Official Government Website
i-STEM Summer Institutes
i-STEM 2022 information coming soon.
2021 Information
i-STEM Agendas and Professional Development credit information are posted below.
Opportunity Goals & Objectives:
To empower Idaho educators to gain STEM content knowledge and pedagogical skills, and to build local communities of learning to increase student excitement for and interest in STEM.
Brief Description:
i-STEM is a summer professional development opportunity for educators (PK-12) working in both classroom and informal settings. In light of COVID-19, all 2021 i-STEM institutes will take place virtually and run for three days. During the Institute, participants attend a strand on project-based, hands-on learning in a chosen content area, as well as general sessions tied to the Institute theme. Strand topics vary by location and can be accessed at the Institute links below. Each participant will receive a kit of instructional materials unique to their strand, so that they can implement what they have learned in their own teaching environments. (Kits will be available for pick-up prior to the start of instruction.)
i-STEM 2021 Theme:
STEMpower Your Partnerships – During general sessions participants will learn how to build, maintain, and strengthen their partnerships to support STEM education in their schools, organizations, and communities. Participants will hear from keynotes speakers, learn about and work with tools to harness the power of partnerships, and network with other educators. Come see how you can use partnerships to help your students, yourself and your community.
Participants are encouraged to attend i-STEM with colleagues from their own school, district or organization so that you can learn together, share ideas and collaboratively implement what you have learned.
STEM AC is reaching out to businesses throughout the state to sponsor registration fees. We will reach out to you once you are accepted into the program and let you know if your registration fee is covered by a sponsor.
Your district may have funds to pay your registration fee to attend STEM AC PD opportunities. Learn more about Title 4 funding here and talk to your local administrator for guidance.
i-STEM Institute Dates and Locations:
June 15-17, 2021 @ College of Southern Idaho
June 15-17, 2021 @ Lewis-Clark State College
June 15-17, 2021 @ Idaho State University
June 22-24, 2021 @ College of Eastern Idaho
June 22-24, 2021 @ North Idaho College
June 22-24, 2021 @ College of Western Idaho
2021 Kit Distribution:
Kit pick-up for strands will take place at the host site Monday of the Institute week (June 14 for CSI, LCSC & ISU; June 21 for CEI, NIC & CWI) If you do not live within 35 miles of the host site, your kit will be shipped to you at no cost. You should have already received confirmation on whether your kit is being shipped or picked up. If you have questions, email your stand provider ASAP.
Below is the complete line-up of strands for i-STEM 2021. Please be advised that priority for strand placement was being given to those individuals who applied and were accepted to i-STEM in 2020. As a result, certain strands are listed as "waitlist only." All other strands have spots available.
Please visit each Institute for more details.
* Indicates this strand is appropriate for informal educators.
CSI (College of Southern Idaho) Strands
* Cracking The Code: Computer Science for K-2 & Beyond - Grades: PreK-5
* Building Bricks & Building Partnerships - Grades: K-3
WAITLIST ONLY * Game Design & Virtual Reality in the Classroom with Blocksmith - Grades: 4-12
* Empowering Student Research - Grades: 6-12
NEW: Testing the Limits: Experience & Adapt a PBL Unit for High School Biology - Grades: 9-12
NEW: Integrating Computer Science In Your Gen Ed Classroom - Grades: 6-12
LCSC (Lewis-Clark State College) Strands
* Water Science: Investigations and Leveraging Partnerships - Grades: PreK-12
WAITLIST ONLY LEGOs in Primary Classrooms - Grades: PreK-3
* Back to Basics to Build a Conceptual Understanding in Math - Grades: 1-6
* NEW: Creating & Using a Ground Station to Record Live Weather Satellite Images - Grades: 7-12
ISU (Idaho State University) Strands
WAITLIST ONLY * Connecting Science, Technology & Literature in the Elementary Classroom - Grades: PreK-6
* Applying STEM Concepts: The Student Invention Process - Grades: 1-9
* STEM and Cyber Curriculum Integration Through Project-Based Learning - Grades: 5-8
* IDX: Engineering Solutions with 3D Design & Fabrication - Grades: 5-12
* Paper Circuits and Energy FUNk! - Grades: 6-12
NEW: Using Assessment & Hands-On Exploration to Increase Student Understanding of Fractions
CEI (College of Eastern Idaho) Strands
*Using STREAMpower to Explore Outer Space - Grades: 1-8
* Wildlife Conservation in Your Backyard - Grades: 1-8
* 3, 2, 1… Energize! - Grades: 4-12
* NEW: Creative Mathematics for All - Grades: K-12
* NEW: Biology at Every Scale: From Viruses to Carbon Cycles - Grades: 8-12
* NEW: The Building Blocks of STEM: Spatial Reasoning, Measurement and Numeracy - Grades: PK-2
NIC (North Idaho College) Strands
* Cultivating Citizen Scientists in Elementary Grades - Grades: 1-5
* Level Up Your Technology Game - Grades: 3-10
* Creativity in the STEAM-Integrated Classroom - Grades: 4-12
* Teaching Mathematics Through Gaming - Grades: 6-12
NEW: Promoting Student-Led Discussion in the Math Classroom - Grades: 3-5
NEW: Fossil Detectives: Experience & Adapt a STEM PBL Unit for Middle School Life Sciences - Grades: 6-8
CWI (College of Western Idaho) Strands
WAITLIST ONLY * Build, Create & Innovate: High-Interest STEM on a School Budget- Grades: PreK-12
* H.A.C.K. Bootcamp - Grades: PreK-12
iWONDER - The Power of Inquiry Based Learning - Grades: PreK-2
* Transport Your Students with Making in the Classroom - Grades: 1-5
* Wonderful World of Coding and Robotics for Primary Grades: 1-5
* Connecting Idaho’s Geologic Past to OUR Future - Grades: 2, 4
Building Blocks of Energy: From Chemistry to Conservation - Grades: 5-12
* IDX: Engineering Solutions with 3D Design & Fabrication - Grades: 5-12
* Human Anatomy for Educators - Grades: 9-12
Agendas for each institute can also be found on the individual pages.
- i-STEM 2021 Participant Agenda CSI June 15-17, 2021
- i-STEM 2021 Participant Agenda LCSC June 15-17, 2021
- i-STEM 2021 Participant Agenda ISU June 15-17, 2021
- i-STEM 2021 Participant Agenda CEI June 22-24, 2021
- i-STEM 2021 Participant Agenda NIC June 22-24, 2021
- i-STEM 2021 Participant Agenda CWI June 22-24, 2021
Credit for attending i-STEM
For questions regarding your transcript, please visit the BSU Extended Studies K-12 Professional Development site. The syllabus including the link to register for the credit is below. Cost is $60.
The i-STEM Libraries area is a collection of STEM tools, kits, equipment and other resources available for Idaho educators to check out and use in their classrooms or programs - for free!
Visit the i-STEM Libraries page to learn more and access the Online Catalog.
2019 Resources
Speaker Presentations
i-STEM Resources are also accessible in the Resources Portal.
Morning Sessions – Empowering Tomorrow’s Scientists
- General Sessions Note Catcher (pdf)
- Scientific Phenomenon Note Catcher (pdf)
- 5E Note Catcher (pdf)
Aaron McKinnon, State Department of Education
- Presentation (pdf)
- Lesson Plan Template (Word doc)
- Idaho Standards in Action Summary Handout (pdf)
Angela Hemingway, Idaho STEM Action Center
- Presentation (pdf)
Adam Richins, Idaho Power Vice President of Customer Operations and Business Development
- Presentation (pdf)
2018 Resources
Speaker Presentations
Keynote by Eda Davis-Lowe – “Envisioning the Else: An Evolving STEM
Mentorship Portal and Credits by Kaitlin Maguire – “Virtual Mentoring Portal”
Mentoring Resources
Fostering STEM Diversity by Eda Davis-Lowe
A Watershed Moment: The First National Conference on Science and Technology in Out-of-School Time
2018 i-STEM Strand Resources
Cracking the Code: How to teach Computer Science to K-2 (Instructors: Ashley Schaffner and Chad Harris)
Lego STEM Stations in Primary Classrooms (Instructors: Melissa Stroupe and Sheila Frei)
Mechanisms of a Makerspace: Design Thinking and the Maker Movement (Instructors: Morgen Larsen and Becky Firth)
Build, Create, Innovate (Instructors: Amber McVey and Amber Obert)
Interested in sponsoring i-STEM by supporting a workshop, being a regional sponsor or adopting a teacher? Contact Finia Dinh at finia.dinh@stem.idaho.gov.
