OSTA Insights

As the new school year gets underway across Oklahoma, we hope the first few weeks have brought opportunities to connect with students, establish new routines, and spark curiosity in your science classrooms. We know the beginning of the year is both exciting and demanding, and we appreciate the work science educators across our state are already doing to create meaningful learning experiences for students.

At OSTA, we are looking forward to a busy fall! Planning is underway for our 2026 Fall Professional Development event, which will focus on STEM Career Connections, and we hope you’ll join us. We are also beginning preparations for our 2027 officer elections and look forward to sharing more information about both opportunities in the coming weeks.

Join us for a day of professional learning focused on STEM Career Connections for K–12 educators.

OSDE Fall Regional Workshops: Science + AI

The Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Fall Regional Workshops are coming up, including a science session focused on using AI to strengthen assessment design. In Using AI to Create 3-Dimensional Science Assessment Tasks, educators will explore tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini to develop phenomenon-based questions aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (OAS-S) and build student reasoning for OSTP-style assessments.

• September 17 — Edmond
• October 8 — Ada
• November 3 — Enid

View Fall Regional Workshops and registration links

Guidance and Consideration for using AI in K-12 Schools

OSDE has released the updated Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools (Version 3.0) to help districts navigate the new requirements of the Oklahoma Responsible Technology in Schools Act.

Click here for the Guidance and Consideration document.

The Oklahoma Mesonet and CIWRO are offering two Twisted Teacher Workshops this fall for Oklahoma 3rd–6th grade public school teachers. Participants will explore tornado ingredients, weather data, maps and graphs, and hands-on classroom activities. Teachers will leave with a STEM weather kit, $75 Amazon gift card, and catered lunch.

• September 29 — Registration deadline: September 22
• November 12 — Registration opens October 1 and closes November 5

Each workshop is limited to 44 participants and covers the same content, so previous attendees are not eligible.

Learn more and register

Registration for the OERB's fall 2026 workshops is now open!

Participants receive a curriculum guide, a kit of classroom materials, a $100 stipend, and six professional development hours.

Upcoming workshop dates and locations:

Learn more and register on the OERB website

The Me & My Math Mentor (M4) program connects small groups of 3rd-grade students with STEM professionals and community volunteers for weekly math games focused on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Sessions can take place before school, at lunch, or after school, and TRSA provides the supplies, mentor training, and logistical support.

• Designed for 3rd-grade students
• New sites are forming across the Tulsa area
• Start an M4 Site

Women in STEM 2026, presented by ONEOK, is a full day of hands-on engineering experiences for girls in grades 6–12 at Discovery Lab. Schools can complete the interest form now to be notified when the application window opens.

• 📅 November 12
• 👩‍🔬 Open to girls in grades 6–12
• Space is limited; the interest form does not reserve a spot
• Express Interest

Pk-12 STEM: Bring a STEM Professional Into Your Classroom!

Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance’s See It, Be It program connects Oklahoma classrooms with trained professionals working in science, technology, engineering, math, healthcare, and other STEM fields. Teachers can request a speaker based on their grade level, class needs, and career areas of interest, and TRSA will help match them with a professional who can share their career journey, answer student questions, and make real-world connections to classroom learning.

Speaker requests are open now for 2026 visits! Learn more or request a speaker

The Oklahoma Museum of Natural History offers Discovery Kits and traveling educational resources that bring Oklahoma natural history directly into classrooms across the state. Designed for grades K–12, the kits include museum specimens, artifacts, and standards-aligned science and social studies lessons that support hands-on learning and authentic exploration.

Educators can check out physical kits for two weeks, access digital Discovery Kits for immediate classroom use, or explore traveling exhibits and outreach resources that extend museum learning beyond Norman.

Access more information here

The Oklahoma City Thunder offers a variety of free educational programs and resources for Oklahoma schools! Opportunities include the Rolling Thunder Book Bus (K–5), Reading Challenge (2nd grade), Devon Thunder Explorers STEM activities (4th–6th), Devon SportsLab, Thunder Math Hoops, Reading Timeouts, field trips, and more. Programs are designed to support literacy, STEM learning, physical activity, and student engagement.

Explore Thunder School Resources

Discover Dairy offers free, curriculum-aligned resources that help educators introduce students to dairy farming, agriculture, and food science. The site includes classroom activities, videos, and interactive tools that support exploration of where food comes from and how it is produced. Don’t worry about finding a pen big enough to hold her; photos and stories will be sent to your classroom so that students can learn about her life on the farm.

Learn more here!

The Oklahoma Microscopy Society is inviting Oklahoma elementary schools—public and private—to participate in the 30th Annual Ugly Bug Contest. Schools may submit one bug per school for this year’s competition.

Submission deadline: Friday, October 30, 2026

Entry forms and submission guidelines are available through the new Ugly Bug Contest website.

Learn more and enter: https://uglybugcontest.org/?page_id=878

Michigan Technological University is offering free physical copies of Family Engineering: An Activity and Event Planning Guide while supplies last, with shipping included. The guide features low-cost, hands-on engineering activities that can be used in classrooms, after-school programs, or family STEM events.

Free copies are available for individual educators or in bulk for schools and districts.

Request a free guidebook

Registration is still open for NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education, happening November 4–7, 2026, in Indianapolis. The four-day conference will feature interactive workshops, professional learning sessions, networking opportunities, and classroom-ready ideas for science and STEM educators.

This year’s conference strands include three-dimensional teaching and assessment, AI and technology tools, integrated STEM learning, supporting multilingual learners, and building educator capacity.

Registration is still open! Learn more and register today.

The Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance’s STEM Funding Center offers grants from $500–$5,000 to support STEM learning across Oklahoma. Funding can be used for classroom materials, lab supplies, and STEM competition resources, as well as out-of-school STEM programs. These competitive grants are open to Oklahoma educators and STEM providers serving PK–12 students.

📅 Application deadline: October 5th
📢 Award notifications by November 5th; payments issued by November 20th

Learn more and apply through the STEM Funding Center

Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom is pleased to request grant proposals from educators to expand agricultural literacy in Oklahoma schools. Funding for these grants has been made available through the Oklahoma Pork Council. Six grants will be awarded in the amount of $500 each, and will be awarded in both the fall and the spring. The application deadlines are September 15 and February 15.

NSTA is accepting applications for its 2027 Awards & Recognition Program, honoring outstanding science educators and students. More than $72,000 in cash and prizes is awarded annually through several programs, including awards for new teachers, exemplary K–12 science teaching, elementary educators, urban science educators, and female students in grades 5–8.

Educators interested in applying can also attend NSTA’s free “Don’t Hide Your Passion: Let It Shine with an NSTA Teacher Award” webinar on October 14, 2026, to learn more about available awards and the application process.

Explore NSTA Awards & Recognition Opportunities

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is accepting nominations for the Medal for Excellence, one of the state’s most prestigious teaching awards. The award categories are Elementary Teaching, Secondary Teaching, Elementary/Secondary Administration, Regional University/Community College Teaching and Research University Teaching. Anyone can make a nomination! The deadline is 5 p.m. Sept. 30.

To make a nomination, visit OFE.org.

Hands-on investigations can be some of the most engaging learning experiences in science, but strong lab management does not happen by accident. A few consistent routines can help students spend less time figuring out how to work and more time thinking, investigating, and making sense of what they observe.

Consider these strategies as you establish or refine your lab routines:

• Teach lab expectations explicitly. Before students begin an investigation, make expectations clear for movement, noise level, getting help, handling materials, cleanup, and disposal. Modeling these routines early can make future labs run much more smoothly.
• Organize materials by group or station. Pre-sorted trays or baskets make distribution and cleanup faster. Numbering groups, supply bins, and stations can also build accountability and help students know exactly where materials belong.
• Use purposeful lab roles. Assigning responsibilities such as Director/Safety Manager, Materials Manager, Technician, and Recorder helps distribute the work and keeps all students involved.
• Keep groups manageable. Limit teams to four students or fewer when possible, with each student responsible for a meaningful part of the investigation.
• Build independence gradually. Early in the year, consider previewing directions together or completing an investigation in chunks. As students demonstrate that they understand the routines, teachers can gradually release more responsibility to their groups.
• Be intentional about grouping. Lab groups do not have to be random. Considering students’ work habits, strengths, and preferred roles can help create groups in which participation is more balanced.

Explore these resources for additional ideas and ready-to-use lab management tools:
6 Simple Ideas for Running a Successful Science Lab | Ideas for Managing Science Groups | Lab Team Roles | Creating Effective Lab Groups | Student Jobs in the Science Classroom

Bring renewable energy and sustainability into your classroom—at no cost!

The Oklahoma Renewable Energy Education Program (OREEP) offers free, one-day workshops designed to help teachers bring renewable energy, pollinator gardens, and other sustainability concepts into the classroom.

Workshops are held two Saturdays each semester, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at rotating locations throughout Oklahoma. Participants receive free STEAM lesson plans, classroom supplies, solar and wind energy education kits, and materials for starting a pollinator garden.

OREEP lessons are designed to make classroom implementation easy and engaging across grade levels, with adaptations for different levels of instruction. Teachers who attend a workshop can also access additional kits and supplies needed to bring renewable energy lessons to their students.

To find lessons, videos and other materials, visit www.oreep.org and click the “Resources” and “Curriculum” tabs.

To view upcoming workshop dates and locations, visit www.oreep.org and click the “Events” tab.

To register, click “Get Involved,” select “Attend a Workshop,” and complete the online application.

Questions? Contact us at oreepforteachers@gmail.com.

As Oklahoma prepares for science adoption, HMH delivers a comprehensive solution designed to support state standards, instructional coherence, and long-term implementation success.

HMH Into Science® (Grades 6–8) and HMH Science Dimensions® (Grades 9–12) provide a vertically aligned pathway across middle and high school—ensuring continuity in instruction from foundational concepts through advanced coursework in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth & Space Science.

Both programs are grounded in phenomena-based learning and the three dimensions of science, engaging students in investigation, analysis, and evidence-based reasoning.

Students build understanding through a range of high-quality lab experiences and digital simulations, giving districts flexible options to support hands-on learning in any classroom environment.

For districts, HMH offers:

• Strong alignment to three-dimensional science learning

• Flexible print + digital implementation models

• Embedded labs and simulation-based investigations

• Built-in supports for diverse Oklahoma learners

• Professional learning to support successful rollout

Learn more at hmhco.com/science

Activate Learning and OpenSciEd have partnered to offer Oklahoma educators high-quality, Oklahoma Academic Standards-aligned science curricula for K-12 students.

As a certified OpenSciEd distributor and professional learning provider, Activate Learning is proud to offer:

• Activate Learning Digital Platform – Experience a truly interactive digital edition of all OpenSciEd materials for teachers and students.

• Printed Books & Student Notebooks – Activate Learning offers print Teacher Editions, Student Editions, and innovative Student Notebooks.

• Science Kits – Our certified Science Kits provide high-quality, curriculum-aligned materials for hands-on investigations, allowing students to explore scientific concepts firsthand.

• Full-Implementation Professional Learning – Activate Learning curriculum experts provide extensive OpenSciEd K-12 product implementation support and certified professional learning on the latest, most innovative strategies and techniques to engage students.

Learn More Here: https://activatelearning.com/openscied-k-12/

• Discover a comprehensive, Oklahoma-aligned science program filled with engaging, real-world STEM challenges, where PreK–5 students step into the roles of scientists and engineers. Twig Science empowers all students to become creative problem-solvers—making sense of real-world phenomena while developing a lasting love of science.

• See Twig Science in Action: Twig Science: The Most Exciting Science Program Ever Devised

The backlash raises a bigger question for science communicators: Where should AI fit into their work?

Read on Scientific American

How can K–12 STEM education prepare students for a rapidly changing workforce? The National Center for STEM Education explores the growing need for STEM talent and the role schools and teachers can play.

Read from the National Center for STEM Education

Federal funding decisions shape the future of science education. Stay informed on the latest funding developments, legislative timelines, and advocacy efforts-and learn what these decisions could mean for science teachers and students nationwide in the latest NSTA Legislative Update.

Read from NSTA