Our work with educators demonstrates that compassion can be a powerful resource for maintaining hope, connecting with purpose, and sparking joy, even in difficult times. We invite you to join this workshop to develop perspectives and learn practices for mindfulness, kindness, and compassion for self and others that support emotional regulation and overall well-being. You will also engage in activities and practices to integrate compassion into your classroom and everyday life. Anchored in teaching about climate change, this workshop is relevant to any educator who has experienced uncertainty, overwhelm, or stress.

Navigate your first National NSTA Conference with ease! Join our session for an orientation to the conference, tips on selecting sessions, and an opportunity to meet other first-time attendees. We will share a few insider tips from experienced conference attendees and give an overview of the conference app. This session will help you discover why you belong at NSTA and how to make the most of your experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to get the most out of your conference experience in addition to becoming an engaged learner.

Join us for an opening reception to mark the start of NSTA ANA26! We’ll keep it casual—enjoy beverages and small bites while networking with old and new friends. The event is complimentary and open to all registered conference attendees.

Navigate your first National NSTA Conference with ease! Join our session for an orientation to the conference, tips on selecting sessions, and an opportunity to meet other first-time attendees. We will share a few insider tips from experienced conference attendees and give an overview of the conference app. This session will help you discover why you belong at NSTA and how to make the most of your experience.

Please note, this is a repeat of the session from Wednesday afternoon.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to get the most out of your conference experience in addition to becoming an engaged learner.

A vision to support collaboration of district teachers, administrators, scientists and educators working to integrate Earth and environmental science phenomena into high school biology, chemistry, and physics courses in Baltimore City Schools. The 5+1 framework guides the integration of earth science by incorporating the following components: 1) 3-Dimensional instruction, 2) phenomenon driven units, 3) student-centered learning (specific to ML with language and content objectives) , 4) responsive instruction with “in the moment” resources, tools, and strategies;, and 5) Earth science content for all students (+1). The framework ensures the curriculum developed is aligned to NGSS, infuses Earth science content, and is accessible to all students. Participants will use the 5+1 model to examine specific unit/lesson examples, in biology, to develop instruction that is responsive, phenomena driven with considerations to use language objectives to build instruction for ML students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the 5+1 model for Earth science integrated instruction, participants will analyze units and lessons in biology for the presence of key components designed to differentiate instruction for all students with a focus on diverse learners with a specific focus on multi-language learners (ML).

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Garner, Andrew Collins, Edmund Mitzel, Jr., Ph.D.

Explore an innovative, skills-based approach to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) career discovery with CareerXplorer, a free tool from LabXchange. In this session, participants will experience how integrative tools can connect learners to a wide range of real-world STEMM opportunities through skill development. With interactive activities, participants will explore STEMM careers and discover how to empower students to connect their classroom learning with real-world career skills and chart their own futures in STEMM. Leave the workshop with practical strategies and lesson plan ideas for integrating these free digital career-connected resources into your own learning spaces and educational standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain practical tools and strategies to empower students to explore diverse STEMM careers through skills-based learning with CareerXplorer by LabXchange.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Sjoblom

Take your students on the newest addition to the Crash Science in the Classroom website - an immersive 3D 360° virtual field trip inside the IIHS’s crash-testing facility—normally closed to the public. Designed with scaffolded content, the tour promotes equitable classroom practices by offering multimodal instructional strategies by blending 360° navigation with award-winning videos, guiding questions, exciting demos, English/Spanish captions, and hands-on activities to help include all students in self-paced learning. The tour brings experts on relevant and timely topics (i.e., car crashes, crash dummies, teen driving issues, crash avoidance technologies) into classrooms to integrate multi-disciplinary core ideas with science and engineering practices. This high-interest, place-based experience shows how science, engineering, and technology shape society (NGSS Crosscutting Concept) by driving real-world vehicle safety innovations while equipping students with life-saving knowledge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants learn how to utilize a placed-based, interactive virtual tour paired with inquiry-based activities to foster students’ engagement and 3D learning by integrating STEM concepts and real-world data with vehicle crashworthiness, crash avoidance technologies, and teen driver safety.

SPEAKERS:
Pini Kalnite, Griff Jones

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Prepare your students for success on the AP Enviro exam with expert tips for tackling multiple-choice and free-response questions. Learn strategies to enhance critical thinking and test-taking skills, helping your students achieve their best scores.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Swets

Sponsoring Company: InnerOrbit

AI tools can now generate NGSS-style assessment items in seconds — but how do we know these questions are truly three-dimensional, instructionally sound, and valid? This session examines new research on the promises and limitations of AI-generated assessments and contrasts them with human-designed, field-tested items grounded in real student data. Participants will leave with a clear, classroom-ready checklist for reviewing assessment quality—giving you the confidence to evaluate both AI-generated items and traditional assessments with the same high standards.

SPEAKERS:
Brendan Finch, Emily Miller

Did you know that there are nearly 300,000 STEM professionals at the DoW? And did you know that those DoW STEM professionals, along with partner organizations, are leveraged to provide unique STEM learning experiences for students and educators? Participants will have the opportunity to explore STEM resources and opportunities offered by the Department of War. From hands-on learning activities to paid internships and college scholarships, learn how DoW STEM can help you power the next generation of innovators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how the Department of Defense’s extensive STEM workforce and programs, ranging from hands-on activities to internships and scholarships, can provide powerful learning opportunities that inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Marquis Mason, Kristen McInerney

How can science departments expand offerings in ways that both engage students and strengthen enrollment? This session shares the step-by-step process of designing, launching, and refining a high school food science elective. Participants will learn how the course was structured to balance rigor with accessibility and connect chemistry, biology, and sustainability to real-world issues. The session will highlight strategies for curriculum design, lab experiences, assessments, and partnerships that made the course successful. Data on enrollment growth and student engagement will be shared, along with practical tools attendees can adapt to their own schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a roadmap and practical tools for developing a food science elective that engages students, boosts enrollment, and connects science learning to careers, sustainability, and everyday life.

SPEAKERS:
Yana Zubarev, Christopher Taylor

In this workshop, we will explore several phenomena-based hands-on science activities developed by the Exploratorium Teacher Institute, known as science snacks. We will apply an equity lens to draw connections from the scientific phenomena to some social phenomena. Participants will learn to make metaphorical connections between the science of perception and equitable teaching practices, which will help in science teacher professional development, science teaching, and also in public outreach.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn to make metaphorical connections between the science of perception and equitable teaching practices

SPEAKERS:
Eric Muller, Desiré Whitmore, Rachel Myers

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Do you know where your electrical energy comes from? How is energy captured from the wind? Find out with KidWind Renewable Energy Kits! Introduce students of all levels to renewable energy by exploring energy generation. Optimize your wind turbine by building prototypes and testing blade design.

SPEAKERS:
Tom Smith

NSTA’s Elementary Extravaganza is a dedicated learning and connecting space for elementary school educators. Explore discipline-specific sessions, relax in our community space outfitted with cell phone charging stations and connect with other educators.

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Puppies are born to Molly the Labradoodle, and students must use genetics to solve the paternity mystery. Use Punnett squares and DNA gel electrophoresis to track the inheritance of a single trait across the litter. Then decide who’s the daddy: Zeus the Poodle or Otto the Labradoodle?

SPEAKERS:
Allison Nishitani, PhD

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

How do forensic scientists find evidence in invisible ink? Students must think like both detectives AND scientists to find out! By capturing spectra of ink samples, students investigate electromagnetic radiation, explore light-matter interactions, and use mathematical models to calculate energy.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Explore the world of forensic science with these fun and exciting escape room activities designed to engage your students! In this investigation, you’ll decipher clues, solve puzzles, and unravel evidence to free the innocent. Hands-on techniques include forensic blood detection, blood typing, and DNA fingerprinting using agarose gel electrophoresis, giving students experience with core biotechnology methods. We’ll share tips and tricks for setting up and managing the escape room in class. This sequence of experiments supports critical thinking, collaboration, and the application of scientific principles in a way that aligns with high school life science performance expectations, making it easy to integrate into your existing biotechnology curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Learn about Educating for Environmental Change (EFEC), a free Indiana University program that helps educators teach the science and policy of climate change and participate in exemplar activities. This workshop will introduce the EFEC project and provide information on how teachers can get involved. The presenter will also facilitate exemplar activities from the project that are designed to engage students in the practice of scientific argumentation. Surfacing student thinking, addressing student misconceptions, and alignment to the NGSS will also be emphasized. The EFEC project is designed to elucidate and deepen understanding of environmental issues through hands-on lessons co-designed by IU's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, the School of Education, and veteran K-12 science teachers. EFEC utilizes the following driving questions: how do we know the climate is changing; what are the impacts of these changes; what can be done moving forward; and how do we cultivate optimism in our students?

TAKEAWAYS:
The Educating for Environmental Change (EfEC) project utilizes the following driving questions: how do we know the climate is changing; what are the impacts of these changes; how can we mitigate these changes; and how do we cultivate optimism in our students while teaching them about climate change?

SPEAKERS:
Adam Scribner

Explore how place-based and environmental justice focused lessons transform science learning by connecting students’ lived experiences to local water systems. Participants will examine three NGSS aligned case studies: Salmon in the Klamath, San Gabriel Valley groundwater pollution, and Owens Valley water conflict, to see how Traditional Ecological Knowledge, local data collection, and storytelling deepen understanding of Living Earth systems. Attendees will engage in interdisciplinary strategies that integrate biology, earth science, and environmental policy while supporting multilingual and neurodiverse learners through visual data tools, community mapping, and reflective journaling. The workshop models assessments that invite students to think critically, act locally, and communicate scientifically. Teachers will leave with ready-to-use lesson frameworks demonstrating how equity-centered science increases engagement, equity, and agency in the STEM classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain ready-to-use, NGSS-aligned frameworks for teaching local water systems through place-based and environmental justice lenses. They will leave equipped to integrate storytelling, data analysis, and traditional ecological knowledge to engage all learners in equitable science.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Ann Ng

Sponsoring Company: Kiddom

What does it take to make sense-making of phenomena through investigating the center of science instruction, not just in theory, but in daily practice? Join Dr. Mike Flanagan and explore how intentional curriculum design, when paired with powerful learning intelligence technology (LIT), can transform instruction and empower all learners. Featuring actionable strategies, this session will leave you inspired and equipped to design learning experiences that are coherent and genuinely engaging.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how thoughtful curriculum design and digital tools work together to support sense-making in science instruction, with practical strategies they can apply immediately to create more coherent, equitable, and engaging learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Flanagan

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Splash into the molecular world of water and membranes through hands-on learning. Experience simple, powerful models that bring water’s abstract properties to life and reveal how they drive membrane structure and behavior. Step into your students’ shoes as you tinker with models to wonder, investigate, and revise your own ideas about biological membranes. We’ll spotlight strategies that center student discovery and thinking, support NGSS practices, and connect microscopic interactions to big biological ideas. Join us to explore ways to make membrane chemistry tangible, visual, and fun.

SPEAKERS:
Keri Shingleton

Join this session to explore how my former students with special education experiences are using GenAI to dismantle barriers and expand learning opportunities in their daily lives. Drawing on case studies from my research and Engeström’s concept of expansive learning, I will highlight how collaborative engagement with GenAI fosters agency, supports expansive learning, and opens new possibilities. Examining why youth use GenAI also helps identify changes and innovations needed in learning environments. I will share moments when a participant’s use of ChatGPT raised questions about potential misuse and prompted reflection on how I designed the study. Join to explore the power of co-design with GenAI for expansive learning and accessibility, and gain practical strategies for engaging students as active, ethical participants in shaping their learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the power of discussing and collaborating with youth on GenAI use, using these conversations to inform improvements, foster ethical decision-making, and create more inclusive, responsive learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero

Explore interactive strategies to inspire student engagement in complex science discussions. Using genetic engineering as a focus, this session highlights how you can support students in discussing the intersection of innovation with bioethics and public policy. Learn approaches to guide students in researching diverse perspectives on GMOs and CRISPR use and regulations, analyzing case studies, and participating in discussions. Discover ways to foster civil discourse on ethical debates while building independent research and synthesis skills. You will leave with practical tools and free resources to make real-world connections, helping students strengthen communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Aligned to honors and AP Biology (Unit 6), the session also connects to environmental science, ethics, government, and economics, offering interdisciplinary connections for deeper learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn strategies and gain resources to engage students in real-world science conversations, with a specific focus on the intersections of genetic engineering, bioethics, and policy. This is to better support building student research, communication, and critical thinking skills.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Lane

Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering science classrooms, yet many educators are unsure how to begin using it in purposeful and responsible ways. In this introductory session, participants will explore what AI is, what it is not, and how it can support NGSS sensemaking without replacing student thinking. Through live demonstrations and simple classroom examples, educators will learn how AI can help students ask better questions, strengthen reasoning, and engage more deeply with phenomena. The session highlights ethical use of AI as a partner in science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will understand how to use AI as a tool for sensemaking that strengthens student questioning and reasoning while supporting phenomenon-based science learning routines.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Lazzaro, Velma Itamura

NSTA’s High School Haven is a dedicated learning and connecting space for high school educators. Explore discipline-specific sessions, relax in our community space outfitted with cell phone charging stations and refuel with daily afternoon snacks.

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Stop the daydreaming and start the questioning! This high-energy session focuses on the power of the "visual hook" to drive engagement through the undeniable evidence of chemistry in action. Witness a series of demonstrations—from vibrant color changes and dramatic shifts in state to unexpected phenomena like boiling water in a bell jar or reactive metals in oil. These techniques grab attention and trigger immediate curiosity for students at all levels. Designed for any stage of a career, new and veteran teachers alike will leave with a practical toolkit of safe, high-impact demos ready for use on Monday morning!

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: RAYN Growing Systems

Hydroponics gives students a living laboratory where science, literacy, and agriculture come alive. In this hands-on workshop, educators will explore NGSS-aligned investigations using a cheap plastic cup experiment to teach plant growth, environmental science, CTE, and STEM. Participants will experience a phenomena-based lab that models real agricultural research—how pH affects plant development—using simple and cheap materials that work in any school setting. We will demonstrate student-friendly data collection strategies, cross-curricular literacy connections, and ways to integrate STEM and sustainability. Educators will leave with ready-to-use lessons, assessment rubrics, and digital student data tables that build scientific thinking and support National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes. Whether teaching PreK–5, middle school, or high school, attendees will learn how to transform food systems learning into powerful experiential education while helping students explore career pathways

SPEAKERS:
Bryce Corning

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Classroom communities make sense of scientific phenomena through discussion. Purposeful talk is essential for drawing out student ideas, negotiating and refining those ideas, and supporting communication in scientific ways. This session focuses on the discussion types used in OpenSciEd high school classrooms to support 3-dimensional sensemaking. In this session, come see what makes us different! Participants will explore how discussion helps connect science and engineering practices with disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts, making student thinking visible and actionable.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Marmolejo, Faith Blaine

This session will highlight strategies for supporting two key attributes of sensemaking: student ideas and science ideas. Presenters will share an NSTA tool for evaluating lessons, focusing on equitable instruction. In small groups, participants will experience hands-on strategies that promote student discourse and equitable access, such as chalk-talk, QFT, card sorts, and whiteboarding. These strategies will be grounded in classroom evidence from Physics, Chemistry, and Environmental Science, using examples of engineering design, data analysis, and models. The session includes dedicated time for reflection, allowing participants to connect these techniques to NSTA's sensemaking criteria and plan for implementation in their own teaching. Through small-group discussions and large-group share-outs, participants will personalize their learning and gain valuable insights from their peers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience and review student work from strategies that create equitable, sensemaking science environments. Focusing on science and student ideas, participants will identify strategies to implement in their own practice to improve sensemaking for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Emilie Cross, Kevin Henson

This presentation will share a full kinematics PBL unit based on speed walking and highlight the key activities. The presentation will begin with an overview of the project and rationale for leveraging PBLs to engage students in science and engineering practices. The PBL begins with the anchoring question “How do you win a race?”. The presentation includes an overview of the scaffolded activities to get students comfortable with the software and sensors used to collect their own speed walking data. The PBL unit includes activities to support students to analyze their collected speed walking data. Finally, the presentation details the two peer review cycles students engage in to improve their presentation skills and to get feedback on their work. Throughout the presentation, attendees will be encouraged to ask questions in addition to reflecting on how this PBL unit could fit into their context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain access to a complete kinematics PBL unit that can be adapted to their context, including a unit outline, activities, and assignments. Attendees will learn about the unit structure, how to implement the key activities, and consider how to modify the resources to meet their needs.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Estes

Step into the shoes of your students and experience the power of puzzles firsthand! In this interactive session, participants will begin with a mini escape room challenge—working together to unlock a mystery box using science clues and critical thinking. Then, we’ll break down how to design and implement your own classroom escape experiences to deepen engagement, collaboration, and content mastery. From low-prep paper puzzles to more immersive breakouts, you’ll leave with practical strategies, templates, and inspiration to make any middle or high school science lesson feel like an adventure.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies for using escape rooms and puzzles to transform science learning—boosting engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking while making your classroom an unforgettable experience.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Yi, Kim Bathker

NSTA’s Meet Me in the Middle is a dedicated learning and connecting space for middle school educators. Explore discipline-specific sessions, relax in our community space outfitted with cell phone charging stations and connect with other educators.

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Experience the power of cross-disciplinary learning! In this hands-on workshop, teachers will use micropipettes to serve as powerful tools for reinforcing measurement accuracy, proportional reasoning, and data analysis—all while producing stunning visual art. Teachers will practice valuable transferable lab skills and discover an approachable entry point for STEM learners of all levels. Leave with classroom-ready ideas that blend art, math, and scientific precision in meaningful ways.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

Discover innovative ways to bring bioethics into your classroom through the thought-provoking Playing God? podcast from The Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. Using real-world stories of medical advancement, this session highlights how storytelling can spark curiosity, invite critical dialogue, and engage all learners in exploring the intersection of science, ethics, and society.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies to use real-life bioethical dilemmas from Playing God? to foster interdisciplinary, inclusive, and participatory science learning that develops students’ critical thinking and global awareness.

SPEAKERS:
Kenji Nomura

This session explores the crucial lessons learned during the first year of our OpenSciEd high school materials rollout and details the successful instructional shifts observed in the second year. We will share a multi-faceted model for systemic change, focusing on three core strategies: building effective school-based leadership, leveraging trailblazing teachers to support reluctant implementers, and proactively minimizing barriers to high-quality science instruction for all students. Join us to gain actionable insights into supporting science educators and accelerating the transition of high school instruction to align with A Framework for K-12 Science Education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how a phased rollout strategy provided scalable affordances, built a robust network of administrators, and leveraged science teacher leaders to address challenges and remove barriers to support all students with a high-quality science learning experience at scale.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Craddock, Kristin Lilley, Kristoffer Carroll, Mary Shane, Dawn Bien, Audri Rosen

[10 min] Participants will be provided with and introduced to our phenomena-based planning tool for content instruction that is both meaningful to students and shows how science disciplines work together. [40 min] Participants will use our tool to develop unit plans that they can take back to the classroom. First, they will: 1) identify phenomena and interdisciplinary connections for an upcoming lesson/unit; and 2) identify anchoring questions. Second, they will outline a plan for a unit. Participants will work in groups by their needs based on content and teaching context. Facilitators will circulate to each group and use timed check-ins during the workshop as a way to monitor progress, address whole group questions and offer feedback and support. [10 min] In groups, participants will share their outline for an phenomena based, interdisciplinary lesson, exchange feedback and respond to questions. To conclude, participants will map out their next steps to prepare for implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a phenomena-based planning tool and a draft of an interdisciplinary unit plan that promotes engaging, experience-driven learning aligned with NGSS, OpenSciEd and other curricula.

SPEAKERS:
Anthony Stetzenmeyer, Takumi Sato, PhD

Sponsoring Company: Biozone, Inc.

Science teachers are master problem solvers, yet you’re stuck solving the wrong problems: endless prep, assessment creation, and juggling resources that don’t quite fit together. What if your science resources actually made your job easier? Join us to explore how BIOZONE’s innovative worktext format reimagines teaching with a cohesive suite of print and digital resources that reduce workload while boosting student engagement. Our resources support active, concept-driven learning, and the Teacher Toolkit provides fully built pacing guides, teacher notes, assessments, and slides that cut hours from your week. Paired with BIOZONE WORLD and the Resource Hub, you’ll see how BIOZONE’s system can transform instruction, empower diverse learners, and take the stress out of science instruction, making every student’s experience meaningful. Attendees receive a FREE print copy & 30-day digital access to a title of their choice.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Get energized with Flinn’s newly designed and refreshed AP Environmental Science labs, fully aligned with the 2024 College Board Course and Exam Description. Explore classroom-ready investigations that have been reimagined to strengthen exam readiness, featuring updated AP-style multiple-choice and free-response questions that mirror the AP Exam experience. This interactive session includes hands-on demonstrations of inquiry-based learning, engaging outdoor activities, and practical teaching resources designed to captivate students, deepen understanding, and inspire real-world environmental thinking. Handouts included.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Knabe

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Learn how to facilitate simple hands-on photosynthesis experiments with wireless sensors. Help students collect and analyze carbon exchange data from plant leaves in real-time! Dispel student doubts in their understanding of photosynthesis and respiration.

SPEAKERS:
Roger Palmer

All students have the right to develop a deep understanding of how the world works in ways that support their personal goals and the interests of their community. Science education can help build a more just and equitable world. Come explore how instruction can support science learning that is consequential to your students, their communities, and the broader world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about and apply two equity project frameworks for science education to support professional learning and implementation projects. They will learn how open education resources (http://stemteachingtools.org/) can help them develop equitable approaches to science teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

Engaging place-based Pacific-Coast-centered storylines are presented that allow students to develop sensemaking skills for investigating up-to-date, research-driven climate science and how it relates to their home communities. For example, the Pacific Ocean El Niño / La Niña cycles greatly influence the climates of the U.S. West Coast, including regional temperature and precipitation variations and therefore the timing and locations of floods, droughts, and wildfires. Increased global warming due to increased greenhouse gases is amplifying some of these impact. A recent example is the Southern California wildfires of 2025, where global warming has now extended the lengths of La Niña droughts into January, so they are now overlapping with the start of the winter Santa Ana winds. Another example is how increased Pacific Ocean surface temperatures increase the likelihood of future atmospheric rivers that can cause severe flooding along parts of the West Coast.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students effectively develop sensemaking of NGSS performance expectations concerning weather and climate using place-based storylines anchored by Pacific Coast regional phenomena. Instructors will leave with multiple ideas for incorporating the latest climate science into their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession

This presentation is centered around the 2019 National Geographic Magazine, "The Race Issue". This is a mini-unit that engages secondary students in accountable talk about the science of race, diversity, and genetics. The unit includes microscopy, guided readings, hands-on activities, and discussion. Participants will leave with tools to share with their students that are safe and appropriate. Contextualizing race within the study of genetics allows students, and adults, to speak about misconceptions and experiences. This session will share differentiated lessons for learners at multiple levels (grades, IEPs, gifted). Prerequisites for this unit are an understanding of mitosis and meiosis, experience in accountable talk and microscopy. I have done this unit for 6 years with much success, I teach in a diverse, urban school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a "camera-ready" unit, that is relevant and appropriate, to extend their current genetic lessons. The unit engages participants in the science behind the discussions of race, ethnicity, and diversity. The lesson is adaptable for all learners in a 7-12 life science class.

SPEAKERS:
Margaret Busker-Postlethwait

Experience how leveraging complex culturally relevant societal challenges as phenomena in 3D teaching and learning supports student motivation and engagement and develops student agency within and beyond the classroom! The Framework for K-12 Science Education and NGSS call for learning grounded in real world phenomena and problems to ensure that science learning is relevant to all students. The AIL instructional model succeeds the 5Es and utilizes complex and culturally relevant societal challenges to anchor multiple cycles of inquiry and sensemaking, culminating with student explanations/design solutions. AIL employs science education research emphasizing coherence from students’ perspective. In this session, participants will 1) consider their own ideas about teaching complex societal challenges, 2) experience 3D learning, and 3) consider the science concepts of a societal challenge (antibiotic resistance, heart disease, food sustainability, anthropogenic changes to biodiversity)

TAKEAWAYS:
The research-based BSCS Anchored Inquiry Learning instructional model succeeds the 5Es and leverages complex societal issues as anchoring phenomena/problems, culminating tasks, and performance assessments in 3D units of instruction to motivate students and develop agency in addressing these issues.

SPEAKERS:
Cynthia Gay

ShakeAlert, the U.S. Earthquake Early Warning system, offers a powerful way to connect wave science, engineering, and public safety in the classroom. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how ShakeAlert uses P- and S-waves, seismic networks, and GPS to provide alerts, and how these concepts align with NGSS standards (HS-PS4-5, HS-ETS1-3) and the crosscutting concept of systems. Teachers will engage with tools such as USGS Earthquake Hazards, IRIS Seismic Monitor, and jAmaSeis to analyze real earthquake data just as seismologists do. Participants will also experience in-class demonstrations, simulations, and models that make wave behavior tangible. Attendees will draft place-based lesson plans that integrate local seismic data and emphasize equity by considering how early warning technologies reach diverse communities. They will leave with templates, curated resources, and strategies for connecting science to personal protective action and public safety.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use ShakeAlert and real-time seismic data to create place-based, NGSS-aligned lessons on waves, engineering solutions, personal protective action, and public safety—leaving with classroom-ready templates, resources, and equity-focused strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Pyle, Ariel Raymond

Undergraduates in teacher preparation programs often take a capstone class before student teaching. While these courses vary by institution, capstones provide students with a culminating experience. These classes are important as they help students deepen their content knowledge, connect science content to teaching practices & standards, and develop their identity as educators. Yet, these classes also run the risk of being repetitive and not meeting the current demands of the teaching profession. As we plan future capstone classes for 7-12 grade pre-service science teachers, we seek input from both new and experienced teachers as well as other college faculty. This roundtable discussion will explore a) beneficial experiences from capstone classes and b) topics that educators believe that pre-service teachers need in capstone classes. Data will be collected from participants, and a summary of results will be shared. Future course syllabi will also be made available.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will assess various capstone frameworks, discuss the knowledge and skills needed to be successful science educators, and contribute feedback to ensure future capstone courses support 7-12 grade pre-service science teacher development. Roundtable results will be aggregated and shared.

SPEAKERS:
Carrie Sharitt

Join for an interactive session, where we will explore how the Flipped Classroom model and the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework can transform student learning and engagement. This session will highlight practical strategies for shifting direct instruction outside the classroom, freeing up valuable in-class time for collaborative, inquiry-based learning in chemistry classroom. Participants will discover how integrating CER into flipped lessons empowers students to think critically, construct scientific explanations, and support their claims with evidence and logical reasoning. Through real-world examples, hands-on activities, and discussion, educators will leave with actionable tools to foster deeper understanding, promote student voice, and enhance formative assessment practices. Whether you're new to flipped learning or looking to refine your use of CER, this session offers insights and inspiration to elevate your teaching practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session equips educators with practical strategies for designing flipped lessons that incorporate CER seamlessly. Participants will explore real classroom examples, tackle common challenges, and engage in hands-on activities that model the CER process.

SPEAKERS:
Bhagyashree Kulkarni

NAMs—including organs on a chip, 3D cell cultures, and computational models—are rapidly advancing scientific research and testing while reducing reliance on animal experimentation. These breakthroughs promise not only more relevant, human-based results, but also foreshadow the tools and technology that today’s students may encounter in higher education and future STEM careers. This roundtable will bring together experts in experimental methods, classroom teaching, and humane education, to discuss how NAMs are reshaping science and how K-12 educators can begin preparing students now. Participants are invited to consider how familiarity with NAMs may promote science literacy, college preparation and career-readiness, and discuss how these technologies could filter into classroom science practice. The session is intended for secondary teachers, curriculum developers, STEM coordinators, and any educators who are interested in humane, innovative teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of NAMs, exploring potential connections to disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts, as well as practices to equip students with the competencies needed to thrive in a science landscape that is moving beyond animal use.

SPEAKERS:
Regina Terlau-Benford

How can department chairs cultivate trust and collaboration that allow every teacher to thrive? Drawing on 24 years in the classroom and over a decade as department chair, I’ve learned that effective leadership is less about fixing problems and more about nurturing relationships. This roundtable invites science leaders to share strategies for building inclusive, flexible, and human-centered departments. Discussion will include practices such as differentiated goal-setting, rotating peer-learning structures, flexible meetings that build connection, and feedback tools that elevate all voices. Participants will leave with ideas for fostering trust, shared purpose, and professional growth across diverse teaching teams.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain ideas to lead with trust and collaboration to sustain thriving, human-centered science departments, through practical strategies that can be implemented immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Ellie Beyers

So you are here at the conference… what’s next? Come learn from a panel of experienced science education leaders about opportunities to grow professionally by being involved in local, regional, and national science education professional organizations. Professional organizations like NSTA, its state and regional chapters, National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), National Middle Level Science Teachers Association (NMLSTA), and other associated member organizations that can be found on the NSTA website are rich with opportunities to collaborate and grow professionally and personally. Regardless of your years of experience, educators in settings like yours and unique from yours can share experiences, problem-solve, share resources, elevate and celebrate your great work, lift you on tough days, and so much more. Learn how to get involved and grow professionally by volunteering, running for office, or participating in conferences, professional learning, or networking opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to get involved and grow professionally by volunteering, running for office, or participating in conferences, professional learning, or networking opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Kelly, Kellie Boquet, Amy Tankersley, Kevin Niemi, Tami Lunsford

Developing a future-focus for science education with emphasis of music and arts. Bridging out for cross-curriculum among various disciplines, however, focus upon STEM education. Utilizing the ODE State Science Standards, along with state standards from various content, as well as the connections to the Next Generation Science Standards. My proposal is for the audience of 6-12 general science educators. Educators from outside of the 6-12 parameter are always welcome to attend the proposed session. The information provided for the proposed session presentation is to help all STEM educators with the integration of music and arts into the STEM education and curriculum (STEAM). Empower and equip educators thinking outside of the bun to utilize music with the STEM curricula. Teachers will learn how to improve their critical thinking to achieve the talented and gifted students who may not be advanced in science, but advanced in arts and music.

TAKEAWAYS:
Empower and equip educators thinking outside of the bun to utilize music with the STEM curricula. There are digital programs the educators can utilize without costs to improve the connections of arts and music with STEM. Teachers will learn how to improve their critical thinking to STEAM TAG kids.

SPEAKERS:
John Davis III

Every lab comes with risk, and when there is a significant injury, the average settlement in the US exceeds $ 4 million. However, with the right tools, teachers can make every activity safer, smarter, and more engaging. In this interactive session, explore how VERA AI, a teacher-centered safety system, supports lesson planning, lab prep, and classroom management through real-time risk analysis and safer material substitutions. Using real K–12 scenarios, participants will experience how AI “safety wrappers” transform everyday lab routines into proactive safety checks that build student awareness and confidence. Learn how to integrate these AI tools to save time, strengthen compliance, and foster a shared culture of safety in science and makerspace learning. Walk away with free access to VERA AI and ready-to-use strategies for your next lab day.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to utilize free VERA AI tools to proactively identify lab risks, make safer substitutions, and save planning time—enabling them to focus more on meaningful, hands-on learning and feel confident teaching students in a safe learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Edward Cohen

Sponsoring Company: Simulation Curriculum

Unlock the cosmos for your classroom with our interesting and engaging Astronomy workshop! Discover standards-aligned lessons with teacher resources and delve into the latest astronomical discoveries. Gain confidence and receive tools to ignite students' curiosity about the wonders of the universe. For Grades 6-8, 9-12 & AP.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Goodman

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Modern biotechnology has ushered in a new era of scientific discovery, with powerful techniques like genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology transforming research and medicine. These innovations have enabled scientists to manipulate DNA sequences directly, dramatically reducing the time needed to study and improve organisms. Among the most groundbreaking advancements of the past decade is the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 system—a precise, cost-effective, and efficient gene-editing tool that is revolutionizing the field of biotechnology and transforming human health in real time. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore CRISPR-Cas gene editing with fast, hands-on experiments modeling cures for genetic diseases like Sickle Cell Anemia and Cystic Fibrosis. We’ll discuss options for performing authentic CRISPR experiments in your classroom. Bring this revolutionary science to your classroom today!

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: JoVE

What Secondary Science Leaders Can Do When Every Teacher Fills the Gaps Differently. Middle and high school science leaders know that curriculum supplementation is common, with most teachers adding videos, labs, or activities to fill gaps. The challenge is guiding supplementation in ways that support instructional quality and coherence across classrooms. This interactive workshop is designed for middle and high school science leaders, instructional coaches, and department chairs responsible for instructional consistency and teacher support. Through live polling, leadership case scenarios, and small group discussion, participants will examine where supplementation occurs, what drives teacher decision-making, and how variation impacts instruction. Attendees will discuss practical strategies to guide supplementation while preserving teacher autonomy, including shared instructional anchors and trusted instructional resources.

SPEAKERS:
Shauna Carlson

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Join us to explore best practices for using biomedical sensors with Graphical Analysis! We'll cover EKGs, EMGs, and heart rate. Designed for health sciences, biology, and physiology educators, this session offers hands-on experience, Q&A, and support for all experience levels.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Tallarovic

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Where does electrical energy come from? How does the energy transferred from a battery to a coil produce a magnetic field? We will investigate these questions using a dissectable generator, exploring how different variables affect the output voltage using sensor data. We'll also do investigate the reverse process to see how energy from an electrical source can be transferred to a magnetic field to do work. This engaging lesson is a great enhancement to physical science, physics, and OpenSciEd curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Hanna

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Join us for an interactive, hands-on model lesson from OpenSciEd for High School to discover how the Carolina Certified Version takes these high-quality instructional materials to the next level— more accessible, more user-friendly, and enhanced for classroom safety. Dive into the Biology 1 unit and experience how the Serengeti board game transforms complex concepts into engaging learning. Participants will leave with practical strategies and valuable resources to energize their classrooms. 

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Leander ISD, TX, made a deliberate shift from traditional science instruction to fully embracing 3-D teaching and learning as envisioned by NGSS and their state standards, placing student sensemaking and classroom discussion at the center of instruction. Learn how they implemented OpenSciEd through a thoughtful, step-by-step process that built teacher capacity, aligned curriculum, and sustained momentum over time. The session highlights how purposeful discussion became the engine for connecting science and engineering practices with disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts. Gain insight into the professional learning structures, leadership supports, and instructional strategies that helped educators navigate challenges and bring phenomenon-driven, student-centered science to life. Leave with practical ideas, lessons learned, and inspiration to spark your own district’s transformation, putting student ideas in motion through talk, sensemaking, and shared understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Anna Wydeven, Jennifer Lopez, Lauren Carter

Sponsoring Company: Thames & Kosmos

Make STEM learning fun with Thames & Kosmos! Teachers will experience a hands-on 5-E lesson from Structural Engineering: Bridges and Skyscrapers, one of the Thames & Kosmos kits that includes a complete standards-based curriculum. Experience the material from the student's perspective as you build a structure and compete against your fellow teachers. You will also get a sneak peek at some of our other kits, which include high-quality curricula: Robotics Workshop with Micro:Bit, Renewable Energy Lab, Roller Coaster Engineering, and Happy Atoms. These kits include scope & sequence, teacher guides and student workbooks, plus scaffolding to support literacy and knowledge-building — all free to access on our website. Calling all physics, chemistry, coding, and engineering teachers! This workshop is great for anyone who teaches STEM at the upper elementary, middle school, or high school level.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Mintz, Edmund McGuire

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Explore interactive, narrative-driven digital labs that can be used independently or alongside hands-on biotech activities. This session highlights classroom use cases that engage students with genetics laboratory topics, including sickle cell disease, the central dogma, and others.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin

Sponsoring Company: Pitsco Education

Ignite student curiosity with Take Flight: Drone Missions for Student Engagement- an exciting and relevant session that brings STEM learning to life through real-world drone applications. Explore how students can design, build, and pilot drones while tackling mission-based challenges that reinforce concepts in engineering and problem-solving. Participants will discover strategies for integrating drones into various learning environments, engaging learners of all levels, and fostering collaboration, critical thinking, and career-ready skills. Get ready to elevate engagement and see STEM from a whole new perspective!

SPEAKERS:
Oscar Rios

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Skip the boiling, skip the scrubbing — keep the investigation! Learn fast, low-prep assays for identifying key five biological macromolecules including DNA, using minimal reagents and ZERO test tubes. Then apply these techniques to uncover macromolecules hidden in everyday foods. A clean, efficient, classroom-ready lab that keeps students engaged while saving time, supplies, and teacher sanity.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

This vocabulary strategy engages students in authentic research and visual learning. Using Google and Google Images, students investigate science terms to build accurate definitions and context. They then transform their research into labeled diagrams, comparisons, and sketches, reinforcing meaning through both inquiry and visualization. By moving beyond rote memorization, this method helps students actively “piece together” vocabulary, fostering deeper understanding, stronger retention, and connections between words and concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session with a ready-to-use vocabulary strategy that combines digital research with visual synthesis, making abstract terms more concrete and memorable for students.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Davis

ARM is a project-based internship focused on the construction and programming of autonomous robotic arms. ARM merges AI with physical robots using Python and an accessible hardware platform. Modules included: Introduction to Robotics, Python Fundamentals & Applications (e.g. Tic-Tac-Toe), Arm Construction, Object Detection, and Autonomous Arm Programming. All components: parts, 3D printing files, construction instructions, programming activities, and lecture slides are available online and can be used as a whole or piecemeal for clubs and classrooms. ARM participants include high school students, college students, and a high school teacher. Pre and Post evaluations found that the immersive internship experience improved important indicators of retention and success such as Sense of Belonging in Computing. TTIC is a philanthropically endowed research institute & university focused on AI and theory. NGSS Alignment: HS-ETS1-1 & HS-ETS1-2; CCC 2,4,& 6; Practices 1,2,3,4 & 6.

TAKEAWAYS:
Robots + AI = Student Engagement. Please steal our ideas. They work!

SPEAKERS:
Michael Rodgers, Randall Landsberg

I have found students’ fear of science, scientific concepts, and deeper understanding lingers, even in preservice undergrads. Many found science as unrelatable and something to get through. Students tended to not understand the “big picture” and concept connection to personal interests/ activities. I use alternative writing assignments to elevate HOTS levels while supporting cross-curricular understanding. I created a rubric that was general in the sense of product development but precise in the understanding conveyed. The rubric guides students to widen their understanding and incorporate individualism. Although full rubric completion takes students to an average, C letter grade, it provides multiple avenues for personal interests with the ability to exemplify superior work for them, physically linking sensemaking between science ideas and student ideas. The culminating products have been more unimaginably diverse and deeply engaging for their peers, the instructor, and themselves.

TAKEAWAYS:
My AWA (alternative writing assignment) rubric will be explained and shared, showing how concepts can be created, taught, and presented by students.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Bechtel

The work of geoscientists is essential for protecting the environment, responding to natural hazards, and using resources responsibly – making geoscience careers vital and rewarding. To help students make these connections, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has developed free online resources that link student interests with global challenges and career pathways. A new Sustainability Interactive introduces real-world scenarios tied to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and encourages students to reflect on what matters most to them. When paired with AGI’s Career Explorer, which highlights geoscience-related careers, this resource provides teachers with engaging ways to help students explore how their interests align with sustainability issues and discover how geoscience can contribute to solutions. Educator resources, including lesson plans designed to help teachers integrate these applications into the classroom, will also be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about and can explore AGI’s free online applications that connect student interests with global sustainability challenges and geoscience careers.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren Brase, Lindsay Mossa

How can we make chemistry more interesting, relevant, and exciting to students while still keeping rigor? Hear from teachers across the U.S. who have used lessons centered around food-based phenomena that teach chemistry concepts like atomic structure, bonding, thermal energy, intermolecular forces, and chemical reactions, and are aligned to NGSS. Learn how this has helped student engagement, disposition, and understanding of science concepts, and their ideas about what science is. Teachers can answer questions about what this can look like logistically and how to support common classroom challenges like supporting students of different levels and backgrounds, lab equipment, and providing 3D assessments that align to NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
See how other teachers have used different series of lessons centered around different food-based phenomena and labs and how this has helped student engagement, disposition, and understanding of science concepts, and their ideas about what science is.

SPEAKERS:
April Thompson, Jacob Rice, David Meyer, Kate Strangfeld

The Inquiry-Based STEM Game Development via Generative AI tool functions as an expert pedagogical system to address the complexity of rigorous, cross-disciplinary STEM curriculum design. Teachers input learning objectives, STEM knowledge units, and select an inquiry model (e.g., 6E, PBL). The GenAI analyzes the underlying STEM literacies, automatically generates dynamic, authentic problem scenarios for the game's plot, and integrates multimedia. The tool ensures high pedagogical fidelity, guiding students to perceive STEM concepts, attempt problem resolution, and understand the socio-cultural impact of science. Crucially, the system uses dynamic generation to alter gameplay upon each launch, maintaining student engagement and curiosity. A robust backend logs detailed learning outcomes, providing teachers with granular data for both formative and summative assessment, thereby elevating the quality and reach of inquiry-based STEM education.

TAKEAWAYS:
GenAI-driven game development enhances inquiry-based STEM by generating dynamic, cross-disciplinary scenarios. Teachers gain a tool for high pedagogical fidelity and granular assessment data, significantly boosting student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Chi-Ruei Tsai

This transdisciplinary experience links human biology, geography, and economics through student exploration. Students use an interactive website to produce maps by comparing health-related and non-medical factors in their region. After reflecting on observed patterns, students turn to two maps of state ZIP codes with the lowest and highest median incomes. In groups balanced for individual strengths, they compare/contrast features of the two regions based on non-medical factors they explored in the opening activity. Students then enter data for a “patient” into a professional disease risk prediction calculator that incorporates ZIP codes. By varying the ZIP code, they compare output to see how predicted risk changes with "place." Finally, they develop a map visualization that explains how non-medical factors related to place act on health. The activity reflects Framework elements that include obtaining/evaluating/communicating information and identifying patterns and cause and effect.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this transdisciplinary activity, students observe phenomena, draw out patterns they detect, and then test the real-world health outcomes of these patterns for people based on where they live, arriving at a deep understanding of the role of place in human health.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Willingham

Elizabeth Zodda has five years of experience teaching an interdisciplinary course that includes both science and social studies. This course examines the relationship between the public, governing bodies, and scientific experts, and aims to develop a deep understanding in students of how science establishes itself as a cultural authority on truth. The course also explores contemporary issues that involve science but cannot be reduced to science alone and clarifies our values in relation to them. The course uses analytical approaches from history, sociology, and philosophy of science, and aims to help students improve their ability to make informed decisions about science-related issues in a democratic manner. In this session, we will explore the connections between this course and the NGSS statement on the Nature of Science and see how the approach can be used for a range of contemporary issues that some students may find controversial.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students are introduced to a novel approach to examining the contributions that science and non-science subjects can make to contemporary issues. They learn about the nature of science in an interdisciplinary course where they can compare the aims and values of science with those of other subjects.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Zodda

Climate change naysayers, anti-vaxxers, COVID myths, wonder diets & greenwashing by industry -- all challenge our students. Here, we present a set of inquiry lessons for developing competences in NGSS SEP#8, “Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information.” Help students navigate the concepts of scienc media literacy: expertise, credibility, the role of consensus and institutions, the nature of trust, cognitive pitfalls, and recognition of deceptive tactics. From the Editor of the "Fact-or-Faux" column in NSTA's The Science Teacher.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore a collection of inquiry lessons about scientific misinformation and media literacy practices. "Fantastic Beasts" | "The Vaccine Skeptics of 1721" | "Fact Checking 101 & 102" | "The New Madrid Earthquake, 1990" | "The Science Liars Game" | "The Noisy Response to Silent Spring, 1963" & more.

SPEAKERS:
DOUGLAS ALLCHIN

This poster presents a lesson that has students explore how single phrases can allow you to pick up on a source’s tone towards climate change. Students begin by highlighting and coding an article using a key provided with the goal of identifying biases in the news source. Then, students create a blackout poem using the key phrases they identified to focus attention on the source’s bias towards climate science. This lesson combines critical reading & creative writing with climate science communications and is adaptable for students ranging from middle school to graduate school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will learn how to identify hidden biases in news sources discussing climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Zachary Krauss

For many urban students, “nature” can feel far away, tucked into forests or national parks. But what if we flipped that idea on its head? This poster highlights a community-based science unit that helps students rediscover the ecosystems woven into their own neighborhoods. Set in Philadelphia, this freshwater ecology unit invites students to explore how rivers, streets, and people form one dynamic, interconnected system. It features classroom-ready examples that blend science, historical data, and art-based activism. The lessons combine three-dimensional NGSS practices with a historical lens to trace how local rivers and surrounding communities have transformed over time. Drawing inspiration from local storytelling and art movements, students design public-facing eco-art that raises awareness about the relationship between the city and nature. This poster is designed to help educators create meaningful community based and culturally relevant experiences for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with adaptable strategies for designing place-based investigations that help students see nature and ecological systems not as something distant, but as part of their everyday urban experience woven into the streets, rivers, and rhythms of their own communities.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Szablya

Transform your classroom into a hub of engineering innovation using everyday items! This interactive session will equip 3rd-8th grade science teachers with practical strategies and engaging activities for integrating STEM engineering challenges using readily available household items without breaking the bank. Participants will dive into hands-on activities that demonstrate how common household materials can spark critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. Learn practical strategies to make engineering accessible, exciting, and highly effective, proving that impactful STEM learning is within reach for all. Join us to ignite curiosity and cultivate the next generation of innovators with resources you already have!

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how to turn everyday household items into engaging STEM engineering challenges, equipping students with problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills while making hands-on, accessible STEM learning fun and effective.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon McWhorter, Allyson Sauter

This workshop will provide participants with strategies to use the ELIPSS feedback rubrics to assess a variety of skills within their courses and provide feedback that leads to student mastery. Student engagement with the science and engineering practices is necessary to help them meet the NGSS expectations. However, research has shown that it is not enough to provide assignments that cause students to USE particular skills; assessment of these skills is critical for student skill development. The Enhancing Learning by Improving Process Skills in STEM (ELIPSS) is an NSF-funded project that developed resources that aid instructors in aligning their intended outcomes, tasks, and assessments to address science practices and durable skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
-Overview of the ELIPSS rubrics and strategies for using rubric components in combination to assess targeted skills and science practices -Strategies for including skills in traditional content-based rubrics -Practice combining rubric categories to develop customized rubrics for your assignments

SPEAKERS:
Renee Cole, Juliette Lantz

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Chemistry teachers! Guide your students through a forensic investigation of a bottle rocket launch failure. Use gas pressure sensors to explore Avogadro’s law for various gases, and model how real-world data can support sensemaking and 3D learning in your classroom or lab.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

How do we cultivate students’ ability to read and understand quantitative displays quickly and confidently? At the heart of NGSS is developing students’ skill in detecting and interpreting patterns in the natural world (SEP-Analyzing and Interpreting Data; CC-Patterns). In this hands-on workshop, participants will step “into students’ shoes” for a sequence of short bell-ringer investigations using historical, real-word primary-source graphs pulled from the Library of Congress. Working in small groups, educators will analyze real historical datasets, practice inquiry prompts designed for 5–10-minute bell ringers, and use a versatile formative rubric to assess understanding. We will model scaffolds for multilingual learners, neurodiverse students, and learners with limited math confidence. Participants leave with bell-ringer packs (sample graphs, teacher prompts, exit tickets, and a 3-level formative rubric) that can be used the next day in diverse classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will use short, primary-source graphs/data sets as 5–10-minute bell ringers that prompt both discipline-specific and historic sensemaking while applying a concise 3-level formative rubric to quickly assess students’ quantitative sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Apfeldorf, Michael Lowry

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

In many science departments, lab safety relies heavily on the individual judgment and past experiences of teachers. However, experience can create blind spots where familiarity leads to informal protocols and unrecognized risks. This session challenges the reliance on personal intuition and introduces a systematic, shared framework for risk management. We will explore how to transition from isolated safety habits to a unified culture where educators explicitly uncover, name, and mitigate hazards through a common language. By moving toward a documented, framework-based approach, leadership can reduce liability and ensure a consistent standard of protection across every classroom. Attendees will leave with a 180-day plan for implementing a comprehensive lab safety framework within their own schools or districts. This session is appropriate for administrators and science teachers at all grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Jonnathan Medina Ramos, Ph.D.

Various methods of using candy for mechanical testing will be introduced: • using chocolate for hardness testing; • mini candy bars with different fillings for a 3-point test; • soft candies for strength testing and to demonstrate a material under tension. By changing the testing parameters, the results of the test may also change (speed of the force applied, temperature of the candy, etc). These results will be compared with real-world testing samples and applications. Some amateur failure analysis of photos will be done and compared to the testing samples. Various uses of failure analysis and career opportunities will be shared. Students enjoy puzzles they can try to solve, things they can break, and things they might be able to eat. These lessons are always a hit as they combine all three, giving kids a chance to learn something fun that can then be immediately applied to solve a problem.

TAKEAWAYS:
Everyday words with technical definitions – hardness, strength, toughness, tension – make learning about mechanical properties confusing. Expensive testing equipment isn’t available, but candy is. Different candy is used for mechanical testing, with quantitative and qualitative results.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson, Scott Spohler

Artificial intelligence is reshaping science education, which includes bringing new possibilities to labs by changing the way students gather and analyze experimental data. In this immersive workshop, participants step into the role of students, using their smartphones to gather real-world data from simple hands-on experiments. Together, we will explore how AI-powered tools can make complex analysis accessible, deepen conceptual understanding, and spark student curiosity across STEM disciplines. The session highlights strategies to integrate AI into labs in ways that enhance—not replace—critical thinking, while giving teachers classroom-ready examples they can adapt immediately. Whether you teach physics, life sciences, or any STEM related course, this workshop offers a glimpse of the future of inquiry-based science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will expand their understanding and increase their confidence working with AI tools to support student learning. This will include concrete examples that teachers can use in their own classrooms to help students recognize the power of AI in their learning journey.

SPEAKERS:
Helene McLaughlin, David Rakestraw

Attendees will use data collection technologies such as software, probeware, and calculators to collect, graph, and analyze data. Attendees will then use veritcal whiteboarding to discuss and share the data collected through gallery walks. Topics will include, density, velocity and acceleration, temperature, solubility and conductivity, and force.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ideas and inspiration on how to get a more student centered data collection and analysis discussion with students with authentic data that is collected by the students.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Coker

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Track the inheritance of the sickle cell allele in a family using gel electrophoresis. Available as a hands-on lab or virtual simulation, this activity teaches Mendelian genetics, inheritance patterns, and the molecular basis of sickle cell disease, including an extension on CRISPR gene editing.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin

Transform your classroom and make a lasting impact on education with one philosophical shift that puts learning back into the hands of students. Join one teacher’s journey to revolutionize assessments with renewed focus on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Research suggests that a standards-based electronic portfolio promotes a positive learning environment that emphasizes student mastery, develops self-regulated learning, and strengthens the classroom community. This real-world application in Physics confirms it! Explore how the systems approach has promoted equity and accessibility through universal design for learning (UDL) strategies and purposeful implementation of peer reviews, self-assessments, and revisions. See examples of how an “Ask 3” protocol and “Actionable Norms” positive behavior intervention shift student thinking from compliance to continuous growth. Let’s turn theory into practice and leave energized to effect change together.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how implementing a comprehensive learner-centered electronic portfolio system with NGSS (& AP) standards-based grading plus a clear revision process can positively impact student learning to address the 4 Cs while it also transforms teaching into a more sustainable practice.

SPEAKERS:
Albert David Valderrama

This workshop invites secondary science and STEM teachers to explore strategy guides for enacting Language and Racial Equity Practices (LaREP) to support linguistically and racially diverse students’ sense of belonging, academic success, and STEM identity development. Participants will (1) explore the LaREP framework, (2) review strategy guides that translate LaREP into actionable classroom practices with instructional designs and student work examples, (3) experience two model activities—one focused on language equity and another on racial equity—and (4) discuss with participant teachers their feedback and comments on the LaREP’s potential and challenges. Participants will gain access to all resources via our project website, including the full LaREP Strategy Guide Package: one overview guide, three Language Equity Strategy Guides (e.g., Connecting Science and Everyday Words), and four Racial Equity Strategy Guides (e.g., Disrupting Structure, Funds of Knowledge and Raciolinguistics).

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will bring with them the practical strategies, lesson examples, and insights for enacting Language and Racial Equity Practices in secondary STEM classrooms to strengthen linguistically and racially diverse students’ sense of belonging, academic success, and STEM identity.

SPEAKERS:
Won Jung Kim

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Rockets zoom and race cars zip through hands-on activities that engage your middle and high school students. Apply creative problem-solving skills and engineering practices to chemistry and physical science challenges. Experience how Carolina makes it easy to incorporate STEM into your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Patti Kopkau

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Join us as we explore the phenomenon of lactase persistence in humans and engage in the science practices of asking questions, analyzing data, and developing scientific explanations using free resources from BioInteractive. Participants will explore the underlying genetic mechanism of lactase persistence and analyze data from human populations to make sense of how natural selection drove its evolution. Educators will have opportunities to consider ways to adapt the resource for their particular teaching contexts, sharing ideas with and learning alongside other educators. Participants will deepen their understanding of the phenomenon and walk away with new strategies and classroom-ready resources.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Short, Kathlyn Van Hoeck

Are you interested in helping students make sense of the phenomena in their communities? Are you looking for ways to incorporate more data in your science classroom? When sensemaking is focused on local phenomena, there are more opportunities to center students’ community and incorporate personal interests. This session, co-facilitated by the NSTA Professional Learning Team and Tuva, will highlight the value of using data from local phenomena in science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Data from local phenomena can be leveraged to create engaging learning for students. Participants will learn how to find and select local data that is instructionally productive, based on their goals for student learning and the data available.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

How can teachers design assessments that capture what students know, can do, and can explain across diverse high school science courses? This interactive session explores three-dimensional (3D) assessment strategies for Chemistry, IB Sports Science, and Forensic Science. Participants will examine freely available OER tasks, rubrics, and student work examples aligned to the NRC Framework, NGSS, and state standards. Through collaboration, teachers will adapt tasks for their own classrooms, taking into account issues of equity, accessibility, and disciplinary relevance.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with ready-to-use, open-access 3D assessment tools and strategies to evaluate student sensemaking in Chemistry, IB Sports Science, and Forensic Science while addressing equity and instructional alignment.

SPEAKERS:
Ramon Reeves, Shannon Harris, Tracy Joyner, Dana Peeples

This session explores how the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) can serve as a powerful foundation for helping students connect phenomena-driven learning to high-skill, high-wage, in-demand careers. This session will offer practical insights into the current postsecondary and workforce landscape and demonstrate how career-connected learning can increase student engagement by making science more relevant and purposeful.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using state science standards as a foundation for career connected learning helps students see science as purposeful and relevant by directly linking science content and application to in-demand career pathways boosting both engagement and motivation.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

Consumer DNA testing sits at the intersection of cutting-edge genomics and personal identity. This session pulls back the curtain on how direct-to-consumer tests generate and deliver results, from raw genotyping data to ethnicity estimates and migration inferences. We’ll explore scientific concepts such as reference populations, SNP arrays, population structure, and statistical modeling that underlie tools like ancestry composition and historical matching. Alongside the science, we’ll examine the powerful implications of these results—how they shape students’ understanding of uniqueness, shared origins, and global connections. Attendees will gain strategies for translating the science of commercial DNA testing into classroom lessons that are rigorous, relevant, and resonant.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understand the testing methodology behind consumer DNA tests and how they can be used to teach both genetics and human connection.

SPEAKERS:
Diahan Southard

Sponsoring Company: Kiddom

What does it take to make sense-making of phenomena through investigating the center of science instruction, not just in theory, but in daily practice? Join Dr. Mike Flanagan and explore how intentional curriculum design, when paired with powerful learning intelligence technology (LIT), can transform instruction and empower all learners. Featuring actionable strategies, this session will leave you inspired and equipped to design learning experiences that are coherent and genuinely engaging.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how thoughtful curriculum design and digital tools work together to support sense-making in science instruction, with practical strategies they can apply immediately to create more coherent, equitable, and engaging learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Flanagan

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Fuel your curiosity—and your teaching toolkit—with this dynamic exploration of how our world powers itself. Participants will dive into two of Switch Classroom’s most popular energy activities. Start with Energy Resource Stations, comparing coal, wind, solar, natural gas, and more through short videos, hands-on evidence sorting, and lively discussion of benefits, limitations, and trade-offs. Then shift into Energy Transformations, tracing how energy changes from chemical to thermal, mechanical, and electromagnetic as you build explanations, use models, and make real-world connections. Leave with free Switch Classroom lessons and classroom-ready strategies for grades 4–12.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Swets

Implementing hands-on, student-centered models of instruction such as the 5E through labs and other activities can be challenging in practice because of unavailability of time and materials. Additionally, it is a challenge to help students understand the science phenomena behind each experience, and not just the experience itself. Structured visuals bridge that gap: they are easy to make or find, and they intuitively engage students in deep, rich thinking and academic conversation. Additionally, they help level the playing field by providing all of the needed background information for students to access critical thinking opportunities about science concepts. Participants in this session will experience exploration of science phenomena from students’ perspective by engaging in peer-to-peer academic conversations using structured visuals. Participants will also be shown how to create structured visuals and structured visual resources such as The Visual Non-Glossary.

TAKEAWAYS:
Structured visuals are easy to prepare and implement, and they can either replace labs or dramatically enhance them. Structured visuals get students talking and making inferences and connections. This session shows how to find, make, and use them.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Fleenor

Discover data-driven activities that challenge environmental science students to investigate global population trends, resource use, and climate change connections. In this hands-on session, participants will engage with interactive simulations and data analysis that foster systems thinking, modeling, and defending arguments from evidence. Lessons connect directly to NGSS standards (HS-LS2, HS-ESS3) and APES topics including population ecology, land and water use, and global change. In collaborative groups, participants will analyze and discuss data sets from universities and international agencies to identify trends and patterns and make predictions. They will learn strategies to help students analyze complex sustainability challenges, evaluate solutions, and apply scientific reasoning to real-world environmental issues. Attendees will leave with adaptable classroom tools that promote critical thinking, environmental literacy, and informed decision-making.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn NGSS-aligned, hands-on activities that build students’ environmental awareness, data skills, and problem-solving abilities while inspiring them to take informed action on real-world sustainability challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Huth

Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering science classrooms, and education leaders play a key role in shaping how it strengthens student sensemaking. This session explores how AI can help students ask stronger questions, reason with evidence, and engage more deeply with phenomena. Leaders will learn how to communicate a clear, purposeful vision for AI use, one that promotes thoughtful integration and supports high-quality science investigations. The session also highlights ways to partner with parents to build understanding and shared confidence in AI’s role in learning. Participants will leave with tools to assess readiness, articulate guiding principles, and position AI as a productive thinking partner in phenomenon-based science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to guide AI use to deepen science sensemaking, promote purposeful rather than restrictive practices, and engage parents as partners in supporting students’ phenomenon-based investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Lazzaro, Velma Itamura

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Imagine you’re a wildlife conservator preparing to introduce captive-bred lions into the wild. But before setting them free, there’s one crucial question: Do these lions actually belong in this habitat? Using phylogenetics, scientists analyze markers within a lion’s DNA to match the individuals with their compatible wild populations. In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the use of RFLP analysis and phylogenetics in conservation biology. We will analyze the DNA samples of two lions and compare them to common genetic types across the continent of Africa. Your results will guide the decision to return these animals to their native habitats to help rewild the area. Can you send these lions back to their ancestral home?

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: BFW Publishers

Capture high school chemistry students’ curiosity by inviting them into a truly phenomenon-based curriculum. Explore a hands-on periodic table card sort and investigate whether it’s really possible to turn a copper penny into gold. Along the way, ground in NGSS - experience how Living by Chemistry’s guided-inquiry and three-dimensional learning approach helps students build deep conceptual understanding. Presented by Living by Chemistry author Dr. Angelica Stacy.

SPEAKERS:
Angelica Stacy

Use demos to talk about resources and environmental sustainability, with copper as a specific example and a focus on the impact of resource acquisition and resources to highlight the depth and complexity of these issues. Participants will observe a copper vein set up they could use in class. This single replacement reaction has some interesting steps and the chemistry that occurs will be discussed. Then the decomposition of malachite will be discussed along with extracting copper by smelting and an analysis of energy used. These reactions give an opportunity to discuss chemistry, geology and environmental science. The idea of the “rock footprint” and how much raw material is needed will be explored. The Berkeley Pit (in Butte) will be one reference point. Resources provided will help students understand the challenges faced when balancing competing interests. The timeline and impact of mining in various areas will be discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Environmental impacts of mining from raw material acquisition to processing energy to site clean-up, with an emphasis on the chemistry and sustainability of current practices. Leave with several labs, a classroom activity to highlight the physical impacts of mining, and enthusiasm for recycling.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson

Teaching is hard! Educators work long hours, do not get paid the most lucrative salaries, and can easily get bogged down by all the difficulties that come with the career. This session will discuss professional development opportunities for both formal and informal educators to reignite their passion for education and bring real-world experience back to their students. In addition, experiences discussed provide educators with opportunities to collaborate with scientists, educators, artists, and cultural leaders from around the world to develop engaging content for the classroom and broader community. Specific professional development discussed includes Fund for Teachers, National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, Ecology Project International Teacher Fellowship, Earthwatch Project Kindle, Bimini Biological Field Station Educator Fellowship, Ocean Exploration Trust Science Communication Fellowship, and Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellowship.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away insights and application suggestions on professional development opportunities from past fellowship participants. Participants will also gain knowledge on how to utilize those experiences to increase student engagement and global competencies within their community.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Maynard, Matthew Holden

In a world where algorithms compete for our students’ attention, teachers can reclaim the brain’s oldest—and most potent—learning technology: story. Neuroscience shows that when we hear a story, not a list of facts, our brains fire in synchrony—engaging emotion, motion, and imagination. In this session, teachers become narrative architects, designing lessons around the “And–But–Therefore” (ABT) framework to build curiosity, tension, and resolution. Through pop-culture examples, short demos, and brain-based insights, participants will see how storytelling transforms abstract STEM ideas into memorable, emotionally resonant learning. Attendees will leave ready to analyze any lesson for its narrative flow, reframe it with ABT, and harness the same storytelling circuitry that makes students binge their favorite shows—to make them binge your class instead.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers can become narrative architects—using story structure, neuroscience, and the ABT framework to design lessons that capture attention, spark curiosity, and make STEM ideas stick in an age of constant distraction.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Brady

The new Not Your Average Crash Test Dummy math/crash science lesson set is part of the IIHS’s free Crash Science in the Classroom program. These lessons explore the science behind crash test dummy development and crash test design while also teaching about statistical measures of central tendency and the concept of percentile. Using videos from the Deep Dive with Dummies series and ready to use activity sheets, students learn about the essential role of crash test dummies as scientific research instruments while also exploring how researchers use dummies to improve vehicle safety and reduce the risk of injury and death. They also analyze real-world crash test dummy data and collect and analyze their own similar data to determine mean, median, and mode and learn how to calculate percentiles in a data set. This interdisciplinary real-world example of how crash test dummy research is conducted illustrates the essential role of statistical analysis in data-driven research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the free Deep Dive with Dummies video series and accompanying science and math/statistics lessons to learn about crash test dummies and how they are used in crash tests while also conducting statistical analyses of real-world data related to crash test dummies.

SPEAKERS:
Pini Kalnite, Griff Jones, Linda Jones

This session demonstrates sensemaking in action by integrating all four pillars: phenomena (observable oxygen changes during breath holding), science practices (authentic data collection and analysis with pulse oximeters and Python), student ideas (predictions about body system responses), and core disciplinary ideas (cellular respiration and homeostasis). Participants will experience a complete research-validated lesson where students collect their own physiological data, use Google Colab for visualization, and connect personal observations to ATP production and cellular processes. The lesson includes real-world biomedical applications through a hydrocephalus case study featuring VP shunts with Doppler sensors. Successfully implemented with 36 diverse high school students, this approach makes abstract molecular concepts tangible and personally relevant. Participants will leave with ready-to-use materials, including a 5E lesson plan, pre-written Python code, and samples of student work

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain practical, research-backed strategies to make cellular respiration tangible and relevant through authentic data collection, technology integration, and real-world biomedical connections.

SPEAKERS:
Demvia Maslian

Students bring amazing intellectual resources to make sense of science phenomena based on their personal and community experiences—including languages, perspectives, gestures, as well as knowledge, interests, and values. Come learn how to notice and leverage those intellectual gifts in your teaching! By analyzing a series of awesome learning situations, this session asks participants to work with others to ‘learn to see’ students’ diverse sense-making resources—and connect these pedagogical strategies to their own classroom practice. Come join us for this fun, interactive session!

TAKEAWAYS:
Culturally responsive education supports student sensemaking and learning in science. Inclusive science strategies help teachers learn to see and leverage students’ diverse sense-making resources. These methods help us create and adapt curriculum that is equitable and centered on justice.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

In the late 1980s, only 22 California condors remained in the wild. Their survival—and the health of the ecosystems they support—depended on conservation biologists to come up with innovative strategies. In this session, discover how genetics helped bring these iconic scavengers back from the brink. Explore how scientists manage breeding programs, track gene flow, and protect populations from environmental toxins. Learn how to engage students in authentic conservation challenges while showing how biology can save a species when time is running out.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Assume the role of a crime scene investigator to solve a realistic crime scenario. Students use fingerprint, hair analysis, tire track impressions, blood typing, forensic entomology, and a police log review to identify a primary suspect from a pool of 6 alleged perpetrators.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

This workshop introduces an innovative online platform coupled with in-class activities to engage students in STEMM. Each module is anchored in a real-world case study woven into a story where students assume the role of scientists or clinicians, making decisions using authentic data from pediatric research. The modules build scientific literacy and problem-solving by utilizing inquiry-based modules, classroom discussion and manipulatives. Students are guided through diagnostic reasoning, data analysis, and treatment exploration leading to a deeper understanding of research. The interactive workshop will demonstrate how narrative-driven learning makes complex biomedical concepts accessible while highlighting emerging areas such as genomics, gene therapy, and data science. Participants explore strategies for integrating the platform into science curricula to inspire curiosity, connect the classroom to current research, and promote career pathways in health and biomedical sciences.

TAKEAWAYS:
This workshop highlights an online platform that uses narrative-driven learning modules about pediatric cases to teach life science concepts. Teachers will learn practical ways to integrate the modules into their courses to inspire curiosity and health science career interest.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Etherington, Summer Jasper, Kyle Bichsel

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

How can students predict motion from forces? Using a trampoline jump as an anchoring phenomenon, we’ll investigate Newton’s 2nd law with the Go Direct Motion Detector, collecting real-time velocity & acceleration data in a ball-toss experiment. Walk away with a ready-to-use, 3D-aligned experiment.

SPEAKERS:
Tom Smith

Pandemics are complex phenomena that can be understood only by combining data, analyses, and insights from multiple scientific fields in truly interdisciplinary fashion. To set the stage, evidence-based storytelling about past pandemics can convey the magnitude of threats posed by pandemics and their long-lasting societal effects. Enhancing student awareness of the power of pandemics to change the course of human history can galvanize challenging exploration of data and insights from several fields. Host-pathogen interactions involve both pathogen physiology and host immune responses. The spread of disease depends on population dynamics of both pathogens and hosts, individual host behavior, and societal responses to outbreaks that include public health practices, vaccine availability, medical treatments, and communication about all of these dynamic processes. Only by combining all these perspectives and insights can society effectively address current and future global health crises.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding pandemics requires interdisciplinary knowledge and skills from multiple scientific fields and humanities. Storytelling about past pandemics enhances science understanding about disease emergence, spread, and consequences, and the importance of science policy, and societal action.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

Sponsoring Company: Anatomy in Clay

In this workshop, attendees will build replicas of human anatomy using clay and a specially designed skeletal model in a classroom setting. Educators will learn how to implement a unique curriculum system which helps students create a kinesthetic map of the human anatomy. They will acquire the knowledge to engage science students with immediate, hands-on learning using a proven method that is nationally recognized to increase student retention and test scores.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Simonsen

This session introduces “A Misadventure in Teaching,” a Unit 5 storyline for AP Biology. Attendees will view a video about a biology student who learns she is colorblind and the unexpected turn of events that follow when she tells her parents. After the creation of a driving question board (DQB), participants will engage in inquiry activities, collect and analyze data, examine strategies to integrate FRQ practice with interactive notebooks, explore the use of SpiderWeb discussions, and learn how to apply initial and final models in storylining pedagogy. A brief question-and-answer session will conclude the session.

TAKEAWAYS:
After an introduction to the Lab Hamster AP Bio Unit 5 storyline, participants will leave with advanced knowledge and skills needed to implement student inquiry activities, apply science practices, and use pedagogical strategies that boost student engagement and reduce teacher workload.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Christiansen, Chandra Mitnik, Kristin Clements, Noel Pauller

We show how instructional materials can be adapted for local contexts—and how to elevate issues of climate justice and ethical responses to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about how a high school physics unit from OpenSciEd about reliable energy sources was adapted to attend to Indigenous land rights and sovereignty.

TAKEAWAYS:
Related to STEM projects in society (e.g., energy transition, ecological restoration), teachers will learn how to engage students in exploring moral and ethical dimensions of trade-offs in project approaches. A broadly applicable framework for equity-focused curriculum adaptation will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

As AI tools become more accessible to students, science educators face the challenge of guiding responsible and meaningful use. This session will explore how to create classroom AI guidelines that protect academic integrity while enhancing inquiry, lab investigations, and scientific writing. Participants will engage in collaborative activities to evaluate case studies, identify risks and opportunities, and design guidelines tailored to their own teaching contexts. Educators will leave prepared to introduce AI responsibly, ensuring it supports—not replaces—student learning in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design classroom-ready AI guidelines that ensure responsible, ethical, and effective use of AI in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Stefany Palomba

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

What do whale songs and elk calls have in common? In this cross-disciplinary workshop, we'll use sound and motion sensors to explore wave properties through biological sound patterns. Get hands-on with FFT analysis and learn how to connect physics and biology through real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Tallarovic

This workshop will provide participants with strategies, practice, and feedback in writing skill-rich questions and assignments. Skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving are important outcomes for STEM courses, but these skills are not always explicitly developed during class time. Research has shown that it is not enough to provide assignments that cause students to USE particular skills; questions and tasks must reveal use of these skills in student written work or group interactions. The ELIPSS project feedback-focused rubrics will be used to support efforts in constructing tasks that support student development of skills. Enhancing Learning by Improving Process Skills in STEM (ELIPSS) is an award winning, NSF-funded project that focuses on the development and assessment of durable skills and the NGSS science and engineering practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
-Evaluate questions for their ability to produce evidence of skills and support their development -Practice strategies for constructing questions in assignments that develop skills such as teamwork and critical thinking -Identify ELIPSS rubrics that support the assessment of these skills

SPEAKERS:
Renee Cole, Juliette Lantz

Strong teacher-student and student-student relationships bring joy to teaching and improve student outcomes. Such relationships support sensemaking in science, since sensemaking is not just about individual knowledge building, but collaborative knowledge building that requires commitments to classroom community-building. But building such relationships takes time, and it requires intentional strategies. In this workshop, we will focus on strategies for building relationships centered on care. We will introduce a definition of care grounded in research on how to cultivate compassionate relationships in schools. We will simulate practices for establishing and revisiting community agreements focused on honoring the dignity of each person, valuing each student's contribution, and tending to strong emotions that arise in classrooms. We will also discuss strategies for repairing relationships when agreements break down, and meeting such moments with compassion for ourselves and students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will develop an understanding of the role of caring relationships in fostering commitment to building classroom communities that engage in science sensemaking together. In addition, they will experience practices intended to build, maintain, and address breakdowns in shared agreements.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Potvin

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and let the breeze inspire your inner engineer! In this lively, hands-on session, teachers will explore Switch Classroom’s Intro to Wind lesson and see how engaging renewable energy instruction can be. You’ll investigate how wind becomes power, then design, build, and test a mini windmill using everyday recycled materials like cardboard, paper, and plastic bottles. Adaptable from upper elementary through high school, this engineering challenge brings real-world problem solving into any classroom. Participants will engage in NGSS-aligned practices by developing prototypes, testing and refining designs, analyzing performance data, and explaining how kinetic energy transforms into mechanical and electrical energy (MS-PS3-5, MS-ETS1-1–4, HS-ETS1-2). Leave with free Switch Classroom resources, a classroom-ready design challenge, and wind-powered inspiration to energize your students.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Swets

Sponsoring Company: Association of Old Crows Educational Foundation

Master the electromagnetic spectrum through a semester-long, NGSS-aligned sequence. This high school physical science curriculum uses engaging, scaffolded topics to help students bridge the gap between abstract physics concepts and real-world phenomena.

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

At the intersection of art, science, and technology is Bio-Art, the creation of works of art using living matter. One common way to create Bio-Art uses bacteria transformed with DNA codes for brightly-colored proteins – the same bacteria that you’re already working with in your classroom! In this hands-on workshop, we will dive deep into bacterial transformation experiments to ensure success with this experiment in your classroom. We’ll discuss the science behind transformation and genetic engineering, share tips and tricks for the experiments, and explore ways to make the experiment more inquiry-driven for AP Biology. Then, you will use your transformed bacteria to paint on our petri dish canvasses and create your own living artwork. Ways to exhibit your Bio-Art will be discussed!

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

What does it mean to lead leaders in science education? In this interactive session, participants will experience highlights from our Secondary Coordinator Leadership Summit, designed to build belonging, strengthen leadership identity, and align practice with core district values. Together, we will engage in protocols from our coordinator workbook, discuss challenges and opportunities in leading adult learners, and reflect on how courageous leadership can catalyze change. Participants will leave with practical tools and a renewed vision for cultivating leadership in others to advance science education forward.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies and reflective tools to courageously lead other leaders—fostering belonging, strengthening teams, and advancing meaningful change in science education.

SPEAKERS:
Pam McWilliams, Rebecca Rolater

Sponsoring Company: Dean Vaughn

Dean Vaughn's Medical Terminology by Body Systems course in a one of kind tool to help students master the memorization and pronunciation of complex Greek and Latin words. Set your students up for future success by learning how to make Medical Terminology less intimidating for students while ensuring it sticks the first time.

SPEAKERS:
Gregory Newcomb

Complete a fun, distracted driving hands-on activity and discover award-winning videos and more inquiry-based activities from IIHS’s free Crash Science in the Classroom program. This lesson integrates timely, real-world phenomena — e.g., car crashes, crash-avoidance technologies, and other teen driving issues—so students can see science, engineering, and technology’s influence on society (a NGSS Crosscutting Concept). The scaffolded lesson and website design ensures accessibility and promotes equitable classroom practices through multimodal strategies: high-interest videos, guiding questions, formative assessments, exciting demos, English/Spanish captions, and virtual 3D 360° tours. This lesson offers teachers a high-interest, high-impact way to integrate core STEM concepts and practices, crash science research, and real-world relevance into their classrooms while equipping students with knowledge that could save lives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants measure their reaction time and complete a distracted driving simulation using a series of 4 activities simulating the 4 major types of driving distractions. Participants will also learn how to access lesson plans, assessments, teacher tips videos, student lab sheets and answer keys.

SPEAKERS:
Pini Kalnite, Griff Jones

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Construct an eco-column to model ecosystem interactions and human impacts. This workshop provides materials and experiment ideas—such as testing fertilizer effects on water quality—while connecting investigations to NGSS concepts like energy flow and matter cycling. Ideal for middle and high school science.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Stubbs

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Discover how algae beads can transform the way students explore photosynthesis and cellular respiration. In this interactive session, participants will design experiments to test how light intensity, wavelength, and temperature influence these biological processes. Experience a hands-on investigation that helps students visualize complex concepts while practicing authentic scientific inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Zefeldt

Learn about a sustainable school district model that supports teachers and students in weaving geosciences into every science discipline—from CTE to AP courses. Through professional learning (intensive summer institute and ongoing coaching) and collaborations with community science partners, teachers gain tools to co-design data-rich locally relevant mini-units. Students engage in field trips and work with real, contextualized data to build data skills and see the relevance of geosciences in their own lives. Evaluation shows teachers grow in confidence using authentic data and linking science to local contexts, while students strengthen their science identity, value geosciences more, and build confidence with data literacy. This session will feature program leaders, student reflections, and teachers sharing co-designed units, classroom outcomes, and strategies for effective partnerships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about a model that helps teachers integrate geosciences across disciplines using authentic data, community science partners, and co-designed curriculum. Teachers gain confidence supporting data skills, while students build science identity and connect geosciences to local and global issues.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Pedemonte

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Experience new ways to support student thinking with HHMI BioInteractive’s Model Builder. This free digital tool helps make student thinking visible as they model scientific phenomena. After an introduction to Model Builder and its library of resources, participants will experience a sample lesson sequence for the classroom, using Model Builder to model the evolution of the rock pocket mouse. They will then engage in strategies that help students use their models for learning and consider how to adapt the resources and strategies for their own contexts. Please bring a laptop or tablet if you have one.

SPEAKERS:
Marisa Alvarado, Deanna Digitale-Grider

Students often wonder how the science they learn in class connects to life beyond school. This session tackles that question by showcasing practical strategies for bridging core science instruction with Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways and career applications. Participants will explore how phenomena-driven, three-dimensional science learning naturally aligns with the skills and knowledge used in engineering, health sciences, technology fields, agriculture, and more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through examples, discussion, and ready-to-use ideas, attendees will discover how to help students see the relevance of scientific thinking in authentic career contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

How can we prepare students for a world where STEM careers are being reshaped daily by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies? This interactive session explores practical strategies to build “future-ready” STEM classrooms that integrate AI literacy, project-based learning, and 21st-century skills. Drawing on classroom-tested examples from middle and high school programs, participants will see how AI tools can deepen learning, how project-based experiences connect students to authentic challenges, and how career-focused skills such as collaboration and problem-solving can be intentionally embedded in STEM lessons. Attendees will engage in a guided design activity where they map out a future-ready unit that balances standards, innovation, and student agency. By the end of the session, educators will walk away with concrete strategies and a planning template that can be applied immediately in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to create future-ready STEM lessons that blend AI literacy, project-based learning, and career skills so students build the knowledge and habits needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

SPEAKERS:
Ashish Vadalia

The process of science is driven by questions. While it’s easy to ask a general question, crafting an investigable question requires deeper thinking and intentionality. Doing so within the constraints of an existing dataset creates an additional challenge. This session, co-facilitated by the NSTA professional learning team and Tuva, will highlight strategies for helping students clarify what data they have to work with, determine the types of questions that can and cannot be answered with a given dataset, and frame six different types of questions about data.

TAKEAWAYS:
The types of questions you can ask depend on the data you have. Participants will learn how to guide students in identifying the structure and limits of the local datasets they encounter and in framing investigable questions that unlock the potential of data.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Many educators, families, and communities understand that STEM learning can lead to rewarding careers that support strong, stable futures. The question then becomes: how do we let our students know that everyone has a place in STEM? And, if everyone has a place in STEM, how do we expose all students to meaningful STEM opportunities? Together, schools and communities can create intentional pathways to make STEM opportunities available to all students. In this session, we will explore some of these strategies with a particular focus on how schools can partner with families and communities to infuse STEM into in- and out-of-school learning experiences and tap into the local STEM assets that can be found in every community if we look for them! We will also explore how to build multiple pathways into STEM that allow for students to engage from kindergarten into postsecondary pursuits into STEM careers, as well as how schools, families, and communities can embed career connections int

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how schools, families, and communities can work together to create meaningful STEM pathways, helping every student see themselves in STEM and access engaging, real-world opportunities from early childhood through postsecondary careers.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Stanley, Kristen McInerney

All metals share common properties and students can usually recite these fairly easily, but how deep is that understanding? How can those properties be manipulated? Participants will observe melting a tin-based alloy and explore a binary phase diagram, learning how these are used for heat-treating and alloy determinations. Steel is the second most common building material in the world. Two cheap examples of steel will be compared, one high-carbon, one low-carbon. A classroom activity is shared that allows students to learn about heat-treating and how it can affect the properties of the steel. Copper wire will undergo work-hardening and its properties will be compared to those of the steel samples. Each activity has real-world relevance, as well as deep chemistry connections. Crystal structures, grain boundaries and atomic dislocations, and alloy types will be explained and related to the practical engineering results of these atomic-level structural changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how students can change a metal’s properties through alloying, heat-treating, and/or cold-working. Classroom activities that will enhance chemistry understanding of atomic structure and real world engineering relevance. Introduce & deepen understanding of binary phase diagrams.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson

Indigenous practices of sustainability provide powerful entry points for teaching K–12 students about climate change. These traditions emphasize long-term relationships with the land, cycles of renewal, and reciprocity between people and ecosystems. By examining practices such as seasonal harvesting, controlled burns, rotational planting, and respect for biodiversity, students see concrete examples of how communities have lived in balance with their environments for generations. These practices highlight the importance of observing natural patterns, valuing interdependence, and considering the impact of decisions on future generations. In the classroom, Indigenous perspectives can help students move beyond seeing climate change as abstract science toward understanding it as a lived reality that requires responsibility and care. This approach not only deepens ecological literacy but also encourages students to think critically about sustainability solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how Indigenous sustainability practices can enrich climate change teaching, gaining practical strategies supported by handouts and classroom case studies to integrate cultural and scientific perspectives into K–12 learning.

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Chester, Jordan Kobielus, Jim McDonald

Learn how your eyes perceive light and color from your phone’s screen. Join us as we investigate how your eye–brain system sees your phone through fun, content-rich, easy-to-do, NGSS-aligned hands-on activities from the Exploratorium Teacher Institute. All materials are designed to be effective, inexpensive, and easily obtainable. The Exploratorium is a hands-on science museum located in San Francisco, CA. The Teacher Institute has been a home for professional development for teachers since 1984.

TAKEAWAYS:
The technology in your phone is based on how your eye–brain system perceives the world. We’ll explore how various wavelengths of light (PS4.B) interact with specialized cells in your eye (LS1.A) and influence the engineering and technology (ETS1.A) of your phones' display (PS4.C).

SPEAKERS:
Desiré Whitmore, Eric Muller

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Are you struggling with instructional materials that feel overly scripted, too complex, or lack the essential background students need to succeed? This session introduces a new line of science kits designed for ease-of-use and student buy-in. We move away from sprawling, complicated sequences in favor of short, modular kits that focus on real-world science students care about. Explore context-rich investigations into the energy of lithium-ion battery fires, the molecular architecture of NSAID drugs, and the stoichiometry of Hollywood practical effects. Discover how these streamlined science kits provide the necessary support and high-interest phenomena to keep students engaged without the burden of heavy, inflexible curriculum. These manageable, hands-on experiences are designed to make modern science more accessible for students while maintaining clear alignment to NGSS standards.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Join us for hands-on, critical thinking activities that explore electricity, magnetism, and how we can generate power from ocean energy and offshore wind. Engage your students with visualizations that make emerging technologies easier to understand while showing the power of water and wind in action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience hands-on lessons—just as their students would—that demonstrate how ocean and wind energy can do work, while deepening understanding of the emerging technologies used to harness this power.

SPEAKERS:
Don Pruett, Jr.

As AI becomes a routine part of science learning, educators across roles are looking for ways to lead its purposeful and productive use. This leadership session provides practical guidance for communicating about AI in ways that inspire curiosity, strengthen science sensemaking, and support phenomenon-based investigations. Participants will explore clear, consistent language and implementation strategies that empower teachers, engage families, and encourage thoughtful experimentation with AI as a reasoning partner. The session highlights supportive structures and approaches that help diverse learners and build educator confidence. Attendees will leave with insights and strategies they can adapt to guide AI-enabled science learning in their own classrooms, departments, schools, or districts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to communicate and implement AI in ways that inspire curiosity, strengthen sensemaking, and reshape classroom culture through purposeful routines, while partnering with parents and the community.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Lazzaro, Velma Itamura

Sponsoring Company: Science Communication Lab

Step away from the daily rush and rediscover the joy of looking closely. Join fellow K–12 educators for an immersive professional development workshop centered on one of science’s most fundamental practices: observation. This interactive event features OBSERVER—our new documentary that follows scientists, artists, and other curious minds as they explore and interpret the world around them. In this workshop, you’ll dive into creative, hands-on activities inspired by the film. Using simple everyday tools, you’ll practice the same observational strategies you can bring back to your students—encouraging deeper thinking, inquiry, and curiosity in your classroom. Whether you teach elementary, middle or high school science, this workshop is designed to spark new ideas, build community, and reignite your love for discovery.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Bartol, Ariel Raymond, Brittany Beck, Shannon Behrman

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Participants will make and use alginate beads containing algae and alginate beads containing yeast. They will learn how the beads can be used to model the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

SPEAKERS:
Crystal Risko

Coaching conversations shape not just instructional moves, but how educators grow, thrive, and make meaning of their work. Too often, however, coaching focuses narrowly on evaluating instruction, overlooking the human dimensions of identity, power, and emotion—and thereby risks reinforcing existing inequities. This session invites participants to explore the full coaching cycle through the Knowles Teacher Initiative’s Coaching Planning Maps. Attendees will learn to adapt these tools to support transformational coaching, build collaborative partnerships, and foster sustained teacher growth. Practical strategies and reflective activities will provide participants with actionable approaches to enhance coaching effectiveness in their own contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn actionable coaching approaches to meet diverse teacher needs, promote sustained growth, and foster positive, collaborative learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Shafer, PhD

This session will give participants a Birdseye view of how to use PhET SIMS in their science and math classroom to enhance conceptualization of concepts. We will go from just using worksheets with PhET to using PhET to have whole class discussion, create clicker questions and engage students in explorations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to implement PHet into their classroom using various strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Cecelia Gillam

Sponsoring Company: Biozone, Inc.

Science teachers are expected to do it all, prep lessons, keep students motivated in any setting, and design assessments. Imagine if your digital tools finally helped lighten that load. Discover how BIOZONE WORLD transforms instruction with a cohesive platform built to reduce workload and elevate learning. Jump straight into ready-to-use activities, presentation slides, and rich media from the integrated Resource Hub, including videos and 3D models that bring complex concepts to life. Support multilingual learners instantly with in-platform translation, and use the Teacher Toolkit’s pacing guides, notes, and assessments to streamline planning and maintain instructional consistency. Our print and digital resources are identical, so whether you teach in-person, hybrid, or fully online, BIOZONE WORLD empowers you to work smarter, keep students actively engaged, and deliver science lessons that truly resonate. Attendees receive a FREE print title & 30-day digital access.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Wilson

Teaching about global change is challenging. The interdisciplinary science is complex, because it involves far more than “just” climate change —infernally complicated on its own. As important as climate change is, its effects on ecosystems and the biosphere act alongside other anthropogenic alterations to the biosphere including land-use change, industrial and agricultural practices, and more. To make things even more difficult, today’s students need the cognitive and analytical tools necessary to handle a tidal wave of misconceptions, misinformation, and disinformation. Misconceptions arise from gaps in knowledge. Misinformation and disinformation arise from intentional distortion for political, economic, or ideological reasons. So we must help students achieve functional scientific literacy: the ability to evaluate sources, interpret data, recognize logical fallacies or manipulative rhetoric, and make scientifically-informed decisions aimed at sustainable societal goals.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teaching about global change requires a full-court press to create an interdisciplinary effort involving ecology, geology, climatology, earth science, population biology, oceanography, atmospheric science, as well as socially-informed efforts to counter rampant misinformation and disinformation.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

PASCO’s Wireless CO2 Sensor provides an excellent way to measure and display carbon dioxide as a product or reactant of chemical reactions. In this workshop, you will learn how to facilitate hands-on student labs with user-friendly data collection sensors and analysis software. We will monitor CO2, oxygen, and water vapor levels as we explore several naturally occurring reaction types of respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition, and (small) combustion.

SPEAKERS:
Roger Palmer

In this hands-on 120-minute workshop, participants will engage in the design and implementation of data-enabled POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) modules using a no-code to low-code tool, such as CODAP (Common Online Data Analysis Platform), that lowers the barrier to data analysis. These modules are interdisciplinary, culturally relevant and foster natural collaboration around real-world, high social-impact challenges that intersect with science, specifically geosciences, food and water systems, environmental science and health disparities; this aligns well with the conference strand #Trending in Data Science Education. Participants of this workshop will be trained in POGIL and CODAP and will be provided with instruction materials to enable them to deliver data-centric content. Expected outcomes in students include: increased engagement, data analytic skill development and empowerment through action. This workshop material was created through NSF grant #2304100.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive training in both the pedagogical approach of POGIL and the technical application of CODAP. This will prepare them to help their students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to work with and learn from data.

SPEAKERS:
Earvin Balderama, Marc Boumedine, Ravanasamudram Uma

Using the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer 2010, attendees will integrate the story with the concepts of energy and basic circuits (PS3.A: DEFINITIONS OF ENERGY). This literary piece focuses on one young man’s quest to build a wind mill to pump water, light two small light bulbs, and power the family’s radio. Attendees will utilize small windmills to convert the mechanical energy of the windmill to light a small light bulb and lift a small mass.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive a 5 E learning cycle, linked to English standards, Common Core Math Standards and NGSS as well as the instructions for 3 D printing a Simple Windmill, wires a bulb holder and small bulb.

SPEAKERS:
Jan Mader, Elizabeth (Tommi) Holsenbeck

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Tired of textbook diagrams showing DNA to RNA to protein? Bring the central dogma to life with a hands-on experiment to visualize transcription and translation using low-cost tools. Or engage in a virtual activity to explore real gene expression data, with no lab needed.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin

Sponsoring Company: Discovery Education

Clothing waste is a growing challenge, but it also creates powerful opportunities for learning. In this session, inspired by The Wear Longer Project created in partnership with Levi’s, participants will explore how everyday clothing items are made, used, repaired, and reused—and what those choices mean for sustainability. Using a simple button-sewing activity as a model, the session highlights how hands-on making builds problem-solving skills and design thinking. This approachable skill sparks meaningful conversations about fibers, tension, stress points, and the environmental impact of repairing versus discarding clothing. Participants will also see how this activity can be adapted for classrooms, makerspaces, clubs, and community programs. You’ll leave with practical ideas and ready-to-use strategies to help students build confidence, think creatively, and ask better questions about materials, durability, and sustainability in their everyday lives.

SPEAKERS:
Carrie Willis, Caitlin Arakawa

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Activate Learning Virtual Investigations™ bring interactive, curriculum-aligned OpenSciEd Middle School labs to life anytime, anywhere. Designed to complement hands-on investigations, these virtual labs support students who miss a lab, need extra practice, or benefit from reviewing key concepts before assessments, helping them return to class ready to engage in sensemaking. Join educators from Auburn School District (WA) as they share how Activate Learning Virtual Investigations™ increase access to phenomena, support diverse learners, and make it easier to keep all students moving forward, even when a teacher is absent and a substitute teacher is leading the class!

SPEAKERS:
Casey Killett, Tori Coyle

This session showcases how a single anchoring agricultural phenomenon can launch and sustain a coherent storyline across a unit. Participants will experience a sample lesson from a high-quality genetics unit, focusing on a phenomenon of the influence of genetics and environment on cattle growth over time. Activities include observation of an agricultural phenomenon, modeling predictions, and developing a Driving Question Board. Teachers will reflect on how anchoring phenomena can be used in their own classrooms and receive a one-page snapshot mapping the phenomenon to NGSS dimensions and teacher moves.

TAKEAWAYS:
Anchoring phenomena rooted in agriculture topics can spark curiosity and drive coherence across lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Gulotta

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Join the excitement, escape the rat-race, and experience the superior quality of Carolina's Perfect Solution® specimens with our preserved rat dissection! Engage 3D instruction as we discuss the relationship between structure and function, as well as the interdependence between systems. During this hands-on guided dissection, each participant explores the rat’s external anatomy, internal body systems, and individual organs. These specimens are economical, simple to dissect, and great mammalian models for your next lab!

SPEAKERS:
Patti Kopkau

How can we break down barriers between classrooms and empower students as agents of change in their communities? This session showcases a replicable partnership between UCI, AUHSD, and IUSD that is #trendinginscienceeducation. Eleven teachers across 7 disciplines and 6 schools participated in professional learning to co-design and enact climate justice units. Using a co-developed, transdisciplinary framework, teachers collaborated across content areas and moved beyond sensemaking to help students develop critical agency, care for human and more-than-human communities, and take informed action. Units investigating local food waste and the community impacts of genetically modified foods demonstrate our core finding: when students tackle authentic problems, they develop profound civic agency. Attendees will learn best practice to build similar partnerships and foster compassion and community action in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore a university-district partnership where educators from multiple content areas craft transdisciplinary climate justice units. This model merges diverse knowledge systems, empowering students as change agents to foster civic agency through local issue engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Yett, Hosun Kang, Becky Friedland

One of the hardest things to accomplish in the classroom environment is engaging students in the true nature of science. Not the cookbook labs that many of us grew up with (the ones where we knew the answer before we even set foot in the lab) but the adventure of experimental design, data analysis, failure, and success. Real science is messy and there is no substitute in science education. It is something that we all strive for, engaging students in real science, but is much harder in practice. In this presentation, teachers will be provided with real examples of application within the classroom, across various levels of biology. Activities such as strawberry DNA extraction, project based science learning, citizen science opportunities, and student lead scientific research projects will be featured. By analyzing activities, scaffolding, rubrics, and student examples, teachers will leave with the knowledge of how (and when) to implement participatory science in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with a clear understanding of participatory science, examples and provided activities (Google Drive Folder), and an increased comfort/confidence about integration in their own classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Hamilton

This interactive session presents a research-based Career Connected Learning (CCL) Framework and design elements to assist leaders in decision making around career-connected learning experiences and pathways. The session bridges national research, in- and out-of-school learning, and workforce demands driven by DoW priorities. We will detail the CCL Framework design process, share practical vignettes of successful CCL programs in action, and provide a roadmap for how to leverage the CCL Framework in your community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore a research-based Career Connected Learning Framework that helps leaders design effective career pathways, align learning with workforce needs, and apply practical strategies to strengthen CCL opportunities in their communities.

SPEAKERS:
John Lee, Marc Siciliano

This session explores discussion prompts that invite youth to co-design more ethical and equitable GenAI policies and practices with their teachers or school leaders. I share research with former students from my special education classroom, whose discussions highlight how they use GenAI, set boundaries, and engage in reflective practices. Their engagement with these prompts reveals and strengthens their capacity as ethical decision-makers, challenging the notion that young adults with disabilities are passive users of potentially harmful technologies. Join to explore strategies for initiating conversations that support developing policies and practices in partnership with your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see examples of how neurodiverse youth navigate GenAI use, set boundaries, and make ethical choices, demonstrating the value of engaging students in shaping equitable and responsible AI practices.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

What is the concentration of the dyes in beverages? How do you measure this value? Learn how to use Beer's law and colorimetry to determine the concentration of solutions while using Green Chemistry approaches.

SPEAKERS:
Nüsret Hisim

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

How are the bodies of cars designed to make collisions safer? What materials best reduce the peak forces in a collision? In this workshop, we will design crash cushions and crumple zones, and test them using live sensor data. We will use the sensor data to explore the relationship between momentum and peak force. This engaging lesson is a great enhancement to middle school physical science, physics, and OpenSciEd curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Hanna

Bring ecosystems to life with “Ecosystem in an Envelope,” an interactive, NGSS-aligned lesson that turns students into ecologists. Designed as an anchoring phenomenon for ecology units, this activity engages learners in analyzing real ecosystems from around the world to explore how biotic and abiotic factors interact to shape stability and change. Participants will experience how students model ecosystems, apply data analysis and argumentation, and use sensemaking to explain energy flow and matter cycling. Leave with classroom-ready strategies that make ecology engaging, evidence-based, and memorable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how to use “Ecosystem in an Envelope” as an NGSS-aligned anchoring phenomenon to help students model real ecosystems, analyze interactions among biotic and abiotic factors, and use data and argumentation to explain energy flow and matter cycling.

SPEAKERS:
Shane E Raggio

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

How does the food we eat fuel our bodies’ activities? Join us for a hands-on experience using HHMI BioInteractive’s free Biomolecules on the Menu Click & Learn activity to explore digestion, metabolism, and how nutrients fuel cellular processes. Educators will gain ready-to-use strategies for teaching metabolism and cellular respiration along with lesson ideas that support student engagement and deepen understanding. Experience how collaborative discussion and interactives can deepen students’ understanding of the overall function, inputs, and outputs of cellular respiration and how cells use nutrients to produce energy.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Koehler, Mark Eberhard

Discover how 3D printer pens can spark creativity and enhance STEM learning in your classroom. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore strategies for integrating 3D design into science and engineering lessons while experimenting with 3D printer pens. Each attendee will receive classroom ready educational resources. Facilitated by Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows, the session highlights practical classroom ideas and innovative approaches to engage students in design thinking, engineering practices, and scientific exploration. Leave inspired, equipped, and ready to bring three-dimensional learning to life for your students. Free digital resources will be featured.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become familiar with the operation of 3d printer pens and their utility in creating immersive hands-on activities that highlight applied materials concepts in science, engineering and mathematics.

SPEAKERS:
Natalie Woods, Phillip Cook

Sponsoring Company: STEMfinity

Esports is far more than just gaming. The esports ecosystem comprises over 100 careers, spanning design and marketing, development, network infrastructure, event planning, medical sciences, and entrepreneurship. Participants will learn how to leverage their current classes and coursework to equip students with the career-ready skills esports encompasses, including the hard skills necessary to enter the ecosystem workforce and the soft skills needed for employment anywhere. We'll also touch on how esports creates community and a sense of belonging for underrepresented and marginalized students, builds efficacy, brings funding back into the district, increases grades and overall student well-being, and decreases behavioral issues and suspension rates. We'll top it off by exploring networking for partnerships and internships, and by navigating the esports competition space.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Mavrogeorge

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Add a hands-on lab to your Ecology and Evolution units. Join an expedition to Madagascar to decide if an extinct lemur species has been rediscovered! Test DNA with gel electrophoresis, build phylogenetic trees, and analyze authentic field data from the Duke Lemur Center.

SPEAKERS:
Allison Nishitani, PhD

As AI becomes more accessible, many traditional science assignments no longer reveal what students truly understand. This session helps educators move from policing AI use to designing tasks that encourage reasoning, reflection, and deeper engagement with phenomena. Participants will analyze why certain activities are vulnerable to AI shortcutting and learn practical strategies for redesigning them into AI-resilient tasks that surface student thinking. Through live demonstrations and sample routines, attendees will explore approaches that require students to critique, revise, justify, and apply ideas during phenomenon based investigations. The session include a framework to identify non-AI resilient tasks and reivse them into tasks that promote purposeful, sensemaking focused AI use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn strategies for transforming traditional assignments into AI-resilient tasks that reveal student reasoning and strengthen sensemaking during phenomenon based investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Lazzaro, Velma Itamura

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Valley Fever, a respiratory infection caused by soil-dwelling fungi, is quietly spreading beyond the Southwest as climate change alters ecosystems. In this hands-on workshop, participants explore case studies, examine symptomology and risk factors, and discuss genetic susceptibility. Simulate environmental testing by using PCR and gel electrophoresis to detect fungal DNA in soil samples, then compare results with regional data. Gain classroom-ready strategies that connect evolution, environments, public health, and climate impacts through engaging, authentic and pop culture scenarios.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

Are you looking for an assessment that fosters collaboration, combats cheating, and connects content to the physical world? Discover the power of group exams. This workshop shares practical strategies for implementing physics group exams at all levels, from College-Prep to AP. We will cover the pedagogical research and personal classroom experiences, focusing on how these exams encourage students to apply their knowledge to solve tangible problems that align with the NGSS. Participants will engage in a sample group exam to experience the challenge and excitement firsthand. Participants will also gain strategies in using AI to efficiently design complex, three-dimensional tasks.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain a framework for creating authentic group assessments that challenge students to apply scientific principles to solve real-world problems in a high-stakes, low-stress environment.

SPEAKERS:
Justin Fournier