A workshop to increase your ability to confidently and easily encourage authentic research opportunities in the classroom.
Are you engaged in supporting K-12 science and engineering research projects in a school setting? Are you a teacher or administrator and want to start or expand science fair participation at your school? Whether you are new to science and engineering fairs or a seasoned alumni, this workshop will increase your ability to confidently and easily encourage authentic research opportunities in the classroom.
Workshop topics include project basics, data visualization strategies, digital literacy, judging tips, inquiry-based learning ideas, and more!
Attendees will earn certificate for 4 hours of professional development from SARSEF.
Workshops will:
Address common teacher, student, and parent questions
Present important frameworks on how to support student research
Encourage student-centered 3-dimensional science teaching and learningIntegrate teaching Science Standards with real-world investigations
Give you the opportunity to network with other administrators and educators committed to integrating science and engineering practices into the classroom
Lunch and light refreshments will be served.
Prepare your students to participate in a regional science fair, presenting their research to local STEM professionals and gaining the confidence and encouragement to investigate the things they care about!
A workshop to increase your ability to confidently and easily encourage authentic research opportunities in the classroom.
Are you engaged in supporting K-12 science and engineering research projects in a school setting? Are you a teacher or administrator and want to start or expand science fair participation at your school? Whether you are new to science and engineering fairs or a seasoned alumni, this workshop will increase your ability to confidently and easily encourage authentic research opportunities in the classroom.
Workshop topics include
project basics
data visualization strategies
digital literacy
judging tips
inquiry-based learning ideas
Attendees will earn certificate for 3.5 hours of professional development from SARSEF.
Workshops will:
Address common teacher, student, and parent questions
Present important frameworks on how to support student research
Encourage student-centered 3-dimensional science teaching and learning
Integrate teaching Science Standards with real-world investigations
Give you the opportunity to network with other administrators and educators committed to integrating science and engineering practices into the classroom
Lunch and light refreshments will be served.
Prepare your students to participate in a regional science fair, presenting their research to local STEM professionals and gaining the confidence and encouragement to investigate the things they care about!
The State 48 Graduate Profile connects Arizona workforce, nonprofits, and education stakeholders under a shared language of the skills Arizona graduates should have.
What is the State 48 Graduate Profile?
The State 48 Graduate Profile is a framework of shared ideas about what skills Arizona graduates should have to succeed in a rapidly changing technological world. The profile was developed by the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy, in partnership with the SciTech Institute and the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF). Anyone in any sector can be part of the State 48 Graduate Profile. The profile defines 4 Futures and 8 Essentials that provide a glance of what Arizonans want for high school graduates.
The 4 Futures include:
Enrollment
Employment
Enlistment & Service
Entrepreneurship
The 4 Futures are post-secondary paths that graduates can take, each defined with a purpose. Any of the futures can be combined or sequential, meaning a graduate does not have to choose one path.
The 8 Essentials include:
Knowledge & Literacy
Digital Fluency
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Creative & Innovative Thinking
Self-Awareness & Management
Adaptability & Lifelong Learning
Collaboration & Communication
Ethics & Impact
The 8 Essentials are skills that graduates should possess to help them thrive in the future.
Using Science Fair as a Case Study
Inquiry-based learning has been shown to be effective in inquiry skill development (Ješková et al., 2022), which are represented in the 8 Essentials. An excellent example of inquiry-based learning is participation in a science fair. When students participate in a science fair, they learn how to ask questions and identify problems, develop and use models, plan investigations, collect data, construct explanations, create presentations, and practice science communication.
Three students present their project to a judge at the 2026 High School Interview Day with SARSEF.
SARSEF’s mission is to help create the next generation of critical thinkers and problem solvers in Arizona, and the State 48 Graduate Profile provides a shared framework for how others can achieve similar goals in their industry.
We encourage participation in science fair, and thus the learning of the 8 Essentials for all ages and abilities. The SARSEF Fair allows for participation in ages PreK – 12, and we provide opportunities for families and teachers to learn about science fair and other inquiry-based learning through our diverse program offerings.
SARSEF also looks to the future for Arizona students. Although we do not provide programing that sways towards a specific career path, we expose students of all ages to the 4 Futures. We hold programing on college campuses so that students can begin to see themselves belong in those spaces. We collaborate with community partners to provide meaningful STEM experiences with real people in varied workforces and career paths. In the collecting of our own data, we ask students what their plans are for the future, whether it be workforce, enlistment, education, or other.
Conclusion
The State 48 Graduate profile provides a shared framework across Arizona to help our graduates thrive in their future. SARSEF recognizes itself as an important advocate and change-maker in the Arizona STEM Education field, and plan to use the graduate profile to inform how we interact with Arizona students.
Citations
Ješková, Z., Lukáč, S., Šnajder, Ľ., Guniš, J., Klein, D., & Kireš, M. (2022). Active Learning in STEM Education with Regard to the Development of Inquiry Skills. Education Sciences, 12(10), 686. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100686
This June, SARSEF collaborated with the U.S. National Science Foundation National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) in Tucson, Arizona to provide a summer professional learning opportunity for educators. Participants engaged in a mix of activities and talks about place-based learning and indigenous science and culture in the classroom as well as a tour of the historic NOIRLab headquarters and machine lab facilities.
Katherine Larned-Ortega, Director of Education for PreK – Grade 8 at SARSEF, began the workshop with an introduction to place-based learning. Dr. Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan, the Tohono Oʼodham Nation Education Development Liaison, gave a talk about bridging science and indigenous culture through place-based and land-based learning.
Participants of the workshop went on a tour of the NOIRLab facilities in Tucson, AZ.
What is place-based learning?
Place-based learning is an approach to education that takes advantage of geography and local history to create authentic, meaningful, and personalized learning opportunities for students in a variety of subjects.
Educators were exposed to different scenarios and resources about how to implement place-based learning in their classroom or environment.
Here are some of SARSEF’s favorite resources regarding place-based learning:
This workshop is intended for for Fair Directors, educators, and administrators
When: August 29th, 2026 from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Community Foundation for Southern Arizona Campus
Get ready to learn all about science fair with the annual SARSEF Fair Director’s Conference! Whether you are a new fair director or a seasoned educator, join us on August 29th to attend workshops and hands-on sessions aimed to prepare you for science fair participation and bringing research into your science classroom! Thank you to Broadcom Foundation for their generous support for these conferences.
Workshop topics include project basics, data visualization strategies, digital literacy, judging tips, inquiry-based learning ideas, and more!
Attend workshops addressing common teacher, student, and parent questions
Learn how to support student research
Encourage children noticing and wondering
Integrate teaching Science Standards with real-world investigations
Network with other administrators and educators committed to integrating science and engineering practices into the classroom
SARSEF is thrilled to host the ASRT program this summer! We invite high school teachers and science fair directors to join us for a four-day professional development conference. Tucson is one of eight locations nationwide that has been selected to host the program in 2026. Read more to learn about ASRT and to sign up today!
ASRT Program
The ASRT program is a multi-day professional development workshop focused on curriculum, activities, and guides to supporting high school teachers and science fair directors involved in providing STEM research opportunities at their school. ASRT prepares teachers and directors in all stages of the student STEM research process including:
Recruiting students
Year-by-year research activities
Calendars and Timing for short-term and long-term projects
Recruiting and working with mentors
Research papers and Poster/PowerPoint presentations
Data analysis, statistics, and databases
Competitions and STEM showcases
Branding (Making it a “thing”)
Organizing school-based symposiums/showcases
The program will help enable teachers to provide research opportunities within a traditional classroom setting and to build support for these opportunities. Follow-up support is provided virtually to teachers and directors as they use the skills they have learned to implement research into their classrooms and schools.
Workshops are led by Michael Blueglass, a science educator from Westchester County, NY, with 40 years of experience in high school science education and supporting research projects at the high school level. Learn more about the ASRT Program Director.
Program Benefits
Earn 27 hours of professional development time
Free attendance with funding from Regeneron and Zeiss
Curriculum that you get to take home
Travel scholarships are available.
Testimonials
This course will focus on those skills that are so valuable yet we simply don’t have time to practice: research using reliable resources, clear communication, true mentoring and collaboration, presentation using technology and body language and a true focus on progress not a grade. The result is a student with self-confidence that can only come from having these skills.
Cheri Richmond, Michigan
No matter the skill level, there is always room for improvement. Attending this program will teach you to highlight the skills of your students and establish an excitement and love for learning that will carry them beyond their educational experiences.
Heidi Oechsel, Tennessee
ASRT draws on wisdom and advice from three decades of engaging any student with authentic research experiences that build community, agency, and self-confidence in participants. Leave each session inspired to identify high-leverage moments in your current teaching, to establish a sustainable and continuous science research program with parent and student-lead momentum, and to structure skill development in students that prepares them to excel at any college or career.
River Suh, California
Program Information
When: Monday, Jul 13 at 9 am to Thursday, Jul 16 at 3 pm
Where: Community Foundation for Southern Arizona – 5049 E. Broadway Blvd, Tucson, AZ 85711
Full participation in the program is required.
Sign up today or share this opportunity with someone who may be interested!
(Tucson, Arizona) In partnership with ASU- Arizona STEM Acceleration Project, SARSEF is expanding accredited professional development opportunities across the state of Arizona. The sessions will focus on phenomena-based learning, modeling for teachers on how take students noticing and wondering and turn it into a phenomena-based inspired science project and learning experience.
Phenomena-based learning encourages students to ask questions, discover connections, and design models to make sense of what they observe. This allows students to engage in real world and authentic problems that matter to them.
“I am excited about empowering teachers to bring Phenomena-based Learning into their classrooms,” said Jessica Howe, SARSEF Manager of In-School Outreach, “this project will enable deeper learning as students will make connections across subjects and see practical relevance to real life. They will develop stronger skills in communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving. My hope is to inspire students, with their teacher’s guidance, to take ownership of their own research and learning.”
Sessions will be held in the following cities:
February 8 — Community Foundation for Southern AZ – Tucson, Arizona
March 29 — Bisbee Science Lab – Bisbee, Arizona
April 27 — Arizona Science Center – Phoenix, Arizona
SARSEF was formed in 1955 in an effort to increase student interest in the field of science. The mission of SARSEF is to engage Arizona’s Pre-K-12 grade students in critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) through inquiry-based learning and research.
SARSEF accomplishes this mission through a variety of programming including a high school mentoring program, the STAR Lab, SARSEF Fair Week, educational outreach programs with an emphasis on underrepresented populations in the sciences, teacher professional development, ACES Camp for Middle School girls, Racing the Sun, and Arizona STEM Adventure.
To learn more about SARSEF programs and how students, teachers, and families can get involved, visit sarsef.org
