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On the Road This Fall: 14 Sessions on Sensemaking, Assessment, and Design

Writer: Dr. Victor Sampson
Dr. Victor Sampson
Sep 30
2 min read

Over the next seven weeks I'll be presenting at six conferences in five states. The sessions share one question: how do we design instruction and assessment that make student sensemaking visible, instead of rewarding students for reproducing answers? Some sessions tackle that through Phenomenon-Driven Tasks (PDTs), a three-dimensional assessment format we've been developing at ADI. Others take it up through STEM design challenges, literacy practices, and investigation design. At CAST I'll also make the case that it's time to retire CER.


Below is the full schedule. If you'll be at any of these events, come find me. I'd love to hear how these ideas look in your classrooms.


Georgia STEM/STEAM Forum 2026 | Athens, GA

The Classic Center, 300 N Thomas St

  • Three-Dimensional Assessments That Require Sense-Making. Thursday, Oct 1, 2:20–3:35pm, Grand Hall 2. How to design 3D assessment tasks students can't complete without figuring something out.

  • Powerful 3D STEM Learning Experiences. Friday, Oct 2, 8:30–10:00am, Parthenon 2. What distinguishes learning experiences that integrate practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts in meaningful ways.


FLSELA Fall 2026 State Meeting | Orlando, FL

Wyndham I-Drive Avanti Palms Resort & Conference Center

  • Designing Assessment to Make Sensemaking Visible. Wednesday, Oct 21, 8:30–11:30am. An extended working session for science leaders on design principles for assessments that surface student reasoning.


FAST 2026 | Orlando, FL

Wyndham I-Drive Avanti Palms Resort & Conference Center

  • Designing for Sensemaking Workshop. Thursday, Oct 22, 12:30–2:30pm. A hands-on workshop on building tasks and lessons around sensemaking.

  • Phenomenon-Driven Tasks: Three-Dimensional Assessments That Require Sense-Making. Friday, Oct 23, 9:30–10:30am. An introduction to PDTs and what they reveal about student thinking.


NSTA National Conference | Indianapolis, IN

Indiana Convention Center, 100 S Capitol Ave

  • Phenomenon-Driven Tasks: 3D Assessments That Require Sensemaking and Make Thinking Visible. Thursday, Nov 5, 7:00–8:00am, Room 241.

  • Literacy in the Service of Sensemaking: Reading, Writing, and Talk as Science Tools. Friday, Nov 6, 7:00–8:00am, Room 104. Using disciplinary literacy as a way to do science, not as an add-on.

  • ADI STEM Design Challenges: Integrated Science, Math, and Engineering Learning in Grades 3–8. Friday, Nov 6, 10:40–11:40am, Room 245.


STANYS 2026 | Syracuse, NY

Marriott Hotel

  • Three-Dimensional STEM Design Challenges for Grades 3–8. Saturday, Nov 7, 1:30–2:30pm, Seneca Room.

  • Supporting the Practice of Planning and Carrying Out Investigations in Middle School Science. Sunday, Nov 8, 2:15–3:15pm, Cayuga Room.

  • Phenomenon-Driven Tasks: A New Way to Make Student Thinking About the Three Dimensions of Science Visible. Sunday, Nov 8, 3:45–4:45pm, Cayuga Room.


CAST 2026 | Houston, TX (Featured Speaker)

Marriott Marquis Houston

  • Designing to Learn: Using ADI STEM Design Challenges to Integrate Science and Engineering. Friday, Nov 13, 8:00–9:00am, Houston Ballroom Salon IV.

  • It Is Time to Retire CER. Friday, Nov 13, 12:30–1:30pm, Meyerland A/B. Why the claim-evidence-reasoning framework has outlived its usefulness, and what should replace it.

  • From Phenomena to Proficiency: Designing and Using Phenomenon-Driven Tasks. Saturday, Nov 14, 9:30–10:30am, Houston Ballroom Salon IV.


I'm honored to be one of this year's CAST featured speakers alongside the Amoeba Sisters, Tatiana Erukhimova, Julie Jackson, and Jace Tunnell.

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