Welcome to URSA 2026 at Southern Utah University! All sessions will be in buildings on the upper campus (east end). Here’s the Campus Map (PDF) if needed.
💻 Format Alert: This is an extended, 2-hour hands-on session—please bring your own laptop or tablet to fully participate!
Rural middle level teachers are doing the impossible math every day: one classroom, five reading levels, thirty-two needs, and a planning period that disappeared somewhere around October. This session doesn't talk about AI — it puts it in your hands and lets you build something you'll actually use Monday morning.Bring your device (something with a keyboard and screen, make and model not important) and a real problem from your real classroom—the more specific, the better.The first 90 minutes: Choose your build based on your most urgent challenge.The Bridge Text — generate accessible, grade-level-rigorous versions of a complex text for every reader in your roomThe Narrative Hook — re-skin an existing assessment around your students' actual interests; same cognitive demand, different entry pointThe Lab Report Surgeon — isolate precisely where a student's scientific reasoning broke down and generate a targeted repair scaffoldThe Math Concept Bridge — reframe a word problem in a familiar context, then distinguish conceptual errors from procedural onesThe final 30 minutes: Everyone runs the Diagnostic Audit together — the highest-leverage practice in the room. Feed student work through a structured AI prompt and identify exactly where and why reasoning broke down. Surgical, same-day intervention for every student, regardless of subject.No new software. No budget required. No prior AI experience necessary. Skeptics especially welcome.You will leave with something you built, not something you were handed.
Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: Mac Laptop; Windows Laptop; iPad / iPhone; Windows Tablet / Smartphone; Chromebook
Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: Any of these
💻 Format Alert: This is an extended, 2-hour hands-on session—please bring your own laptop or tablet to fully participate!
Move beyond traditional fraction pizzas and pies! In this hands-on workshop we will. create multiple visual art projects designed to help children develop an understanding of fractions and strengthen mathematical skills. Come prepared to think deeply, create, and have fun.Resources Folder:Â https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E944gfv_4K3Vg-URZiDE93Tc1PHmAZ37?usp=share_link
Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: None
Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: None
Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Chair of Elementary Arts Education, SUU - Southern Utah University
Alisa Petersen is the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Chair of Elementary Art Education at Southern Utah University. As the director of the artsFUSION outreach program, Alisa combines her passions for art, creativity and the maker movement to coordinate, develop, and teach arts-integrated... Read More →
