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

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

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

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

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

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

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

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

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Many biology students approach graphing as a purely procedural task, focusing on format selection and adherence to rubrics without fully engaging with its scientific significance. This roundtable session will delve into undergraduates' perceptions of the role of graphing in inquiry, argumentation, and identity within biology labs. Drawing on qualitative data from an introductory lab course and sociocultural theory (Vygotsky), we will examine how students' graphing perceptions may reflect or obscure their epistemic value. The discussion will feature student quotes, connections to identity (Lockhart et al., 2022), and insights into graphing as an effective tool for science communication (Alderfer, 2023). Participants can share strategies for reframing graphing as a meaningful and communicative practice that aligns with the NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore student perceptions of the purpose of graphing in biology labs, connect findings to science identity and Vygotsky’s theory, and discuss strategies for reframing graphing as a communicative, inquiry-based practice aligned with NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Adriana Quiros

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

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

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Faculty websites are often the first entry point for students seeking research opportunities, yet they vary widely in showing inclusive values. We examine how biology faculty websites at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and non-MSIs include elements that welcome students from marginalized backgrounds. The main focus is the presence and content of inclusivity statements, referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion, provide resources, or support underrepresented students. Using qualitative coding, we analyze websites from a random sample of biology departments, examining inclusive factors such as lab member representation, personal information, and explicit anti-discrimination language. Results show that inclusivity statements remain rare overall, with minimal differences between MSI and non-MSI websites. By raising awareness of the role of faculty webpages in shaping belonging, this project advocates for intentional, equitable, and welcoming online spaces in biology education.

TAKEAWAYS:
This project is aimed towards research faculty. It highlights the importance of personal websites, and encourages those without one to create one. For faculty with a website, it is hoped to implement more inclusive and welcoming practices, increasing participation from minoritized groups in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Taona Maphosa

Undergraduate chemistry is often a gateway course with high enrollment but low success rates. Underrepresented minority students are disproportionately impacted, reducing diversity in STEM. One way to address this is by integrating social-psychological interventions, like Growth Mindset (GM) and Effective Learning Strategies (ELS) into the curriculum. This study discusses results from three semesters (Fall 2024–Fall 2025) in general chemistry courses at one institution. Students were randomly assigned to one of four groups (control, GM, ELS, GM+ELS) and completed different modular activities. Findings show students are reflecting more on their study habits and shifting how they handle challenges and failure in chemistry. This poster highlights both quantitative and qualitative outcomes, emphasizing the pedagogical design of the modules and their adaptability to other science classrooms, including high school and undergraduate sciences courses beyond chemistry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn practical ways to integrate GM and ELS modules into science courses to better support diverse learners and improve persistence in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Emily Pak

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

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

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Short, Kathlyn Van Hoeck

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

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

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Anatomy in Clay

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

SPEAKERS:
Christine Simonsen

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

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

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Dean Vaughn

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

SPEAKERS:
Gregory Newcomb

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

Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers bring powerful real-world expertise, but too often, their work sits apart from core science instruction. This session focuses on putting PLCs together so teachers from science and CTE can strategically align units with their disciplines, creating opportunities for authentic, applied learning that benefits both students and teachers. Participants will explore a framework for identifying natural connections between NGSS science domains and CTE pathways, such as welding with physical science, health careers with life science, agriculture with earth and environmental science, and engineering with physical and mathematical modeling. Attendees will learn how collaborative planning between science and CTE educators can result in lessons and projects that meaningfully incorporate scientific ideas and technical applications.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through examples, planning tools, and shared experiences, participants will leave with strategies for matching CTE expertise to the science content where it naturally fits and designing instruction that blends scientific sensemaking with hands-on technical skills.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become embedded in educational practice, science teacher preparation must move beyond surface-level awareness toward intentional and critical engagement. This session introduces strategies for teaching preservice science teachers how to use prompt engineering to generate effective, discipline-specific outputs; how to examine the ethical implications of AI in teaching and learning; and how to apply advanced AI techniques that extend beyond simple text generation. Emphasis will be placed on designing assignments that purposefully incorporate AI to deepen content knowledge, foster reflective practice, and develop critical AI literacy. Participants will explore examples of assignments, discuss best practices, and consider how to prepare future science teachers to navigate both the opportunities and challenges of AI in education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Purposefully engaging preservice teachers with AI as a critical thought partner, while embedding advanced strategies into assignments, cultivates the skills and critical literacy necessary for them to integrate AI responsibly and effectively in their future science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Crystal Cook, Wesam Salem, Logan Caldwell

Discover how teachers, students, and scientists can team up to address local biodiversity challenges through NGSS storylines—sparking student voice, community action, and powerful learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Collaboration drives student agency and community solutions to real-world biodiversity issues.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Gomez Zwiep, Jill Grace

Our best science learning labs are within easy walking distance and are free and equally accessible to every teacher and student! We start with the sky to illustrate how simple daily observations of changing weather patterns can be combined with easily-accessible images and data from the National Weather Service to demonstrate basic scientific concepts in motion. We will find countless examples of how weather and climate are impacting our water resources, plants and animals, and shaping our landscapes and lives. We will use California’s outdoor laboratories as premier examples of how nature reminds us to use the scientific method to understand the complex natural systems and cycles that are shaping our world and providing us with essential resources for survival. Join earth science professor, author, and naturalist William Selby as he shares discoveries from his California Sky Watcher book and four decades of teaching field classes. Our website: www.rediscoveringthegoldenstate.com .

TAKEAWAYS:
How to more effectively learn from the free outdoor laboratories that are easily accessible to all. Starting with our sky shows, we will share specific scientific concepts and natural science lessons on display every day right outside our windows and doors for grades 6-postsecondary levels.

SPEAKERS:
William Selby

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Over the past century, genetic research has shown how variations in our DNA genome change the way a person perceives their environment. A classic example is sensitivity to the bitter compound Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). Some people find it bitter, while others can’t taste anything. The ability to taste PTC is linked to variations in the TAS2R38 gene, which codes for a taste receptor protein. TAS2R38 has two alleles: the dominant taster allele (T) and the recessive non-taster allele (t). The combination of these alleles, or the genotype, determines their phenotype: in this case whether a person is a “taster” or “non-taster”. In this workshop, you'll use the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis to identify TAS2R38 alleles, then connect genotype to phenotype by tasting the PTC paper. The experiment connects students to techniques that are used in biotechnology research, transforming abstract genetic concepts into concrete understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

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

SPEAKERS:
Leigh Brown

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

The value of a STEM education in fostering a future-ready workforce cannot be overstated. Now, more than ever, STEM teachers and administrators have a vital role to play in preparing their students for careers in tech and innovation. In this session, Northrop Grumman University Program Lead Cameron White will share what skills are essential for developing dynamic STEM leaders, the practical actions educators can take to align curricula with industry needs and the opportunity for boundless careers at companies like Northrop Grumman.

SPEAKERS:
Cameron White

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Wondering how you can better support your students to effectively analyze and interpret data? Join us as we engage with HHMI BioInteractive’s Data Explorer, a free, student-friendly tool, to visualize and analyze changes in atmospheric carbon. In this session, we will journey beyond the Keeling Curve and explore data at different scales and time periods to develop a deeper understanding of how data informs climate science. This session will be of particular interest to those who teach life or environmental science with a quantitative focus or those who want to incorporate quantitative skills.

SPEAKERS:
Kathlyn Van Hoeck, Jim Lane

Recent graduates felt unprepared to teach science because they had not engaged with publisher-created curriculum before entering the classroom. To address this gap, our university partnered with a curriculum publisher to provide preservice teachers with authentic experiences using high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). The partnership began with a dynamic model lesson that showcased inquiry-based instruction and set the stage for deeper collaboration. Building on that experience, we launched the “Curriculum ReMix Project”, where preservice teachers analyzed and adapted HQIM. The publisher supported the effort by granting access to the TE, allowing them to plan, teach, and reflect with the same resources used in classrooms. Their feedback informed improvements that were later shared with the publisher. This session shares our process, outcomes, and strategies for sustaining a university-publisher partnership that empowers preservice teachers to teach science with confidence

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how this partnership guided preservice teachers to critically examine and adapt HQIM, created a feedback loop between university coursework and a HQIM organization, and increased preservice teachers’ confidence and instructional competence in science.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Lausten, Beth Pesnell

Sponsoring Company: Edvotek, Inc.

Food and environmental allergies are a growing health concern worldwide. In this workshop, you’ll learn about the steps an allergist takes to diagnose and treat these dangerous reactions. First, you will review the patient's symptoms and meal history to identify potential triggers from their diet. Next, you’ll perform simulated skin prick and component-resolved blood tests to distinguish true food allergies from cross-reactivity like oral allergy syndrome. By analyzing the results and presenting their conclusions, students model the process that health professionals use to diagnose and treat allergies.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Dayton

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

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:
Leigh Brown

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:
Cheryl Robertson

Sponsoring Company: FLINN

Explore Flinn’s new line of AP Physics labs, fully aligned to the latest College Board Course and Exam Description and watch your students refine key lab skills. This session features hands-on demonstrations of inquiry-based activities, digital integration, and classroom-ready resources to support student success. Handouts included.

SPEAKERS:
Jonnathan Medina Ramos, Ph.D.

The presentation highlights strategies for retaining STEM teachers, drawing lessons from the Knowles Teaching Fellows program, where 85% of Fellows—40% of whom are teachers of color—remain in teaching after five years, surpassing national retention averages. Four key strategies are emphasized: 1) Multiple Learning Communities: Offering strong connections across dimensions like content, context, interest, and identity. 2) Diverse Mentors as Career Models: Mentors provide guidance and emotional support, helping new teachers envision sustainable careers. 3) Collaborative Inquiry: Teachers work together to address challenges, reflect on practices, reduce isolation, and foster leadership. 4) Building Agency and Leadership Capacity: By offering resources, compensation, and a supportive community, teachers develop leadership skills, increasing retention by empowering them to influence educational practices. Participants will explore how these strategies can be adapted to their own contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies for retaining STEM teachers, drawing on the Knowles Teaching Fellows Program. Explore how mentoring, collaborative inquiry, learning communities, and leadership development foster belonging, agency, and long-term commitment to teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Rozelle

Students’ early success and skills learned in introductory chemistry courses are critical to successful completion of STEM degrees. One way to teach these skills is by targeting students’ social-psychological beliefs through interventions, like growth-mindset (GM) and effective learning strategies (ELS). Two chemistry-based GM and ELS modules were designed and implemented at two institutions. Here, chemistry serves as a model to show how science content can be integrated into discipline-based GM and ELS modules. These strategies are adaptable to other STEM fields, which share common practices and concepts. In this workshop, we will discuss the design, implementation, and findings of GM and ELS interventions aimed at supporting diverse science learners, especially those who may face challenges or need support engaging in science learning. Instructors will learn to tailor interventions to their teaching contexts and receive resources to engage class-wide discussions on GM and ELS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to design and implement science-based growth mindset and effective learning strategies interventions in STEM classes and will be engaged in groups to discuss research findings and collaborate on customizing interventions to their own specific teaching contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Julia Chan

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:
Damon Tighe

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

Innovative chemistry labs focused on current topics play an essential role in inspiring and educating students at the undergraduate and high school levels. A timely example is the ongoing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. One promising approach to mitigate the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is the electrochemical reduction of CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a valuable precursor for renewable fuels. This presentation shows the development of a low-cost H-cell system so that CO2 electrolysis can be explored in the classroom laboratory. Different variables, including electrolyte source/concentration, voltage level, and CO2 source (compressed tank, human breath, mineral water, and dry ice), were investigated to determine their impact on CO2 production. With the results from these trials, a hands-on, accessible laboratory experiment was designed to make these complex scientific concepts become real for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
This new laboratory activity empowers all students to actively explore key principles in electrochemistry and current trends in renewable energy, promoting engineering, collaboration and problem solving in a hands-on, innovative, and accessible experiment.

SPEAKERS:
Kyra Morris

There are limited resources to aid students in learning challenging concepts in higher education. The lack of educational tool development may originate from assumptions that gamification of learning is elementary at this level or does not convey the rigor of the material to be learned. A course critical for the majority of STEM majors is biochemistry, which often lacks engaging learning resources. One of the fundamental concepts in biochemistry is learning the twenty common amino acids. Inspired by the popular New York Times word game, our team has developed an online gamification tool for the purpose of aiding students in learning the twenty amino acids. Using our program, Aminole, students are provided a way to improve their recall of amino acids in an engaging and repetitive way. Currently, the application is being piloted in large lecture introductory biochemistry courses. The long-term goal of this work is to make this tool a widely available resource for college students.

TAKEAWAYS:
We have developed a fun and interactive game to aid students in learning biochemistry concepts through repetition. While this game is specifically designed for biochemistry, the goal is to spark conversations and ideas on development of similar tools for students in higher education.

SPEAKERS:
Janie McDonald, Sydney Kaminsky, Cooper Gill, Heidi Anderson, Davis Katz

Objective: Despite the growing importance of bioinformatics in modern biology and medicine, few undergraduate science programs provide instruction in this field. Bioinformatics involves using computer technology to extract information from DNA and protein sequences including evolutionary relatedness and genetic predisposition to certain diseases. Methods: This learning unit consists of video tutorials, written instructions for the laboratory activity, and a post activity review video. The effectiveness of the instruction is evaluated using pre assessment and post assessment questions, performance of the bioinformatics tasks, and a survey assessing the students’ attitudes toward the learning unit. Results: The module was tested with Guttman Community College biology students. The participants responded favorably to the learning unit and successfully achieved the learning objectives, gaining familiarity with fundamental bioinformatics concepts and their application.

TAKEAWAYS:
Despite the growing importance of bioinformatics in modern biology and medicine, few undergraduate science programs provide instruction in this field. This learning unit is a promising tool for introducing science students to the field of bioinformatics and data science.

SPEAKERS:
Edimarlyn Gonzalez

Undergraduate students often struggle to connect abstract biochemical concepts with dynamic physiological processes. To address this challenge, we developed Cardio Chemistry: The Human Element, a guided-inquiry biochemistry lab activity in which students collected and analyzed their own physiological data during controlled exercise. Implemented in an upper-level laboratory course at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution, the intervention was evaluated using pre/post assessments, surveys, reflective responses, and exam comparisons. Results showed significant gains in conceptual understanding of the Bohr effect, increased familiarity with physiological metrics (p < 0.001), and higher final exam scores among participants. Student reflections emphasized enhanced engagement and clinical relevance, suggesting that integrating wearable sensors and personal health data into biochemistry instruction fosters interdisciplinary learning and improves knowledge transfer to real-world contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how using wearable technology and personal health data in undergraduate labs bridges abstract biochemical concepts with real physiology, leading to measurable gains in comprehension, engagement, and applications of oxygen delivery.

SPEAKERS:
Corey Damon

As teachers, we often wonder what happens in groups when we step away. This poster will take you behind the curtain with 3 different student groups in an undergraduate physics lab as they engage in multiple NGSS SEPs. This research project found that the most important factors for student success in engaging in inquiry-based SEPs are the connections between procedural and conceptual elements through epistemic elements, underpinned by social engagement. Each pairing of a student group with their instructor showed different instructional styles and levels of teacher guidance. This poster will provide specific examples of student groups successfully navigating the lab, less successful groups navigating challenges, and teacher moves that mitigated unproductive struggles. Equitable access to post-secondary physics labs requires that instructors adapt to the needs of their students, which will be shown in this poster.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster will provide guidance for secondary and post-secondary instructors who want to better support their students during sensemaking. Teachers can adopt an adaptive approach to teaching by evaluating student ideas with the aim of meeting students’ needs throughout the sensemaking process.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Dozier, Brian Wilcox

Learning Assistant (LA) programs have grown in popularity over the last 20 years as a form of near-peer instructional support, largely due to LAs reducing DFW rates, increasing retention in STEM programs, enhancing teacher recruitment, supporting curricular and pedagogical transformation, and increasing positive attitudes about science. This poster focuses on recurring themes that emerged from student and LA focus groups conducted during the semesters between Fall 2023 and Spring 2025. Some of the key themes that emerged from being involved in the LA program were helping students foster STEM identity, broadening students’ perspectives on who can do STEM, allowing students to feel more comfortable asking questions, and encouraging LAs to consider teaching as a possible career choice. This data will provide insights for how the LA program fosters an inclusive learning environment through student to student interactions, and how these interactions influence the development of STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning Assistant programs help students foster their STEM identity, broaden students’ perspectives on who can do STEM, allow students to feel more comfortable asking questions, and encourage LAs to consider teaching as a possible career choice.

SPEAKERS:
Aubrey Layton, Elijah Roth

This poster highlights a strategy for integrating generative AI tools into teacher preparation programs to strengthen candidates’ reflective practice. Teacher candidates use AI to evaluate their own professional reflections from a math and science teaching conference, aligning with standards such as inTASC Standards, AAQEP, MCEE, and ISTE. The lesson provides candidates with structured opportunities to analyze AI feedback, consider personal strengths and biases, and set actionable goals for growth. Attendees will gain strategies to implement AI-supported reflection in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Practical strategies for integrating AI into teacher preparation.

SPEAKERS:
Katrina Roseler

Students in physiology encounter different ways that homeostasis can be affected in the body. One interesting example is hyponatremia. Understanding homeostasis is an essential part of a physiology course, and finding ways to make this concept more accessible and engaging for students is important to instructors. This project uses hyponatremia to demonstrate a disruption to homeostasis in the body. A combination of pre-/post- multiple-choice quizzes and a free response question to evaluate students’ learning gains through novel exercises associated with hyponatremia using water beads to simulate human cells. This poster focuses on the methods used to collect and analyze data from various classes from the 2021-2025 school years, as well as initial findings for student learning gains. This data will inform our understanding of what students learn from these activities and how to refine future iterations of the activities that support learning about homeostasis in physiology courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
By using these novel experiments, students demonstrated statistically significant educational gains in understanding the topic of hyponatremia.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Meza, Ryan Somers

Students begin introductory biology labs with their own conceptions about science constructed over years of learning scientific models in other classes, life experiences, family origins, and the company they keep (Smith, 1998). Their conceptions can represent an inaccurate reflection of the nature of science. When students view science as absolute facts or a set of fabricated data instead of tentative models and believe that close following of the scientific method will yield these facts, they are misunderstanding the nature of science. Our college introductory majors biology lab aims to challenge these misconceptions. In Fall 2025, we added simple targeted interventions to a DNA extraction lab exercise to help students see science as a process of developing and refining models. This poster shows the results of these interventions on student understanding of the nature of science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Simple targeted instructional interventions designed to illustrate science as a process of developing and refining models were added to a college introductory biology DNA extraction lab exercise. This poster shows the results of these interventions on student understanding of the nature of science.

SPEAKERS:
Erin McNally-Goward, Jennifer Cymbola

How do students learn biology best? The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) scaffolded students in science, if used. Scaffolding information continues as students enter college. Most scaffolding occurs in courses students want to take for their majors. Sometimes science is a general education requirement and not a desired goal. Data collected from a three-year study on student perceptions of their learning in a non-major’s biology class has directed a foundational class and laboratory. A prominent theme in the data emerged, as students want to participate in their learning process. This poster represents one of the class topics presented with multimodal strategies. The lecture focuses on the immune system using lecture, films and games. The lab focuses on viruses using individual virtual work, which can be paired-checked for thoroughness before submission and a group hands-on activity where students become more collaborative as they must decide where a virus originates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use multimodal learning instructional strategies to encourage differentiated learning in science without differentiating students.

SPEAKERS:
Tamera Klingbyll

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Science

Explore how living organisms enrich science classrooms through authentic, hands-on investigation and deeper student engagement. This session highlights effective strategies for integrating live materials while demonstrating how Carolina serves as a dependable partner, managing the sourcing, shipping, and support needed to successfully use living organisms in teaching.

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. Participants will be given a brief overview of the Cell Modeling Kits and then a challenge to create a cell model of a specific type of cell, provided only its function. Participants will then evaluate and revise their models as they walk through David Goodsell's Molecular Landscape.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman

Join NSF NOIRLab and explore the universe from radio waves through gamma rays with high-quality, all-sky images and educational activities using NOIRLab’s Multiwavelength Universe project. The workshop will provide data from a variety of sources to encourage student exploration of astronomical objects and the processes that produce radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. In this interactive workshop, participants will journey through the Universe as we model the nature of light and build an understanding of wave properties. Data from the Multiwavelength Universe project will be used to demonstrate how each part of the spectrum helps astronomers uncover the structure, composition, and hidden phenomena of the cosmos. We will share inclusive strategies, such as multiple modes of data representation (sonification for example), to ensure all learners can access and engage with space science concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to access images of astronomical objects from across the electromagnetic spectrum and explore how astronomers learn about the physical properties of different types of astronomical objects using the various types of electromagnetic radiation they emit.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Sparks

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Decoding bacterial “conversations” offers insight into new strategies for treating chronic infections, such as those associated with cystic fibrosis (CF). In this hands-on workshop, participants use bioluminescent bacteria to investigate quorum sensing and model the signal transduction pathways that regulate virulence and biofilm formation in CF airways. Through pathway modeling, co-plating experiments, and testing quorum-sensing inhibitors, participants explore how disrupting bacterial communication—rather than killing cells outright—can alter disease progression and outcomes. The session emphasizes classroom-ready approaches for teaching cell communication and gene expression and for connecting microbial signaling to therapeutic innovation.

SPEAKERS:
Damon Tighe

Being a trauma-informed teacher is incredibly important in today's educational landscape. Schools are focusing on professional development for in-service teachers and states are increasingly introducing trauma-informed competencies for preservice teachers. Teachers, both veteran and novice, are shouldering the trauma of students in their classrooms. This secondary trauma can inevitably take a toll on educators. This session will begin with some pertinent definitions and statistics related to student trauma. Then it will teach various techniques that educators can use to reduce stress in the classroom, using Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences as a framework. The strategies in this session can be used to increase well-being for both for teachers and their students alike.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with several activities that could be done in the classroom to increase well-being. Initially designed for preservice teachers, these activities could be utilized with students in grades 6-12 or during professional development.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Hesson

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: ECA Science Kit Services

Can you build a kit that works? Race the clock in a supermarket-style game to “shop” and set up materials within your team’s budget using an OpenSciEd lesson. Uncover teacher realities, kit usability, and hidden costs while building practical strategies for short-term and long-term implementation success.

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 of 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:
Damon Tighe

Learning Assistant (LA) programs are a type of near-peer instructional support that has been implemented in many schools throughout the US. Research has shown that LAs decrease DFW rates, increase retention in STEM programs, and engage faculty in evidence-based pedagogies and educational research opportunities. This presentation focuses on qualitative analyses of the LA program at Azusa Pacific University (APU). The results include data from student focus groups and LA focus groups. Initial evidence suggests that the LA program helped students feel more comfortable in their STEM classes and increased general interest in STEM. There is also evidence that, for the LA, it is important there is a relationship of trust between themselves and their faculty, and themselves and the students. Further analysis will help to provide insights for how an LA program can be used to support an inclusive learning environment and influence the development of STEM identity in students across cultures

TAKEAWAYS:
According to Hazari's model for STEM-identity, a Learning Assistant program appears to increase the STEM identity of the Learning Assistants themselves, as well as for some of the students enrolled in the course using the LA.

SPEAKERS:
Karstin Knee, Elijah Roth

The number of newly hired science teachers (NHSTs) is rising in US schools. This increase is often a result of many early career science teachers leaving the teaching profession because they do not feel adequately supported in their school/district. In this interactive workshop, we will engage in sensemaking with three sets of data that focus on NHSTs learning. The data will focus on (1) how NHSTs support their learning in school systems, (2) how NHSTs acquire instructional resources in a school (who provides the materials?), and (3) how out-of-field NHSTs are supported to cultivate their instructional knowledge and practices. After looking at each set of data, the group will discuss their interpretations and generate actionable steps that can be taken in a school/district. The goals of this workshop are to (1) develop empirically-based recommendations about supporting NHSTs, (2) be more aware of the simple steps that can support NHSTs, and (3) make research-to-practice connections.

TAKEAWAYS:
It matters how all NHSTs are supported in their schools. Among other areas, working in professional learning communities that discuss how to teach specific science lessons and guiding new teachers towards important professional learning opportunities are proactive ways colleagues can retain NHSTs.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Luft

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

How can we help preservice teachers grow confident in facilitating inquiry-based, integrated science instruction? In this session, I present a “Teacher Toolbox” framework rooted in metaphor, reflective practice, and literacy integration. Designed for early childhood and elementary science methods courses, this approach helps preservice teachers identify, name, and apply instructional “tools” — such as questioning strategies, picture books, sensemaking routines, and science/literacy connections — while building their science teacher identity. Participants will explore sample toolbox templates, student work, picture book pairings, and reflection prompts that support 3D learning, NGSS-aligned integration, and the development of teacher agency. Leave with resources and ideas to implement the toolbox metaphor in your own methods courses or professional learning sessions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain an understanding of how metaphor can shape teacher identity and confidence. They will also explore a customizable "Teacher Toolbox" framework and take away sample tools, reflection strategies and literature-based science integration ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Kelley Spahr

Sponsoring Company: Comak

Teachers still think with pencils, markers, and quick sketches. The challenge comes when those ideas need to become clean, reusable teaching materials. Join this session to see how you can preserve the human side of teaching while creating clearer, easier-to-update lesson visuals without losing momentum.

This workshop invites educators to explore how beginning teachers develop their instructional visions and the ways these visions shape their responsive teaching beliefs and practices. Drawing on qualitative research, the session highlights the multifaceted influences—formal coursework, field placements, prior schooling, informal teaching, research opportunities, and reflective practices—that impact beginning teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning. Participants will engage in engaging activities that explore responsive teaching practices, examine how beginning teachers' experiences shape their instructional visions, and reflect on their own instructional visions and professional pathways. By foregrounding the dynamic interplay between teacher education and broader lived experiences, this workshop equips educators and teacher educators with strategies to better recognize, leverage, and intentionally support the diverse influences that shape teachers’ instructional visions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain a deeper understanding of how instructional visions are constructed and reshaped by multiple, overlapping experiences, beyond formal education. Reform-oriented practices are promoted by leveraging diverse experiences and fostering reflection, especially with beginning teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Nessrine Machaka

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:
Kimberly Staples, Kate Hoffner, Michael Bindis

This session explores an 11-day Global Intensive Experience (GIE): Exploring STEM Education in Germany, to investigate and experience firsthand the use of renewable energy sources in Germany - one of the most energy efficient countries in the world. Our journey takes us to three cities (Heidelberg, Freiberg, Frankfurt) and one rural village (Freiamt). Along the way, we visit schools, museums, homes, farms, businesses, forests, and district centers - all with a strong focus on renewable energy, including solar, biofuel, wind, and hydro installations. Students’ final assignment is a Passion Project inspired by their experiences in one of these unique places. In this session, we share learning resources and students' projects. We describe ways they transferred their lived experiences back to their STEM career contexts, including elementary and secondary education, special education, engineering, museum learning, and more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about and receive materials related to helping undergraduate students from diverse colleges learn about energy transition science and engineering. They will also learn strategies for supporting students to translate their experiences to career-related passion projects.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Jordan

The American educational system has made great strides toward increasing the representation of first-generation students in STEM. However, fewer initiatives have focused on supporting first-generation students who go on to become STEM faculty themselves. These first-generation faculty (FGF) are the linchpins of first-generation programming and bring irreplaceable experiential knowledge to the profession. Even so, FGF also face unique challenges, and many find themselves feeling out-of-place at various points in their academic careers. In this presentation, an FGF neuroscientist turned university administrator will highlight the lived experiences of FGF and suggest actions that administrators and other faculty leaders can take to foster the success of FGF at all levels of the profession.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will hear the stories of first-generation students who have gone on to become STEM faculty themselves and will learn practical strategies to support the success of this unique group of educators.

SPEAKERS:
Natalie Ceballos

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are a form of participatory science, where students contribute to authentic research by engaging in the scientific practices highlighted by the NRC Framework and NGSS. By embedding research within courses, CUREs make research more inclusive by maximizing opportunities for students of all backgrounds to engage in research and can decrease equity gaps among students of historically marginalized backgrounds. Here, I present results from two studies analyzing the impact of CUREs and discuss how CUREs can be applied in both high school and undergraduate classrooms. The first study examines how students engage with mathematical thinking in both CURE and traditional biology labs, while the second study examines students’ experiences in CUREs that rely on digitized natural history specimens. Both studies suggest positive impacts for students in CUREs, and we will discuss how CUREs can be implemented in different course contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), a type of participatory science where students engage in authentic scientific practices, and cognitive and affective benefits of CUREs. In addition, we will connect participants to a national network of CUREs.

SPEAKERS:
Jeremy Hsu

How are science teachers being prepared to support multilingual learners (MLs) in classrooms that often emphasize testing over equity? This session examines how pre-service and in-service science teachers shift from deficit to asset-oriented perspectives toward MLs through guided reflection, fieldwork, and coursework. Drawing on data from teacher reflection notebooks in methods seminars, we analyze changes in teachers’ thinking across their preparation trajectory to understand how they come to view language as a resource for learning science rather than a barrier. This model, though designed for one program, can be adapted across teacher preparation contexts to help science educators recognize and leverage the linguistic and cultural assets MLs bring to the classroom. Participants will explore how reflective tools and structured discussions can help teachers critically examine their assumptions, respond to test-driven pressures, and develop inclusive pedagogical strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how reflection and fieldwork help science teachers adopt asset-based approaches to support multilingual learners.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Archuleta

This presentation will focus on a practice-based experience for undergraduate elementary teacher candidates with no engineering background, to develop engineering content knowledge for teaching. Applying an inquiry-based approach in physical science, designing a lime-ade lesson, teacher candidates practice science and engineering practices with emphasis in engineering and the EDP. The presentation includes the experience design and data analysis of teacher candidates’ artifacts, reflections, and school faculty’s feedback. Analysis of the data indicates that these field-based experiences helped TCs’ better understand engineering practices such as SEP #3 and the importance of engaging students in an iterative design process. This study aims to provide specific examples and insights from TCs’ experiences, for teacher educators interested in teaching rigorous and culturally responsive engineering lessons in K-8 schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
One main takeway will be the use of metacognitive strategies to assess a lesson based on NGSS science and engineering practices with emphasis in engineering and the engineering design process to develop out-of-field teacher candidates' content knowledge for teaching engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Ana Margarita Rivero Arias

This presentation will present results from a test correction practice that enables students to earn back points by showing their understanding of missed exam questions. The test correction process requires students to provide scientific support to explain why a choice is correct and why their original choice was incorrect. This practice builds understanding of missed concepts and also improves learning and testing skills, both important parts of sensemaking. Example missed questions can also be used as a pre-assessment or as part of the review prior to an exam. Examples of the process and opportunities to practice corrections will be included in the session.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with the ability to incorporate student examination of question choices into a pre- or post-assessment. Using this method can help increase student understanding of course objectives.

SPEAKERS:
Marjorie Rothschild

**Conference Proposal (1000 characters):** This session explores research conducted on engaging pre-service teachers in a virtual elementary science methods course. Participants will learn how course design, interactive tools, and community-building strategies influenced candidate engagement, confidence, and instructional practice. The session will share findings from qualitative and quantitative data, including participant reflections, engagement analytics, and teaching artifacts. Attendees will engage in discussion around research-based strategies that enhance interaction, collaboration, and inquiry in online methods courses. Practical takeaways will include specific tools and design approaches—such as virtual investigations and student interactions that instructors can use to foster authentic engagement and deepen preservice teachers’ understanding of effective science instruction in virtual environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the session with practical strategies, activities, and ready-to-use resources designed to authentically engage pre-service teachers in virtual science methods courses—helping them build confidence, collaboration, and inquiry-based teaching skills in online environments.

SPEAKERS:
Brad Rhew

Innovative chemistry labs focused on current topics play an essential role in inspiring and educating students at the undergraduate and high school levels. A timely example is the ongoing accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. One promising approach to mitigate the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is the electrochemical reduction of CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a valuable precursor for renewable fuels. This presentation showcases the development of an accessible laboratory activity that could be utilized by students of all levels of chemistry, by focusing on electrolysis of CO2 to form CO, with the explanation of how this produced CO can be utilized in a “flow-battery” system reliant on renewable energy derived fuels.

TAKEAWAYS:
This new laboratory activity empowers all students to actively explore key principles in electrochemistry and current trends in renewable energy, promoting engineering, collaboration and problem solving in a hands-on, innovative and accessible experiment.

SPEAKERS:
Kyra Morris

This 30-minute session presents a dynamic, case-based microbiology lab activity grounded in three-dimensional (3D) learning, integrating disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts as outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The activity is centered around a clinical case study of a patient with a skin infection that does not respond to initial antibiotic treatment. Students simulate the diagnostic process used in a clinical microbiology lab—isolating, identifying, and performing antibiotic susceptibility testing on a Gram-positive cocci specimen. As students move through each lab step (e.g., Gram staining, culturing, biochemical testing, AST), they connect technical procedures to real-world clinical decisions. The activity emphasizes evidence-based reasoning, critical thinking, and the importance of antimicrobial stewardship. In doing so, it prepares students to apply microbiological knowledge to practical healthcare challenge

TAKEAWAYS:
This session is ideal for life science and biology educators seeking to bring real-world applications into the microbiology lab and increase student engagement and understanding through case-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Jones

Curious about how computer science can be woven into science teacher preparation? This session shares the journey of a 17-month initiative that brought computer science, mathematics, and science together to reimagine teacher education. Our team designed and piloted interdisciplinary modules (IntComp Modules) that helped teacher candidates practice high-quality instructional strategies, explore innovative tools, and engage in collaborative reflection with peers and mentors. Along the way, we uncovered insights about preparing future teachers to lead computer science–integrated learning in their classrooms. Attendees will leave with an understanding of the affordances and challenges of designing and implementing IntComp Modules, along with sample lesson plans, practical resources, and inspiration for how interdisciplinary design can expand science teacher preparation—and how teaching itself can be redefined as a collaborative, technology-rich profession.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science teacher educators will explore the benefits and challenges of weaving human-computer interaction modules into science and math instruction, strengthening teacher prep and inspiring innovative STEM teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Cramer

Attendees will explore a pilot study on the impact of immersive, simulation-based instruction on cultural competency development among first-year construction science students at a major university. Attendees will be introduced to the steps in the initial research, development and testing of the AI-driven avatar model which was conducted in the summer of 2025 and implemented in Fall 2025. Attendees will learn how the model scaffolds student engagement with interactive role-play with a culturally representative avatar. The avatar simulates real-world communication and management scenarios in domestic and international projects with diverse multicultural workforce environments that focus on safety, productivity, and inclusiveness in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Attendees will explore how the pre- and post-assessment research data, that includes a control group, revealed measurable improvements in students’ cultural awareness and interpersonal skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how engaging in an AI-driven avatar simulation can elevate construction science education by enhancing students’ communication and cultural skills to prepare them for leadership in diverse multicultural projects in the AEC industry through experiential learning.

SPEAKERS:
John Montalvo

Join us for an engaging introduction to a new digital platform designed to bring safety science into undergraduate chemistry and engineering education. Developed by the Institute of Research Experiences and Education at UL Research Institutes, this innovative resource helps students explore real-world applications of safety science through case studies. Tailored for integration into existing coursework, the platform supports instructors in fostering critical thinking around consumer safety, risk analysis, and responsible product development practices. Attendees will gain insight into the platform’s features, pedagogical alignment, and opportunities for classroom implementation. Discover how this tool empowers the next generation of scientists to prioritize safety in their academic and professional pursuits.

TAKEAWAYS:
Undergraduate chemistry, physical science, and engineering instructors will be introduced to a new digital platform that seamlessly integrates safety science into coursework, equipping students with essential knowledge and skills to prioritize safety in scientific practice and consumer product use.

SPEAKERS:
Bethany King Wilkes, UrLeaka Newsome

Led by members of NSTA Post Secondary Science Committee, this session introduces one of NSTA’s appointed committees and highlights its role in advancing the association’s mission of promoting excellence and innovation in science education. Presenters will share the committee’s purposes, current initiatives and contributions to NSTA’s strategic priorities, including support for educators and collaboration across the science education community. Attendees will learn how the committee provides professional leadership opportunities while fostering collaborative experiences and conversations. The session will outline the appointment process, expectations of service, and benefits of participation. Time will be provided for questions and discussion so participants can connect their professional interests to the committee’s work.

TAKEAWAYS:
No matter the level of NSTA experience, participants will leave with actionable steps for becoming part of the Post Secondary Science Committee and a clear sense of how their service can help shape the direction of science education.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez, Cheryl Robertson, Melissa Parks

As graduation nears, many students remain unsure of their career goals, and the steps to obtain a career path remains unclear. To bridge the gap between STEM education and workforce, an innovative science career course (SCC) emphasizing real-world professions was designed. Teaching strategies include collaborating with an industry outreach program to teach disciplinary problems, inviting guest speakers, marketing oneself, and presenting group projects. This study evaluates to what extent the SCC impacts students’ career readiness, competency, and career choices through mixed-methods approach. Repeated surveys, exit tickets, and open-ended questions were administered over the semester. Results showed that the SCC significantly increased students’ career readiness and competency. This presentation showcases the unique features of the SCC course and explores how such courses deepen students’ understanding of STEM sectors and sharpen students’ skills in planning an actionable career path.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn teaching strategies for designing an innovative science career course, how to facilitate discussions in science careers with students, and assessments for measuring student growth in career development.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Ana Ramirez

Undergraduate staff in USC’s JEP STEM programs serve as science communication leaders whose engagement uniquely positions them for success in healthcare, education, and STEM professions. Through active teaching, mentoring, and outreach, these undergraduates develop critical skills in communicating complex scientific ideas to diverse audiences, from K-12 students to community partners. Many JEP STEM staff plan to enter careers as physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and educators, where interpersonal and science communication are essential for effective patient care, community health literacy, and classroom engagement. This experience catalyzes student self-efficacy and science identity, directly correlating with motivation for health and STEM community service, and enhances their qualifications for medical, dental, pharmacy, and teaching programs seeking candidates with strong public-facing skills. The JEP STEM pathway thus boosts undergraduate readiness for professional roles requiring communication skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Undergraduate participation as science communicators in JEP STEM not only develops essential communication skills but also directly prepares students for impactful careers in healthcare, education, and STEM fields where translating complex science for diverse populations is a critical asset.

SPEAKERS:
Jonah Firestone

The integration of technology and gamification in STEM education creates powerful opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and real-world scientific inquiry. Thinkertools offers a free online platform that engages students and educators through interactive user-friendly tools. One of its key innovations, Web of Inquiry, enables students and informal learners to participate in data-driven science through a flexible game template, based on principles similar to NSTA’s Crosscutting Concepts. The ‘inquiry games’ guide students through the full research process, from formulating questions, to collecting and analyzing data, and ultimately to communicating conclusions. By combining game-based learning with data-oriented inquiry, Thinkertools deepens scientific understanding while lowering barriers to participation for diverse learners. This presentation will share how these tools foster curiosity and engagement in science learning for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Thinkertools, a nonprofit edtech platform, has designed ‘Web of Inquiry’, a game that brings learning with real-world data into formal and informal educational settings. It guides users through research questions and empowers students to participate in STEM learning in a dynamic, engaging way.

SPEAKERS:
Todd Shimoda

Data science skills are critical for success in STEM careers and a science-informed citizenry as noted in the NRC framework. Students transitioning between high school and college are often new to working with complex large datasets and need structured guidance on skills dealing with outliers, gaps, or messy trends. Instructors also face challenges accessing these datasets and lack time to create activities. One source of easily accessible large datasets is the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The OOI Data Lab Manual is an open educational resource that provides scaffolded activities related to topics covered in many science courses. It allows students to engage with scientific data visualizations to develop skills and apply concepts which increase student confidence and data literacy. I will demonstrate teaching strategies, available activities and new labs that focus on emerging topics in climate change such as ocean acidification and the impacts of forest fires on the ocean.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will introduce attendees to the OOI Ocean Data Labs, an open educational resource that can be used to increase students’ data skills. I will highlight the use of lab activities in the classroom and show how they relate to NGSS earth science concepts and NRC science practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jean Anastasia

This session explores collaborative learning exercises using manipulatives like pop-beads to enhance student understanding of cellular respiration and fermentation. By engaging their tactile sense, students actively participate in tracing a glucose molecule (modeled by a string of 6 pop-beads) through the various stages outlined on a provided handout. This hands-on approach allows them to track carbon movement and record its release throughout the process. Additionally, students learn to distinguish between energy production via substrate-level phosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation. The activity fosters a clear understanding of how glucose hydrolysis fuels cellular processes. This simplified approach to cellular respiration and fermentation effectively conveys key details without sacrificing scientific accuracy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Unravel the secrets of cellular respiration! Track the fate of carbon atoms in glucose as it undergoes oxidation through various stages.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah Cardenas

Attendees will learn results from a study that assesses students’ K-12 STEM backgrounds, student learning, and confidence development. The study surveys students in a new U.S. Department of Labor grant funded experiential apprenticeship program in construction management. The program was recently launched by a major university as an alternative to post-secondary programs which are often inaccessible to underserved groups due to costs and competitive admissions. Attendees will be introduced to the intensive 8-week program that integrates the fundamentals of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) with hands-on, real-world activities to provide the foundational knowledge for construction management careers in the AEC industry and comply with industry educational and apprenticeship accreditation standards. Attendees will learn how the program scaffolds student engagement by involving industry leaders in teaching, field trips, career fairs, student interviews and internships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how an innovative 8-week hands-on multidiscipline real-world training and internship program enhances STEM learning, confidence and readiness for construction management careers for the underserved in the AEC industry.

SPEAKERS:
John Montalvo

Join us and navigate together through the NSTA Website and discover all the different types of digital resources available to you to enhance your professional learning. Participants will become knowledgeable about their member benefits, the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, and professional learning community that can help them enhance their content knowledge and improve their teaching practice. Numerous live events are offered to educators of science every month to enhance and extend their content and pedagogical knowledge - most of them free to NSTA members. Participants will also learn how to engage with other educators of science and grow their network of like-minded individuals. We will feature NSTA’s My Library, Forums and Profile professional learning tools. NSTA staff will be available to answer questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become knowledgeable about their NSTA member benefits, the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website, about the live events, and professional learning community that can help them enhance their knowledge and improve their teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
Lee Ann Monteiro, Flavio Mendez

This 30-minute presentation will analyze and compare student performance data from a college microbiology course and lab taught in three distinct modalities over several years: fully online (lecture and lab), hybrid (online lecture and in-person lab), and traditional (in-person lecture and lab). The session will provide an overview of the course structures, present quantitative and qualitative findings, and discuss implications for future course delivery. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how different teaching formats impact student learning outcomes and engagement in science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to: • Interpret comparative student performance data across different course modalities. • Identify advantages and limitations of online, hybrid, and traditional course formats. • Apply evidence-based strategies to enhance student learning in science education.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Jones

As students transition into college-level STEM courses, they face more complex course material and higher academic expectations. Without adequate skills, academic success may be at risk. This study designed two chemistry-based learning interventions (Growth Mindset, GM and Effective Learning Strategies, ELS) to support diverse learners by targeting mindset beliefs, learning strategies, and learning outcomes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four study groups: control (tips), GM, ELS or GM+ELS. Mixed-methods were used for evaluation; Quantitative analyses found that GM+ELS group achieved higher averages across final exam scores and GPA. Synergistic effects between GM and ELS were evidenced in students’ personal reflections and focus group interviews. This study showcases the integration between science and social-psychological interventions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to engage students with discipline-based growth mindset and effective learning strategies modules in STEM classes, especially for students who may face barriers to engagement in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Natalia Morales, Jocelyn Diaz

I prepare future teachers in a state that has not adopted the Next Generation Science Standards, but neighboring states have adopted NGSS. In this session, I will discuss ways that I approach this dilemma to prepare students who are fluent in the three dimensions of NGSS yet have to navigate a different set of learning standards. This will be followed by a discussion with the audience with strategies and tips on how to prepare future science teachers to navigate a variety of learning standards in order to teach students effectively.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees of this session will walk away with ideas on how to prepare future science teachers who can be flexible in their teaching and can provide a quality education along the three dimensions of NGSS even when NGSS is not directly adopted.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Bindis

Sponsoring Company: Comak

Teachers’ most valuable asset is time. A large part of that time is spent redrawing content to keep lessons fresh and engaging. See how Comak turns classroom sketches into editable visuals you can update, reuse, and drop into teaching materials fast.

Understanding how to constructively respond to the diverse emotions youth express and experience as they engage in climate learning is essential work for educators. We will explore approaches for responding to youths’ eco-emotions, and how these can help students make better sense of the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate anxiety is a sign of the times. This session gives attendees conceptual ideas as well as practical instructional activities to engage and channel student’s emotions. We will model teaching strategies and how to use students’ eco-emotions for furthering their scientific thinking and action.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler

Teaching science to college-level learners presents a variety of challenges and opportunities. This session will feature strategies to increase student engagement and success in college-level science courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about strategies to increase student engagement and success in college-level science courses.

SPEAKERS:
Cheryl Robertson, Emily Mills Ko, Heather Scherr