JoinKeynote Speaker
National Conference in Minneapolis • November 12-15, 2025
Rooted in Wonder: Identity, Culture, and Inquiry for Every Student
Wednesday, November 12 • 5:15-6:15 PM
Speaker: Natalia Benjamin
About the Session
Science is more than analyzing data or proving a hypothesis—it is deeply human. In this keynote, educators are invited to envision science instruction that begins with students’ curiosity and leads to discovery, innovation, and a deep sense of belonging. By centering criticality, we’ll explore how science can be both rigorous and relevant—meeting the demands of the three-dimensional framework while honoring students’ lived experiences. Through stories, strategies, and critical frameworks, this keynote will inspire educators to cultivate classrooms where students are not only skilled in science, but empowered as knowledge creators and changemakers.
Natalia Benjamin
Natalia Benjamin is the Director of Multilingual Learning for Rochester Public Schools and before that, she taught high school Ethnic Studies and Multilingual Learners in Rochester, MN. She was named the 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year and holds a National Board Teacher Certification. Her work focuses on advocacy for multilingual/multicultural education, identity work, Heritage Speakers, ethnic studies, language justice, and student-centered humanizing pedagogies. She shares many practical examples for teachers to enact these practices in the book she co-authored: Language of Identity, Language of Access: Liberatory Learning for Multilingual Classrooms (Corwin, 2024).