WYTeacherCon25

Specific examples of policies and syllabi, mistakes made from 2 years of using AI in the high school Social Studies & English classrooms, lesson plan examples to teach students how to use AI (including ones that don't require students to access AI tools), what to do about plagiarism and academic honesty in the post-AI world, how to use AI as a co-teacher rather than just a shortcut

Connecting to students’ lives and lived experiences has been shown to be an effective way to support their deep learning. Finding ways to bring students communities and experiences into the classroom in content-driven and instructionally-supportive ways is valuable for teachers. Attendees of this session will experience and walk away with a ready-made activity to engage students in their communities in ways that will help teachers connect to their lives in ways that support their science and engineering learning objectives. The relevance and local connections that are supported by this lesson should be compelling to attendees. This session will provide both firsthand experience with the activity as well as time to consider the activity in their own context, so they will leave the session prepared to enact the activity in their classroom.

Nature WY is a winner with a Regional Emmy, and a National award as an “Educational Resource for the Classroom”! Fun, free, educational resource made in Wyoming, with Wyoming’s real kids and real educators. Created for kids ages 6-8, with successful adaptation for kids from pre-K through 6th grade.
Hands-on learning with Nature WY and live creatures from Wyoming’s streams.

Take back to your classroom:

11 Nature WY short-format videos with lesson plans aligned to state and national standards.
11 Nature WY activity guides for parents/guardians.
A publicly-available, free app called SEEK to support your learning and the learning of your students.
Confidence to get outdoors with your students learning in the sciences!
Stickers and more, of course!

Imagine a 5th grade classroom where language arts lessons can be designed quickly and efficiently to a student’s unique interests, making learning more engaging while staying true to extended content standards. With AI-generated materials, we can adapt and modify instruction to ensure a student with a significant cognitive or multiple disability is meaningfully included with their peers, fostering both accessibility and connection. By leveraging AI responsibly—aligned with WDE and district policies—we can create personalized, high-interest learning experiences that empower our Wyoming students to succeed.

Wyoming students now have a unique opportunity to explore career pathways while gaining valuable skills and education. Through our partnership with the University of Wyoming and The Innovation Wyrkshop, we’ve created free, online Pre-Apprenticeship programs in Healthcare, Construction, and Manufacturing. These self-paced programs help students build key industry skills as they work towards their future goals. These Pre-Apprenticeship courses serve as a great stepping stone to one day joining a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP). Our team has created a resource for all things Apprenticeship in the state of Wyoming, WyApprenticeships.com. This resource brings together all of Wyoming’s Registered Apprenticeship Programs in one place, making it easier to find and contact these career-building opportunities. Many Registered Apprenticeship Programs partner with colleges to offer the Related Technical Instruction and participants can receive a college degree while participating in their Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Wy PBS Native American Learning modules contain Videos with Specific lesson plans K-12, written by Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Educators. All lesson plans are correlated to Wyoming State Social Studies Standards. Teachers will walk away from these sessions with specific resources they can use immediately in their classroom.

This session will allow educators to make a measurable and direct impact on students’ literacy development- especially multilingual students and readers currently not on grade level. By using this explicit vocabulary instruction students will be more confident, engaged and motivated socially and academically.
Evidence-Based Practices: Learn a proven, structured model for teaching vocabulary that accelerates acquisition for all students, especially those who may struggle with language or reading.
Targeted for Multilingual & Low Readers: Discover strategies designed specifically for diverse classrooms, where multilingual students and low readers often face additional barriers in literacy development.
Boost Self-Esteem & Engagement: Students build participation confidence, increasing their motivate to be engaged in classroom discussions and activities while mastering vocabulary.
Improved Reading Comprehension: Daily, focused vocabulary practice leads to long-term benefits, including noticeable gains in reading comprehension, allowing students to become well-rounded, literate individuals who can tackle complex texts with ease.
Practical Takeaways: Walk away with ready-to-implement strategies that provide ongoing practice for your students and can be seamlessly integrated into your current curriculum. Join us to learn how small, daily steps can lead to massive literacy growth!