Join us to design a prototype for a classroom task using our new Task Design Workbook. We will highlight key elements of 3D assessment design (i.e. problematizing phenomena, centering sense-making, and accessibility features). These high-leverage components of task development prepare you to adapt & design assessments that center your students and engage them in 3D sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Van Horne, Aneesha Badrinarayan, Sara Cooper, Dawn Novak

Shifting from traditional professional learning to curriculum-based professional learning is a simple concept but complex to design and execute well. At its core, it means teachers experience the same kind of three-dimensional, phenomenon-driven science learning we expect them to provide their students and are supported over time as they take on new practices in their classrooms. It means leaders apply a systems approach to professional learning. This approach is grounded in high-quality instructional materials and the instructional model, routines, and practices consistent with the design of the materials. The Carnegie Corporation of New York report, The Elements, identifies a core set of research-based actions, approaches, and enabling conditions that effective schools and systems have put in place to reinforce and amplify the power of high-quality curricula enacted by teachers prepared to use the materials. In this session, you’ll immerse yourself in the Elements and consider strategies for applying them to your plans for professional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jody Bintz, Jim Short, Susan Gomez Zwiep, Lindsey Mohan, Jenine Cotton-Proby, Zoe Buck Bracey

The Consortium for Open Equitable Science Education in Elementary (COESEE) is creating open education science learning experiences that more flexibly use time, while re-envisioning critical components of phenomenon, embedded ELA resources, equity, professional learning, and assessment. Elementary science learning demands the investigation of phenomena across time - weeks and months, not days -to use data and first-hand experience to see patterns, trends, and eventually build concepts. Our place-based Weather and Climate units in kindergarten and third grade require the collection, documentation, and analysis of weather data over many months to 1. observe patterns in the data, and 2. ask and answer highly-relevant questions about those patterns that can only be investigated over time. We will share one of our place-based, multiple-month units and unpack the ways exemplar units help to redefine elementary science learning experiences to elevate the brilliance of students and strengths of teachers. Participants will engage with materials developers and diverse and accomplished elementary science scholars and have an immersive experience wearing both their teacher and student hats.

Each session in this PLI strand will elevate Recommendations from the NASEM consensus report “Science and Engineering in Preschool through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and Strengths of Educators (2022).

SPEAKERS:
Shelly LeDoux, Carla Zembal-Saul, Heidi Carlone, Mary Starr, Miranda Fitzgerald, Tia Madkins, Mike Ryan, Molly Ewing

Identify common fossils of the Middle Devonian in a hands-on investigation. Work with Petoskey stones and other fossils to make inferences about the past and learn how to teach this with elementary students. Curriculum handouts and fossil kits will be provided to the first 30 participants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use the fossil curriculum with intermediate elementary students. Teachers will get to explore Devonian fossils of the Traverse Group and learn how to analyze data to make inferences about past environments. Teachers will receive materials to use with intermediate elementary students.

SPEAKERS:
Kayce Wills, Laura Schneider

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

In this workshop, participants dive into a 2nd grade module on Matter. Using the six steps of the Engineering Design Process, participants will ask, imagine, plan and test a solution to the real-world problem: How can you design and build a shelter that provides protection from rain?

SPEAKERS:
Cristina Hohmann

Participants will learn how to choose a picture book as a basis for an engineering unit, examine examples of several books that we have turned into engineering units, follow our journey to construct a force and motion unit, and participate in the Engineering Challenge to build a better race car.

TAKEAWAYS:
The participants will understand how to select a picture book to support a science standard, as well as be able to construct an engineering unit based on the chosen book. Participants will also receive a copy of our force and motion unit based on to use in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jenna Henkel, Pamela Parks

This capacity building session will explore how to make meaningful phenomena for students; review a set of phenomena descriptions generated by others and say which ones might be compelling to students and why; and explore a framework with examples for different classes of phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn, through an existing OER professional learning module, how to identify meaningful and relevant phenomena that attend to students interest and community priorities.

SPEAKERS:
William Penuel

Sponsoring Company: VEX Robotics

STEM education needs to be inclusive. This workshop will discuss research proven methods for why STEM can help improve student participation in the classroom. Jason McKenna, Director of Education at VEX Robotics, will include examples and techniques that teachers can use in their own classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jason McKenna, Drew Ostry

What will be describe in this session is are community science events that can be organized with themes that use natural phenomena or NGSS standards, practices, and outcomes that a school would like to promote.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to update these events to go beyond the traditional Family Science Events that are superficial. One main takeaway are example indepth activities and resources that can be used for use with families and students

SPEAKERS:
Annabelle Fortine, Lavender Bertsch, Hannah Smock, Jim McDonald, Nicole Merner, Makayla Spencer, Morgan Glann, Emma Harma

Do you ever wish your lesson engaged everyone in the class? The readers, the mathematicians, the engineers and writers will all love these STEM and literacy lessons! In this session, you will learn how to mix and mingle - with read aloud books and STEM challenges, of course!

TAKEAWAYS:
When you leave this session, you will have a better idea of how incorporate literacy with STEM. I’ll be sharing STEM challenges that you can link to children’s books that you probably already have in your classroom! You’ll also learn some tips on how to create your own read aloud STEM challenges!

SPEAKERS:
Emily Gentile

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Let’s explore several intervention strategies to help struggling students in STEM. Let's move beyond differentiation and scaffolding. Come learn other proven intervention techniques to help students. Let’s modify our traditional outreach to connect with students so that they gain greater understandi

SPEAKERS:
Stacey O'Connor, Ashley Mathis, Dr. Kenneth Heydrick

Explore the properties of light with hands-on activities. Build a spectrometer, make an LED saber, “see” sound with a laser light show, reflect/refract and absorb light in an obstacle course and more! Easily and cheaply bring back to your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about light and the properties of light through engaging and fun, hands-on activities they can easily and cheaply take back to their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Betty Bigney, Holly Mentillo

This session disseminates learnings from an early-phase STEM project of the federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program. A joint effort of the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC) and Tracy Unified School District in California, the multi-year project centers on the development and implementation of integrated STEM curricular units to every student in each grade level, pre-kindergarten through grade twelve. Developed by local teacher leaders, each 4- to 8-week unit centers on a design challenge, clusters the ETS and other NGSS standards related to that challenge, and requires students to develop a computational artifact as a part of demonstrating their learning. The project is enriched through the participation of community leaders who bring local industry experiences to students within each unit, and is supported through strategic work teams. Come see how this systemic reform is bringing equitable STEM experiences to all students PreK-12. Leave inspired with ide

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How one district approaches integrated STEM; 2. What an integrated STEM unit feels like; and 3. How one district supports and builds accountability for equitable STEM instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Reynolds

This session will highlight the coaching up of intentional literacy instruction during science time for coaches and teachers. School districts select goals based on their district improvement plans to support writing, reading, and/or academic productive talk. Facilitation guides provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in a model for cross-disciplinary work during science instruction to take to their districts, supporting both instructional coaches and teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Jackie Presson, Christi Gilbert, Wendi Vogel

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

What's so phenomenal about phenomena? Join the Savvas science team for an engaging, hands-on workshop as we explore the purpose of phenomena, the power of using it to drive your instruction, and the way it will support your students as they bring their own life experiences into your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jessi Davis, Lisa Espinosa

Sponsoring Company: Discovery Education, Inc.

Start your day with the Discovery Education team as they take you on a high energy and hands-on immersion into the wonderful world of Phenomena!

SPEAKERS:
Amy Davis

Are you looking for connections between science and literacy? Join this session to discuss the design of a science and literacy task to leverage reading and writing in context. Then take an in-depth look into examples that can be put into action in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about designing lessons or tasks that assist students in utilizing reading and writing skills while engaging in 3-dimesional science. This session will, also, provide some sample lessons that can be used in K-5 classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Canepa-Redondo, Renee Shirley-Stevens

The Stackable, Instructionally-embedded, Portable Science (SIPS) Assessments project is applying current research, theory, and best practice to establish replicable and scalable processes and resources to drive shifts to science instructional practice and assessment as envisioned by the Framework.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators’ ability to design and implement high quality 3-dimensional science instruction, evaluate student learning, and make appropriate instructional decisions will be modeled. Beneficial tools and resources will be shared to ensure a coherent system of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Charlene Turner, Mary Nyaema, Rhonda True, Bill Herrera

Is your science time getting squeezed? In this interactive workshop, learn how to use the NGSS K-5 Engineering Standards to find the STEM in ANY storybook to get your students excited about science and engineering through reading in the elementary classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive session, participants will learn how to plan lessons and units that integrate science, engineering, and other content areas into your reading time by starting with any storybook.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Hill

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Water is the single most valuable resource essential for life on Earth, yet is subject to increasing scarcity, pollutants, and overuse. The Tapwater Tour curriculum make the real-world connection between the phenomena explored in the lesson and actual hands-on laboratory activities.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans

Come learn three discussion routines that can transform your science lessons: “I Notice, I Wonder, I Predict”, “Data Discussions”, and “Let’s Make Sense of It All”. Together we’ll explore key features of each talk, participate in enactments, and brainstorm ways to have more talk time in our lessons

TAKEAWAYS:
For young students, talking is learning as students learn as they talk through their own ideas and listen to the ideas of others. This session highlights three whole class science discussion routines that can transform elementary science lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Forsythe

In this session, Nyamwija, a native Ugandan, will provide songs, dances, and instrument-making from Western and Central Uganda. Dees will provide cross-cultural and cross-curricular hands-on-learning activities to intersect the Ugandan arts with NGSS standards. Twabakiira! Karibu! Welcome!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will participate in music making (singing/dancing/drumming), as well as, instrument making to gain a greater sense of the Ugandan culture while combining those understandings in hand-on science activities for use in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jenny Dees, Ristella Nyamwija

Engaging in scientific investigations can motivate students to read, write and participate in productive discourse. This session provides educators with lessons and resources to support teaching three-dimensional hands-on scientific investigation that motivates student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants leave the session with insights into how to use engaging hands-on investigations to motivate students to read, write, and engage in discourse. They will receive a complete set of lesson plans for their NGSS state grade-level standards.

SPEAKERS:
Candace Penrod, Brett Moulding

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TAKEAWAYS:
STEM isn't an add on at the EC level. It is a natural way of discovering the world around. It is also a path to equity when it is embedded in literary and real-world experience.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Ruud, Juliana Texley

Engage in the science practices of investigating, modeling, and arguing from evidence to make sense of why a toy train moves forward and backward without physical contact. Participants will explore gravity, static electricity, and magnetism to determine which most likely causes it to move.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants explore forces at a distance and make sense of how they might cause the phenomenon to occur by developing a model via a three-step sequence. Teachers examine sample student work to uncover ideas and determine that some ideas may make sense despite being inaccurate for the situation.

SPEAKERS:
Christi Pace, Jaclyn Murray

A step-by-step explanation of how to implement FLORES (Family Learning and Outreach for Research and Education in STEM) in your elementary school. The program builds content knowledge and confidence in both parents and students, as they learn STEM together in their native language.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the positive research results form this program, how to implement FLORES and how to access the materials used to run the family sessions.

SPEAKERS:
Anny Vanegas, Amanda Gunning

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

High quality instructional materials are essential for equitable access to science, but materials are only the start of the instructional journey! Examine the importance of YOUR role as a teacher in leveraging NGSS-designed curriculum to inspire your students to figure out phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Nick Raducanu

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

In this workshop, participants are introduced to a 5th grade module on Earth Systems to uncover a new process for developing models in science and see how the communication of ideas through models and sketches increases opportunities for student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Cristina Hohmann

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

How can a phenomena-based NGSS curriculum promote sensemaking in science and also support language development? See how embedded supports in well-designed instructional materials, along with teachers’ best practices, can create a successful science learning environment for Multilingual Learners.

SPEAKERS:
Nick Raducanu

Sponsoring Company: Lyricos Learning LLC

We are a STEM+Arts streaming platform that gets used in the classroom to teach hands-on projects via our standards aligned videos. During this session we will plan on hosting a hands-on project for the teachers to make while following along with the video. Example - they can make a DNA bracelet.

SPEAKERS:
Devina Bhojwani

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Engage in strategies to help your English Learners (EL) population make sense of science concepts and apply their science knowledge to real-world applications. We will explore a variety of strategies for differentiating instruction so that ELs can build their ability to communicate science concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Stacey O'Connor, Suzan Morris, Dr. Kenneth Heydrick

Sponsoring Company: Discovery Education, Inc.

Built exclusively for Florida, learn about the Discovery Education K-8 Florida Science Program delivers active science lessons designed based on the Statewide Science Assessments. Pre-registration is required and a light lunch is served first come first serve. Pre-register at bit.ly/de-at-nsta-2023

Birds of a Feather sessions (BoFs) are informal gatherings of like-minded individuals who wish to discuss a certain topic without a pre-planned agenda.

Come and learn how two different school contexts (rural and urban) are implementing science engineering practices through PBL experiences. Utilizing Engineering is Elementary resources as a model, teachers will share their instructional practices and strategies along with successes and challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to explain that SEPs can and should be integrated in a manner to meet the individual needs of a school’s community and make-up.

SPEAKERS:
Trudy Giasi, Andi Maddox, Brandy Hepler

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

In this workshop, participant explore parts of a 4th grade module on Energy to see how hands-on experiences and other modes of discovery enable students to build knowledge and gather personally meaningful evidence to support their scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Cristina Hohmann

Opening a lab is a daunting process. Learn about how Fairport developed a vision, wrote a horizontally and vertically aligned curriculum, and utilized intentional decision making to design the Elementary STEAM Lab experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with recommendations for creating STEAM Labs in their districts based on the blueprint that Fairport used to launch Labs that incorporate the NGSS Engineering Design standards, Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards, and a focus on social-emotional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Travis Wood, Kristin Larsen

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Forsythe, Lisa Espinosa

Discover interdisciplinary games and simulations that help younger students explore connections between themselves and the environment, including natural resource use, pollution and climate. Presented activities build skills in scientific inquiry, data analysis and critical thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will increase their understanding of basic human ecological concepts and best practices for introducing these concepts in their interdisciplinary elementary classrooms using 3D science instruction for a variety of learning styles.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Travaglini

Sponsoring Company: TCI

Join TCI in this interactive session to learn how to integrate language skills while guiding students in developing their science knowledge.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Thomas

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Students can drive their learning through hands-on activities integrated with digital and print resources. Learn how using Smithsonian Science for the Classroom engages students with science and engineering practices and promotes scientific literacy for all students. Take home materials available.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera, Melissa Rogers

Worms excite everyone! They are cheap, easy to get, and can be the phenomenon to drive learning on a host of topics. Come play with worms and see how they can stimulate learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience a series of activities that will help them use earthworms as phenomena in elementary science. For each activity, we will discuss how to move from the specifics of worms into sensemaking around more general concepts that the activities illustrate.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Wheeler-Toppen

This intervention combined purposeful planning and innovative academic vocabulary instruction. Easily replicable classroom strategies and examples will facilitate implementation and demonstrate how to make science accessible to all students, including minorities, economically disadvantaged, English

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will strategically target academic vocabulary, visually display connections between inquiry activities and vocabulary, and explore opportunities for students to experience vocabulary in context, actively process word meanings, and practice using vocabulary to speak and write sentences.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Jackson

Find out how contemporary scientists’ cutting-edge research can be shared with elementary students and linked to curriculum topics. Activities and investigations which children (ages 7 to 11) can do in the classroom to mirror cutting-edge research will be demonstrated.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn how I bet you didn’t know… articles written in language that children can understand and accompanying Teacher Guides can be used in the classroom to increase engagement with practical activities, develop enquiry skills and an appreciation of the impact of science on real life.

SPEAKERS:
Alison Trew

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Do you have Vernier equipment but don’t know how to get started? Do you have questions but aren’t sure whom to ask? Learn about the resources and support available to you from Vernier Science Education and gain confidence to use our technology with your students!

SPEAKERS:
David Carter, Angie Harr

Addressing the needs of all the different learners in science can be challenging. Join us as we take a deep dive into research-based strategies and practices so that all students can succeed in science class no matter their learning need.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away a better understanding of addressing learner variability as it applies to science and Identify at least two strategies to promote student engagement, representation, or communication for planning future science lessons or adapting current lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Shirley-Stevens, Judith Beccaro

For anyone that has excitedly explained the power of phenomenon-based instruction or 3-dimensional learning and been met with a blank stare – this session is for you! Led by communication experts, this session is designed to help you create K-12 Science messages in succinct, compelling ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn new ways to describe and explain the importance of 3-dimensional instruction and phenomenon based learning to key audiences, including parents and communities, lawmakers, and non-science educators.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Ezring, Josh Parrish, Michelle Austin

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Students get engaged with practical and inquiry-based engineering experiences by using the DIVE-in method. This program was developed with the New York Hall of Science. Transform your classroom into an authentic makerspace with the DIVE process. Learn how to use the design process through consensus.

SPEAKERS:
Stacey O'Connor, Dr. Kenneth Heydrick

In this interactive workshop, you will use the NGSS K-2 Engineering Design Standards to integrate STEM into the storybook Mrs. Brown Went to Town and see how you can get your students excited about reading and science through engineering.

TAKEAWAYS:
Want to get your students excited about a story? Then have them be a part of the story and use their knowledge of materials and engineering to help Mrs. Brown! In this interactive session you will get to design and test your engineering project based on the storybook Mrs. Brown Went to Town.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Hill, Anna Ball

Sponsoring Company: The National WWII Museum

When students investigations began with a real story from history, with true situations and high stakes, science learning can be everything we want it to be. Learn about using our free activities to teach science the NGSS way, and integrating science. literacy, and social studies.

SPEAKERS:
Rob Wallace

We will present activities developed for high-need urban schools (elementary and middle school focus) that lead to weather, ecology, life cycles, and water quality classroom discussions and ask attendees to challenge us to match activities to their needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
No matter what a school’s environment, urban or rural, students can be engaged in Earth systems study to prepare them to be stewards of the Earth.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Feit, Peter Garik

Generating STEM interest through a place-conscious framework is a pathway for students to solve issues relevant to their community. Framing instructional methods within the place-conscious design allow important issues to be at the center of the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will explore how to design hands-on inquiry lesson developed from a place-conscious framework.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Bookheimer

Washington County Public Schools, MD had adopted the definition of Acceleration as intentionally providing access to grade/course-level learning so students who have unfinished learning succeed in today’s learning experience. Underpinning this definition we have leaned on the work of John Hattie to identify 4 high-impact areas(relationships, scaffolds, clarity, feedback) of teaching and learning to frame our focus away from traditional remediation. This session will look at the practice of scaffolding instruction in the science classroom. Attendees will participate in collaborative discussions and experience the use of authentic classroom examples. These experiences will promote their own thinking of how our practical strategies can be transferred into their classrooms. Due to the organizational leadership role of the presenters, audience members will be able to have questions ranging from classroom implementation to curriculum integration discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
The practical use of instructional scaffolds and the supporting strategies to increase access to student learning in science.

SPEAKERS:
Tara Ellis

Rocketry is a learning pathway - not an "event". Join Dr. Cassondra Zielinski as she takes you through the process of space-settlement design in a K-5 school. This session concentrates on designing a space settlement using paper and Lego through the SDG Sensor Kits. This is session 1 of 3.

TAKEAWAYS:
Session participants will understand how to combine NGSS, Mathematics, Art, and Technology by using a hands-on approach through space settlement design, creative lesson planning, and student interest. Participants will implement their own ideas into new lessons just like the K-5 students.

SPEAKERS:
Cassondra Zielinski

Students are going to talk anyway. Learn to make talk productive with student-led talk circles. Use this powerful strategy tomorrow to build students’ scientific literacy!

TAKEAWAYS:
Talk Circles enable educators to uncover student ideas and misconceptions as well as reveal students’ understanding to pave the way for further investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Patricia McMahon, Sheri Geitner, Nicole Bay

Creating primary and intermediate STEM-focused classrooms can be challenging. This session will highlight strategies and examples to incorporate STEM and science activities into their classrooms. Resources that use trade books to teach Science/STEM concepts will be modeled and discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in example activities that make connections between quality children’s literature that support STEM topics, STEM investigations, and reading strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Anne Royce

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Engage in a PRIME lesson to see modeling scaffolds that support student discussions and literacy strategies in the context of science. Experience incorporating academic language in written responses and oral discourse in conjunction with investigations using an interactive word wall.

SPEAKERS:
Vanessa Evans

This workshop will cover technology tools for teaching essential elementary science concepts and topics to students through virtual field trips. Generally, teachers use in-person field trips to expose students to otherwise inaccessible learning resources. In some cases, such field trips come with prepared teaching materials that can be used to connect the content to important science concepts. However, teachers also need to know about technologies they can use for field trips when it is not possible for students to travel to the site due to unexpected bad weather or pandemic, or long distances. During the workshop, teachers will receive resources for virtual field trips to enhance virtual science instruction and student learning. These resources have shown the potential to aid teachers in engaging students in virtual field trips.

TAKEAWAYS:
With appropriate educational technology integration and carefully planned lessons, teachers can seamlessly shift their classes to virtual field trip instruction during unexpected school disruptions without sacrificing student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
John Ojeogwu

Sponsoring Company: Phenomenon Science Education

We will explore what phenomena are through hands-on activities specific to your grade band. We will look at examples and non examples of phenomena and use criteria to figure out the differences.

SPEAKERS:
Joshua Smith, Sharon Cates

Sponsoring Company: Discovery Education, Inc.

Looking to level up your teaching and learning toolkits? Don't miss this highly-rated session! Join Discovery Education as we unveil seven things that you didn’t know about your FAVORITE science learning platform, and one thing you probably did! Pre-register at bit.ly/de-nsta-2023

Simple, easy, and inexpensive methods for starting an indoor school garden, even with limited space or no windows

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will give teachers pratical ideas about how to grow plants in a classroom setting

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Kurson

Sponsoring Company: Legends of Learning

Have fun building a catapult to launch cows and learning about trajectories. After this presentation, you’ll walk away with techniques to bring an engaging gaming experience to your classroom, which your students will explore science and engineer practices through.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsay Buckel

Presenters will share two units in which science is integrated with ELA, math, and social studies. This session will share the process of unit creation and how incorporation with other content areas strengthens science instruction. Two units will be shared-one for kindergarten and one for 3rd grade.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to integrate multiple content standards to strength science instruction as well as leave with two examples of fully integrated elementary units. In addition to the sharing of the units, presenters will share the creation process so participants can engage in this work.

SPEAKERS:
Chelsie Byram, Mandie Sanderman

COESEE - Join us to explore the selection and implementation of phenomenon for elementary students as you review materials or build phenomenon into your own materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phenomenon can be used in multiple ways to support interesting and just learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly LeDoux, Molly Ewing, Carla Zembal-Saul, Mary Starr

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discover hands-on activities using temperature probes and other Vernier sensors that will excite your students. See how age-appropriate, sensor-based experiments teach students about data collection and analysis—practices that promote scientific inquiry, build STEM literacy, and boost test scores.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter, Angie Harr

Sponsoring Company: Museum of Science, EiE

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Cramer, Mallory Schmidt, Jill Olson

Engage in teacher play with us and ponder how light sources and open-ended materials entice children to grow executive function skills as they construct systems that produce unique images.  

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in teacher play as they handle light sources and open-ended materials and receive a handout to help them get started in preparing an environment for independent STEM experiences that can be offered daily in their PK-2 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Dykstra VanMeeteren

What is the big deal with a phenomenon—and how is it structured for science learning? A phenomenon drives three-dimensional science instruction. Join this session to discuss the importance of phenomena as well as what it is and what it isn’t. Resources will be shared!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the importance phenomena plays in 3D Science instruction , instructional strategies to use when sensemaking. and how to assess student learning using phenomenon-based assessment tasks.

SPEAKERS:
Judith Beccaro

Participants will engage in several activities that explore how a teacher explicitly prepares for collaborative conversations within a lesson. Participants will delve into strategies such as targeted questioning, talk moves, and instructional routines that promote science discourse within the class

TAKEAWAYS:
Develop understanding of the role a teacher takes in preparing for collaborative conversations that produce effective science discourse.

SPEAKERS:
Armetta Wright, Vicki Saxton

How do we center students in NGSS units designed for a national audience? Join us to explore how a team of K-8 educators are developing resources and strategies that incorporate local phenomena, community needs, and the lived experiences of their students into their teaching of Amplify Science units

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become familiar with an approach used to localize national curricula and take away research-based and equity centered tools, resources and approaches they can use in their own efforts to localize their curricula and create an inclusive classroom environment.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott, Brad Street

Attendees will participate in a guided walk through the process of developing inquiries to ensure students reach mastery of critical content. This will include analyzing standard(s), participating in hands on inquiry, and using a template to create inquiries for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will understand how to plan opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding of critical content using methods that allow educators to easily monitor student progress toward mastery.

SPEAKERS:
Ryan Carlson, Desiree Siegel, Matthew Timm, Kimberly Seaver

We will share a model of science home/school partnership, focused on families of young multilingual learners (MLs) that fuels their science and language learning across contexts, sparks their interest and self-efficacy in science, and can be leveraged to support their school science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with concrete strategies, tools, and resources for building science partnerships with families of MLs that support language-enriched science experiences at home and mutually reinforce children's NGSS-aligned science and language experiences at school.

SPEAKERS:
Mandell Academy, Rachel Shurick, Becky Fahey, Cindy Hoisington

Jason will explain what Science Ninjas is, why King’s College, London undertook this research and what it’s taught them about supporting teachers to plan effective active learning lessons and developing professional learning programs that lead to sustained improvement.

TAKEAWAYS:
The kinds of support that elementary teachers needed in order to make inquiry and hands-on learning effective in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Harding

Teachers will begin the session by sharing their current understanding/practice of incorporating play in the classroom by using a “fishbowl” sharing strategy. Then they will learn the three types of play: free play, guided play, and games. They will run through a few scenarios and determine which type of play is occurring during that scenario. Teachers will then review questioning-types that could be used to help guide free play to move it toward guided play. Teachers will work in teams scripting a teacher's questions to match a given play scenario. After teachers have shared, they will have a chance to put their work in action by engaging in four guided play stations. The four stations will focus on measurement, parts of a bug, buoyancy, and engineering. Teachers will brainstorm guided questions as they play. They will have a chance to share out major takeaways using a modified four corners strategy. We will have a reflection whole group.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore strategies that enhance children's STEM learning during play in order to extend and support current play and science activities in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Judith Lozoya, Jennifer Petersen, Brenna Chambers

Young children naturally engage in science and engineering practices through play. Educators can support this kind of learning through purposeful play environments and subtle facilitation. In this session, educators will discover how to recognize and extend children’s play-based science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will be introduced to an observation tool, which allows them to measure how children are engaging in science and engineering practices. Educators will gain practice using the tool with video-based cases and discuss effective strategies to support children’s play-based science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Alison Miller, Maranda Chung

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Looking for an engaging and innovative way to get your students to understand the meaning of a word? Experience ways to zoom in and zoom out of science content using a variety of differentiated strategies. Take these ideas straight back to your classroom for immediate use or for interventions.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Arnette, Dr. Kenneth Heydrick

Engaging in scientific investigations can motivate students to read, write and participate in productive discourse. This session provides educators with lessons and resources to support teaching three-dimensional hands-on scientific investigation that motivates student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants leave the session with insights into how to use engaging hands-on investigations to motivate students to read, write, and engage in discourse. They will receive a complete set of lesson plans for their NGSS state grade-level standards.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Moulding, Candace Penrod

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool (adapted from the research-based NGSS Lesson Screener) is designed to help educators be critical consumers of curricular materials as well as create and/or revise science lessons to reflect the instructional shifts required by new standards (sensemaking). Join us to gain experience using the tool and facilitating criteria-based consensus conversations with colleagues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Recognize the critical aspects of sensemaking in a science lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews, Kate Soriano

As education professionals seek to engage with Tribal entities to support Youth, they need resources to help ensure that they are stepping respectfully and intentionally. Learn about an Un-guidebook, supported by 100kin10, to help non-Native education professionals engage with Tribal entities.

TAKEAWAYS:
After this session, STEM educators will know more about building relationship with indigenous communities, and how both formal/OST, educators can use the Un-guide to create the first steps of a relationship with Tribal entities in their community and better support Tribal learners, especially youth.

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Hoppe, Melinda Higgins

Experience an inquiry-based dance class showcasing key pedagogical ideas that support all learners, creating equitable opportunities for engagement and access. Designed using a research-based model, and an inclusive framework, build instructional knowledge that transfers to the science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience best practices for science instruction including elements like differentiation, student choice, the power of kinesthetic learning, and more, all wrapped up in a research-based instructional model using an inclusive framework approach.

SPEAKERS:
Isaac Stauffer

Scared of science? Wondering how to put it ALL together? Join us as we look at how a K-6 STEAM Elementary school creates science units that are project-based and student focused, without breaking the bank or burning out!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will understand how to create unit frameworks that are informative, easy to use, and lead to quick lesson planning.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Shaughnessy, Ryan Mahn

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

How do crosscutting concepts link the ideas and practices of science across different domains and over time? We will show you practical examples to see how crosscutting concepts provide a foundation for student sensemaking of phenomena and problems. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera

Participants will explore critical components of “designed for NGSS” elementary units: phenomenon, embedded ELA resources, equity, professional learning, and assessment. Participants receive one exemplar unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Place-based learning experiences that extend across a school year can have multiple benefits for elementary students. Designed-for NGSS units that elevate the brilliance of children must include new visions of phenomenon, embedded ELA resources, equity, professional learning, and assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Starr, Michele Snyder

How do students' learning experiences change when we expand what constitutes science and engineering and begin to see science as part of social justice teaching? The Brilliance and Strength report pushes us to include these two ideas in the form of science activities, teacher planning and implementation, and materials development. Join us as we explore these ideas as they are applied to elementary science. We will provide some examples of what we think these goals mean for teaching and learning, discuss them, and then co-design others as a way to dive more deeply into justice-centered learning. Brilliance and Strengths Report: Equity foci 3 and 4 and Recommendations 6 and 8

TAKEAWAYS:
Science learning is part of social justice teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Carla Zembal-Saul, Heidi Carlone

Background information, teacher demonstrations, and fun, hands-on student explorations to better help you introduce K-3 students to the basic concepts of science and energy, as well as measurement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Help educators learn hands-on activities to introduce primary students to the basic concepts of science and energy using NEED's free curriculum while providing suggestions for use across the K-3 setting.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Swan

Explore a seabird study and the effects of climate change. We will share our curriculum highlighting authentic data analysis, techniques used in the field, and seabird biology and the Arctic ecosystem. Come try out a fish foraging simulation, bird banding, data analysis, and the research tools!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about an integrated curriculum centering on a 48-year Arctic study and explore seabird biology and the impacts of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem. Attendees will try out a fish foraging simulation (very fun!), bird banding, data analysis, and research tools.

SPEAKERS:
Alyssa Barr, Katie Morrison

What started out as our solution to “viewing science fair projects can be boring” evolved into a well-attended, hands-on experience for our families and community. In this session we will share our station-oriented activities and how to use them to build relationships with families and your school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with the resources and confidence to organize large events for their school and community using science to build relationships. Session participants will be given an outline of helpful resources, tools, and ideas they can use to manage their own events.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Hunt, Anne Fritz

Sponsoring Company: Werkz Publishing Inc.

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Gullotti, David Gentry, Amanda Hightower

In April 2013, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released just before the NSTA Annual Conference in Austin, Texas. In that time, nearly every state in the country has either adopted the NGSS outright or developed similar standards of their own. This session will reflect on the impact those standards have had in the last decade and consider what the future holds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into how standards are an essential step in the process of student learning, but how implementation of those standards plays an equally important part in the process.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard, Stephen Pruitt, Brian Reiser, Edel Maeder, Maya Garcia, Cristina Thomas

Participants will explore an engineering design challenge that engages upper elementary students in the creation of tiny homes as a solution to homelessness after a local natural disaster. Explore Design Thinking principles and how empathy plays a role in authentic and inclusive STEM inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engage in NGSS-based engineering design challenge where you design a solution for homelessness caused by natural disasters and learn the role of empathy in STEM inquiries by using Design Thinking principles and place-based strategies that engage all learners in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Williams

Sponsoring Company: Discovery Education, Inc.

Join Discovery Education, Mystery Science, and Pivot to unlock student-centered, inquiry-based learning opportunities that transform your ordinary science lesson to a phenomenal experience for students in a fun escape activity! Spots are first come first serve; pre-register at https://bit.ly/de-at-nsta-2023

SPEAKERS:
Amy Davis

The session uses embodied performances to support students’ science engagement. This interdisciplinary approach creates opportunities for multimodal literacies (e.g., body movement, oral/written texts, sound/music) that students can use to construct & communicate science knowledge & identities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use theatre practices (i.e., adaptation, embodiment, affirming ideas, & representing transformation) to support their students’ learning of science ideas, concepts, practices, & development of science identities in elementary/middle school classrooms via science theatre.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Rosario, Stephanie Spezza, Jaegen Ellison, Rebecca Kotler, Miguel Melchor

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! Discover fun, simple hands-on ways to explore evolution, adaptation, and behavior in your classroom with a variety of insects and arthropods. Learn about care and handling, as well as easy ways to integrate Organisms and Environments standards. Addit

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon, DeeDee Whitaker

In this session you will take a closer look at STEM instruction in order to reflect on whether it is inclusive of all students and how to use innovative ideas to continue moving forward as a STEM educator.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss and reflect on their own STEM instruction and focus on ways to include all students in STEM education regardless of abilities, language, or economic status.

SPEAKERS:
Pavel Escobedo Garcia, Adriana Guerra

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

If you're using STEMscopes (or wanna-be), this session is for you. Come see the most popular digital curriculum during this session. Discover assessment packages, streaming videos with activities, coding with app building, hands-on engineering projects, STEM teacher certification, and much more.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Spaeny, Suzan Morris, Susan Arnette, Dr. Kenneth Heydrick, Ashley Mathis

Can science and art be held to the same rigor in a classroom? Of course! In this session we’ll share student-centered approaches to teaching science and the arts through integration as part of larger PBLs. Examples of classroom practices are targeted to K-8 educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain ideas and strategies to put into practice in their classes. These strategies will allow them to help students construct and demonstrate their learning using art as well as use science knowledge to help solve problems through the creation of art.

SPEAKERS:
Daria Collins, Kaleena Jedinak

Does your district have limited support for science in Elementary schools? Join us to explore recruiting classroom teachers to develop a science teacher leader community that supports quality science instruction in PreK-5 in all schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for developing these science teacher leaders that can increase student performance/interest in science, fostering a science community among educators, enhancing their capacity in science education best practice, and developing their leadership skills.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Reese, Jenn Brown-Whale, Linda Wilson

Many states are adopting policy that promotes the use of high-quality standards-aligned curriculum for all grade levels. However, educators may question the accessibility of these units for all students. In the Science Curriculum Adaptation Project for Special Educators (SCAPE) program, science specialists from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education worked with special educators to adapt the NYU SAIL “Garbage” unit for students with moderate to severe disabilities. Science specialists provided learning activities around the structures and routines in the unit and guided teachers through key lessons. Teachers then identified barriers and used Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to adapt the unit for their students to access ideas and SEPs in the unit. Each teacher participant left with an adapted unit to pilot with students. In this presentation we will outline the program and share examples of adaptations made for students with disabilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Session attendees will learn about a MA program designed to support special education teachers in using the high quality “Garbage” unit with their students. Attendees will also see examples of UDL-based adaptations that can be used with science students with moderate to severe disabilities.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Palo, Casandra Gonzalez

Advanced spatial thinkers do well in science, and building spatial skills can improve achievement. In this session, we will explore why science teachers should care about spatial skills, pedagogical tools to build these skills, and how they can be put into practice to build scientific knowledge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will (1) gain an understanding of what spatial skills are and why they are important to success in science learning, courses, and careers; and (2) learn how to incorporate five spatial “tools” into their pedagogy and their students’ activities during science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Gagnier

Botany principals presented in unusual, indigenous myths of photosynthesis, mycorrhizal fungi, pollination, decomposers, seed diversity, forest ecology, etc. Discover elements of what makes story an effective educational tool and generate successful interdisciplinary experiences supporting science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the essential elements of story and understand what makes story such an effective educational tool. Learn from indigenous myths to build the meaning of botanical/scientific concepts in the context of narrative, imagery, characterization and sensory elements.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Strauss

Gardening in a school setting provides an authentic learning environment filled with wonder for students and teachers alike. From small outdoor flower pots to raised beds, these spaces transform not only the environment, but gives all involved a new perspective on where our food comes from.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students gain hands-on experiences with their environment while making connections between what they have planted and the food that goes into the cafeteria. Learn how we transformed an unusable space to create a school garden/outdoor classroom that has had unexpected benefits.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Butcher

Shifting your instructional practices to align to 3-D Science doesn't happen overnight! Teaching 3-D Science lessons requires you to rethink many of your best lessons! RCPS elementary teachers have been on this journey for quite some time. Walk with RCPS Instructional Leaders, as we share our districts journey into 3D science. We will celebrate our successes and challenges. Hear how we are shifting from best practices to better practices in order to facilitate and implement support for our elementary science teachers as they grow their skills in 3D Science teaching. Hear the lessons learned firsthand from our elementary science coach who has personally taken this journey. We invite you to share our journey as we continue to create a culture that embraces the rethinking of science teaching, learning, and leading. We hope that you will be propelled by a new energy that will fuel you to support teachers/leaders with creating a science learning culture that nurtures curiosity and growth!

TAKEAWAYS:
As we embark on this journey together, we hope that you will be propelled by a new energy that will fuel you to support teachers and leaders with creating a science learning culture that nurtures curiosity and growth!

SPEAKERS:
Denise Richardson, Christy Hernandez

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Take on the role of a consultant for NASA to design a system to model a rocket launcher. This challenge will highlight tools to support Gender Equity, Economically Disadvantaged Youth, English Learners, Students with Disabilities, and Advanced and Gifted Learners.

SPEAKERS:
Jessi Davis, Lisa Espinosa

Leaders from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and The Lawrence Hall of Science will share insights from the K-5 Project for Content Integration with Science as the Anchor. Participants will learn about the essential features for mutually supportive content integration and the tools, and strategies explored in the project. Participants will discuss their prior experiences with content integration and consider the research-based models used to ground the work of the teachers in this project, who come in from a variety of contexts and with a range of knowledge of NGSS, much like the diverse attendees of NSTA. We will focus on entry points for furthering implementation by introducing an Organizational Tool for planning with NGSS-designed science materials. Participants will reflect on how the resources can apply in their own context as an instructional leader supporting multiple teachers or a teacher using these ideas for their grade level or classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants in this session will gain insight into the principles and definitions of content integration and take away resources, tools and strategies for how these ideas apply in their K-5 educational context.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Velez, Sarah Pedemonte, Vanessa Lujan, Kimberley Astle, Rebecca Abbott

Learn how to integrate the engineering design process and environmental education to engage students in this unit designed for upper elementary students! Participants will complete the Ocean Cleanup Challenge from the perspective of a student and learn about the Trashion Fashion Challenge.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will learn how to increase student awareness of ocean and land pollution through hands-on STEM challenges. They will also learn how to connect relevant, real world topics that matter to promote student voice.

SPEAKERS:
Meghan Marrero, Johanna Vasquez, Terri Agravat

Culturally responsive pedagogy can help bridge the diversity gap in STEM. This session shares how our Dream City program supports all students in thinking like urban planners to design beautiful neighborhoods that are not only structurally sound but also inclusive and responsive to all who come.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have a chance to see how IMSA Outreach provides inquiry-based, hands-on STEM learning. Attendees will see how inquiry-based teaching and learning is, by its very nature, inherently culturally responsive and can leave with practical ideas to use in their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Wu

Making core instruction accessible to a variety of English Learners isn’t rocket science! With intentional planning and implementation of best practices, you can support multilingual learners with deepening their understanding of science concepts AND developing their English language proficiency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn more about collaborating and intentionally developing resources for a range of English language learners.

SPEAKERS:
David Flores, Christina Mahar, Darlene Keyser

Explore-before-explain teaching creates conceptual understanding for students by allowing them to construct knowledge through hands-on experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in hands-on science instruction and learn why all students deserve to explore with hands-on science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Luthi

Do you or the educators you work with have questions about what science teaching and learning look like in classrooms implementing your state standards? Join us for a session where you will receive support to lead this module using classroom video of contemporary research-based teaching in action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will build an understanding of sensemaking and receive a toolkit to lead this session with other educators.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Allan, Tricia Shelton

Discover how to build a STEM curriculum from the ground up, from ideation to final product. Design an alarm to protect your stuff, meet the STEM Quality Framework and 50+ free STEM units from Pre-K to High School, and explore amazing resources from the Dayton Regional STEM Center and DoDSTEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn the process of designing a high-quality STEM curriculum including; standards alignment, evaluation and improvement of curriculum and implementation within the classroom, along with a library of free, currently available unit plans and resources.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Carey

Teachers participate in hands-on lessons for Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, and 5th Grade from the free online resource inquiryinaction.org. Teachers investigate the questions: What makes it rain, are M&Ms or Skittles better dissolvers, and does baking soda or baking powder bubble the most with vinegar.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will practice using grade-appropriate explanations of atoms and molecules to help students better understand the causes of the phenomena they observe.

SPEAKERS:
James Kessler

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Discover how collecting data from a classroom greenhouse can help you engage students in more meaningful explorations of environmental concepts. Learn how to measure, analyze, and control greenhouse conditions such as light, water, and airflow - then optimize them using block-based code.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Sackett

Learn about the new NASA Next Gen STEM activity Sparking Participation with Real-world Experiences (SPARX), launching in school year 23-24. Explore this exciting opportunity and experience hands-on lessons from the SPARX portfolio - Priority Packing for the Moon.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session with an understanding of what resources will be necessary on a mission to the Moon, a knowledge of NASA SPARX, and an activity to ignite students' interest in STEM through space exploration resources.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Sebastian, Martha Lopez

In this session, the presenters will share specific strategies and an intentional design for preparing elementary STEM teachers to create inclusive and equitable STEM classroms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about specific strategies to create inclusive STEM classrooms. Elementary STEM educators will model ways in which they have revised curriculum and integrated specific STEM pedagogy that is inclusive, culturally sustaining, and rooted in social justice.

SPEAKERS:
Bonnie Maur

Come hear how my teaching and student learning changed by using a Gather, Reasoning, and Communicate approach to my lesson planning. Insights on time management and student outcomes will be shared - the good and the not-so-good. I’ll also share why I think this approach leads to deeper 3D learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will take away explicit strategies of how to implement G,R,C lessons with your class including how to scaffold the approach with different grade levels, 2-4th grade, and how to roll out the approach in your first year.

SPEAKERS:
Katheryn Kennedy, PhD

In this session, participants will be introduced to the Touch-Talk-Text interdisciplinary instructional model for teaching science and literacy. Participants will develop interdisciplinary science lessons using NGSS-based lesson resources aligned with the 5E lesson format.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using strategies presented in the Touch-Talk-Text interdisciplinary instructional model, participants will analyze and plan NGSS-aligned elementary science lessons that integrate literacy and science practices.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Trager, Danielle Scharen

If we treat content areas as silos, we’ll never find time for Science. In this session, discover how to create authentic learning experiences that increase engagement, develop thinking skills, and connect across content areas. Come willing to try something new; leave with practical project ideas!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will formulate an understanding of the characteristics of authentic learning experiences. They’ll discover a PBL framework that can help them meet rigorous content standards while engaging students in making the world a better place.

SPEAKERS:
Terra Tarango

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Learn to leverage freely available global data visualizations using the SOS Explorer mobile application.

SPEAKERS:
Juan Pablo Hurtado Padilla, Eric Hackathorn, Bekkah Lampe

Empower our students to be solutionary thinkers with “think local, act global” as an important theme in student centered instruction. Create engaging 3D, phenomenon-based opportunities through a social justice lens and harness local and global community partnerships to deepen student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Create a solutionary approach to lesson planning connecting local and global environmental issues in California and Africa, while enhancing SEL. Using the 3D5E DO-KNOW-THINK Learning Sequence, teachers create STEAM-centered lessons for engagement, interdisciplinary active learning, and empathy.

SPEAKERS:
Marie Gorman, Jacqueline Lafitte, Leena McLean

Project-based learning, a strategy used in STEM education, improves student outcomes across racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and reading and language proficiency levels (LER, 2021).

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience project based learning while working to solve a real world problem.

SPEAKERS:
Falicia O'Mard

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Spaeny, Ashley Mathis, Susan Codere, Joseph Krajcik, Cory Miller, Angela Campana

Do you struggle with integrating your local habitat with science and literacy? Engaging K-3 students in content-integrated outdoor learning can be difficult for a variety of reasons. However, engaging students in environmental education outdoors is vital for developing scientific literacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using appropriate children’s literature, lessons were developed that emphasize the role of streams, water, and the local watershed allowing teachers to focus specifically on aspects of the stream that are relevant to the standards in their grade level. These will be shared with participants.

SPEAKERS:
Ann Catherine Cox, Brent Gilles, Stacey Britton

An 11 year old recently found a trilobite in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Let's explore this phenomenon and how customizing existing high-quality, open-source lessons for local stories create a cohesive storyline for elementary students.

TAKEAWAYS:
1) How to customize existing high-quality, open-source lessons that pair with local phenomena; 2) What fossil evidence scientists use to support claims about past environments; and 3) Where to find open-source storylines for the elementary classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Cox

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

SPEAKERS:
LaShawn Duckett

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Educators will experience how 3D learning in any curriculum can be made into 5D learning if they have the pedagogical framing that identifies both phenomena types and supports phenomena adaptation. Specifically, place, student interests, and identities provide motivation to engage in sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn to identify phenomena types, select related phenomena and use students' place, interests, and identities to promote equitable learning experiences. These pedagogical tools and framing will help educators turn 3D, NGSS-aligned phenomena-based units into 5D learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Leonard Kenyon

This presentation will use children's literature to identify topics related to sustainability and human impact on the environment along with how to use creative, hands-on activities to apply the concepts and inspire young, planet-conscious citizen scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning about sustainability and environmental issues shouldn't be boring or negative. Explore quality children's literature that focuses on these topics in age-appropriate ways as well as engaging activities designed to help make real-world connections.

SPEAKERS:
Kerry Teeple

Interested in authentically weaving culturally relevant hands-on Science and rigorous literacy into your kindergarten classroom? Come learn how to use close reading to support NGSS-aligned science explorations and create rich, deep learning experiences for your students. Free resources provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to integrate deep authentic science explorations with standards-based literacy instruction for kindergarten students. They will explore how the use of close reading (to collaboratively inquire about and make meaning of texts) can mirror how students make meaning in science.

SPEAKERS:
Janet MacNeil

We will explore the what, why, and how of integrated science and language teaching. We will describe, illustrate, and model research-based strategies, tools, and resources teachers can use to support inquiry, sense-making, and language development with their young multilingual learners (MLs)

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with some research-based strategies, tools, and resources to support planning and facilitation of language-enriched and inclusive science experiences that leverage science as a context for language and for building skills across the developmental domains with a focus on MLs

SPEAKERS:
Mandell Academy, Rachel Shurick, Becky Fahey, Cindy Hoisington

Sponsoring Company: Lyricos Learning LLC

We are a STEM+Arts streaming platform that gets used in the classroom to teach hands-on projects via our standards aligned videos. During this session we will plan on hosting a hands-on project for the teachers to make while following along with the video. Example - they can make a DNA bracelet.

SPEAKERS:
Devina Bhojwani

STEM is a way of thinking and engaging in STEM skill-building activities can help students become better STEM thinkers. Every student benefits from these opportunities, but access is not equitable. Experience STEM skill-building activities that can be done with students of any age in any classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of this session, participants will understand why it is important to provide opportunities for every student to develop STEM skills and simple ways to engage students in STEM thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Dodie Resendez

Sponsoring Company: School Specialty - FOSS

Students need to experience and make sense of relevant science phenomena that connect to and define standards—a challenging task for teachers. Learn strategies for providing direct experience with phenomena, guiding students to constructing explanations, and developing models with the FOSS program.

SPEAKERS:
FOSS Project Staff, Brian Campbell

Participants will learn about many different books and resources to integrate multiple subjects into their units, lesson plans, and project-based learning units. Teachers will also have the opportunity to see integrated units and some of the planning materials used to build these units.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use a variety of picture books to build lessons, pbls, and units. This session will give resources and materials to help you quickly and easily find books and other resources to use in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kahlilah Pagan

Deepen engagement for all students by showing them the power of science to impact their worlds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies for empowering students to apply their learning to have a positive impact on their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Ben Talsma

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Looking for ways to increase student ideas in the development of investigative phenomena? We will work in collaborative teams to develop a driving question board. Let’s discuss the types of phenomena and how they can be used effectively in the STEM classroom. Bring relevancy to students’ lives!

SPEAKERS:
Suzan Morris, Angela Campana

Sponsoring Company: Discovery Education, Inc.

Take your instruction to Mach 10 with student-centered, inquiry-based learning opportunities from Discovery Education and Mystery Science that will activate background knowledge in the first 30 seconds of your lesson. Seats first come first serve; pre-register at bit.ly/de-nsta-2023!

This STEM activity includes reading a book and involves one-hour lessons over seven days. Student groups design, build, test, and analyze parachute models.

TAKEAWAYS:
Student groups learn that the engineering design process and the scientific method are circular processes as they design, build, test, and evaluate a parachute model then improve it.

SPEAKERS:
Suzanne Cunningham

Scientific observations are deliberate, yet innate looking provides none of the skills needed to do this. In this session you'll undertake activities where the strategies and resources needed to successfully observe will be made explicit, before using your observations to communicate your learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
The strategies and resources a teacher needs to successfully support children to observer and then communicate learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Harding

Experience off-screen coding/science activities that utilize science content, tools, and unplugged tasks. You will walk away with resources to show how coding is more than just computer science. Coding can be embedded within science to support concept development and sense- making.

TAKEAWAYS:
Computer Science is not something extra to teach- it is something we can use to develop key foundational skills and build conceptual understanding of core science ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Triebwasser, Michele Wiehagen

Are you excited to learn strategies for science learning in the elementary classroom? Join three educators sharing three different strategies for elementary science learners, including project-based learning, place-based learning, and online assessment materials.

Free Project-Based Learning Resources for Elementary Science
Get a brief introduction to free OER integrated science curricular units for Grades 3-5 and see how well the features of Project-Based Learning provide the tools and routines to support sensemaking.

A Home for Fossils: Bringing place-based education to a museum-based program
Join education staff from Tellus Science Museum to see fossils that call Georgia home and discuss how to incorporate place-based geoscience education with elementary science standards.

Multidimensional Assessment Tasks and a Virtual Learning Community for Elementary Science Teachers
Learn about two free, complementary online resources: NGSS-aligned assessment tasks for Grades 3-5 and a website to support teachers in using the assessment tasks and participating in an online community of practice.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere, Hannah Eisla, Jeanne Di Domenico, Carla Strickland

Join these middle school educators as they share strategies to support students in modeling their ideas in the classroom.

Model Your Anchor Phenomenon Early and Often: A Strategy for Sensemaking
1. Have students make an initial model based on prior knowledge and assumptions about the natural world. *Predict. Wonder. Be wrong!* 2. Dedicate time for students to continually revise their models as they acquire more evidence and content understanding. 3. Watch the lightbulb turn on!

Read Alouds: Developing Literacy and Thinking Skills in Science
Read-alouds are a valuable strategy for introducing nonfiction text, articles, and current events to students that can also promote deeper understanding, higher-level thinking, and increased engagement. Learn how to prepare and implement read-alouds in your science class.

Flippity: A go to versatile tool to increase engagement
Flippity can "easily turn Google™ spreadsheets into flashcards and other cool stuff." This session will highlight three go to interactives to increase student engagement with one another and with content. Consider bringing a device to practice creating one or two of these cool things. Hacking the Secret Garden with 3D eLearning Experiences Elementary preservice teachers and students hack the science of school gardens and digitally present details of garden-based phenomena that meets NGSS 3D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Allison Wise, Jeff Thomas

Looking for an innovative way to bring to life the science vocabulary your students need to know? This session will cover a strategy to enhance the ol' word wall of the past into an engaging learning experience that is low prep for the teacher with maximum benefit for the student.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with the ability to create an engaging visual representation wall, knowledge of current brain science behind building vocabulary memory, and factors to consider when prioritizing key vocabulary words.

SPEAKERS:
CHRISTINA SPEARS

Learn how to use the Uncovering Student Ideas probes in an explore-before-explain instructional sequence to support a classroom where all students' ideas matter!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about a resource for formative assessment and explore-before-explain teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Page Keeley, Patrick Brown

STEAM focused lesson plans integrating garden-based learning and the arts. In this hands-on workshop, learn how printmaking, nature journaling, bookmaking techniques, and Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) can reinforce sensemaking of science cross-cutting concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in teacher-tested STEAM lessons connected to garden-based learning that can be implemented into the K-6 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Aurora Hughes Villa, Lisa Saunderson

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

Elementary students deserve science! Experience a research-based approach to teaching science that leverages the mutually supportive aspects of science and literacy, and explore how this approach can help you increase instructional time for science while also meeting ELA goals.

SPEAKERS:
Nick Raducanu

Many districts de-prioritized elementary science during the pandemic and now are struggling to reignite consistent science instruction. Building, tapping, and deploying teacher leaders is a key strategy for quickly reintroducing science into the culture of your district. Teacher leaders can model best practices, demonstrate how science fits into their schedule and instructional priorities, and can guide colleagues to do the same by facilitating institutes, workshops, video reflections, PLCs, and coaching sessions. Improving Practice Together, an NSF-funded partnership between Lawrence Hall of Science, Stanford University, and Santa Clara USD, developed a suite of tools for developing and studying development of science teacher leaders, including: professional learning tools for summer institutes to support teachers’ classroom practice; tools to support development of teacher leaders; lesson artifacts, classroom videos, & teacher interviews; and research & evaluation tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Improving Practice Together website contains resources to support: facilitating and evaluating classroom science argumentation; leading and evaluating professional learning on argumentation; and the development and deployment of teacher leaders to support science learning in a school or district

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Pedemonte, Diana Velez, Krista Woodward, Emily Weiss

Protecting Whales is one of two new freely available units in the Smithsonian Science for Computational Thinking series. Learn about integrating computational thinking into your elementary STEM classroom using both hands-on and high-tech resources by using this specific third grade unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to integrate computational thinking into the upper elementary STEM classroom using a problem-driven approach. Learn how to access everything needed to implement the 3rd grade Protecting Whales unit.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rogers, Dr. Sarah Glassman

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Join education staff from Tellus Science Museum to see fossils that call Georgia home and discuss how to incorporate place-based geoscience education with elementary science standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will see how a science museum has worked to improve its own geoscience education using a place-based approach and how similar processes can be applied to education practice in classrooms or other localities.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Eisla

Birds of a Feather sessions (BoFs) are informal gatherings of like-minded individuals who wish to discuss a certain topic without a pre-planned agenda.

Students in K-12 science classrooms don’t think about diagrams the same way adults do, and can be easily “overloaded.” Research in cognition gives us tools to make science diagrams that more effectively support learning. Surprise: often, students learn more without features like arrows and colors!

TAKEAWAYS:
Effective diagrams direct student attention to the most important information and relationships while minimizing cognitive load. Strategies for doing so include tree structures, explicit cues for implicit information, replacing realistic photos with illustrations, and use of the proximity principle.

SPEAKERS:
Audrey Rabi Whitaker

Joining a research lab as an undergraduate is a boon to many future career directions, making it important to equip students with the tools to find and contact potential laboratories. We will discuss evidence for the need for these tools as well as a tested strategy for their input into classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gaps in knowledge created by socio-economic differences, being a first-generation college student, etc., can make it challenging to find a research laboratory, or decide what skills are required to join. We will demonstrate a modular teaching device to help fill this void.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Ruesch

We engaged students in building computational thinking skills through the lens of science. Two lessons that will be featured include navigating a robot through a science-themed maze and coding a video game that integrates science. This model of blended science, design & tech will inspire you!

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster will describe and link to two lessons including navigating a robot through a science-themed maze and coding a video game that integrates science concepts of light and shadows. Computational skills and science content that are present in the lessons will be emphasized.

SPEAKERS:
Katheryn Kennedy, PhD

In this poster session, we will explore a hands-on, youth-centric citizen science program that teaches elementary students to “think like a scientist” by embodying the Scientific Method in a unique five-step program. Utilizing aspirational diverse characters and storylines from the award-winning “The Paper Girls Show” and standards-aligned, inquiry-based activities we will enhance the fun in science education. Participants will learn how to use the citizen science platform Marine Debris Tracker, and see how all of their students can become scientists and make changes in their communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to 1. harness the power of stories to inspire their learners to think like scientists; 2. integrate inquiry-based learning into their classrooms; 3. empower their students to act like scientists and take action in their local communities through citizen science.

SPEAKERS:
Lena Deskins, Rachael Polmanteer

This session presents a science and literacy instruction intervention aimed at helping improve student achievement on high-stakes standardized tests. This study found statistically significant results with medium to large effect sizes at multiple campuses. Findings contribute to research and practice by demonstrating how to make science education accessible to all students, including minorities, economically disadvantaged, English learners, and At-Risk students. It also advances knowledge about effective science and literacy instruction interventions. Participants in this session will learn how to strategically target academic vocabulary, visually display connections between inquiry activities and vocabulary, explore opportunities for students to experience vocabulary in context, actively process word meanings, and practice using vocabulary to speak and write sentences. Easily replicable classroom strategies and examples that may be used to facilitate implementation will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will strategically target academic vocabulary, visually display connections between inquiry activities and vocabulary, and explore opportunities for students to experience vocabulary in context, actively process word meanings, and practice using vocabulary to speak and write sentences.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Jackson

Teacher enthusiasm for any subject can really drive the enthusiasm of all stakeholders in a child’s education. It’s crucial to share and build the love of science in your community, and it can be done through communication. Pictures and student work can sell what you do and gain parent support.

TAKEAWAYS:
Every Science classroom has many stakeholders - students, parents, admins, and more. Frequent and varied communication of the great things you do is the key to increasing enthusiasm for your class, and this board shares some successful strategies for communicating. Build support for what you do!

SPEAKERS:
Rama Sreekantham

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Science Provision Maps, linked to topics or storybooks, describe science learning opportunities in the different areas of provision commonly found in a classroom for ages 3-5: small world, construction, role play, water, sand, malleable play, sensory play, modelling, and outdoor learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will know how to use and adapt Science Provision Maps in your setting to create stimulating science learning experiences for children aged 3-5 that develop their scientific knowledge, understanding and literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Alison Trew

Teachers will learn strategies to integrate picture books and STEM activities to support ELA standards, inspire student creativity and nurture a growth mind-set.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave this session with resources and activities to implement in their classrooms. This will include a resource library of books and activities that support ELA and STEM standards.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Eanes, Alyson Colclough, Bob Kirkland

This visually descriptive overview illustrates the practical application of the Garden Project and the impact of arts-based learning in an elementary school setting by offering “how to” visuals, documentation of project set-up, engagement, and examples of student artwork. Arts integration experiences are inclusive of the three domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Ask us how music, movement, and visual art have enriched the Garden Project. Music and movement activities, bookmaking, printmaking, and nature journaling samples will be displayed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about teacher-tested lessons connected to garden-based learning and the arts (visual art, music, and movement) for the K-6 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Aurora Hughes Villa, Lisa Saunderson

Rubrics are great assessment tools when grading lab reports and projects. Rubrics help to clarify expectations, inspire students to set goals and give educators a way to improve feedback that stimulates student reflection. Emphasis is on application and analysis not getting the right answers.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Poster will highlight best practices for creating and using rubrics to grade lab reports and projects. The poster will include best practices, main components of a rubric, tips for creating rubrics and well as best practices for feedback and grading using rubrics.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Morton

There are many different forms of technology that can be used to enhance your science teaching. This poster presentation provides information and handouts for using technology with science activities for 4th and 5th grade science lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engaging elementary students in science activities using technology is very motivating. A variety of tools are illustrated that can be used to engage elementary students as learn science.

SPEAKERS:
Marianne Phillips

Jumpstart your career search at the NSTA Job Fair! NSTA is excited to host this inaugural event, featuring dozens of school districts, private academies, universities, and informal science institutions looking for qualified, dedicated educators to join their teams. Come explore options, gather information, and interact with representatives about current and future employment opportunities. Free to all who have registered for NSTA Atlanta23.

Explore how engineering benefits English learners as you engage in lessons designed to foster engineering, science, and language learning for elementary students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engineering activities can offer multimodal experiences for English learners that encourage their participation and contributions to the engineering classroom community and engage them in purposeful uses of language.