NSTI - 2026

This interactive workshop is designed to help educators and administrators develop and implement a successful student ambassador program that aligns with their institution’s mission and provides valuable leadership opportunities for students. Participants will leave with a comprehensive roadmap and practical strategies for fostering student leadership and enhancing their school community through a well-structured ambassador program.

What if entrepreneurship learning could happen in a history class, during a science experiment, through a podcast project, or even in the way students solve everyday problems? This 90-minute hands-on workshop explores how entrepreneurial thinking including curiosity, creativity, adaptability, initiative, and problem-solving can be developed across any subject area, not only in business classes. 


The session will also address current educational challenges, such as fixed mindsets, stereotypes students carry about themselves and others, student engagement, and the impact of AI on learning. Participants will experience practical activities, analyze real classroom examples, and leave with strategies to create more meaningful, creative, and student-centered learning experiences.

How can read-alouds become a powerful tool for language development, vocabulary growth, and deep comprehension across grade levels and content areas? In this interactive deep dive, participants will explore the research and practice behind purposeful read-alouds through the lens of the Science of Reading and language-rich instruction. Together, we will analyze mentor texts, experience model read-alouds, examine strategies for explicit vocabulary and comprehension instruction, and collaborate to design meaningful learning experiences that can be adapted to different contexts. Through shared reflection, discussion, and creation, educators will leave with practical tools, ready-to-use plans, and a network of colleagues committed to fostering meaningful literacy experiences that help all students grow as readers, thinkers, and communicators.

Join a hands-on workshop to integrate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into K-12 lessons using the CASEL framework. Participants will focus on their upcoming lessons and learn to embed SEL into academic learning. Through interactive activities and real classroom examples, teachers will explore strategies to foster SEL in any lesson. By the end, attendees will leave with a clear, actionable plan ready to implement in their classrooms the following schoolweek.

Traditional curriculum design is focused on discipline-based, academic content standards. This workshop is based on the premise that deep learning happens when transdisciplinary skills such as student agency, critical thinking, lifelong learning, wellbeing and global citizenship are prioritized in the curriculum design process. After viewing 2-3 short video examples, participants will have the opportunity to share successes, challenges and examples of how they are working to "flip" curriculum design, so that transdisciplinary skills are a first thought, and not an afterthought.  Discussion will be in a participant-driven "EdCamp" format.
  

This session is designed to engage educators in reflective, collaborative learning around the concept of student agency. Participants will begin by exploring a series of real-world case scenarios that highlight different manifestations and challenges of student agency in school contexts. Working in small groups, educators will analyze and discuss the scenarios, sharing perspectives, questioning assumptions, and identifying common themes related to student voice, choice, ownership, and responsibility. Following these discussions, facilitators will introduce key concepts, research-based frameworks, and practical definitions of student agency. This content will help participants connect their initial reflections to a shared conceptual understanding and language.To conclude the session, educators will apply their learning by developing their own proposal or action plan that promotes student agency within their classroom, grade level, or school context. The session will intentionally move from experience → theory → application, ensuring participants leave with both clarity and concrete next steps.