VATLL Annual Conference

This session shares how a social studies teacher and media specialist partnered to bring authentic primary sources into the history classroom, beginning with a Progressive Era gallery walk built from early 20th-century artifacts discovered in a grandmother’s basement. 


Session participants will explore a practical collaboration model, learn co-planning routines, and practice curating document sets. The session will flow from story to demonstration to hands-on design, with attendees interacting through paired curation, small group discussion, and inquiry-task creation. Educators will leave with templates, scaffolds, and a rollout plan for sustainable primary-source integration.

Are you smarter than a fifth grader - or prepared to teach what Virginia’s elementary students are expected to learn in computer science? Through an interactive challenge, participants explore concepts from Virginia’s revised K–5 Computer Science Standards and examine the need for scalable professional learning for educators. Presenters will share lessons from prior initiatives and introduce competency-based micro-credentials that support meaningful, interdisciplinary integration of computer science. Attendees will leave with practical strategies and a framework for building educator capacity.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have the power to transform teaching and learning when they move beyond compliance to  collaboration. This interactive session equips educators with practical strategies, data-driven protocols  and collaborative tools to facilitate meaningful PLC conversations that improve instruction and increase student achievement. Participants will leave with ready-to-use resources and an action plan for building high-impact PLCs focused on continuous improvement and measurable results.

The Math Is Figure-Out-Able approach and professional learning platform support a powerful shift from teaching steps and algorithms to fostering strategic reasoning, flexible thinking, and deep conceptual understanding. This session introduces the Developing Mathematical Reasoning framework, showing how students build number sense, make connections, and reason authentically. Through hands-on tasks, educators explore how students use relationships, represent thinking, and apply strategies confidently. Participants leave with practical ideas and pedagogical approaches that strengthen instruction—grounded in the belief that Math is FigureOutAble!

Bridging theory and practice, this interactive K-12 session empowers educators to understand gifted characteristics and asynchronous development. Participants will master differentiation techniques and acquire a turnkey toolkit of actionable classroom strategies. Through polls, case studies, and rapid action-planning, attendees will collaborate to elevate rigor and support high-ability learners.
Outcomes: Diagnose asynchronous needs, design tiered frameworks, and immediately implement three practical strategies or share them with school-wide peers.
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