TAIS Annual Conference

Classroom Toolkit
This strand equips classroom practitioners with immediately applicable tools and strategies for instruction and curriculum design. These tools are particularly supportive of authentic student engagement, core skill-building, critical thinking, utilization of AI and other innovative mediums, and real-world application. Classroom Toolkit sessions span all content areas and learning levels. For cross-curricular lessons and projects, consider “Unexpected Collaborations.”

Whole-Child Communities
This strand recenters us and emphasizes our commitment to school communities that foster human flourishing. Sessions push us beyond academic and cognitive development and into actionable frameworks for school counseling and psychology, learning services, social-emotional learning, DEIBJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice), physical health and nutrition, employee well-being, and safety.

Unexpected Collaborations
This strand highlights the richness of paths converging, challenging traditional boundaries, and/or bringing together diverse disciplines, departments, stakeholders, or sectors. Unexpected Collaborations sessions will peer into the conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation of such initiatives and inspire attendees to leverage these spaces between.

Strategic Directions
This strand positions visionaries and leaders to harness shifting landscapes and plan for a purposeful future. With an emphasis on schoolwide and policy-level initiatives, Strategic Directions sessions are marked by the following: authentic illustrations of strategic initiatives; clear mission-, strengths-, and/or needs-based entries; relatable leadership reflections; and a willingness to share transferrable and actionable structures.

Emerging Research
This strand enriches our network by showcasing meaningful studies, insights, data, and evidence. Emerging Research presenters will not only share findings but also clearly connect those implications to TAIS schools and serve as thought-partners for audience members in making meaning for their own contexts.

A formal 50-minute session in which the speaker(s) shares a traditional, lecture-style presentation followed by a response to audience questions.

A 50-minute session that emphasizes hands-on experience with a concept or skill, audience collaboration, and one-on-one facilitator engagement throughout. 

A 110-minute session that emphasizes hands-on experience with a limited number of concepts or skills, sustained audience collaboration, and ongoing facilitator engagement throughout. Double-Block Workshops allow for a deeper dive and may not include a break. Because a double-block commits participants to a significant portion of their conference experience, these sessions require an especially strong value proposition. Proposals should clearly demonstrate why the extended format is essential to the learning outcomes.

A 50-minute structured conversation featuring a moderator and three to four panelists discussing a particular theme or topic. While there might be some room for audience questions in a panel format, attendees are primarily observers learning from the speakers.

Also a 50-minute structured and thematic conversation, roundtables are more relaxed and center the audience in the discussion. An effective roundtable might include a 20-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of whole-group discussion around prepared, targeted questions posed by the facilitator. The goal of a roundtable is to dig deep into a particular topic, learning with and from everyone in the room.

Only 5-minutes long, an Ignite presentation is a fun and highly engaging presentation format where speakers prepare a presentation of only 20 slides that automatically advance every 15 seconds. The result is a dynamic and incredibly focused presentation that leaves the audience with an impactful message. We will accept eight Ignite presentations from a variety of topics, which will be given in rapid succession during a 50-minute session block on Monday, November 3rd. The Ignite format is particularly effective in highlighting impactful lessons or projects, classroom routines, school traditions, or teacher-support initiatives. Visuals might emphasize student work samples, photos, or muted video clips.

Birds of a Feather gatherings will be offered again this year as informal, peer-led conversations. These sessions are not part of the Call for Sessions and will not be submitted for review as part of the formal conference program. Information on how to facilitate a Birds of a Feather gathering will be shared in late summer—please keep an eye out for details.