If STAO Celebrates 2025 Was a Dead Whale…
Li-Shien Lee Math Coach, Ottawa Carleton District School Board
At this year’s STAO Conference in Toronto, I had the joy of attending Dr. Dan Riskin’s keynote presentation, “AI & Curiosity: An Opportunity for Teachers to Lead.” One moment has stayed with me. Dr. Riskin showed a video of a dead whale resting on the ocean floor, surrounded by scavengers. In the footage we only saw the creatures feasting, including several octopuses. Dr. Riskin reminded us that in the vast ocean, thousands of octopuses would likely swim right past without ever noticing the whale. Only a few would be curious or lucky enough to stumble upon it, pause, and discover a rare meal.
This simple ecological story sparked something in me because STAO Celebrates 2025 was full of “firsts.” It was my first time attending a STAO conference, my first time presenting at a professional teacher conference by myself, and my first time travelling hours away from home to participate as a Math Coach. I submitted my proposal because I was curious. I wanted to see what it would be like. I was grateful when the selection committee saw potential in Teaching Science and Math Through Paper Engineering and invited me to present.
Because I followed my curiosity, I had one of the most positive professional experiences of my year. I met passionate educators from across the province, formed new connections, traded ideas that I cannot wait to bring back to my colleagues, and gained confidence in sharing my work publicly. I learned new ways to support student learning in both science and math. Most of all, I was reminded of how energizing it can be to step into something unfamiliar.
So I kept thinking about Dr. Riskin’s whale. I was one of those octopuses who stopped to check out an unexpected opportunity, and STAO was the dead whale on the seabed, full of learning and professional nourishment. Every participant at the conference was an octopus too. We all paused long enough to explore, learn, and take in something valuable. My workshop might have been a small part of that whale, perhaps the folded and layered organs, like the brain or the intestines, with all their paper-engineering style twists and turns.
I am leaving STAO Celebrates 2025 inspired, grateful, and more curious than ever. And I hope that next year, more educators will be brave enough to stop, take a closer look, and discover what unexpected feast of ideas is waiting for them.