Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping science, engineering, and society. Science classrooms need approaches that help students understand the science behind AI, how it is used in STEM, and how it can support their learning. In this full-day professional learning institute (PLI), participants will explore emerging AI standards and how the problem-based storyline curricular units can anchor AI learning in meaningful ways that support equitable participation.

During the session, participants will engage with a set of three units: Sensor Immersion, Self-Driving Cars, and Animal Prosthetics. In this three-unit progression, students use Micro:bit sensors to investigate real world problems. They explore meaningful AI concepts including the shift from decision trees to probabilistic neural networks, the important role of training data, how AI makes predictions, and the ethical implications of AI. Participants will get hands-on experience with how it feels to participate in a unit from the student perspective, allowing participants to understand how the units leverage students' own questions to support coherence and sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
- A deeper understanding of problem-based, storyline units as an instructional model that supports coherence from the student perspective. - Firsthand experience with three curricular units focused on AI mechanics and societal impact. [ Strategies for both helping students figure out how AI works and teaching with AI tools. - Practical approaches to leveraging AI responsibly to support sensemaking and student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Greg Benedis-Grab, Kate Henson

Buckle up for an energy-packed look into Rocks vs Big Rigs.

Welcome to Class CrunchLabs (CCL), a completely free, NGSS-designed (phenomena and problem-based) curriculum resource composed of short, modular units packed with videos, activities, googly eyes, and serious science sensemaking.

In this session, we’ll join YouTuber Mark Rober and his unit co-hosts as they navigate the Rocks vs Big Rigs storyline [MS-PS3-1 & MS-PS3-5]. We’ll explore how to lead classroom investigations designed by the CrunchLabs toy engineers, teach with interactive video assessments, track student progress using Mission Logs (student portfolios) and reflection activities, plus more.

Curious about teacher and student supports? Our curriculum writers will host these discussions firsthand and answer your questions. We’ll also explore how to customize the curriculum to fit your classroom, all while keeping our eyes on the ultimate goal: sparking student curiosity and boosting creative confidence. Of course, we'll engage in plenty of purposeful play, which may or may not include your very own mini-rigs, ramps, and a gravel bed that may surprise you.

Please Note: Mark Rober will not attend this session, but he may share a video message for early adopters. Don't miss out

TAKEAWAYS:
--Gain a clear understanding of how to implement CCL's NGSS-designed, phenomenon-based science units and promote sensemaking through hands-on investigations into kinetic energy. --Explore effective strategies for using CCL's interactive video assessments, Mission Logs (student portfolios), and reflection activities to track and support student progress. --Discover ways to customize and adapt this playful, engaging curriculum to spark student curiosity and build creative confidence in your classroom.

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.

The public needs a fundamental literacy regarding data science—its methods, functions, and role in daily life. This is vital today as data science powers the AI algorithms shaping our world. Its relevance is underscored by massive field growth; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 36% job growth in data science and computing sectors by 2032. To meet this demand, we must prepare students for a workforce where data fluency is a prerequisite. Science education is a critical venue for this across the K-12 science spectrum. This session presents a selection of author contributions from data science special issues in NSTA’s Science & Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher. These exemplars offer concrete starting points for designing and assessing data science learning across all grade levels. By bridging the gap between raw data and classroom practice, we aim to empower teachers to equip students with the competitive skills necessary for modern data-driven careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain a working definition of data science literacy and see how science teachers design data science lessons using real-world applications. The session also covers pedagogical opportunities and challenges when integrating data science and AI into the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Lindeman, Colby Tofel-Grehl, Justice Walker

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.

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

In the modern science classroom, literacy extends far beyond the lab bench, it now encompasses the digital interfaces through which our students consume and process scientific information. This session explores the critical convergence of digital, media, and AI literacies and how they can be leveraged to sharpen, rather than bypass, scientific thinking. As students navigate a digital Wild West of social media algorithms and AI-generated content, the traditional motto of "seeing is believing" is no longer enough. We will discuss how to move students from passive consumers to active investigators by teaching them to recognize human influence in media, understand AI as a pattern-recognition tool rather than a "truth machine," and apply epistemic vigilance to scientific claims found online.

TAKEAWAYS:
Moving from the era of "finding information" to "filtering information" to ensure students use digital tools for the betterment of society. Join us to discover how to transform the potential distractions into powerful opportunities for deep sensemaking and critical scientific inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Anne Royce

How can students design technologies that detect and warn people about natural hazards, while learning the science behind them? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, and engineering design into a 6th-grade science unit on Natural Hazards. Step into the role of students as you investigate earthquakes and tsunamis using micro:bit devices to collect and analyze data. See how students design and program early warning systems by adjusting inputs, thresholds, and outputs. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build it, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and engineering design to unlock the “black box” of technology while designing early warning systems for natural hazards through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

The public needs a fundamental literacy regarding data science—its methods, functions, and role in daily life. This is vital today as data science powers the AI algorithms shaping our world. Its relevance is underscored by massive field growth; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 36% job growth in data science and computing sectors by 2032. To meet this demand, we must prepare students for a workforce where data fluency is a prerequisite. Science education is a critical venue for this across the K-12 science spectrum. This session presents a selection of author contributions from data science special issues in NSTA’s Science & Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher. These exemplars offer concrete starting points for designing and assessing data science learning across all grade levels. By bridging the gap between raw data and classroom practice, we aim to empower teachers to equip students with the competitive skills necessary for modern data-driven careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain a working definition of data science literacy and see how science teachers design data science lessons using real-world applications. The session also covers pedagogical opportunities and challenges when integrating data science and AI into the science classroom.

A hallmark of three-dimensional assessment is making student thinking about a DCI, a CC, and an SEP visible at the same time. In this interactive session, you'll step into the role of a student to experience a model Phenomenon-Driven Task and see how it brings sensemaking to life. Together we will unpack what makes a PDT useful, identify the key features that distinguish it from traditional science assessments, and practice analyzing student responses to reveal patterns in learning. The agenda includes: • What is a PDT and Why Does It Matter? (10 min): Key features of 3D assessment. • Hands-On PDT Experience (30 min): Complete a model task as a learner. • Analyzing Student Responses (10 min): Surface patterns in student thinking. • Design Your Own (5 min): Begin sketching a PDT for your classroom. • Q&A and Next Steps (5 min): Resources and support. You'll leave with strategies for designing meaningful assessments that surface student thinking and inform next steps in instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phenomenon-Driven Tasks mirror three-dimensional instruction and can be used to make students' thinking about and with DCIs, CCs, and SEPs visible at the same time.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson

In this interactive session, teachers will experience the science practice of Asking Questions from the perspective of their students. Participants will engage in phenomena-based tasks that spark curiosity, generate investigable questions, and refine those questions through collaborative routines. By functioning as learners, teachers will develop a clearer understanding of how questioning supports sensemaking and drives investigations at different grade levels. Educators will leave with questioning structures, talk moves, and classroom-ready tools to empower students to lead their own learning. Experience the science practice of Asking Questions from the perspective of their students. Engage in phenomena-based tasks that spark curiosity and prompt authentic, investigable questions. Refine and improve questions through collaborative routines and discussion. Leave with questioning structures, talk moves, and classroom-ready tools that empower students to take ownership of their learning

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will engage in phenomena-based tasks to spark, refine, and prioritize student-led questions. By practicing collaborative routines and talk moves, you’ll leave with classroom-ready tools to shift ownership to students, using their curiosity to drive deep sensemaking and investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Galbreath, Misty Richmond

In this interactive session, participants will put on ‘student hats’ to experience beginning-of-year routines that launch themselves and their creativity into a science community. These community-building routines bring multilingual learners’ (MLs) identities into a science class, embed support for MLs within core science instruction, and invite curiosity in learning using crosscutting themes in science. Beginning the year intentionally is essential to cultivate a language-rich learning environment. Participants will engage in structured discussion, scaffolded writing, and identity-centered activities that position students’ linguistic resources as building blocks for learning. Teachers will analyze student work and instructional materials to see how these routines establish norms for collaboration and opportunities for assessment of executive functioning skills. Designed for typical secondary class periods, participants will leave with ready-to-use scaffolds and discussion structures.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will bring back multiple strategies for beginning-of-year activities that center student diversity into secondary science classrooms, and an overview of assessment opportunities, guiding teachers towards developing a welcoming, language-rich, and collaborative learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Kirby Selle, Alexander Dafforn

Discover incredible opportunities in STEM education with a range of NSTA-administered K-12 opportunities that engage through innovative programming and recognize achievement with amazing awards. We’ll explore programs and awards that are sure to ignite a passion for discovery and innovation

TAKEAWAYS:
Empower your teaching with dynamic STEM programs and awards administered by NSTA as you learn about innovative opportunities to boost engagement and enthusiasm for K-12 students and teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Lasky

Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring how Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids curriculum materials engage K–12 students in learning about clean, safe, and lead-free drinking water. Participants will explore a flexible range of instructional materials, from short, high-impact lessons that fit within a single class period to multi-day, project-based learning (PBL) units that support sustained inquiry. Across these materials, students investigate why water is essential, how lead can enter drinking water systems, the health risks of exposure, and actions individuals and communities can take to ensure safer water. During the session, participants will experience sample activities as facilitators highlight how these activities can function as standalone lessons or be sequenced within cohesive PBL units. Participants will leave with standards-aligned, ready-to-use resources and guidance for adapting materials to fit their instructional context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how adaptable curriculum materials, from single-day lessons to full PBL units, can engage K-12 students in real-world, data-driven learning connected to public health and community action.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

This poster session showcases how a Science Communication Lab video, Corals on the Brink, was used to anchor a 7th grade NGSS-aligned lesson sequence. Students begin by analyzing coral bleaching as a real-world phenomenon, then build models of coral–algae relationships and explore ecosystem interactions through a hands-on marine ecosystem simulation. Learners analyze data trends, evaluate human impacts, and construct evidence-based arguments about whether humans should intervene to save coral reefs. The session highlights strategies that integrate science content with communication practices, including CER writing, peer review, and solution evaluation. Attendees will explore classroom-ready resources and interactive activities that promote systems thinking, argumentation, and real-world connections in middle school science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use Science Communication Lab videos and resources to anchor NGSS-aligned lessons that engage students in modeling ecosystems, analyzing data, and constructing evidence-based arguments about real-world environmental issues like coral reef decline.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Langston

A significant shortage of healthcare professionals is currently observed. To mitigate this challenge, multiple approaches have been implemented, including efforts to promote medical careers among K-12 students. The National Cancer Institute is actively working to increase the pool of entrants into cancer-related medical fields. Increasingly, initiatives are emphasizing career education at the middle school level, supported by research demonstrating its critical role in career development. Successful outcomes depend on the active participation of middle-level teachers, a principle foundational to the Medical Research Education Project at Indiana University. This poster presentation will provide an overview of the project and describe engagement opportunities for teachers. Presenters will highlight selected hands-on, inquiry-driven medical lessons collaboratively designed by educators, biomedical researchers, and education faculty. Emphasis will be placed on the alignment with NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Medical Research Education Project at Indiana University is collaborating with middle-level teachers to identify optimal methods for teaching students about medical inquiry. This poster presentation highlights this program, shares previous outcomes, and provides paths to involvement.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Scribner, Gayle Buck

This poster showcases how a school garden can function as core instructional infrastructure rather than enrichment in NGSS-aligned science classrooms. Drawing from a middle school program integrating aquaponics, trout systems, and food production, the poster highlights how outdoor spaces support three-dimensional learning through real-world phenomena. Attendees will explore a visual system model connecting fish, plants, nutrients, and community food systems, alongside classroom examples of data analysis, modeling, and CER-based explanations. The poster also outlines how multilingual learners are supported through structured discourse, visual scaffolds, and hands-on investigation. A key focus is scalability: participants will examine pathways for implementing similar systems across contexts, from no garden to container-based setups to full outdoor learning spaces. Attendees will leave with practical strategies, lesson entry points, and a framework for integrating food systems into scien

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design and scale garden-based systems as core instructional infrastructure to support NGSS-aligned, multilingual-accessible science learning through modeling, data analysis, and real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Ryan Johnson

This poster showcases CLUES (Crucial Literacy for Understanding Essential Science), an innovative professional learning model designed to support middle school educators—particularly in rural and under-resourced settings—in integrating disciplinary literacy within NGSS-aligned science instruction. CLUES equips science and special educators with strategies to embed reading, writing, reasoning, and communication into three-dimensional science learning. Attendees will explore a lesson showcase featuring before, during, and after instructional supports, with adaptable tools to meet varied learner needs. This work advances NSTA’s mission by promoting equitable, high-quality science instruction through professional learning, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and scalable, practice-based resources that empower all students to engage meaningfully in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be introduced to how to integrate disciplinary literacy into NGSS-aligned science instruction using practical, classroom-ready strategies that support diverse learners, including students with disabilities, and strengthen equitable science learning outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Brooke Moore

Teachers have expressed a desire to incorporate authentic climate data into their curricula, but struggle to find accessible and meaningful datasets that can be easily integrated into modern teaching practices. In response to this problem, climate scientists and instructional specialists from the University of Colorado Boulder have collaborated to create "Data Puzzles", a free resource that utilizes instructional practices as outlined by Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) to engage students in data analysis in the context of important scientific research. Data Puzzles challenge students to analyze and interpret climate datasets to construct explanatory models for important questions like, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?” and "Why might the Arctic be warming faster than the rest of the world?".

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced with AST practices and authentic climate datasets in the context of the Data Puzzle resources.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Griffith

Explore how Micro:bits can empower students to quickly design and conduct their own science investigations using built-in sensors. This poster highlights hands-on, NGSS-aligned activities that engage learners in real-time data collection, analysis, and evidence-based reasoning across grade levels. Discover how students can investigate phenomena through motion, temperature, light, and more while integrating computational thinking and scientific practices. The poster shares classroom-tested lessons, strategies for scaffolding inquiry, and approaches to support equitable access and participation in STEM. Attendees will see examples of student-driven investigations, discuss implementation ideas, and gather adaptable, ready-to-use resources. Walk away with practical tools to foster curiosity, ownership, and deeper sensemaking through data-rich, student-centered science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to empower students to design and carry out investigations using Micro:bits’ built-in sensors. Walk way with NGSS-aligned activities that integrate real-time data collection, computational thinking, and student-driven inquiry across grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Silbernagel

This poster highlights a 6th grade project in which students observe a mini-ecosystem of anoles, insects, and plants, then design and construct models to explain interactions, energy flow, and system dynamics. Students develop and use models and construct evidence-based explanations to represent relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers. The poster includes student models, explanation samples, and assessment strategies that make thinking visible and support evaluation of three-dimensional learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Design and assess three-dimensional learning by using student models and explanations to capture evidence of systems thinking and energy flow in ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Shelby Irvin

Looking for a way to bring authentic Earth System data to life for your students? Check out our My NASA Data StoryMap collection! My NASA Data StoryMaps offer an immersive storytelling experience that blends rich narrative text with interactive maps and NASA visualizations designed to captivate students. These resources use high-quality multimedia—including images and video— empowering students with the tools to explore complex Earth system processes. Each of the My NASA Data StoryMaps follows the 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), is aligned with NGSS Earth System phenomena, and is ready for "plug and play" use in whole-class instruction, small group rotations, or independent student-led explorations making them a seamless fit for your existing curriculum. Bring Earth system science to your classroom through real world storylines that will engage your students with NASA data relevant to what they are experiencing in their own community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Each of the My NASA Data StoryMaps follow the 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), is aligned with NGSS Earth System phenomena, and is ready for "plug and play" use in whole-class instruction, small group rotations, or independent student-led explorations.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Rizzi, Tina Harte - Ballinger

We will showcase newly developed, middle school STEM lessons that interweave Native American stories, language, and culture to positively impact student learning. The lessons are a part of Native Earth | Native Sky (NENS) curriculum that can be accessed through our website and downloaded for free. The poster will showcase cultural connections with STEM, a 5E lesson overview, the pedagogical approaches of Two-Eyed Seeing and Place-Based Learning, implementation strategies, and NASA resources and tools through graphics, illustrations, and text. As we highlight our standards-aligned lessons in the poster presentation, we will include feedback from students and teachers to demonstrate the positive impact of interweaving stories, culture, and language with STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to connect all students’ cultures to engage students in STEM lessons, using Native American stories as a starting point for standards-based, 5E science lessons and discussion. Attendees will also learn about other free lessons and activities published on our website.

SPEAKERS:
KIRTIKA PANWAR, Kena Hawkins, Kathryn Gardner-Vandy, Sarah McDowell

Looking to elevate student achievement through immersive learning? Discover how to harness the universal appeal of flight by captivating students with lessons and engaging activities rooted in biology standards while exploring exciting and fast-growing aviation career fields!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies to construct activities resulting in greater interest and mastery of biology for students in grades K-12. Explore distinct professional practices that expand biology standards into unforgettable learning experiences associated with human life, animals, plantlife, and so much more!

SPEAKERS:
Christina Davis

Engaging with science concepts and their contextual applications is a predominant challenge for English Language Learners (ELLs). This challenge stems from the inability of students to communicate fluently in English, let alone the language of science. Beyond the academic implications, this challenge impacts their social interaction with other students in the classroom. This study explores how visualization impacts the engagement of ELLs when incorporated within a dialogic teaching environment. Visualization tools, including images, pictures, videos, simulations, and building models, were used as instructional strategies. Also, student-student talk and teacher-student dialogue were facilitated while students engaged in building a physical model of the phases of mitosis. The engagement level of students was contextualized across three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral. The outcome of the strategy showed the effectiveness of visualization and dialogue in science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Visualization, when paired with dialogic teaching in science classrooms, enhances the cognitive, behavioral, and affective engagement of English Language Learners

SPEAKERS:
Mary Oloyede

How can students design technologies that help communities respond to water challenges while learning the science behind them? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, and engineering design into a 7th-grade science unit on Earth’s Resources and Human Impact. Step into the role of students as you investigate flooding, drought, and carbon imbalance case studies from communities across the United States using micro:bit devices and sensors to collect and analyze environmental data. See how students explore and modify MakeCode programs as they design technologies to monitor conditions and develop solutions to community water problems. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build it, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and engineering design to unlock the “black box” of technology while designing solutions to community water challenges through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

Data plays a central role in how students make sense of scientific phenomena. In this hands-on session, co-facilitated by the NSTA Professional Learning Team and Tuva, participants will build confidence with foundational data skills while exploring how graphing, statistical reasoning, and data interpretation support students in analyzing evidence, identifying patterns, and constructing explanations. Using real-world datasets and interactive tools in Tuva, participants will examine graph choice, variability, distributions, and common data visualizations through the lens of science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will deepen their understanding of core data literacy concepts and learn practical strategies for helping students use data to analyze evidence, identify patterns, and engage in science sensemaking aligned to the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Join us to explore the core themes identified by practitioners and researchers at the 2025 NSF-funded Localizing and HQIM convening that took place at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. [DRL#2413236]. This session will build on themes that emerged from that conference, by supporting attendees to focus on the systemic roles that educators and leaders can play in supporting equitable localization of high-quality instructional materials. Drawing from the project convenings’ cross-role dialogues, we will examine how leaders can reduce the burden on individual teachers by legitimizing localization work, enabling partnerships, and providing aligned professional learning. The session will explore policy levers and collaboration models that make localized instruction using HQIMs, feasible and effective across contexts. The session will also highlight how localization can serve as a viable strategy for advancing equity in science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore insights from the Lawrence Hall of Science on localizing K-12 science HQIM. Learn how partnerships and professional learning make high-quality materials relevant and equitable. Discuss and share strategies that reduce teacher burden and make localized science effective for every student.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Wachowski

Effective design begins with understanding people’s needs. In this session, we share how our professional learning work, including curriculum-based workshops, curriculum supports, interim assessments, teacher leadership roles, and ongoing partnerships, has evolved through continuous listening and learning. Participants will explore examples of our work and the data informing each step, then engage in a structured activity to map the components of their own professional learning systems. They will examine how these pieces interact and where responsiveness can strengthen coherence. Together, we will reflect on common patterns, consider how feedback drives adaptation, and identify strategies that build leadership capacity. Attendees leave with practical insights for designing adaptive, people-centered systems that support equitable, high-quality science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a practical framework for designing and refining responsive professional learning systems, grounded in feedback loops, iterative improvement, and shared leadership, that strengthen educator growth, build leadership capacity, and enhance coherence across their contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Chatham, Dora Kastel

The Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) are abstract, everywhere, and often overlooked. The good news is that your students are likely already using these powerful conceptual tools every day. Come see how you can make them visible and leverage their power as sensemaking lenses. We developed a straightforward framework to help you build students’ sensemaking skills through use of the CCCs. See how this framework can help you set meaningful learning goals and scaffold students toward success. No matter the curriculum you use, this workshop will help you build student competency using CCCs to make sense of phenomena. Participants will leave with the resources and experience needed to bring CCCs to the foreground of their NGSS classroom. Anchored Science by Mi-STAR is a middle school curriculum project created by teachers in collaboration with engineers and scientists from Michigan Technological University, dedicated to quality NGSS-aligned curriculum and OER resources since 2015.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a roadmap for building student competencies with the Cross Cutting Concepts as conceptual tools. Attendees will be able to use this roadmap to set meaningful learning goals, scaffold students toward success, and make the CCCs a visible part of their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Tony Matthys

In this hands-on session, participants will explore the science and engineering practice of Developing and Using Models by stepping into the shoes of K–12 learners. Teachers will assume the role of the student as they create, revise, and refine models that represent their own learning and understanding of phenomena. Through this immersive experience, educators will uncover how modeling deepens sensemaking and progresses across grade levels. Participants will leave with ready-to-use modeling routines, templates, and strategies that make student thinking visible. Experience the science and engineering practice of Developing and Using Models from a K–12 student perspective. Create, revise, and refine models to represent their own understanding of phenomena. Explore how modeling supports sensemaking and conceptual progression across grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with ready-to-use modeling routines, templates, and instructional moves that help students create, revise, and use models to make their thinking visible and build understanding of scientific phenomena across K–12 grade levels

SPEAKERS:
Misty Richmond, Heather Galbreath

The Science of Purification: Hands-On Water Filtration Lab is an engaging STEM activity that allows students to investigate how water can be cleaned through physical filtration methods. Working collaboratively, students design and build their own filtration systems using common materials to remove impurities from contaminated water samples. Throughout the lab, students explore concepts such as mixtures, particle size, engineering design, and environmental science while collecting and analyzing data to improve their models. This interactive experience promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork while helping students understand the importance of clean water access and the real-world applications of science and engineering in water purification systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will design and test water filtration systems to explore purification methods, engineering design, and environmental science concepts while developing problem-solving, collaboration, and data analysis skills through a hands-on STEM investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Bailey

In this session, educators explore how to redesign assignments for the AI era to strengthen student thinking, creativity, and authenticity. We will examine practical strategies for updating tasks that emphasize curiosity and responsible use, ensuring AI becomes a tool for deeper learning rather than a shortcut. Participants will learn how to approach AI integration at a pace that feels manageable and aligned to their students’ needs and teaching style. By the end, teachers will leave with concrete redesign ideas and a personalized pathway for thoughtfully and confidently incorporating AI into their unique instructional practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will have a better understanding of how to increase the rigor of science-related tasks while integrating the use of GenAI.

SPEAKERS:
Tanika Kinartail

Students often struggle to connect Punnett squares and inheritance patterns to real outcomes. This speed sharing session introduces a classroom-tested, low-prep card game that uses euchre to model genetic inheritance. Participants will learn how trump and non-trump cards represent dominant and recessive alleles, allowing students to explore variation, probability, and trait expression through gameplay. The activity supports NGSS-aligned practices such as developing and using models and analyzing data while increasing engagement and participation. Attendees will walk away with clear implementation steps, differentiation ideas, and ready-to-use strategies that require only a standard deck of cards, making genetics both meaningful and memorable for middle school learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use a simple card-based game to model genetic inheritance, helping students understand dominant and recessive traits, probability, and variation through an engaging, low-prep activity aligned to NGSS practices.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Shultz

Technology literacy is an increasingly important part of science and STEM education, yet technological literacy now extends beyond simply using digital tools. Students must also learn to critically evaluate technologies, consider tradeoffs, and make informed decisions about technologies in personal, societal, and scientific contexts. Research suggests that students often hold uncritical positive views toward emerging technologies, which can limit thoughtful decision-making and engagement with socio-scientific issues (Ankiewicz, 2016). At the same time, many science teachers receive limited preparation in how to facilitate deeper conversations about technology and its impacts. This session will provide an overview of what it means to be technology literate in today's world and introduces a simple, adaptable questioning tool designed to help teachers embed technology literacy discussions into existing science instruction without requiring major curricular changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Help students move beyond simply using technology to critically evaluating it. Participants will leave with a practical questioning tool that promotes effectively embedding technology literacy discourse into science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Isaiah Kent-Schneider

Take your students’ learning to new heights in this interactive workshop designed to help you plan and launch a school-wide Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience that’s truly out of this world! Participants will actively explore how our middle school implemented a collaborative, hands-on rocketry project that engaged every student and teacher across grades 7 and 8. In this workshop, you will experience and design elements of five major challenges: stomp rockets, model rockets, horizontal rockets, parachute design, and egg-safe landing. You’ll work through key components of the planning process, including organizing student groups, facilitating design thinking, and structuring trial tests and final launch events. Walk away with practical strategies, planning tools, and adaptable resources to implement a large-scale PBL experience in your own school. Be ready to collaborate, create, and launch ideas you can take back to your classroom immediately!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a practical, scalable strategy for organizing a school-wide PBL experience that engages all students and staff through structured team roles, STEM-based challenges, and efficient implementation.

SPEAKERS:
JoElla Hauselman, Abbi Richcreek

Help students see themselves in a STEM career through career-connected science learning that illustrates real-world applications and can build their confidence in their knowledge and skills. Learn how media-based career resources can broaden students’ ideas about different types of careers within an industry, the range in points of entry, and the problems these careers solve. Strategies will help you support students in reflecting on their strengths and goals as they explore careers that align with their interests and plan potential pathways to prepare for their futures.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave the session with a list of FREE resources from PBS LearningMedia for sustaining career-connected learning that integrates seamlessly into your curriculum throughout the year.

SPEAKERS:
Paula Menta Rodriguez

This session showcases how a Science Communication Lab video, Corals on the Brink, was used to anchor a 7th grade NGSS-aligned lesson sequence. Students begin by analyzing coral bleaching as a real-world phenomenon, then build models of coral–algae relationships and explore ecosystem interactions through a hands-on marine ecosystem simulation. Learners analyze data trends, evaluate human impacts, and construct evidence-based arguments about whether humans should intervene to save coral reefs. The session highlights strategies that integrate science content with communication practices, including CER writing, peer review, and solution evaluation. Attendees will explore classroom-ready resources and interactive activities that promote systems thinking, argumentation, and real-world connections in middle school science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use Science Communication Lab videos and resources to anchor NGSS-aligned lessons that engage students in modeling ecosystems, analyzing data, and constructing evidence-based arguments about real-world environmental issues like coral reef decline.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Langston

Our year-long STEM Buddy Program fosters enthusiasm for science, builds essential skills and strengthens our school community through meaningful cross-grade interactions. This program is intentionally aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, with a strong emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices that foster essential, transferable skills. While students engage in hands-on engineering challenges, the primary purpose of these experiences is to develop critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. This cross-age STEM buddy program supports STEM for All by creating equitable access to meaningful, hands-on engineering experiences for all students. By pairing 8th grade mentors with 4th grade partners, the program reduces barriers to participation and fosters an inclusive learning environment where students of varying abilities and backgrounds can engage in collaborative problem solving.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session highlights a yearlong STEM buddy program that pairs 8th grade students with 4th grade partners for monthly, hands-on engineering challenges. Attendees will explore examples of low-cost, easily implemented challenges and gain strategies for establishing a program in their own school.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole McJunkin

Great ag-based science lessons already exist! But do they align with your standards...? NASELI (Nebraska Agricultural Science Education Leadership Initiative) developed a simple cover sheet model that helps teachers localize existing agricultural curriculum to fit both state science standards and NGSS's three-dimensional learning framework. In this session, you'll see how NASELI teacher leaders create localized guides to connect agricultural phenomena, such as corn genetics and water management, to disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. The result: ready-to-use lessons grounded in local agriculture and aligned to the standards you already teach. Walk away with a replicable model you can use to adapt agriculture curriculum in your own classroom or region, plus access to a free, growing repository of localized and aligned agriculture guides and curriculum on OER Commons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use NASELI's localization model to utilize existing ag-based science curriculum and connect it to your state standards and NGSS's three-dimensional learning framework.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Jones

This presentation explores the integration of three-dimensional thinking into science curriculum and assessment, emphasizing a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and practices. Attendees will discover practical strategies to design curricula that foster critical thinking, inquiry, and real-world application. The session will also highlight effective assessment techniques aligned with three-dimensional learning, ensuring that student evaluations reflect their conceptual knowledge, scientific practices, and crosscutting concepts. Ideal for educators seeking to enhance science instruction and improve student engagement, this presentation offers insights to transform traditional teaching approaches into dynamic, interconnected learning experiences that prepare students for future scientific challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to effectively incorporate three-dimensional thinking into science curriculum and assessments, enhancing student engagement and understanding by connecting core concepts, scientific practices, and crosscutting themes for deeper, real-world learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Treshana Weise

Educators will explore NGSS-aligned interactive, ready-to-use, digital lessons that support sensemaking. Learn how media-rich lessons can engage students in science and engineering content through a variety of self-paced formats including image hotspots, drawing, or drag-and-drop to involve students in organizing ideas, analyzing data, and building evidence-based explanations. Designed in manageable segments with embedded supports, the lessons promote reasoning, analysis, and discourse, with access for diverse learners. Teachers can flexibly implement interactive lessons within existing units—whole class, group, or independent work—without extra planning. Classroom examples, teacher tips, and student deliverables will be included in this session to help educators integrate these strategies, make student thinking visible, boost engagement, and engage students in meaningful science practices by connecting content to their lives and society.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to use and assign a set of free, NGSS-aligned interactive lessons on PBS LearningMedia, that support student sensemaking and discourse while leveraging embedded formative assessments to check for understanding and reduce planning time.

SPEAKERS:
Stefana Dunn

What if students could inhabit the perspective of a threatened monarch butterfly or painted dog, then use that empathy to drive real conservation action? In this session, we share how sixth graders in Wheeling, IL combined MagicSchool AI, ESRI crowdsourced mapping, and the HomeStories storytelling platform to research endangered local wildlife, write compelling stories blending science and heart, and present solutions to actual community decision-makers. Students published their wildlife stories on a global map, connecting classrooms across Illinois, Iowa, and Botswana. We will share curriculum, student examples, technology tools, and lessons learned from this interdisciplinary model integrating science, language arts, and civic engagement. Leave with a replicable framework for transforming students into empathetic scientists and community advocates who fall in love with local nature and fight for its survival.

TAKEAWAYS:
When students write from the perspective of endangered wildlife, combining scientific research with empathy, they become powerful conservation advocates who take real civic action in their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Burke, Tracy Crowley

This session focuses on the trilogy of NSTA Press books on the Three Dimensions and is led by NSTA’s former in-house expert on science standards who recruited the lead authors of all three books. Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices provides a play-by-play understanding of the practices. Disciplinary Core Ideas: Reshaping Teaching and Learning provides an in depth perspective on the disciplinary core ideas. Crosscutting Concepts: Strengthening Science and Engineering Learning is designed to help educators grasp the foundational issues that undergird crosscutting concepts. These books are written in clear, nontechnical language. Many of the authors contributed to the development of the Framework and NGSS. The authors also share a wealth of real-world examples drawn from their own classroom experiences to show what’s different about three-dimensional teaching and learning at all grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn techniques to use these three books to help educators have a deep understanding of practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts to foster better student learning in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

How can students use technology to investigate weather and climate systems while learning the science behind them? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, data analysis, and modeling into a middle school science unit on Weather and Climate. Step into the role of students as you investigate hailstorms, severe weather, and unusual climate patterns using digital sensors and simulations to collect and analyze atmospheric data. See how students use coding and computational tools to model how sunlight, gravity, air movement, and water interactions drive weather and climate systems. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build and revise models, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, data analysis, and modeling to unlock the “black box” of technology while investigating weather and climate systems through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool can help educators be critical consumers of instructional materials and create/revise lessons that reflect the shifts required by new standards (sensemaking). Gain experience using the tool and facilitating criteria-based consensus conversations with your colleagues!

TAKEAWAYS:
Use the NSTA Sensemaking Tool to evaluate instructional materials (lessons) and provide feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews

How do we transform standard instructional materials into powerful showcases of three-dimensional learning without increasing teacher workload? This workshop aligns with the Three-Dimensional Teaching, Curriculum, and Assessment strand, demonstrating how to adapt OpenSciEd and ClassCrunchLabs units into authentic transfer tasks. Participants step into the student hat to experience a mini design challenge modeled after Shark Tank and ExploraVision formats. We connect to NGSS goals like MS-PS2 magnetic fields and engineering design. To ensure Science for All, we provide multiple equity examples, including accessible scaffolding templates for diverse learners and inclusive team structures. Shifting to the teacher hat, participants will analyze student-facing pitch templates and use a provided crosswalk tool. You will map these formative and summative assessment strategies directly to your local Portrait of a Graduate competencies, leaving with classroom-ready diagnostic rubrics.

TAKEAWAYS:
Stop rewriting curriculum from scratch. Transform OpenSciEd or ClassCrunchLabs units into thrilling Shark Tank or ExploraVision style transfer tasks. Gain inclusive strategies to make three-dimensional thinking visible and incorporate your school's Portrait of a Graduate durable skills.

SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Boucher-Lavigne

Tornado Alley is shifting - can your students explain why? Step into the role of a learner and tackle this real-world phenomenon by analyzing data, spotting patterns, and building an evidence-based explanation. Then switch to a teacher lens to uncover what three-dimensional learning actually looks like in practice and how to assess it. You’ll dig into student responses, identify evidence of real thinking, and turn traditional questions into meaningful 3D assessment tasks. Walk away with ready-to-use strategies, templates, and tools that make student thinking visible, without adding to your workload.

TAKEAWAYS:
Design and use three-dimensional assessments that turn real-world phenomena into opportunities to make student thinking visible, revealing what students truly understand, not just what they can recall.

SPEAKERS:
Shelby Irvin

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

How can students design technologies that measure and reduce damage from collisions while learning the science behind contact forces? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, and engineering design into a middle school science unit on Contact Forces. Step into the role of students as you investigate why some collisions cause damage while others do not, using sensor systems to collect and analyze force data. See how students design and program technologies that measure forces and help minimize damage from collisions. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build it, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and engineering design to unlock the “black box” of technology while designing solutions to measure and reduce damage from collisions through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

Discover the power of NSTA Collections – curated "bundles" designed to organize your NSTA Library with resources from NSTA and beyond. This hands-on workshop guides you through creating your own collection, a vital tool for saving time when searching for topic-specific materials. Learn how to effectively share these collections with your colleagues or make them public to benefit the wider NSTA community. Leave ready to build and leverage collections to streamline your resource management.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave knowing how to create NSTA Collections, add NSTA and external resources, and manage sharing options. They will grasp the benefits of organizing, including time savings and collaboration, and gain practical skills to build and share curated resource lists.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Science data analysis relies on mathematical and statistical reasoning that develops across grade levels. Co-facilitated by the NSTA Professional Learning Team and Tuva, this workshop explores how NGSS Science and Engineering Practices connect with grade-level math standards to support student data analysis and interpretation. Participants will analyze authentic science datasets to identify grade-level mathematical, statistical, and data skills. They will examine how these math standards and science practices align and discover how to leverage math learning to strengthen science sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify grade-level data and statistical reasoning skills and examine how they support student use of the Science and Engineering Practices. Teachers will leave with strategies for connecting mathematics learning to data-rich science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

This presentation will explore how Formative Instructional Practices (FIP) can transform classroom instruction. FIP is a research-based approach that emphasizes continuous feedback, student involvement, and clear learning goals to improve academic achievement. The goal of this session is to equip educators with practical strategies to implement FIP effectively, helping students take ownership of their learning while enabling teachers to make informed instructional decisions. FIPs are not new, but when used consistently, they can be a game-changer in classrooms. This presentation will begin by reviewing the core principles of FIP, including the importance of setting clear learning targets, using descriptive feedback, involving students in the learning process, and adjusting instruction based on evidence of student understanding. Participants will reflect on their current practices and identify opportunities to integrate FIP more deeply into their teaching routines.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session delivers formative instructional practices (FIPs) that are easy to implement, but will make a big difference. Participants will walk away with a cache of strategies that elevate student learning and engagement without adding extra work to their plates.

SPEAKERS:
Mesa Davis

An integral focus of this session is providing concrete examples of curriculum structures embedded within an established, high-quality curriculum: OpenSciEd. Rather than asking teachers to build culturally responsive units from scratch, this workshop provides explicit scaffolds to overlay cultural assets onto existing OpenSciEd middle school units. Reviewers and participants will actively examine middle school student artifacts from OpenSciEd Units, demonstrating how Latin-American folktales can be utilized as an equitable entry point for multilingual learners to engage in complex spatial modeling and data analysis. By showing actual student-generated models that map tectonic data directly onto the geography of oral myths, the session provides clear, classroom-tested evidence that leveraging students' linguistic and cultural resources as assets directly strengthens their capacity for evidence-based scientific reasoning.

TAKEAWAYS:
We don’t need to reinvent the curriculum wheel to be inclusive. We just need to provide the tools that allow students to navigate that wheel using the rich, ancestral roadmaps they already bring from home.

SPEAKERS:
Ivan Ochoa Martinez

How can students use technology to investigate how sound is produced, detected, and modified while learning the science behind sound systems? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, data analysis, and modeling into a middle school science unit on Sound Waves. Step into the role of students as you investigate how sound causes things to move using micro:bits and digital tools to collect and analyze wave data. See how students modify MakeCode programs to synthesize sounds, analyze wave patterns, and explore how sound technologies work. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build and modify sound-based systems, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and sound technologies to unlock the “black box” of technology while investigating how sound is produced, detected, modified, and used in the world around us

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

Contact forces might be all around us, but the juicy nuggets in this unit help them make sense. This session helps you uncover key features in Carnival of Collisions that make it easier to plan, teach, and guide students through puzzling ideas like balanced and unbalanced forces, motion, and collisions. We will walk through the built-in teacher tools, prompts, and routines that support deep thinking and epic classroom moments. Whether students are knocking down bowing pins or smashing watermelons, you will leave with ready-to-use moves that help the learning stick.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover classroom-ready tools in Carnival of Collisions that help students explore contact forces and investigate what really happens when objects crash, bounce, or come to a sudden stop.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Martin

AI is reshaping what it means to learn and create. This session introduces Human-AI Teaming, a bold approach to learning where students don’t just use AI, they collaborate and think with it. Discover how AI as partner and provocateur can expand agency, equity, and the future of learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain a visionary understanding of Human-AI Teaming as a framework for the future of learning. See how AI can expand inquiry, creativity, and belonging in classrooms. Leave inspired with a complete Teaming Tool-Kit and practical entry points for teaching about and with AI in your classroom, school an

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

Multilingual learners often need targeted language support in the moment—without interrupting sensemaking or lowering cognitive demand. In this session, participants will explore just-in-time instructional strategies that support multilingual learners during science discussions, investigations, and explanation-building. Attendees will analyze classroom video to identify teacher moves that provide timely language scaffolds while keeping students engaged in authentic science and engineering practices. Participants will leave with concrete strategies they can immediately apply to support student talk, writing, and reasoning in science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use just-in-time language scaffolds to support multilingual learners’ talk, writing, and reasoning while maintaining high cognitive demand and authentic science sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

It’s hard to miss the growing importance and capabilities of generative AI. While first seen as something that needed to be avoided, especially by students, views about its usefulness and appropriateness are evolving. In this session, we will explore different AI platforms, how they can be used to lighten teacher workload, and most importantly how they can be used by students as an instructional tool. We will leverage Science Olympiad’s recent work exploring AI as a learning and competition tool to provide teachers with concrete examples as well as brainstorm solutions to current challenges that attendees may be facing.

TAKEAWAYS:
By attending this session, attendees will gain a better sense of AI options and capabilities as well as how those capabilities can be used to lighten their load while at the same time engaging their students in meaningful learning and problem solving.

SPEAKERS:
John Loehr

The Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) immerses students and educators at all levels for free in STEM programming. Through competitions, summer camps, and comprehensive professional development, AEOP stands at the forefront of educational innovation, preparing participants to excel in life.

TAKEAWAYS:
You’ll discover how AEOP spans a variety of educational stages, offering tailored programs that empower both students and teachers to thrive in STEM. We’ll cover how these initiatives equip participants with crucial skills and experiences, setting the stage for personal and professional success.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Lasky

In this workshop you will experience our innovative unit: Self Driving Cars. Incorporate AI, computer science, and a compelling social issue into science and STEM classrooms. During the workshop you will participate in hands-on unit activities as well as review this freely available curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will leave ready to implement our high quality unit with your students engaging student interest and using powerful storylining teaching routines. You will also have authentic student assessments to accompany the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

With 54% of teachers considering leaving the profession due to burnout and lack of support (Arizona Governor’s Office, 2024), strengthening educator capacity requires more than individual coping strategies—it demands system-level approaches. This session shares a practical model used by a statewide science education organization to support teacher well-being through structured reflection, collaboration, and intentional use of time. Participants will explore tools such as wellness scales and mid-year reflection protocols, along with patterns of support aligned to the rhythms of the school year. Framed through both teacher and administrator perspectives, this presentation highlights how small, strategic shifts can improve working conditions, build professional trust, and sustain instructional focus. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools and realistic approaches to leverage existing time and structures to support educator well-being without adding new initiatives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to implement system-level support including reflection tools, structured check-ins, and strategic use of time, that build educator capacity and well-being while improving collaboration and sustainability without adding to workload.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Torres

This session focuses on turning classroom insight into meaningful policy influence by treating advocacy as a practical, learnable skill for science educators. Participants will explore a clear framework for engaging at the school, district, and state levels in ways that are professional and sustainable. Drawing on National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) position statements and classroom-based evidence, we’ll focus on advocating for the professional learning and resources needed so standards translate into effective practice—not unfunded mandates. We’ll also examine responsible ways to involve students in advocacy that build civic skills like evidence-based communication and research. Participants leave with adaptable tools and language to support high-quality, inclusive science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Your day-to-day classroom experience is valid evidence—and when you pair it with a clear framework and tools, you can use it to advocate effectively for the resources and support your students actually need.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Keller

Why does food in a solar cooker end up overcooked, undercooked, or just right? In this session, educators will explore the juicy nuggets inside the Class CrunchLabs Solar Cook-Off unit that help students make sense of energy transfer, particle motion, temperature, and thermal energy. Through hands-on investigations, modeling routines, discussion strategies, and classroom-ready teacher supports, participants will experience how students build explanations for how and why different foods cook differently in solar cookers. We will highlight the embedded tools, prompts, and sensemaking routines that support three-dimensional learning and student-driven investigation. Whether students are testing reflectors, comparing what factors affect how materials heat up, or debating how energy moves through a system, attendees will leave with practical strategies and engaging ideas they can immediately bring into their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover classroom-ready strategies and tools that help students investigate thermal energy transfer and explain why different foods cook differently in solar cookers.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Martin

The NGSS and other standards based on the Framework of K-12 Education are quite complicated and often tricky to interpret. What teachers need is an easy-to-use reference guide to the standards, and since its’ release in 2014, the NSTA Quick-Reference Guide (aka The Purple Book) has become a perennial bestseller and an essential reference tool for many educators across the country. A new version of the Quick-Reference Guide was released in 2022, specifically designed to support not only NGSS, but all standards based on the Framework. This session will review the features of the Quick-Reference Guide and show how to use various tools in the guide to unpack the crosscutting concepts. Crosscutting concepts (CCCs) are ideas such as patterns, cause and effect, and systems that are not unique to any one discipline but that cut across several disciplines. By better understanding the CCCs, students are better prepared to make sense of the phenomena they see in the world about them.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to unpack the three dimensions using the tools and resources in the Quick-Reference Guide and will gain insights into the meaning of the crosscutting concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

Get ready to channel your inner builder. In this 2-hour session, you will learn how to teach the kinetic energy hands-on classroom challenges created by the CrunchLabs toy engineers, the same crew behind some of Mark Rober’s most memorable builds. These challenges are more than just fun. They power deeper science understanding and give students the chance to design, test, and think like engineers. We will walk through how to launch a challenge, organize your space, support student testing, and help learners reflect on what they discovered. You will leave with practical strategies to keep the mess under control, the ideas flowing, and the energy high.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get practical strategies for setting up and running CrunchLabs classroom challenges. These hands-on experiences build student confidence, creativity, and sensemaking skills.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Martin

As states implement sweeping computer science (CS) and digital literacy mandates, science educators face a critical challenge: how do we transition middle schoolers from passive screen consumption to active technological creation without causing instructional overload? This session introduces an innovative, low-barrier framework that cross-walks foundational CS principles—like algorithmic flow, database logic gates, and nested logic—directly into existing physical science labs. By protecting the first 40 minutes for tactile, hands-on inquiry and introducing a strategic, 10-minute digital collaboration layer at the end, educators deepen 3D science sensemaking while seamlessly meeting state tech requirements. Participants will analyze authentic student artifacts, walk through an integrated pacing sequence, and receive a plug-and-play toolkit featuring cross-walk templates, rubric frames, and access to a complimentary professional credential resource.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will master a frictionless 10-minute digital protocol to integrate algorithmic thinking and cloud database logic directly into existing hands-on science labs, meeting state computer science mandates simultaneously without causing instructional or pacing schedule overload.

SPEAKERS:
Moni Singh

This presentation shares findings from a study of preservice science teachers using a custom AI chatbot designed to support NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-based lesson and unit planning. Drawing on analyses of chatbot interactions, interviews, and teacher reflections, we highlight how participants used the tool to identify engaging phenomena, align instruction to standards, generate lesson ideas, and strengthen unit coherence. We also discuss challenges, including evaluating AI-generated suggestions and avoiding over-reliance on AI. Participants will leave with practical strategies for using AI to support science teaching and teacher learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Custom AI tools can be a valuable planning partner for science teachers when it helps them think more deeply about instructional decisions rather than making those decisions for them.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

This interactive session will explore the benefits of authentic problem-based learning (PBL) while addressing challenges that teachers encounter during its implementation. Participants will engage in group activities that spark reflection and creative thinking while sharing ideas that will equip them with practical strategies and ready-to-use tools for their classrooms. Educators will also be introduced to a free STEM competition that offers resources designed to support teachers and students, such as grants, classroom-ready lessons, student incentives and so much more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engage in interactive activities centered around problem-based learning (PBL) as we explore classroom challenges with implementing PBL, potential solutions and free resources that you can utilize to engage students.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Lasky

Discover practical ways science teachers can use AI tools to streamline planning, differentiate instruction, generate assessments, create engaging review activities, and support diverse learners. This interactive poster session features authentic classroom examples, ready-to-use prompts, QR-linked resources, and a live “Prompt Makeover” station where attendees can revise and improve their own classroom prompts for immediate implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with practical AI prompts, classroom-ready examples, and implementation strategies they can immediately use to create engaging, differentiated, and standards-aligned science instruction while saving valuable planning time.

SPEAKERS:
Caitlynn Richardson

Science texts are filled with vocabulary that can interrupt comprehension before students reach the concept. Technical terms, academic words, and familiar words used in scientific ways can all derail reading flow, especially for multilingual learners and students who need stronger disciplinary language support. This presentation shares a predictive vocabulary routine teachers can use before reading to identify likely barriers, prioritize essential terms, and prepare students to make meaning from complex science texts. Attendees will learn how to sort vocabulary into must-know science terms, concept-supporting academic words, and words students can infer through context. The session connects vocabulary preparation to science notebooks, annotation, discussion, CER writing, and student-generated explanations. The focus is not memorizing definitions; it is helping students read, reason, and communicate like scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a predictive vocabulary routine that prepares students to read complex science texts with stronger comprehension, discussion, and written explanation.

SPEAKERS:
Lynette Dickerson

NSF NOIRLab’s educational programs serve to inspire future professional scientists, engineers, and technologists and to engage the general public in a deeper understanding of our Universe. The goal of NOIRLab’s education programs is to enhance the science literacy of all students and to demonstrate the value of astronomical research to society. NOIRLab’s educational staff have developed a variety of educational resources that are available free to educators and the public. Learn about our programs including the Teen Astronomy Cafe To Go, 88+ Constellations, and the Multiwavelength Universe. These programs bring authentic astronomical data and images to the classroom. Our citizen science program Globe at Night lets students gather data about light pollution that is used in authentic research. All educator materials have been designed to support the Next Generation Science Standards and are available in multiple languages.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about a variety of free educational programs and online resources available for their classrooms that bring the excitement of NOIRLab science to their students including using authentic data in the classroom and citizen science.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Sparks

Geology can be a challenge to teach because its core processes are often too slow and vast for students to easily grasp. Traditionally, we ask students to piece together static stages of a process, which can make geology feel less 'hands-on' than other sciences. This session introduces activities that bridge the gap between deep time and classroom time. We’ll explore how rock tumblers compress decades of weathering and erosion into weeks; how to build tactile, scale stratigraphic maps of bedrock, and how to conduct an interdisciplinary rock cycle tour in a local cemetery - making the unobservable visible and tactile.

TAKEAWAYS:
Despite deep time processes being slow and hard to comprehend, these hands-on activities will help teachers make it tangible for students. Explore how rock tumblers compress decades of weathering and erosion into weeks; how to build tactile, scale stratigraphic maps of bedrock, and how to conduct a

SPEAKERS:
Eric Sullenberger

This poster session explores practical strategies for integrating AI and data tools into middle school science classrooms while building career-connected learning pathways. Attendees will discover classroom-safe AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, NotebookLM) and data analysis tools (CODAP, Google Sheets, Python/Colab, Tuva Labs) mapped to real STEM careers. The session features a sample "AI vs. Human: Data Detective" activity using the CER framework to help students evaluate AI-generated analyses alongside human scientific work. We will also discuss how to connect each tool and activity to real STEM career pathways, giving students a clear picture of where these skills lead. Resources include ready-to-use rubrics, datasets, and career profile cards. Whether you are new to AI or looking to deepen data literacy instruction, this share-a-thon format offers hands-on resources, mentor guidance, and actionable takeaways to prepare students for data-driven futures.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with practical strategies and ready-to-use resources for integrating AI and data tools into science instruction, helping students build critical thinking skills while connecting classroom learning to real STEM career pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Treshana Weise

This proposal recommends science lessons for grades 6–8. Students explain the transformations of matter & energy in chemical reactions using household products like baking soda & vinegar. Teachers receive low prep lessons that develop students' thinking & cognitive engagement, promote scientific discourse, & build connections between green chemistry & real-world sustainability. Lesson 1: What Is a Chemical Reaction? — Observe phenomena & identify evidence. (Anchor Phenomenon) Lesson 2: Mass Before & After — Investigate mass conservation. Analyze data. (Matter and its Interactions- particle model) Lesson 3: Gas in a Reaction — Explore how gases are produced or used. (Energy and Matter) Building thinking classroom strategies: collaborate in random groups, use non-permanent vertical surfaces (VNPS), maintain flow by providing hints & extensions, & ask thinking questions. Evidence of Student Learning: CER responses, drawings on VNPS, & listening to student conversations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Build Thinking Science classrooms through the lens of green chemistry with low-prep, classroom-ready lessons your students will relate to.

SPEAKERS:
Aparna Chandra

This session presents a secure, fully offline AI system for K-12 science classrooms that supports assignment generation, auto-grading, and real-time AI tutoring. Aligned with the AI and Data education strand and the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education, the tool demonstrates how instructional design and feedback can support NGSS three-dimensional learning, including Science and Engineering Practices such as analyzing and interpreting data and constructing evidence-based explanations. Participants will explore classroom-ready workflows showing how assignments are created, how student work is evaluated using consistent rubrics, and how tutoring responses adapt to learner input using performance data. The system enables continuous instructional feedback loops grounded in student work. Designed for privacy-sensitive and low-bandwidth environments, the platform operates entirely offline to ensure equitable access while reducing teacher workload and improving feedback consistency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn an offline AI workflow for K-12 science education that supports NGSS-aligned instruction through assignment generation, auto-grading, and adaptive tutoring, enabling data-informed feedback, reduced teacher workload, and equitable implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Nitindra Chowdary Pavuluri

A goal of science instruction is to help students learn about and explain the world around us. Digital media can expand the world students can investigate by making a broader range of phenomena and data accessible to the classroom. Media can also make science and engineering content more engaging and meaningful to students by providing stories that connect it to their daily lives, communities, or greater society. Authentic STEM role models can broaden students’ ideas of who is and can be a STEM professional as well as what they do and model scientific practices to provide students with opportunities to evaluate and argue with evidence they would be otherwise unable to collect in the classroom. We will showcase how free standards-aligned supplemental digital resources can seamlessly integrate into the middle school science curriculum and support three-dimensional phenomena-driven instruction aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

TAKEAWAYS:
You’ll leave with ideas for actively engaging middle school students in science and engineering practices to make sense of phenomena with crosscutting concepts using free media-rich NGSS-aligned resources and strategies for answering the question “why is learning science important?”

SPEAKERS:
Shawn Stevens

A key part of learning science is developing language to talk about your ideas. Traditional methods of introducing a science lesson or unit with a vocabulary list and definitions don’t help students develop understanding of science ideas or hold onto the language. In this session, participants will explore instructional strategies for introducing and earning science vocabulary that support understanding for all learners, and especially multilingual learners. Attendees will analyze classroom video to identify teacher moves that embed vocabulary instruction within investigations and discussions. Participants will leave with practical strategies for helping students actively develop and use new science terminology in their sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to embed science vocabulary development within investigations and discussions to strengthen student sensemaking and support all learners, especially multilingual students.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

When runaway trucks enter the classroom, they bring the kind of chaos, danger, and mayhem that immediately makes students want to figure out how something so massive and fast can actually be stopped. The juicy nuggets in this unit help students uncover the science behind those ideas.This session helps you uncover key features in the Rocks vs Big Rigs unit that make it easier to plan, teach, and guide students through puzzling questions like: How can tiny pieces of gravel stop huge semis? And why are faster trucks harder to stop than heavier ones? We will walk through the built-in teacher tools, prompts, and routines that support deep thinking and epic classroom moments. Whether students are testing mini rigs of different weights on ramps or sending trucks crashing into rice beds, you’ll leave with ready-to-use moves that help the learning stick.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover classroom-ready tools that help students explore kinetic energy and investigate what makes some things harder to stop than others.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Martin

Science leaders from a large, urban, school district will describe and model a process they have developted to utilize generative AI tools for making their district-level science assessments better (psychometrically, linguistically, standards-alignement-wise, etc...).

TAKEAWAYS:
Generative AI tools can be used to help shape the development of resources in ways that account for context-specific requirements within a local education association.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

Explore research-backed and interactive zines that help teachers shift their instructional practice to empower students as epistemic agents in the science classrooms. The zines support teachers in unpacking what it means to redistribute power and authority in the classroom through culture norms, curriculum materials, routines and classroom talk. Teachers can use the zines to support reflection, to prepare and adapt lessons, and as tool for developing professional learning communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
You'll take home zines and facilitator guides to can support your and your colleagues’ to make instructional and curricular decisions that shift power and authority in your classroom!

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

Ever wish Mark Rober could co-teach your class? This session shows how Class CrunchLabs uses video, voice, and story to spark curiosity and launch rigorous learning. We will break down how to introduce a storyline, use Mark’s videos as authentic investigation starters, and weave hands-on challenges through episodes of science and engineering. You will also get a peek behind the scenes at how the team builds each unit to help students explain ‘the how’ after experiencing ‘the wow.’ Optional bonus: watermelon smashing included.

TAKEAWAYS:
See how NGSS storylines, teacher supports, and Mark Rober’s videos work together to launch engaging science units that get students asking questions and thinking like scientists from day one.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Martin

Multilingual learners bring diverse strengths, experiences, and language resources to the science classroom. Using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens, this session explores how teachers can make intentional instructional choices to support meaningful participation for multilingual learners and benefit all students. Participants will analyze classroom video to identify how teachers proactively make choices that provide multiple ways for students to access ideas, engage in sensemaking, and communicate their thinking. Participants will leave with classroom-ready strategies for supporting multilingual learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use a UDL-informed approach to design science instruction that leverages multilingual learners’ strengths and provides multiple pathways for all students to engage in sensemaking and communicate their thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions maps out learning progressions based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The 62 maps in the Atlas organize all of the elements from standards on a particular topic (e.g., modeling, patterns, or definitions of energy) on a single page. The elements from grades K–2 are at the bottom of the page, and those from grades 9–12 are at the top. Arrows connect elements to indicate how ideas in a particular topic build on each other and how elements in different topics connect to one another. Studying the maps in the Atlas and the additional resources in the appendixes can provide educators with new insights about the standards. This session will provide an overview of how to read a map, the other features of the Atlas, and how educators can use this powerful navigational tool to develop and implement curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to read the maps and use other tools in the Atlas to understand and interpret standards and plan instructional sequences as part of their work in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

This presentation introduces a dynamic resource designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and professional STEM applications. The STEM Career Repository offers an extensive collection of 2–3 minute videos featuring diverse professionals who share insights into their daily work and career paths. By providing students with relatable role models and clear examples of success, this tool helps demystify the vast landscape of STEM opportunities. Attendees will learn how to leverage the repository's keyword search functionality to align career exploration with specific curriculum topics. The session also highlights supplemental resources, including STEM Career Highlights, which facilitate direct integration into middle and high school lessons. Whether you are looking to enhance college and career readiness or inspire students through representation, this repository provides the practical materials needed to bring professional science into the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Access a searchable database of 2–3 minute videos from STEM professionals to link curriculum to real-world careers. Use "STEM Career Highlights" handouts to support student exploration and boost representation, helping every student find a relatable path to success in science and technology.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Nern

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming education, but many science teachers are still searching for practical, classroom-ready applications that genuinely improve instruction rather than simply automate tasks. In this session, participants will explore how generative AI tools such as Claude can support science teaching through lesson planning, assessment creation, differentiation, lab design, review games, data analysis, and student engagement activities. Participants will leave with practical prompt templates, implementation ideas, and strategies for responsibly integrating AI into science classrooms in ways that enhance efficiency, accessibility, and student learning. This presentation is designed for educators with little to moderate experience using AI tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical, classroom-tested strategies for using AI to design engaging science lessons, differentiate instruction, create assessments, and save planning time while maintaining strong pedagogy and teacher oversight.

SPEAKERS:
Caitlynn Richardson

Students often struggle with science concepts because hidden prerequisite skills go undiagnosed. A student may appear to misunderstand ecosystems, chemical reactions, forces, or data analysis when the real barrier is vocabulary, graph interpretation, proportional reasoning, measurement, or evidence-based explanation. This presentation shares a practical mastery-mapping process teachers can use to break science tasks into essential skills, identify likely points of breakdown, and plan targeted next steps. Attendees will see examples of how quick evidence checks can support grouping, reteaching, intervention, extension, and student ownership of progress. The session focuses on a repeatable instructional workflow: define the target skill, identify prerequisite knowledge, gather evidence, assign a targeted next step, and monitor progress toward mastery.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use mastery maps to identify hidden skill gaps in science tasks and plan targeted next steps that move students toward standards-based mastery.

SPEAKERS:
Lynette Dickerson

Well-designed lockbox activities are more than just games; they are powerful pedagogical tools that foster critical thinking (sensemaking), collaborative problem-solving (productive student discourse), and deep engagement with core curriculum. In this interactive session, you will transition from player to creator. We will begin by solving clues together as a large group, modeling diverse activity styles that successfully translate complex concepts into immersive challenges. Our team will share a variety of classroom-tested examples from our science-based lockbox activities. Whether you want to implement a premade lesson or build a custom experience from scratch, these resources will be immediately available for your teaching needs. All participants will receive full access to our resources, including templates and digital guides, to adapt these tools for any subject or grade level.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain full access to our premade lock box style lessons and templates, enabling them to customize these resources for any grade or subject area.

SPEAKERS:
Steven Smith

In this session, we will explore the dual nature of AI in the modern classroom. Teachers often feel caught between preventing misuse and embracing progress. AI is something that is not going away so we need to discover how it can be used to our benefit within our classrooms. I will show you how to navigate both the positive and negative aspects of AI. We’ll dive into practical strategies for designing curriculum that maintains academic integrity in an AI-driven world, ensuring student work remains authentic. On the flip side, we will discover how to leverage these same tools to personalize instruction and bridge accessibility gaps, making high-quality content available to every student regardless of their starting point.

TAKEAWAYS:
We’re going to explore the dual nature of AI in education. I'll show you how to design curriculum that maintains academic integrity in an AI world, while using these same tools to personalize learning and bridge accessibility gaps for all students.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Bean

This session presents a secure, fully offline AI system for K-12 science classrooms that supports assignment generation, auto-grading, and real-time AI tutoring. Aligned with the AI and Data education strand and the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education, the tool demonstrates how instructional design and feedback can support NGSS three-dimensional learning, including Science and Engineering Practices such as analyzing and interpreting data and constructing evidence-based explanations. Participants will explore classroom-ready workflows showing how assignments are created, how student work is evaluated using consistent rubrics, and how tutoring responses adapt to learner input using performance data. The system enables continuous instructional feedback loops grounded in student work. Designed for privacy-sensitive and low-bandwidth environments, the platform operates entirely offline to ensure equitable access while reducing teacher workload and improving feedback consistency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn an offline AI workflow for K-12 science education that supports NGSS-aligned instruction through assignment generation, auto-grading, and adaptive tutoring, enabling data-informed feedback, reduced teacher workload, and equitable implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Nitindra Chowdary Pavuluri

The NeuroCase Chronicles is an innovative, case-based curriculum that engages students in emerging neuroscience topics—neurodiversity, neuromodulation, therapeutics, and AI—while integrating ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) throughout. This interactive workshop introduces educators to a classroom-ready curriculum that uses real-world case scenarios to deepen understanding and connect neuroscience to students’ experiences. Participants will engage as learners by completing selected activities. Through these hands-on experiences, teachers explore how students study brain structure and function, model neural signaling, and examine brain-computer interfaces and related therapies. They will also consider how AI influences cognition, learning, and decision-making, especially in developing brains, while evaluating its limitations and ethical challenges. The curriculum emphasizes evidence-based reasoning and supports critical analysis of complex scientific and societal issues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore NeuroCase Chronicles, a hands-on, case-based neuroscience curriculum. Experience activities on emerging topics in neuroscience including brain-computer interfaces, AI, therapeutic interventions, and ethics, and leave with ready-to-use lessons and strategies for engaging high school students.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Blank

Teaching Project Lead the Way Design and Modeling course to my 7th and 8th graders, students are tasked with researching, designing and creating a therapeutic toy for a child who has cerebral palsy. Students first met with our Applied Skills students and teachers to first meet with students who have cerebral palsy and learn more about the condition and ask questions/get advice. Next they met with our school physical therapist to also learn about the condition and how it affect the human body and exercises that can help the individual. Then it was time for brainstorming their designs and creating their toys using Tinker cad for 3D designs of their prototype , robotics (Hummingbird kits) and in some case 3D printing of materials. After 2 weeks, our Applied Skills students and teachers came back to review/play with the toys and gave valuable feedback to the students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will learn empathy and compassion from completing this project as they get to learn from their fellow students on cerebral palsy and how it can affect their body. It brings attending to the condition and allows collaboration with students of different abilities to learn from each other.

SPEAKERS:
Tiauna Washington

How do we improve science instruction without asking teachers to take on one more initiative? School District U-46 is building a coherent K–12 science system that strengthens teacher capacity while reducing fragmentation. Serving more than 35,000 students, the district aligned curriculum, assessment, professional learning, coaching, and teacher leadership into a shared system designed to support educators. Participants will examine teacher leadership teams, coaching structures, PLCs, common assessments, and collaborative planning processes that build collective responsibility for improvement. These structures support 3D science teaching, student sensemaking, and equitable access to science learning while reducing instructional overload. Attendees will explore how these systems were implemented across K–8 and are now being extended into grades 9–12. Participants will leave with practical tools and strategies to strengthen educator support systems and sustain high-quality instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Lasting science improvement occurs when schools invest in systems that build teacher capacity, shared leadership, and professional trust, making high-quality instruction easier to deliver rather than adding more to educators' plates.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah McMullen

Your students eat every day. Do they know the science behind it? Corn alone touches genetics, energy transformation, solution chemistry, carbon cycling, and more, making it one of the richest phenomenon-based anchors available to MS/HS science teachers. In this session, presenters from NASELI (Nebraska Agriculture and Science Education Leadership Institute) show how putting teachers in the field with producers and industry partners transforms how they connect agriculture to 3D science instruction. Follow a single storyline: the sun powers everything, and corn is the converter. See how this thread connects biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science, and how NASELI teachers localized existing ag-science lessons to their standards and community. Learn the transferable process for doing the same in your own region. Whether you teach in a rural community or an urban school where students have never seen a cornfield, agriculture is a phenomenon your students already have a stake in.

TAKEAWAYS:
Every student eats, making agriculture a universally accessible phenomenon for any science classroom. Learn the NASELI framework for matching local ag contexts to your standards and walk away with tools to localize lessons in a way that feels relevant to your own students and community.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Bahr, Jennifer Jones

This workshop builds data literacy for science instruction through mathematical modeling with data. In this session, co-facilitated by the NSTA Professional Learning Team and Tuva, participants will work in a student role, using data to make sense of phenomena as they explore how distributions describe variability using dot plots, box plots, and histograms, and when to use mean, median, or mode. They will also model relationships between variables using scatterplots, lines of best fit, and concepts such as correlation, association, and linear vs. nonlinear patterns. Participants will reflect on how these skills can be incorporated into their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will strengthen their understanding of distributions, variability, and relationships through mathematical modeling and will consider how to bring these ideas into their own classrooms to support student sensemaking with authentic science data.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Differentiation in middle school science is often reduced to modifying assignments or adding extra work for advanced learners. However, effective NGSS instruction requires designing experiences that increase depth, complexity, and authentic scientific thinking for all students. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how to transform existing lessons into “low floor, high ceiling” tasks that support three-dimensional learning. Attendees will engage in a model science activity, analyze how it can be adjusted to extend advanced learners, and apply practical strategies such as tiered questioning, open-ended investigations, and scientific argumentation. Participants will leave with ready-to-use tools, templates, and lesson redesign strategies that can be immediately implemented in their classrooms without increasing workload.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to redesign NGSS-aligned science tasks using “low floor, high ceiling” strategies to increase depth, extend advanced learners, and support all students—without adding extra work or creating separate lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Shultz

Four middle school science teachers (grades 6–8) share practical, classroom-tested strategies for supporting student access and participation in NGSS-aligned OpenSciEd classrooms. Over two years of implementation, they've developed scaffolds, routines, and structures that help students engage in discourse, modeling, investigation, and sensemaking. Attendees will explore concrete supports—including student binders and guided note systems—that help students organize thinking, connect ideas across the storyline, and revise explanations as learning develops. Teachers will also share discussion routines for Scientist Circles, scaffolds for modeling and scientific argumentation, and classroom systems that boost engagement and confidence during investigations. Throughout the session, presenters will share authentic classroom examples, visuals, and lessons learned from real OpenSciEd classrooms across grades 6–8.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with practical scaffolds, routines, and classroom structures they can immediately implement to help more students successfully access OpenSciEd instruction, participate in scientific discourse, connect ideas across a storyline, and revise their thinking over time.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Hanrahan Aldridge, Blair Morwick, Alison Cole, Sarah Stuart

OpenSciEd and other HQIM offer a strong model for phenomena-based, NGSS-aligned instruction, but meaningful 3D learning - integrating Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts—requires intentional design in any curriculum. In this session, participants will explore how strategic adaptations to materials can deepen engagement in all three dimensions while maintaining curricular integrity. Drawing from my 6th-grade classroom, I will share customizable tools and routines that support student-driven sensemaking and equitable participation. Key areas include investigation materials that promote data analysis and evidence-based reasoning; interactive science texts that integrate literacy with sensemaking; formative assessments aligned to 3D outcomes; discourse structures that support collaboration and reasoning; and review tools that help students connect ideas and build coherent understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with adaptable strategies and ready-to-use tools to design for 3D learning in any curriculum, empowering students to think, talk, and act like scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Jed Graboys

Come learn about elements of a successful leadership development program that has produced 2 national and 15 state presidents plus dozens of board and committee members in science associations in North Carolina. This session will demonstrate how the program involves participants in learning experiences, guided by the NC state standards and the NGSS Framework, with the goal of producing leaders for the STEM pipeline. It will focus on how the program develops the critical skills needed for success in leadership roles at any level. Participants will engage in a sample learning experience; discuss the skills covered in the program and how they apply to leaders; and understand how the program supports state standards and the NRC Framework, which NC has adopted. The program actively seeks variety among its cohorts to help ensure diversity in future leadership for the STEM pipeline and draws applicants from all individuals interested in improving STEM education. Handouts will be provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain an understanding of the critical skills and format of a successful leadership development program through an overview, participation in a learning experience, discussion, and application of the program elements to the work of successful leaders.

SPEAKERS:
Pat Shane

Do your students struggle to construct explanations and engage in argument from evidence using data? During this session, co-facilitated by Tuva and the NSTA Professional Learning Team, participants will analyze datasets to explore how explanations and arguments can be scaffolded with the CER structure. Data is central to the process of constructing a claim and selecting the strongest evidence. Participants will surface common student challenges, and identify instructional moves and prompts that strengthen claims, evidence selection, and reasoning in science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies to help students construct explanations and argue from evidence using data to support clearer claims, stronger evidence selection, and more effective reasoning in NGSS-aligned science sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Come see how two master teachers use targeted, well-defined rubrics for select SEPs to support student goal-setting and year-long growth. Employing the best of NGSS pedagogy with standards-based grading philosophy, Robin and Jessica support students in developing the skills they need to succeed in writing CERs, Modeling, and Analyzing and Interpreting Data. Because these SEPs are woven throughout their curriculum, students are able to record their own growth across units and across the year. This approach allows for flexible and differentiated assessment, giving students multiple opportunities and modalities to demonstrate proficiency, and even opportunities to work beyond the middle school standards. There are no ceilings in this classroom and no one left behind. Attendees will leave with practical strategies, sample proficiency scales, and tools to implement SEP-based grading systems that increase student ownership, motivation, and equity in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Empower students to take ownership of their learning while employing standards based grading with the SEPs. Learn how two teachers help students set goals and track growth on three key SEPs over the course of a school year. Walk away with rubrics and a system you can use next week!

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Renfro, Robin Allen

In this hands-on session, participants will explore how to emphasize the “T” in STEM by integrating simple microcontrollers into authentic scientific inquiry. Attendees will use microcontrollers as accessible measuring tools to collect real-time data, observe patterns, and support evidence-based explanations. Through short inquiry investigations, we will examine how technology can deepen students’ understanding of scientific concepts while building their confidence with computational thinking. This session is designed for beginners and those looking to expand their STEM toolkit with meaningful, manageable technology integration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will use microcontrollers and scientific inquiry to give students a hands-on experience with a technological tool that has sensor integration. The investigation will show the three dimensions and how the microcontroller can be a tool that drives modern STEM exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Susan German

OpenSciEd instructional materials embed formative assessment opportunities through strategic assessment callouts designed to capture student thinking during key moments of sensemaking. However, teachers often need practical systems to consistently use this information to inform instruction across classrooms. In this session, two middle school educators share how one PLC has developed a sustainable process for leveraging OpenSciEd assessment callouts to create common formative assessments, such as targeted exit slips aligned to lesson goals. Rather than adding additional assessments, the team identified meaningful moments within the existing curriculum to gather evidence of student thinking tied to science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. These formative assessments are brought into PLC meetings, where teachers collaboratively analyze patterns in student responses, focusing on misconceptions and partial understandings rather than correctness

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a practical process for turning OpenSciEd assessment callouts into meaningful formative assessments, along with strategies for using student data and PLC conversations to identify misconceptions and plan targeted, responsive reteaching that supports student sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Bonifield, Tanya Mueller

Discover how one Title I school used a school garden to grow a culture of leadership, collaboration, and innovation. This session shares how a small hydroponic garden grew into a district-recognized model for STEM leadership and practice. What began as a classroom project now unites STEM, culinary arts, and health programs through hands-on, sustainable learning. Attendees will see how this initiative sparked teacher leadership, community partnerships, and cross-curricular innovation while improving student engagement and achievement. The session will highlight strategies for scaling impact, from writing grants and building partnerships to mentoring colleagues and creating programs that connect learning to real-world impact. Participants will receive resources for project planning, leadership reflection, and community outreach. Whether you are starting small or leading districtwide change, you’ll leave inspired and equipped to grow a sustainable, high-impact STEM culture at your school

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how garden-based STEM can serve as a platform for teacher leadership and student empowerment. Leave with tools to build partnerships, sustain growth, and lead meaningful, hands-on programs that transform teaching, learning, and community engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Rebeor

Integrating inquiry instruction and writing instruction is the most effective method for improving student’s academic writing across disciplines (Miller, Scott and Mc Tigue). We will make it easy for teachers to accomplish this with the following activities: 1. We will introduce the PMT Model and then provide a video case study demonstration of how it is used to frame inquiry instruction and the inquiry dialogue. We will pause the videos periodically to identify best practice strategies and facilitate reflection on how to meet standards for disciplinary concepts, inquiry, and essay writing. 2. Participants will then pair up for collaborative lesson planning using the PMT Lesson Planning Template and content from a two-minute video on cuttlefish. 3. We will then introduce the PMT Teacher Self-Reflective Tool and explain how it is used for both self-assessment and reciprocal coaching with peers. 4. The remaining time will be used for participant lesson plan exchanges.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Teachers will be able to use the Picture Me Thinking Model (PMT Model) to develop lesson plans and deliver instruction that integrates standards for inquiry-based instruction and argumentative essay writing instruction in grades 5-12.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Amende