enhances student output through timeline management, how peer feedback systems strengthen communication, and presentation formats that showcase the learning process. Leave with tools to launch Genius Hour that maximize student creativity while developing executive functioning skills.
Grade Level Focus: Elementary focus (K-6)
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Specialists, Principals, Curriculum Directors/Specialists
Bio: Dyan DiNardi is an elementary gifted support teacher in Manheim Township School District (Lancaster, PA) with 27 years of teaching experience. She was an author and instructional coach for The Institute for Arts Integration & STEAM, has presented at numerous conferences, and was featured on the podcast "A Meaningful Mess: The Unexpected Wins of Genius Hour." She has a passion for the arts and gifted education.
The Question is the Answer
The Question is the Answer
Room: Keystone
Presenter(s): Dayna Laur
Description: "In most classrooms, we treat problems like puzzles: the teacher provides the pieces, and the student's job is to fit them together. But in the real world, the most profound acts of creativity don’t come from solving the problems we are given; they come from identifying the problems everyone else has missed. This session challenges the traditional "solution-first" pedagogy, arguing that true innovation is a byproduct of high-level inquiry, not just efficient execution.
We will explore how to shift the focus from "the right answer" to "the better question." By teaching students to interrogate the status quo, identify friction in the mundane, and map the complexity of a challenge before attempting to solve it, we empower them with a future-proof creative skill set.
Participants will leave with practical strategies to implement "Problem-Finding" frameworks. Let's support learners in becoming the architects of their own challenges.
Grade Level Focus: Overall K-12
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Principals, Superintendents, Curriculum Directors/Specialists
Bio: Dr. Dayna Laur, co-founder of Project ARC, is an award-winning educator and pioneer in authentic learning with over 25 years of experience. Holding a doctorate in instructional systems design, she advocates for a shift from “learning to work” to “working to learn.” An international speaker and author, Dr. Laur empowers educators and policymakers to reimagine learning ecosystems. Her expertise in innovative pedagogy inspires leaders to create meaningful, future-ready student experiences.
The Transformation Toolkit: Turning Curriculum Into Adventures
The Transformation Toolkit: Turning Curriculum Into Adventures
Room: Meadow
Presenter(s): Cristi Means
Description: From well-loved transformations like Contraction Surgery to immersive experiences like Starbucks Café Day, teachers are discovering how simple ideas can spark big engagement. Explore high-impact ways to transform a classroom, boost student engagement, and bring academic standards to life through playful, meaningful experiences. We’ll break down how to design a theme, set the scene, incorporate props, and weave standards seamlessly into every activity.
Educators will walk away with:
A customizable menu template for café-style or restaurant-themed lessons.
A printable headband template for quick transformations—perfect for surgeons, detectives, chefs, scientists, and more.
A curated list of Dollar Store staples that can be reused across multiple transformations (clipboards, tablecloths, labels, baskets, props, and organizers).
The confidence and know-how to turn any unit into an unforgettable adventure that captures students’ imaginations."
Grade Level Focus: Elementary focus (K-6)
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Specialists, Librarians/Media Specialists
Bio: With 13 years of classroom experience, 4 of those years spent in an elementary library, Cristi inspires curious, confident readers through joyful, immersive literacy experiences. She loves connecting books to student interests and helping young learners discover the power of reading . Whether she's sharing a lively read-aloud, flipping the classroom with a transformation, leading a research project, or helping students explore technology safely, Cristi is dedicated to engagement.
Engaging Middle Graders with Sphero Bolts
Engaging Middle Graders with Sphero Bolts
Room: Laurel
Presenter(s): Judy Trusz
Description: Participants will walk away with a basic understanding of the Sphero EDU app using the block coding canvas. We will walk through an initial block coding activity with Spheros, and everything an educator needs to teach a variety of engaging, student-tested lessons will be shared.
Grade Level Focus: Elementary focus (K-6)
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Librarians/Media Specialists, Technology Directors/Facilitators
Bio: As a former algebra teacher, Judy loves to solve problems! This led her to learn about codable Sphero robots and the importance of the next generation's understanding of computational thinking. As the nonpublic math educational consultant at IU13 for the past 10 years, she wears many hats: interventionist, instructional coach, & team math lead. Her other skills include M.Ed. in Online Learning, KTI, & Google Educator
From Genes to Geology: Creative STEELS Strategies for Cross-Grade Connections
From Genes to Geology: Creative STEELS Strategies for Cross-Grade Connections
Room: Juniata
Presenter(s): Alyson Weaver, Leona Gruver, Tayler Thorne, and Julie Walizer
Description: This session introduces the Creative Dragon Project as a cross-grade STEELS curriculum bridge. In 7th grade, students design dragon offspring to model Mendelian genetics using ratios, probability, and inheritance patterns. Students create and document offspring traits, saving projects for future analysis.
In 8th grade, instruction begins with a Change Over Time fossil excavation lab where students uncover dragon fossils and analyze structural changes. Students reconnect with their prior dragon designs to explore mutations, natural selection, and environmental adaptations. Learners evaluate how environmental pressures influence trait survival and species evolution.
The session models student-centered projects, hands-on labs, and scaffolded activities that promote continuity between grade levels. Teachers will explore strategies for implementing interdisciplinary STEELS concepts while increasing engagement, creativity, and long-term conceptual understanding across science standards.
Grade Level Focus: Secondary focus (6-12)
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Curriculum Directors/Specialists
Bio: Alyson Weaver, a 2004 graduate of Bryn Mawr College, is certified in secondary Biology and Chemistry. She taught Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, and Biochemistry at Cumberland Valley and Red Land High Schools before joining Crossroads Middle School in 2024. The Crossroads team is passionate about hands-on, creative science instruction and developing cross-grade STEELS connections that increase student engagement and deepen scientific understanding.
Leona Gruver, a graduate of Shippensburg, holds a master’s in Curriculum & Instruction. She has taught science at Crossroads Middle School since 2002 and holds certifications in elementary, mid-level, and environmental science. Tayler Thorne is a 2020 graduate of Penn State. She earned her master’s from JMU and has certifications in secondary biology and social studies. She taught at Steelton-Highspire before joining Crossroads in 2025. An Eastern graduate, Julie Walizer has been teaching science with WSSD for 22 years.
Creativity Fair
Room: Dogwood
Presenter(s): Christin Lopez
Description: The Creativity Fair is an end-of-year celebration where students showcase their learning by presenting on a topic of their choice connected to what they studied throughout the school year. This cross-curricular event encourages student voice and choice, allowing them to demonstrate understanding in a format that best fits their strengths and interests—such as creating a website, giving a speech, designing a booth, or leading a demonstration.
The Creativity Fair not only highlights academic growth across subjects but also fosters communication, creativity, and critical thinking skills as students share their projects with peers, families, and the school community."
Grade Level Focus: Elementary focus (K-6)
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Principals
Bio: Chris Lopez is currently an instructional technology coach at Central Dauphin with a Masters in Instructional Media and an Instructional Technology Specialist Cert. She spent her years in the classroom diving into every creative way students could express their understanding as time would allow.
Permission to Create: How Brisk Unlocks Your Bravest Teaching Ideas
Permission to Create: How Brisk Unlocks Your Bravest Teaching Ideas
Room: Board
Presenter(s): Paige Poole
Description: Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic teaches that creativity requires courage and permission to persist without perfection. But creative ideas often die not from fear, but from lack of time to execute.
This workshop explores how Brisk removes barriers between ideas and reality. When feedback, differentiation, and content creation take minutes, you have permission to experiment and follow student curiosity.
Aligned with Big Magic's themes, you'll experience:
Creating choice boards honoring diverse passions.
Generating inquiry-based activities from any content.
Providing personalized feedback nurturing risk-taking.
Rapidly prototyping creative lessons.
Differentiating student projects.
You'll leave with actionable strategies, a reframed relationship with AI as a creativity enabler, and concrete examples supporting student-centered learning. Bring your curiosity, wildest lesson ideas, and openness to saying YES to creative teaching!
Grade Level Focus: Overall focus (K-12
Audience: Classroom Teachers, Specialists, Principals, Librarians/Media Specialists, Superintendents, Curriculum Directors/Specialists
Bio: Paige Poole is an Account Executive at Brisk Teaching with over 18 years of classroom experience. She partners with Pennsylvania districts to help educators reclaim time for creative, student-centered instruction. She works closely with PA Intermediate Units and brings practical, classroom-tested strategies that teachers can implement immediately. Paige is passionate about removing barriers so teachers can say YES to their best ideas.
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