JoinPLI #6
National Conference in Minneapolis • November 12, 2025
Half-Day Workshop
Integrating the T in STEM with English Language Arts (ELA)
Preconference • Wednesday, November 12 • 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Lunch is included and will be available 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE
$0
Conference registration is NOT required to attend.
About the Session
Looking for meaningful ways to integrate the “T” in STEM into your K-5 instruction? Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision (www.exploravision.org ) is a K-12 STEM competition that engages teams of 2-4 students to envision ways to solve student selected real-world problems by reimagining current technology for applications 10 years from now. This unique STEM competition sparks and sustains problem finding and problem solving using technological ideas. Not only does this approach emphasize technology, but requires students to use English Language Arts to communicate their solutions.
Come experience this approach and learn how to get started! The ExploraVision competition is a great way to engage all of your students in developing a love for STEM. It can be used as classroom enrichment to boost student interest and STEM identity—or as a project base for STEM clubs. You'll also have the opportunity to work with an award-winning ExploraVision K–5 coach, who will help you explore how to guide your students in identifying relevant, real-world problems and designing future-focused technological solutions—all while integrating literacy skills.
Registration for this Institute is generously sponsored by Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision
Presenters
Jenny O’Sullivan
Jenny O’Sullivan teaches in the K–5 Innovation Lab at A.D. Henderson University School on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. She supports elementary students in exploring emerging technologies and creative design through experiences with augmented reality, green screens, ceramics, 3D printing, and coding for problem-solving. Her 23 years of teaching experience include classroom teaching in third grade and leading STEAM-focused instruction that integrates technology and hands-on learning. Jennifer holds a BSE in Elementary Education and an MAT in Childhood Education from the University of Arkansas. She was named FAU Lab School District Teacher of the Year in both 2008 and 2020. She has presented on STEAM and educational technology at national conferences including NSTA, FETC, and ISTE, and previously served on the NSTA Technology Advisory Board. She is a Stiles-Nicholson STEM Teacher Academy STEM Teacher Fellow and remains committed to expanding her instructional practice through professional collaboration and exploration of new ideas.
Kristen Moorhead
Kristen facilitates science professional learning and supports curriculum development and implementation. She primarily focuses on supporting teachers in their efforts to shift science instruction towards sensemaking for all students. She has a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona and an MA in Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University. Her professional experience for the past 30 years includes elementary and middle school science teaching using NSF-supported curriculum materials, demonstrating lessons, coaching in over one thousand classrooms in K-12 urban and rural settings, and facilitating teacher learning and leadership development for a variety of organizations. She received the 2002 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. She was a member of the Achieve EQUIP Peer Review Panel from 2016-2020. She continues to grow in her practice as an NSTA professional learning facilitator, curriculum reviewer, and an NGSX Arizona facilitator. She enjoys observing phenomena on hiking trails and on coral reefs around the world.