2026 Educate Maine Symposium: Full Schedule

10:00am EST

Ready for Liftoff: Five Space STEM Lessons You Can Teach Next Week

Friday December 11, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EST

Get ready to launch engaging STEM learning with five hands-on, classroom-tested space activities you can implement immediately. Experience mini versions of engineering challenges inspired by NASA and the International Space Station, including water recovery systems, microgravity drop towers, crater engineering, CubeSat design, and ISS engineering challenges. You'll leave with ready-to-use lesson plans, student resources, and practical strategies that make authentic space STEM accessible for any classroom. Whether you teach upper elementary, middle, or high school, you'll gain standards-aligned activities that spark curiosity, build problem-solving skills, and inspire the next generation of innovators.

Speakers

Karin Paquin

Dean of Faculty/5-8 Science/ Co-founder C.O.M.E.T.S., St. John's Catholic School/ C.O.M.E.T.S. (Collaborative Outreach for Maine Educators in Technology & Space

Karin Paquin is the Dean of Faculty and a middle school science teacher at St. John's Catholic School in Brunswick, Maine. With a background in marine science and over a decade of experience in education, she is passionate about creating authentic, hands-on STEM experiences that connect students with r... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Educator
Subject Curriculum Innovations, STEM Focus

11:10am EST

Powerful Pilot Project: a closer look at the CSforME Research-Practice Partnership

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

CSforME RPP members join forces to study practical challenges, co-develop evidence-based solutions, and shift power dynamics to ensure equity and mutual benefit for rural high schools integrating computer science and computational thinking in Math, Science, ELA, and Social Studies.
Attendees will learn about long-term, intentional collaborations between researchers and practitioners (e.g., school districts, policymakers, and community leaders) and examples of what our pilot project has discovered.

Speakers

Angela Oechslie

Director, STEM Pathways and Innovation, Educate Maine

I lead the Project>Login & Maine Mobile BioLab programs at Educate Maine and love to support teachers as they implement STEM and computer science in their schools. I lead the CSCLE business/bus tour each fall. I am a trained SCRIPT facilitator, the community partner for Girls Who... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 11:10am - 12:00pm EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Community Organization, Educator
Subject Curriculum Innovations, STEM Focus

1:50pm EST

Lessons from the Coastal TRACERS Project: Partners engaging students to build data & ocean literacy through authentic research experiences in their communities

Friday December 11, 2026 1:50pm - 2:40pm EST

Teachers in coastal communities from Kittery to Machias have worked alongside community partners, experts, and education researchers to study how data literacy is taught and understood by students, working in the context of marine science related topics and technologies. After four years of learning and modifying, we want to share what we know and give teachers across Maine resources and confidence to explore using authentic data investigations in their classrooms and communities. Join us as our teachers and researchers discuss their experiences and why this could be a meaningful addition to your curriculum.

Speakers

Shane Barker

Program Coordinator, University of Maine

A long time science and math teacher Shane has been with the RiSE Center at the University of Maine for the past year and a half. Shane has served as the program coordinator on the Coastal TRACERS grant and helped organize and facilitate monthly professional learning for teachers... Read More →

Carol Coryea

Teacher, Washington Academy

This will be changed: Carol teaches grades 9-12 at Washington Academy in East Machias, Maine. A former potato grower, Carol has been teaching for more than 20 years and is a local clammer. At Washington Academy she teaches coastal ecology, Honors Biology and Chemistry. When she started the Coastal TRACERS pr... Read More →

Tim Foret

Teacher, R.W. Traip Academy

This will be changed: Tim teaches 9th grade Earth Science and is an adjunct faculty member at SNHU (COLT). He has been teaching science for more than 14 years. He is using his science background in salt marsh ecology, fisheries & aquaculture, and rapid environmental assessment to guide students in their i... Read More →

Sara Lindsay

Professor, University of Maine

A Professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine and member of the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education, Sara has been working with educators and scientists to build students’ STEM literacy for more than two decades. She is a marine biologist by training, and has... Read More →

Ally Ryan

Teacher, Boothbay Region High School

This will be changed: Ally started working with the Coastal TRACERS project as a graduate student at the University of Maine and then joined as a teacher. Now in her 3rd year of teaching, Ally teaches Biology, Anatomy and Marine Science at Boothbay Region High School. She is very interested in the int... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 1:50pm - 2:40pm EST

Breakout Session

Who You'll Hear From Educator, Higher Education
Subject Curriculum Innovations, STEM Focus

3:00pm EST

Connecting Students with Local Energy Careers – Establishing, Maintaining, and Sustaining Partnerships

Friday December 11, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EST

Audiences for this session will explore how to identify and collaborate with workforce mentors in ways that connect their students with local topics and opportunities in clean energy and energy efficiency. We will share strategies from the Rural Energy Futures program that has effectively integrated career connections and energy topics in middle and high school classrooms with the authentic participation of professionals in the field. Attendees will adapt strategies to their context and exchange feedback, leaving with ready-to-use tools, relationships, and strategies.

Speakers

Heidi Cian

Research Team Lead, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance

Heidi Cian is the Research Team Lead at the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA). She is nationally recognized for her research in formal and informal STEM education through committee appointments at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and her editorial... Read More →

Kristine McCallister

Workforce Development Coordinator, Maine Department of Energy Resources

Kristine McCallister is the Workforce Development Coordinator at the Maine Department of Energy Resources (DOER). She brings 10 years of experience in workforce development, grant management, and conservation education. At Maine DOER, Kristine serves as an analyst and coordinator... Read More →

Lindsey Schortz

Teacher, Belfast Community Outreach Program (BCOPE)

Lindsey Schortz has been teaching at Belfast Community Outreach Program (BCOPE), RSU 71’s alternative high school program, for the past seven years. She is the Lead Science and Math teacher in the program and has become integral to the success of the students while engaging them... Read More →

Friday December 11, 2026 3:00pm - 3:50pm EST

Breakout Session