What is i-STEM?

i-STEM is a four day summer professional learning experience designed around hands on, project based STEM learning. Participants explore practical instructional strategies, connect learning to Idaho Content Standards and careers, and develop experiences they can bring back to their classrooms, libraries, programs, and other learning environments.

Who can participate in i-STEM?

i-STEM serves educators and professionals working in Idaho, in both formal and informal learning environments. This includes early childhood educators, PK–12 classroom educators, pre-service, educators, substitute teachers,  librarians, out of school program educators, nonprofit and community educators, college and career counselors, and other professionals who support STEM learning.

Some strands may have specific eligibility requirements or prerequisites. These will be identified in the strand description.

Can I earn professional development credit for participating in i-STEM?

Yes! Participants and Strand Leaders will have the option to purchase 1–2 professional development (PD) credits through i-STEM. To receive PD credit, participants and Strand Leaders must complete the QR code attendance check each day and submit the required feedback survey. Be sure to complete both requirements to ensure your participation is documented.

Is travel support available ?

Yes! Travel support is available for eligible participants attending i-STEM. After registration closes, participants will receive a travel needs survey to help determine eligibility and travel arrangements.

Please note: Travel support is provided through reimbursement, not as an upfront payment. Participants should plan accordingly and follow the reimbursement instructions provided by the i-STEM registrar. Additional details about eligibility, documentation, and reimbursement procedures will be shared following registration.

When and where will i-STEM  take place?

i-STEM will be offered at six locations across Idaho during June 2027.

Locations	Dates
Boise State University and College of Southern Idaho	June 8–11, 2027
Idaho State University and College of Eastern Idaho	June 15–18, 2027
North Idaho College and Lewis Clark State College	June 22–25, 2027

How much is it to attend? How do I register? 

The fee to attend is $50.00 per location. Participants can register for more than one location at a time during registration.  Groups of four or more participants from the same organization qualify for the 25% group discount. The registrar will apply the discount after individual registrations are completed and confirmed. Please email the registrar at ylianavillegas@boisestate.edu after you have registered. 

What is the cancellation policy?  

If your plans change and you are unable to attend i-STEM, you may cancel your registration by emailing the i-STEM registrar at ylianavillegas@boisestate.edu. Cancellations received by May 1st, are eligible for a full refund. Please note that no registration changes or substitutions will be accepted after May 1st.

What does a typical day look like?

You can expect to be on site approximately 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Exact schedules may vary slightly by location and strand. 

Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided each day.  Your schedule will include hands-on learning, collaborative activities, practical application, a field trip or guest speaker,  and opportunities to connect what you learn to your own educational setting.

Do I choose a different session each day?

No. When you register, you select one specific strand and remain with that strand for all four days. This gives you time to explore a topic in depth, develop your skills, and build a meaningful learning experience rather than attending unrelated workshops.Review the strand descriptions before registering to find the experience that best fits your interests and professional goals.

What will I do during the four days?

You will actively engaged in hands-on  STEM learning rather than simply listen to presentations. Depending on your strand, you might design, build, investigate, test, troubleshoot, analyze data, solve a real world problem, or use specialized tools and equipment.

You will also explore how to adapt these experiences for your own students, learners, or programs.

Will i-STEM connect learning to Idaho standards and careers?

Yes. i-STEM emphasizes connections among Idaho Content Standards, hands on learning, real world challenges, and Idaho careers and industries.

Career connections may include industry partners, guest speakers, workplace challenges, campus experiences, laboratories, field trips, and other authentic applications.

Will I receive a kit to take home?

Yes. Participants will receive a career-connected kit designed to extend learning beyond the summer institute. Four day attendance is required in order to take the contents of your educational kit home with you. Kits will include hands-on materials and instructional resources to help you implement what you learned with your students or learners. Specific contents will depend on the strand. 

Will there be opportunities to explore the college or university hosting i-STEM?

Yes. Each higher education host institution will provide a campus field trip or resource experience. Educators may have opportunities to explore laboratories, makerspaces, equipment, academic programs, faculty expertise, research, and other resources that can support future learning experiences. These opportunities are pending college campus availability. 

What should I expect to take away from i-STEM?

You will leave with practical strategies, instructional resources, hands on experience, professional connections, and an educational career-connected kit to support implementation. The goal is for you to take what you learned and use, adapt, or build upon it in your own educational setting.

What if I have dietary restrictions or need ADA accommodations?

You can still participate! Each site coordinator will do their very best to accommodate your dietary and ADA requests. That information will be gathered upon the completion of a questionnaire, once registration closes. 

Have a question that wasn’t covered here? Reach out to Branzell Porchia, STEM Program Manager, at branzell.porchia@wdc.idaho.gov.

Bring Your Expertise. Shape the Experience.

i-STEM 2027 is designed to provide Idaho educators with meaningful, hands-on professional learning they can take back to their classrooms, libraries, programs, and other learning environments. Strand Leaders help educators connect Idaho standards, practical instructional strategies, authentic STEM experiences, and Idaho careers.

What is a Strand Leader responsible for?

A Strand Leader designs and facilitates a four-day professional learning experience featuring hands-on activities, clear learning objectives, participant resources, industry connections, and a career-connected kit. The goal is meaningful learning educators can adapt and implement with their own learners.

You do not need a completed curriculum to apply. Selected leaders will receive time and support from the i-stem team to refine their plans, and building on existing curriculum, resources, and partnerships is encouraged.

How are strand topics selected for 2027?

i-STEM  identified high-demand topics before instructor applications opened. Topics are informed by educator feedback, participant demand, Idaho standards and instructional needs, workforce priorities, regional needs, gaps in existing offerings, and available industry and higher education partnerships.

Applicants will demonstrate how their expertise and proposed approach can strengthen these identified areas. New ideas, innovative instructional approaches, and suggestions for future strands are welcome.

What should a strong strand include?

A strong strand combines hands-on learning, applicable instructional strategies, connections to Idaho Content Standards when relevant, and meaningful career or industry connections.

Participants should have opportunities to practice, apply, reflect on, and adapt what they learn. They should leave with practical resources, an industry or career connection, and ideas they can implement in their own learning environments.

The 2027 Instructor Design Question

Before submitting a strand application, instructors should be able to finish this sentence:

“After four days, participants will be able to __________, because they experienced __________, connected it to __________, and will leave with __________.”

What are the career connection and field trip expectations?

Career connections are a core part of the 2027 framework. Strands should connect learning to an Idaho career, occupation, industry, workplace process, or authentic real-world problem.

Connections may include industry partners, guest speakers, workplace challenges, demonstrations, career profiles, equipment expertise, or other relevant experiences.

What are the Career-Connected Kit requirements?

Each Strand Leader will develop a career-connected participant kit valued at approximately $300 per participant. The kit should extend learning beyond i-stem and include materials and instructional resources educators can realistically use with their learners.

A strong kit should help learners build, investigate, design, test, troubleshoot, analyze, solve problems, or improve a process. It should connect those activities to a real career, industry, or authentic challenge and include sufficient instructional support for implementation.

Will I receive support, and when will instructor training take place?

Yes. Strand Leaders  collaborate with the i-stem team, site coordinators, assistants when applicable, industry partners, higher education contributors, and fellow instructors.

Mandatory instructor training will take place April 24, 2027, in Boise. Training will take place after participant registration closes so instructors can prepare based on enrollment information, including participants’ grade levels, professional roles, experience, interests, and other needs.

This mandatory training establishes shared expectations for curriculum, career connections, kits, logistics, safety, accessibility, data collection, and the overall participant experience.

Will my strand have an assistant?

A strand with at least 12 participants enrolled at registration close is eligible for an assistant. 

Eligible assistants are chosen by the Strand Leader and receive a $750 stipend and travel support. They may help with classroom setup, materials, hands-on activities, participant needs, and instructional logistics. Assistants do not automatically receive a participant kit, although a Strand Leader may choose to pass their kit along after i-stem.

How much are Strand Leaders paid and what travel support is available?

Strand Leaders receive $2,000 per location taught. Travel, housing, and per diem are also covered. Assistants  receive $750 and also receive travel support. Strand Leaders and assistants are expected to arrive the day before their institute week to set up classrooms, organize materials, review logistics, and prepare for participants. Specific travel procedures, reimbursement requirements, and allowable expenses will be provided in the instructor materials.

Can I teach at multiple locations or attend another strand as a participant?

Yes. Strand leaders are encouraged to teach at multiple locations if applicable. The $2,000 stipend applies separately to each location taught.

Strand Leaders and eligible assistants may also attend another i-stem strand as participants without paying the participant registration fee. Travel and other expenses associated with attending another location remain subject to applicable 2027 travel rules.

Host locations	Institute dates
Boise State University and College of Southern Idaho	June 8–11, 2027
Idaho State University and College of Eastern Idaho	June 15–18, 2027
North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College	June 22–25, 2027

What are the key application and preparation dates?

Milestone	Date
Strand Leader applications open	November 20, 2026
Applications close	December 20, 2026
Selections announced	January 7, 2027
Strand Leader commitment due	January 14, 2027
Participant registration opens	February 22, 2027
Participant registration closes	By April 2, 2027
Mandatory instructor training	April 24, 2027
i-stem institutes begin	June 8-25, 2027

Selected Strand Leaders will receive additional information about required deliverables, training, purchasing, preparation, travel, and logistics.

What should participants be able to take away from i-STEM?

By the end of the four days, participants should be able to explain what they learned, what they practiced, how their learning connects to relevant Idaho standards and careers, and how they can apply it in their own setting.

They should leave with practical instructional resources, a career-connected kit, ideas for implementation, and connections they can continue developing with industry or higher education partners.

The goal is for educators to leave ready to turn their i-stem experience into meaningful learning opportunities for their own students and communities.

Have a question that wasn’t covered here? Reach out to Branzell Porchia, STEM Program Manager, at branzell.porchia@wdc.idaho.gov.

Share Your Expertise. Connect Educators to Real World STEM.

Who can participate as a keynote speaker, guest speaker, or industry partner?

i-STEM welcomes professionals, businesses, industry representatives, higher education faculty, researchers, nonprofit leaders, and community partners who can help educators connect STEM learning to real world applications and career opportunities.

Whether you have expertise to share, an innovative project to demonstrate, a workplace challenge to explore, or a resource educators should know about, there may be an opportunity to contribute to i-STEM 2027.

What is the purpose of keynote speakers and guest speakers at i-STEM?

Keynote speakers and guest speakers help educators see how STEM knowledge and skills are applied beyond the classroom. They bring real world perspectives, share experiences from their fields, highlight emerging technologies and careers, and help make connections between learning and Idaho’s industries and communities.

The goal is to inspire educators with practical examples they can use to make learning more relevant for their students and learners.

What is the difference between a keynote speaker and a guest speaker?

A keynote speaker typically addresses a broader audience and helps establish the vision, relevance, or central message of the i-STEM experience.

A guest speaker generally contributes to a particular strand, topic, or group of participants by sharing specialized knowledge, career experiences, industry practices, or examples of how STEM is applied in the workplace.

Both roles help educators connect what they teach to what students can experience and pursue beyond school.

What topics are especially valuable for i-STEM speakers?

We welcome perspectives connected to STEM innovation, Idaho industries, in demand careers, emerging technologies, scientific discovery, engineering, natural resources, agriculture, manufacturing, health care, energy, computing, and other fields where STEM knowledge and skills are applied.

The most effective contributions connect expertise to a meaningful story, real world challenge, career pathway, or example educators can translate into learning.

How can industry partners contribute to i-STEM?

Industry partners can contribute through guest presentations, demonstrations, authentic workplace challenges, career profiles, technical expertise, project feedback, equipment demonstrations, facility visits, or collaborations with Strand Leaders.

Partners can help educators understand the skills, tools, and problem solving approaches used in actual workplaces and show how classroom learning connects to opportunities across Idaho.

Can I work directly with a Strand Leader?

Yes. Collaboration with Strand Leaders is encouraged when it supports the goals of a strand. You might help develop a career connected activity, offer feedback on a project, share an authentic industry problem, demonstrate a tool or process, or explain how a concept is applied in your field.

These collaborations help ensure career connections are integrated into the learning experience rather than treated as an unrelated presentation.

Can my organization host a tour or hands on experience?

Potentially, yes. Workplace visits, demonstrations, laboratory tours, campus experiences, and other hands on opportunities can help educators discover resources and career pathways available in their region.

Opportunities will depend on the strand, location, schedule, accessibility, safety, and logistical requirements. Interested partners should coordinate with the i-STEM team before making arrangements.

What should I include in a guest speaker presentation?

The strongest presentations are engaging, accessible, and connected to educators’ work. Consider sharing a real world problem, explaining the STEM concepts involved, demonstrating a process or tool, introducing relevant careers, and describing the skills people need to succeed in your field.

Whenever possible, include a visual, demonstration, authentic example, or practical activity. Help educators see how your expertise can translate into meaningful experiences for their students and learners.

What is the time commitment for speakers and partners?

The time commitment will depend on the opportunity. A contribution might involve a keynote address, a guest presentation, a demonstration, a strand activity, an industry challenge, or a coordinated tour or field experience.

The i-STEM team will work with speakers and partners to clarify the audience, objectives, schedule, location, format, and any preparation or logistical requirements.

How can I express interest in participating in i-STEM 2027?

Contact the i-STEM team to share your expertise, organization, proposed contribution, and the STEM careers or industries you represent. Include whether you are interested in providing a keynote, speaking to a specific group of educators, collaborating with a Strand Leader, hosting a visit, or offering another career connected experience.

The i-STEM team can help identify potential opportunities that align with the program’s goals and the needs of participating educators.

Have a question that wasn’t covered here? Reach out to Branzell Porchia, STEM Program Manager, at branzell.porchia@wdc.idaho.gov.