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.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Alicia Conerly

Join us for an opening reception to mark the start of NSTA MINN25! 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.

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Explore the world of forensic science with these fun and exciting escape room activities! Try forensic blood detection and agarose gel electrophoresis experiments, decipher clues, and solve puzzles. Learn to design your own escape room to have students unravel the evidence and free the innocent.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Use PCR to perform genetic testing for cystic fibrosis. Make connections across the biology curriculum, from genes and proteins to human health and genetic disease. This robust experiment makes it easy to bring PCR to your classroom!

SPEAKERS:
Emily Gleason

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Wildlife conservators often return captive-bred animals to their native habitats to rewild the area. In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the use of RFLP analysis and phylogenetics in conservation biology to analyze the DNA samples of two lions. Can we return them to their ancestral home?

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

The Model-Based Argument Critique Tool facilitates perspective-taking by prompting students to agree/disagree with peers' conceptual claims about phenomena using evidence, to encourage engagement with different interpretations. Furthermore, the tool directs students to analyze visual representations designed by peers, specifically focusing on how they depict unseen objects or processes. By requiring critiques of varied representations within models, students must consider alternative ways of visualizing abstract concepts and evaluate their effectiveness in communicating scientific ideas. Evaluating others' representations helps students identify strengths, weaknesses, and diverse approaches, broadening their understanding of representational choices and the limitations inherent in visualizing the unseen. This structured peer feedback fosters meta-representational competence, enabling students to appreciate multiple perspectives on the phenomenon and how it can be visually communicated.

TAKEAWAYS:
Viewers will examine the layout of the critique tool, which separates conceptual claims from visual representations. The poster displays examples of preservice teachers' written critiques and drawings of different phenomena, illustrating how their feedback on peer models evolved.

SPEAKERS:
Jaclyn Murray

Creating culturally relevant STEM activities for elementary learners that truly integrate Science, Engineering, and Mathematics is challenging. In an elementary STEM Methods course, we engage preservice elementary teachers in developing discovery boxes, kits designed to integrate a science activity, a math activity, and an engineering activity all aimed to address a culturally relevant problem. Through discovery box creation, preservice teachers develop a deeper understanding of NGSS Science and Engineering Disciplinary Core Ideas and Practices and CCSS Mathematical Practices while building from elementary students’ funds of knowledge. Recent projects include problems such as re-designing an unsafe intersection, protecting deer from roads, and repairing the lights on a bridge. In this session, attendees will have the opportunity to explore several discovery boxes and learn more about the parameters of the project.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use discovery boxes to integrate elementary science, math, and engineering learning around a culturally relevant problem. We will examine discovery boxes created by preservice teachers to engage with the components and gain insight into how to implement similar projects.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Purington

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Explore CRISPR-Cas gene editing in our hands-on electrophoresis workshop! The Nobel-winning biotechnology breakthrough is making dramatic changes to human health TODAY. Dive into CRISPR biology with quick experiments modeling cures for genetic diseases like Sickle Cell Anemia and Cystic Fibrosis.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Explore how genetic testing can assess hereditary cancer risk. Students use gel electrophoresis and pedigree analysis to test family members for Lynch syndrome. Plus, engage with the medical and bioethical implications of genetic testing through a role-play activity!

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Dainis

Scientifically speaking, how brains process information is tied to the kinds of tasks we need to perform. We examine the science of learning: how the brain learns, recalls information and how different tasks activate different brain processes. For example, spelling the word "yellow" involves different parts of the brain than understanding the concept of the color. Knowing these differences helps us understand and formulate relevant assessments. Once we understand the processes we can manage/avoid cognitive overload that occurs when learning new concepts. We will learn to use brain science to help long term retention of knowledge. By embedding neuroscience-informed strategies into curriculum design, educators can help students learn naturally. We develop our own personal intelligence! Participants are encouraged to bring their instructional material to create a template takeaway. Participants will take away 3 assessment and 3 instructional strategies grounded in brain research.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will learn how the human brain processes information. Use brain science to understand long term retention of knowledge. Participants will take away 2-3 assessment and instructional strategies grounded in brain research.

SPEAKERS:
Manisha Sharan

Are you interested in learning how to have your students conduct their own research in your science class? How can you do this in ways that support their interests, engagement, and development of their science identity? We will share how we do this through a mini-Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (mini-CURE) in a biology course at a community college using CO2 sensors. In this workshop, participants will have an opportunity to learn how to design research questions using CO2 sensors to explore place-based, culturally relevant questions about CO2 in their own communities. You will plan an investigation, collect some initial data, and conduct some preliminary data analysis. We will provide examples of students’ research questions and share how we have scaffolded this experience for students, including worksheets that were used to support the development of their research questions, data analysis, and examples of their final product, scientific posters.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this workshop, participants will learn how to use CO2 sensors to integrate students’ own research projects into your course in a way that is culturally relevant, engaging, and can increase student engagement, interest, and identity in science.

SPEAKERS:
Ann Murkowski, Kalyn Owens, Blakely Tsurusaki

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Track the inheritance of the sickle cell allele in a fictional family using gel electrophoresis. Available as a hands-on lab or virtual simulation, this case study teaches Mendelian genetics, inheritance patterns, and the molecular basis of sickle cell disease.

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Unlock biology's mysteries with model organisms! Learn to culture and study C. elegans in your classroom laboratory. Explore chemotaxis with a simple locomotion assay. Integrate STEM concepts, data collection, and statistics for an enriching learning experience. Meets standards for AP Bio Lab 11.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Transforming bacteria with vibrant colored proteins is an unforgettable way to teach the central dogma of molecular biology. Take it further by creating bio-art with your students! In this workshop, we’ll share transformation tips, explore microbial creativity, and even award our favorite designs!

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Mentorship and support are vital to ensuring that we continue to grow the representation and retention of educators of color in STEM. In this session, we will build and curate a community of educators where we can learn from each other, no matter what stage of our careers. We will share stories, seek advice, provide feedback, address burnout, and walk away with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to the STEM education community.

TAKEAWAYS:
A set of new connections and the ability to seek continued mentorship and camaraderie beyond the conference. Participants will also leave with a meeting guide to host recruitment, retention, and community events, continuing the charge to build a community of diverse educators in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Osuji

Ready to take your STEM lesson planning to the next level? Join us for an interactive and inspiring session where you’ll discover how artificial intelligence—specifically ChatGPT—can become your new favorite teaching assistant. Explore how preservice teachers in a pilot program used ChatGPT to blend South Dakota Science Standards with Engineering and Technology standards to design innovative, classroom-ready STEM lessons and kits. Learn how to craft effective prompts, refine AI-generated content, and apply human feedback to ensure every lesson is developmentally appropriate and tailored to your students' needs. Whether you're new to AI or looking to deepen your practice, this session will give you practical tools and real-world examples to boost creativity, save planning time, and spark student engagement. While we’ll focus on STEM, the strategies shared can be adapted to any grade level or content area. Come curious- leave inspired!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies for using ChatGPT to streamline lesson planning, align with science and engineering standards, and design engaging, grade-appropriate STEM lessons and kits—tools they can immediately apply in any classroom setting.

SPEAKERS:
Betsy Schamber

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

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

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang

Artificial intelligence (AI) can transform preservice teacher education by generating personalized, multimodal content for science and engineering instruction. This study explores GPT Smashing, an innovative approach that combines multiple generative AI models (e.g., GPT-4, GPT-4V, and domain-specific tools) to create rich instructional materials. By integrating text, visuals, diagrams, and interactive elements, GPT Smashing supports deeper understanding, enhances lesson design, and fosters creativity. Unlike single-model AI tools, this method empowers preservice teachers to visualize, adapt, and engage with complex concepts, promoting both personalized learning and instructional agency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience GPT Smashing through a live, hands-on demo using a "blueprint" scenario. Create multimodal lessons, explore AI visuals, and design classroom demos. Leave with practical tools to boost creativity, agency, and engagement in science and engineering education.

SPEAKERS:
Ricardo Lumbreras, Gwinn North

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Explore quorum sensing and cell signaling pathways in this hands-on workshop. Investigate bioluminescence in Vibrio campbellii through engaging, classroom-ready experiments.

SPEAKERS:
Marisol Gabriel

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

This interactive modeling session will engage participants to ask questions and identify patterns to build confidence and understanding of the three-dimensional nature of protein structure and function.

SPEAKERS:
Jim Lane

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

In 1483, two English princes vanished; now, their remains may have been found! Students use DNA analysis based on the FBI CODIS system to determine if the remains might belong to the lost princes. This gel electrophoresis activity makes it easy to add hands-on DNA analysis to your forensics class!

SPEAKERS:
Ally Huang

Generative AI is an emerging technology that has made its way into the classroom and cannot be ignored. I developed and will share a summative assessment for a Biodiversity class aimed at promoting proper usage of GenAI while developing technological and ecological literacy. Traditional assessments can inadvertently disadvantage students who excel in areas beyond rote memorization. Incorporating AI into an assessment can promote equitable classroom practices by offering multiple means of representation and expression. This proposal attempts to integrate all 3 dimensions of the NGSS: application of scientific and engineering practices, by using GenAI, disciplinary core ideas in ecology, and crosscutting concepts. The AI assessment supports NGSS’s overarching goal to develop scientifically literate citizens. I will discuss the rationale for the assessment, its development and implementation in the class, how students engaged in the activity, and will share examples of the students' work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience one example of how we can integrate AI into the science curriculum, fostering curiosity and engagement with technology, while promoting proper use of AI. This type of assessment can be applied to a variety of science topics.

SPEAKERS:
Rita Margarida Quinones De Magalhaes

Discover the power of NSTA Resource Collections – curated "bundles" designed to organize your digital 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 school or district 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 Resource Collections, add NSTA and external materials, 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 bundles.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez, Jaclyn Murray

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Some people call it the Central Dogma of molecular biology. But we prefer to call it the Flow of Genetic Information – from DNA to RNA to Protein. Whatever you call it, it is a foundational concept in the molecular biosciences. 3D Molecular Designs has created a hands-on modeling kit that will allow your students to explore the molecular logic of living systems by creating physical models of the three phases of this process -- from DNA replication to RNA transcription to Protein Synthesis (Translation). This workshop will focus on last phase of this flow of genetic information process – Protein Synthesis. This Flow of Genetic Information kit will allow your students to feed mRNA through a ribosome – 3 nucleotides at a time – while the ribosome decodes the triplet codons into a specific sequence of amino acids that are joined together to make a protein. This modeling kit will help your students make sense of all those words you have been using to explain how the process works.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Want to learn more about disease detection? If so, join us to explore the use of wastewater testing in public health. Students use PCR and electrophoresis to test simulated water samples, gaining real-world insight into how this innovative technique helps monitor pathogens and protect communities.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

In this hands-on workshop, explore how vaping affects the human body at the molecular and genetic levels. Learn how ELISA is used to detect biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress and how gel electrophoresis can be used to examine genetic predispositions to vaping-related harm. Analyze real-world case studies and get some fresh ideas for bringing health science into your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Marisol Gabriel

Climate change education is impactful when students can see themselves as part of the solution. Global Warning is a cooperative and competitive board game designed to immerse players in the challenges of climate action, requiring both collaboration and strategic decision-making to avoid global disaster. We conducted a classroom-based study with post-secondary students to evaluate the game’s educational impact. Students who played Global Warning showed a measurable shift in their perceptions of climate change as an immediate and existential threat, increased the range of actionable solutions they identified, and demonstrated greater critical thinking about sustainability challenges. In this speed session, we will briefly introduce the gameplay structure, summarize our research findings, and share practical strategies for using climate-themed board games to foster systems thinking, agency, and deeper engagement among high school and college-aged students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Playing Global Warning can meaningfully shift students’ perceptions of climate change, broaden their understanding of actionable solutions, and foster critical thinking and agency, making it a powerful tool for high school and post-secondary climate education.

SPEAKERS:
Peter White

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Explore real CRISPR technology with a hands-on DNA experiment. Program Cas9 to cut DNA, make predictions using sequence analysis, and verify results with gel electrophoresis. This activity is an engaging way to show how CRISPR works and why it’s such a groundbreaking tool for genome editing!

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Dainis

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Life happens in water – and therefore many teachers consider water to be the first molecule of life. But there are four other small molecules that make up the major constituents of a living cell. These other molecules include (i) amino acids – which become proteins, (ii) phospholipids – which become membranes, (iii) carbohydrates – which become cell walls and food, and (iv) nucleotides – which become DNA and RNA. This workshop will explore physical models of these molecules of life and how they can be used to introduce your students to the molecular basis of life. This session will present teacher-tested suggestions for how these Molecules of Life can be used to introduce virtually any topic in a high school biology curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Join our workshop to explore Ozempic's dual action on diabetes and weight loss. Learn about semaglutide's role in blood sugar and appetite regulation through hands-on ELISA simulations.

SPEAKERS:
Marisol Gabriel

Research indicates that girls begin to drop out of certain STEM fields after the age of 12 (the start of a leaky pipeline), as girls tend to underestimate their ability to succeed in STEM fields (Gonzalez-Perez et al., 2020; Van Camp et al., 2019). Pre-service teachers (PSTs), especially female PSTs aiming for K-8 teaching certifications, often are reluctant to engage with science and mathematics due to a lack of confidence in personally doing science and mathematics (Adams et al., 2014). To address this, a university-sponsored summer camp was designed to engage middle school girls in STEM activities while providing female preservice teachers with valuable teaching experience. This session explores the experiences of middle school girls and female preservice teachers who participated in this all-girls STEM camp. This session will provide an in-depth look at the camp’s design, implementation, and impact on both student and teacher participants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insights into the camp’s design, implementation, and impact on both students and teacher participants. This session will also offer practical recommendations for educators and program coordinators to implement similar initiatives.

SPEAKERS:
Li Sun

Instructors using NSTA in lieu of a textbook (or as a supplement to a textbook) have students who create a library of resources, grow their network, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge as they complete their assignments. Instructors get a class landing page to manage the course, a private forum for asynchronous discussions, and an instructor's dashboard to monitor students' work. All instructors receive a free digital professional membership, and their students become members for a year or through graduation, depending on the price selected by the instructor. In this session, instructors talk about how they integrate NSTA in their courses. Come and listen to their stories and ask them questions. Find out the benefits that this opportunity provides you and your teacher candidates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will meet and ask questions of instructors who are using NSTA resources, webinars, and online community in courses for preservice teachers of science. Participants will learn how others integrate NSTA in their courses and about the benefits of the program for easy implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

The problem to be answered was two-fold: What is the fidelity of AI-generated lessons for elementary-grades STEM topics? What are teacher perceptions of using an AI tool? Teachers evaluated the standards-based, AI-generated lesson plans. Scores for lesson plans were compared by content area (mathematics, science, technology) and elementary level (lower versus upper) to determine if fidelity is better for a particular content area or level. Teacher perceptions, regarding the use of an AI tool, were surveyed. Results showed significant differences in score, by grade level, for science and technology lesson plans. There were significant differences in score for lesson plans by content area. Qualitative results for the survey showed an increase in participants’ confidence in their understanding of AI, participants learned more ways AI could assist them, and workshops were effective in dispelling common misconceptions about AI use in schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers evaluated AI-generated lesson plans using portions of teacher evaluation rubrics used in Tennessee. The lesson plans were scored differently by content area (mathematics, science, technology) and grade level (grades K-2 versus grades 3-5).

SPEAKERS:
Deborah McAllister

At CSP, students who take microbiology are mostly pre-nursing students. The course has a clinical focus emphasizing vaccines and infectious diseases. The amount of information students have to learn from symptoms to testing, to treatment, and prevention can be overwhelming. In an effort to make the class more fun and implement active learning, I use a game based on the board game “Headbands". I printed and laminated cards with infectious diseases and purchased headbands and sand timers. To play the game, each student places a headband on their head. I then put in it a card (without the student seeing it). Students take turns asking each other relevant questions to get clues about the card they have. An example of such questions is: am I transmitted by mosquitoes? Students will keep asking until they figure it out or they run out of time. The outcome of this game is to recall relevant information about each infection in a fun and engaging way. Great feedback was received.

TAKEAWAYS:
A fun way to remember important and unique information about each infectious disease

SPEAKERS:
Myrna Rezcallah

48% of bachelor’s and 69% of associate degree students who chose STEM programs left these fields before graduation. 81% of white women and students of color of both sexes report that poor instructional quality is an issue when they leave post-secondary STEM programs. We developed a modified Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) at a community college that leverages culturally relevant teaching, place-based education, and science identity development. We will share how students learn how to search for and read primary literature, design/ask research questions about CO2 in their communities, plan and carry out investigations, analyze and interpret data, and communicate information by creating and sharing scientific posters. We saw statistically significant increases in students’ confidence in their ability to do science practices, their interest in STEM research, and in aspects related to their identity, such as feeling like they are part of the STEM community.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this poster, we will share how community college students developed science research practices that led to increases in their confidence in their ability to do science, their interest in science, and their identity as a scientist.

SPEAKERS:
Ann Murkowski, Kalyn Owens, Blakely Tsurusaki

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Explore quorum sensing and cell signaling pathways in this hands-on workshop. Investigate bioluminescence in Vibrio campbellii through engaging, classroom-ready experiments.

SPEAKERS:
Marisol Gabriel

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific, Inc.

Are you looking for more from your current high school chemistry program? More flexibility? More practicality? In this interactive session, you’ll get an early look at Flinn’s new NGSS-aligned chemistry program—designed for real classrooms like yours. Experience a hands-on prototype that blends student-centered learning with structured direct instruction where it matters most, along with the flexibility you need to make it your own. Your feedback during this session will help shape the final product. Join us to explore a new vision for high school chemistry—one that puts students and teachers first.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

This hands-on session will challenge participants to create and interpret models to illustrate the diversity of structures and functions of life at the cellular level.

SPEAKERS:
Jim Lane

Do you teach courses for science preservice teachers? Learn how NSTA's resources, webinars, and online community can help students become the BEST teachers they can be. Instructors using NSTA in lieu of a textbook (or as a supplement to a textbook) have students who create a library of resources, grow their network, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge as they complete their assignments. Instructors get a class landing page to manage the course, a private forum for asynchronous discussions, and an instructor's dashboard to monitor students' work. All instructors receive a free digital professional membership, and their students become members for a year or through graduation, depending on the price selected by the instructor. Resources include all NSTA-member resources (like articles and lesson plans) and fee-based resources like Interactive E-Books+ Professional and Professional Learning Units.

TAKEAWAYS:
University instructors walk away ready to implement a program through which they “adopt” NSTA as their textbook for a course, allowing their students access to a great variety of professional learning resources, many that are not included with NSTA’s regular membership.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Words of uncertainty — things like "likely" and "maybe" — are critical to accurately communicating science. This session will discuss the importance of getting students comfortable with these words in order to increase lifelong trust in science.

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Dainis

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Experience an easy-to-implement genetic engineering lab with simple teacher prep - no starter cultures or incubator required! This robust lab allows students to visualize the transformation of bacteria from white to bright blue using a protocol that can be completed in a 45-minute class period.

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Dainis

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

The T4 bacteriophage is a fantastical E. coli killing machine. It has evolved – over several billion years – the ability to walk around in the tall grass that covers the outside surface of an E. coli cell until it finds its specific receptor protein embedded in the E. coli outer membrane. This binding the long, spindly legs of the T4 phage with its receptor then triggers the subsequent events that results in the efficient infection of the E. coli cell. Once the T4 phage has injected its DNA into E. coli, it begins choreographing the many processes that lead to the replication of hundreds of new T4 phage particles. In the last phase of the T4 phage infection cycle, the infected E. coli bursts open releasing hundreds of new phage particles. This session will introduce a physical model of a T4 phage that students can use to explore all phases the phage’s life cycle. This model is enhanced by a digital exploration of a molecular landscape of the T4 Life Cycle by David Goodsell.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Experience CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing experiments designed for your students' learning! In this hands-on workshop edit a chromosomal gene, complete with essential experimental controls, using the same cut-and-repair technology used in medicinal and agricultural applications.

SPEAKERS:
Marisol Gabriel

Sponsoring Company: PhET Interactive Simulations

What is "data science" and how can a physical science teacher, from middle school integrated sciences to high school chemistry and physics, integrate data science practices into their classroom? Join the PhET team for a series of ready-to-use lessons for in which we'll introduce data science and methods to address data science in your classroom. We'll address lessons that include "messy" data collection in PhET and show you how your students can use PhET with CODAP to capture, display, and analyze large data sets. Get ready-made lessons you can customize or immediately implement in your classroom, all for free.

SPEAKERS:
Linda Stegemann

Inviting all Preservice Teachers and Instructors to learn about NSTA’s Preservice Teacher Chapters. Chapters support individuals entering the profession with leadership experiences, networking opportunities, and professional learning resources available at NSTA. The NSTA Preservice Teacher Chapter Program consists of two types of chapters: (1) The National Preservice Teacher Chapter and (2) The Local Preservice Teacher Chapters at Universities. In this session, NSTA staff will share concrete examples of leadership experiences, networking events, and professional learning resources available at NSTA to all preservice teachers of science, members and non-members of NSTA. Similarly, a current faculty advisor of a local chapter will talk about the benefits of student-led organizations. For those interested in starting their own chapter, the faculty advisor will share information about how to start, grow, and maintain a chapter at a university.

TAKEAWAYS:
Preservice teachers and potential faculty advisors walk-away informed about how to engage with NSTA opportunities and resources and with ideas about how to start, grow, and maintain their local preservice teacher chapter.

SPEAKERS:
Jim McDonald, Flavio Mendez

This workshop presents an innovative approach within a science methods course designed to equip future elementary educators with the knowledge and skills to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into science instruction. This workshop will share details about the course design and delivery, present the shared perspectives of the elementary teacher candidates’ as they navigated the course, and provide hands-on, community-based experiences with the final teacher candidate products – the Indigenized science lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave the workshop with basic knowledge of a successful model of integrating Indigenous ways of knowing science into an elementary methods course, and experience with research-based, local Indigenous Elder approved science lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Grace Tietz, Brea Tonsager, Sydney Feist, Trish Arnold

Science teacher preparation programs have the opportunity to enhance three-dimensional teaching and learning through forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the university and middle/secondary science-level instruction. This session examines seven types of AI tools applicable to science education. Faculty, in-service teachers, and preservice teachers will experience a deeper level conceptual shift in understanding AI through the range and limitations of the following tools: personalized learning, adaptive learning, intelligent tutoring systems, automated grading and assessment, generative AI, language learning, assistive technology, data, and learning analytics, and virtual reality and augmented reality. Session activities support the following outcomes: Develop proficiency in aligning a specific AI tool with a science and engineering practice, and a crosscutting concept to support mastery of a disciplinary core idea. Practice integration of AI to promote equity in STEM for ALL.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive the AI Integration Model (AI-IM) tool for guidance to monitor the progress of NGSS three-dimensional or standards-based instruction and student learning. Preservice teachers will increase their ability to assess the effects of AI on students' shifts in scientific reasoning.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Bindis, Kimberly Staples

This presentation will showcase an innovative partnership between a local family-owned hobby farm and an elementary teacher preparation program that resulted in an outdoor, experiential teaching experience for pre-service teachers within their science methods course. This presentation will discuss the planning, design, and delivery of the outdoor, experiential teaching opportunity at the hobby farm, and the shared perspectives of the pre-service teachers as they navigated the research, creation, and rehearsal of their outdoor-based science lessons that were delivered during a one-day field trip for local students at the hobby farm. Additionally, the presenters will share their research findings on the impact of the outdoor, experiential teaching opportunity on the elementary pre-service teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy, and their insights into the planning, implementation, and assessment of the outdoor, experiential teaching experience within the science methods course.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this presentation with a basic knowledge of how to integrate an outdoor, experiential teaching opportunity within a science methods course for elementary pre-service teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Sanderson, Trish Arnold

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

In this hands-on session, you will engage with models to understand the amazing chemical properties of water and better understand how life maintains and regulates homeostasis through the transport of water and ions across membranes.

SPEAKERS:
Jim Lane

First-year science teachers often feel overwhelmed once in their own classroom. Preservice science educators (current college students) and their instructors do the best they can to prepare for this moment, but the best advice comes from individuals that have gone through it themselves. The purpose of this roundtable is to for educators across the nation to share their best piece of advice for the soon-to-be science teacher. You will get to meet with current Biology and Chemistry education students attending Valley City State University, in Valley City ND and help prepare them for their next adventure. Advice including ways to build connections across disciplines and throughout the school is encouraged.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session aims to provide preservice science educators with practical advice and strategies to help them navigate their first year in the classroom successfully.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Lahtonen, Cameron Pero, Michael Ouradnik, Lindsey Kiecker

Developing strong scientific reasoning skills is essential for students to understand and apply core scientific concepts, evaluate evidence, and engage in scientific inquiry. This session will focus on practical, research-based strategies for assessing and improving scientific reasoning skills in both high school and postsecondary science courses. The presenter will examine how students develop these skills over time, identify common misconceptions, and explore instructional techniques that foster critical thinking, logical analysis, and evidence-based argumentation. Additionally, the session will highlight ways to scaffold complex reasoning skills, differentiate instruction, and use assessment data to inform teaching. This session will be valuable for science educators seeking to deepen student understanding and equip them with transferable thinking skills that extend beyond the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session equipped with a deeper understanding of how scientific reasoning develops in students and why it is essential for success in science education and beyond.

SPEAKERS:
Cheryl Robertson

Designing effective anchoring phenomena is challenging. This interactive session will engage participants in a variety of anchoring phenomena examples appropriate for multiple content areas and grade levels. If you are wanting new ideas and something to take home to use immediately, this is the place for you!

TAKEAWAYS:
Examples of anchoring phenomena in a format that is engaging to participants and relevant to any STEM classroom to maintain student interest.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Bindis

As the politicization of science grows, teacher educators must ask: Are preservice science teachers authentically prepared—and permitted—to teach science equitably and meaningfully? This session shares findings from a cross-institutional survey of early childhood, elementary, secondary, and higher education science educators, including faculty and in-service teachers. We explore how respondents perceive their preparation for addressing DEI, sociocultural relevance, and controversial topics in science education—and whether they feel they have the autonomy to do so. This work emerges from a collaboration between a science education researcher in biology and a teacher educator in curriculum and literacy, reflecting on their shared but mismatched goals in culturally responsive preparation. Participants will consider the disconnect between teacher education ideals and the constraints of today’s science classrooms, identifying next steps for responsive and realistic preparation programs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how science teacher candidates and faculty perceive their autonomy to teach science authentically, especially regarding DEI and sociocultural relevance, and will explore how teacher preparation must evolve to meet the realities of 2025 classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Julia Poplin

This workshop will present an innovative approach to developing scientific argumentation skills in pre-service elementary teachers through pairing the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework within a real-world socio-scientific issue (SSI) role play lesson. This lesson was part of a semester long, undergraduate science methods course at a Midwestern University. This workshop will present details about the SSI Role Play lesson, the incorporation of the CER framework into the SSI Role Play lesson, and the shared perspectives of the pre-service elementary teachers as they navigated the experience of the SSI Role Play lesson with the CER framework. Additionally, the presenters will share their insights about the design, delivery, and assessment of the CER with a SSI Role Play lesson and its implications as a more equitable, inclusive approach to developing scientific argumentation in pre-service elementary teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this workshop with basic knowledge of how to implement an SSI role play paired with the CER within a science methods course that effectively promotes the scientific argumentation of pre-service elementary teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Sanderson, David Kimori, Trish Arnold

The concepts covered in a general chemistry II course are designed to teach students concepts applicable to future chemical studies. However, these seemingly disconnected concepts can be frustrating and confusing for students without understanding how they are relevant in a real-world situation. This presentation will discuss the use of ocean acidification (OA) as an over-arching research project designed to tie concepts discussed in general chemistry II course to a current environmental issue. Using case studies, guided inquiry experimentation, scientific literature, and real-world data, students will learn how chemical equilibrium, acid/base chemistry, solubility, and other concepts addressed in general chemistry apply to the study of OA. This presentation will provide educators with resources on OA and an example of utilizing them in the general chemistry classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to incorporate ocean acidification, a climate change topic, into a post-secondary general chemistry course by linking it to content already discussed in the course.

SPEAKERS:
Catherine Haslag

In an era of widespread misinformation, cultivating scientific literacy is essential for preparing students to critically evaluate information and make informed decisions. This session explores evidence-based strategies for improving scientific reasoning and critical thinking in both high school and postsecondary science education. We will discuss how to integrate media literacy, primary literature analysis, and science communication into science curricula to equip students with the skills to navigate scientific claims in a digital age. Additionally, we will address common misconceptions, cognitive biases, and how to help students distinguish between credible science and pseudoscience. Participants will leave with practical strategies, assessment tools, and classroom-ready activities that promote science literacy across disciplines, with an emphasis on fostering collaboration between secondary and postsecondary educators to create a more cohesive approach to scientific reasoning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain a clear understanding of why scientific literacy is vital in combating misinformation and helping students critically evaluate scientific claims in today’s digital world.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Blank, Cheryl Robertson

Getting students out of the classroom has been shown to have numerous positive impacts at every age. Why not use that outdoor time to help scientists around the world? In this presentation you will learn about easy Citizen Science projects to do in all classrooms. From counting squirrels on the playground, to recording cloud types in the sky, to classifying the biodiversity in your schoolyard, there are projects for everyone! Hear about how easy it is to implement outdoor time from a SciStarter Ambassador who has led projects with preschoolers to college students to the community itself.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how easy it is to incorporate Citizen Science into any classroom. Leave with 1.) an understanding of several big Citizen Science projects, 2.) how they can be implemented in classrooms, 3.) how you can tie Citizen Science to standards.

SPEAKERS:
Elesha Goodfriend, Kelly Moore