Professional Development
Virtual · 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST · Co-hosted by UCF DRACO Lab & School of Teacher Education
CRAFT PD Series — Unlocking AI & IoT for K-12 STEM
Co-hosted by the UCF DRACO Lab (Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering) and the UCF School of Teacher Education (College of Community Innovation & Education), University of Central Florida, in partnership with the Western Regional Noyce Network, this series equips in-service and pre-service STEM teachers with practical skills for bringing AI and IoT into their classrooms.
Each standalone, virtual session follows the CRAFT pedagogical cycle — a five-phase instructional framework where participants experience each phase firsthand and learn to apply it in their own teaching:
- Contextualize — Why it matters: real-world application, career, and societal framing
- Reframe — Surface the wrong mental model, install the correct one
- Assemble — I Do → We Do → You Do scaffolded practice
- Fortify — Verify with tools and AI; errors are features, not failures
- Transfer — Connect forward to the next concept or your own classroom
Facilitators: Dr. Mike Borowczak & Dr. Andrea Borowczak + DRACO Lab graduate TAs
Format: Virtual (Zoom) · 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST · ~20-25 participants per session
Standards Framework: NGSS
What Every Participant Receives
- Curated resource website — Bookmarkable page with links, guides, and updates
- Digital toolkit PDF — One downloadable document per session
- Customized lesson — STEM template (aligned to CSTA, NGSS, CCSS Math/ELA, ISTE, and other frameworks of your choice) personalized during the session
Previous Professional Development
Recordings, walkthrough sites, and playlists from previous PD series facilitated by Drs. Mike & Andrea Borowczak. All sessions remain free to watch, share, and remix under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CRAFT PD Series (2026)
The three standalone virtual workshops in the CRAFT PD Series — Unlocking AI & IoT for K-12 STEM.
Workshop 1: Using AI for STEM — Lessons & More
April 11, 2026 — Turn LLMs into your STEM curriculum co-pilot through hands-on prompt engineering across ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini side-by-side. Talk:Do ratio of 1:5.8.
Workshop 2: Verifying STEM AI Outputs
April 18, 2026 — Your students are using AI, but do they know when it's wrong? Learn the Check the Machine protocol and hands-on error-hunting for both code and content. Talk:Do ratio of 1:6.3.
Workshop 3: Programming Edge/IoT Systems with AI
April 25, 2026 — BBC micro:bit in the MakeCode simulator + LLM-assisted coding to build a two-node IoT system (sensor node ↔ aggregator node). A micro:bit V2 kit ships to completers. Talk:Do ratio of 1:6.6.
The Artful Craft of Science (TACoS)
Annual workshop series blending computer science, engineering, and the arts for elementary and middle-school educators.
TACoS IX (2023) — CS Track
Computer Science / Engineering track with a full walkthrough site and a 28-video YouTube playlist (1–4 min each).
TACoS IX (2023) — Engineering Track
Engineering Design with Computing — walkthrough site paired with a 27-video YouTube playlist (1–4 min each).
TACoS VIII (2022)
2022 workshop recordings — full YouTube playlist of CS, engineering, and arts-integration sessions.
TACoS VII (2021)
2021 workshop recordings — full YouTube playlist of CS, engineering, and arts-integration sessions.
TACoS VI (2020)
First virtual edition — 5 longer-form recordings, ~10–20 minutes each.
Teacher Technical Sessions
Hands-on technical PD for teachers building their own CS comfort before bringing it to students.
Intro to CS with micro:bits (2021)
2021 cohort of the micro:bit intro series — physical-computing on-ramp using the BBC micro:bit. YouTube playlist.
Intro to CS with micro:bits (2020)
2020 cohort of the micro:bit intro series — the first iteration of our hands-on physical-computing PD. YouTube playlist.
Unplugged CS
No computer needed — recorded sessions introducing CS concepts without devices.
Thinking Like a Computer Scientist: Solve a Maze
No programming required — computational-thinking PD built around a hands-on maze problem.
Advanced JavaScript
Deeper-dive PD for teachers ready to move beyond intro programming with their students.
Standards & Concept Explainers
Short on-demand PD aligned to state and national CS standards.
What Is CS? — Series
Short explainers on core CS concepts. Drop into a lesson, share with families, or use for teacher self-study.
Wyoming CS Standards Explained — K–2
3–5 min explainers per Wyoming K–2 CS standard (7 videos).
Wyoming CS Standards Explained — 3–5
3–5 min explainers per Wyoming 3–5 CS standard (10 videos).
Wyoming CS Standards Explained — 5–8
3–5 min explainers per Wyoming 5–8 CS standard (8 videos).
Wyoming CS Standards Explained — HS Level 1
3–5 min explainers per Wyoming HS Level 1 CS standard (9 videos).
Wyoming CS Standards Explained — HS Level 2
3–5 min explainers per Wyoming HS Level 2 CS standard (7 videos).
Workshops
CRAFT PD Series — Unlocking AI & IoT for K-12 STEM
A three-session professional development series using the CRAFT pedagogical cycle. Co-hosted by the UCF DRACO Lab and School of Teacher Education.
What Every Participant Receives
- Curated resource website — Bookmarkable page with links, guides, and updates
- Digital toolkit PDF — One downloadable document per session
- Customized lesson — STEM template aligned to the standards frameworks of your choice (CSTA, NGSS, CCSS Math/ELA, ISTE, and more), personalized during the session