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Members of the Linking Science, Math and Literacy team presented two sessions at the 2026 Sci Ed Virtual Conference that was held September 29th – October 1st, 2026. Sci Ed is the annual conference for NIH Science Education Projects and the Science Education Partnership Community.
Online Teacher Professional Development: Making it Work! This panel presentation included Dr. William Folk, Dr. Amy Lannin, Dr. Jessica Rodrigues, Dr. John Lannin.
During this session various Online Teacher Professional Development (OTPD) formats were shared along with their affordances and challenges. Best practices for OTPD to promote teacher professional development was highlighted. Importantly, this interactive workshop session enabled attendees to share approaches in their programs, ask questions about OTPD, share resources and contacts, and identify ways to enhance and/or expand OTPD with an emphasis on improving teacher practices for improved student outcomes in STEM.
Design, Implementation, and Analysis of Early Intervention Research & Education Programs that Strengthen Science and Literacy for K-12 Teachers and Students. This panel presentation included Dr. William Folk, Dr. N. Moreno, Dr. A. Newel, Dr. Amy Lannin, Faith Shahale, Dr. M. Sailors and Dr. William Romine.
The Linking Science, Mathematics, and Literacy (LSM&L), and the Authentic Literacy and Language (ALL) for Science programs help K-12 learners and teachers engage in STEM disciplinary literacy, inquiry, sense-making, text-based research and evidence-based argumentation practices. Program elements and assessments were described, with particular attention paid to real-world health and science questions, digital literacy and A.I. concerns, and topics such as the health risks of vaping for adolescents, and engaging young learners in authentic scientific practices. Participants were invited to contribute/discuss these and additional programmatic elements that may strengthen outcomes of current and future early intervention research & education programs.