Science education has a key role to play in supporting a just transition to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about 20 priority areas associated with climate and environmental justice—and explore educational approaches, resources, and groups related to these areas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Working towards climate justice involves a multifaceted set of issues and priorities. Teachers will identify which priority areas relate to their goals and context and learn about related resources. A climate justice framework will help teachers learn about different dimensions of climate justice.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Nancy Price, Kelsie Fowler

This session is for you teachers who want to deepen your understanding of climate change, and gather strategies for teaching it at an age-appropriate level. We will also discuss how to answer a student who declares, “My dad says he doesn’t believe in climate change!” Been there. Let’s talk.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers learn basic climate science and practice conceptual modeling to clarify and communicate their understanding, so they will feel confident teaching climate. Examples of differentiated instruction for ELL, struggling students, and GT students, are also given to reach all children.

SPEAKERS:
Kottie Christie-Blick

Explore how excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes water more acidic through hands-on activities from the free 5E lesson plans in middleschoolchemistry.com.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will conduct simple, safe, and inexpensive hands-on experiments showing that carbon dioxide gas makes water more acidic, and see how these activities and concepts can be taught to students in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
James Kessler

What do climate data feel like? How can they engage our senses? Explore climate data using simple methods to create powerful and tactile data stories. Inspired by #ShowYourStripes and the Tempestry Project, participants learn ways to make environmental data accessible and fun for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Workshop participants will create and keep a sample data project using tactile materials and receive step-by-step plans for how to replicate this with any data set in their classrooms. The plans can be easily adapted to any unit that uses data in natural science, math, or social science classes.

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Rose, Ian Schwartz, Tim Ogino

Sponsoring Company: KidWind Project

Join us to explore the science of solar power! During this workshop, educators will learn the foundations of solar power including the science and technology of solar PV. We will also introduce activities for the classroom that engage students in dynamic, hands-on, energy-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Arquin

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Scientific perspectives and data should help economic decisions, guide government policy, and improve health. Yet denial of science is everywhere. Evolution. Climate change, Vaccination. GMOs. We will analyze the causes of science denial, and discuss what can educators can do about it.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

Have you felt all the responsibility of teaching climate in only your classes? Every K-12 classroom can integrate climate literacy & action. Join us to learn about Washington State’s ClimeTime Program’s resources and support for integrating climate literacy and action across all content areas, K-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical solutions to create connections between the climate literacy found in the Framework and non-science K-12 content areas. Guidance for working with their peers to anchor classroom instruction around climate change and climate solutions will also be provided.

SPEAKERS:
Korey Peterson, Jacob Parikh, Lori Henrickson

This session introduces art, music, reading, writing, and drama ideas to be woven through your lessons on climate change. I have multiple examples of climate-related projects that have been used successfully with students to educate and empower. Dare I say that teaching climate change can be fun?!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers learn how to enrich their teaching and inspire their students by incorporating The Arts into their climate lessons. In addition, The Arts can provide creative and fun project-based learning that has the potential to communicate climate science effectively to the greater population.

SPEAKERS:
Kottie Christie-Blick

This workshop will introduce participants to environmental science agency as a climate change learning outcome. Participants will engage in student hat as they try tools to support student agency, and then brainstorm ways to use the tools in their classrooms. All materials are freely available.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate change education requires more than just content acquisition about the science of climate change. It should also cultivate a sense of agency for students to act within and beyond the classroom, which can be supported by classroom instructional tools.

SPEAKERS:
Candice Guy-Gaytán, Lindsey Mohan

Sponsoring Company: PASCO

Gain vital teaching tools to make global phenomena feel relevant to students to improve their understanding of climate change. We’ll show you how to engage students while monitoring local CO2 levels, modeling ocean acidification, and exploring global data sets with free classroom-ready resources.

SPEAKERS:
Sophia Guzules

Dr. Michael Wysession, NGSS co-author and geophysics professor, will explore ideas for climate-related phenomena and storylines from the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a way of making climate science relevant and engaging for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
The latest science (AR6 report) from the IPCC is a great resource for phenomena and storylines that can engage students and prepare them for assessments for the HS-ESS3-5 and HS-ESS3-6 NGSS performance expectations covering climate forcings, feedbacks, impacts, and environmental justice.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession

Our students are concerned about their environment and are making a difference in their community. Join us to learn how you can use our new curriculum to engage your students in civic action for the environment. You’ll take leave with resources to implement this curriculum with your community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Formal and nonformal educators will learn how to facilitate community engagement projects for the environment with their students so they can learn about environmental issues in their community and potential solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Cayton, Megan Ennes

Justice-centered science instruction is a critical process for building transformative, empowering classrooms. The TEECH Justice toolkit for K-12 educators provides resources and planning templates for creating community-driven, justice-centered science learning experiences for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Classroom learning experiences that center local issues impacting students and their communities are more engaging and meaningful for students, especially for students traditionally underrepresented and underserved by science education.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Meyer

In New Brunswick, NJ, district leaders and educators engaged in collaborative spaces to design placed-based and phenomena-driven learning experiences centered on climate science and environmental justice. The community became our curriculum as we advocated for the local/global environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will explore a placed-based, phenomena-driven instructional model to address local/global environmental issues, and engage in interdisciplinary learning centered on climate change standards, creating a collaborative space for us to dig deeper into climate science and environmental justice.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Nunez

Using a probe from the popular “Uncovering Student Misconceptions” series, the co-author will share student responses to address this key concept for teaching climate change.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding student misconceptions in this foundational component of climate change is critical prior to teaching the subject. Discover how engaging, open-ended probes provide insight into student ideas and misconceptions, while learning ways to support them in understanding the concepts accurately.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Thomsen, Laura Tucker

In this session, we will explore how educators and partners are working together in Boston to create climate change project-based learning opportunities for students in grades 6-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore teacher-created, climate-focused PBL tasks, citizen science resources, and strategies for building sustainable partnerships.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Shoer, Elisabeth Colby, Holly Rosa

Climate goals like the Paris Agreement are only possible if we transition to a more sustainable protein supply. Alternative protein science offers real-world applications and tangible links between lessons in biology, chemistry, engineering, and more, with climate solutions and career opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Incorporating alternative protein science into existing course material offers a means for educators to link science and technology with students’ values-driven interests. Attendees will learn how to achieve this through instruction and experiential learning opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Nathan Ahlgrim

Come ready to wear your student hats and your teacher hats as we dive deep into how to integrate education for sustainable development (ESD) into the classroom! Through ESD we empower students to become advocates for environmental justice simultaneously with teaching our content.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover ways to empower your students while integrating ESD into your classroom. The natural ties between science concepts and environmental justice creates opportunities to develop leadership skills in your students while encouraging advocacy and learning the underlying scientific principles.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Brandt, Nicholas Kukla

This workshop session will engage participants in a storyline unit that uses digital tools to explore data on temperature changes around the world, greenhouse gas emissions, and future scenarios if we employ a range of carbon emissions and sequestration solutions. Please bring a laptop or tablet.

TAKEAWAYS:
Analyzing climate change data and using mathematical models for climate change solutions can support student sensemaking and prepare youth for informed action.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Mohan, Betty Stennett, Audrey Mohan

We will share climate solutions activities from our catalog of free educational resources. We will also share information about free virtual programming suitable for grades 6 and up, as well as upcoming teacher professional development for middle level educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain new resources for teaching middle school students about climate solutions, and discover virtual learning opportunities for both teachers and students, offered by the UCAR Center for Science Education.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Snode-Brenneman, Tim Barnes, Melissa Rummel

This STEM project from www.need.org will challenge students to use various materials to insulate a cardboard house, test its energy efficiency, and evaluate economic returns.

TAKEAWAYS:
Energy House is a STEM project from www.need.org that challenges students to design an energy efficient home with a cardboard box. The students must stick to time, budget, and materials constraints, which makes this an excellent engineering design project.

SPEAKERS:
Cori Nelson

The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network is the best resource for accessing free and scientifically vetted instructional resources on everything related to climate and energy. This session introduces tips for utilizing this comprehensive resource for your teaching scenario.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to access, curate, and combine high-quality climate science, climate change, and energy resources for your teaching scenario.

SPEAKERS:
Margaret Holzer

Showcasing free educational resources, classroom materials, and teaching strategies surrounding the Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops series of scientific documentaries. The documentaries and their resources are suitable for grades 6-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to incorporate these documentaries to teach specific climate change science in the classroom in an interactive and engaging manner, utilizing our free resources designed for educators.

SPEAKERS:
Arlo Perez

Climate change and other drivers of change in global systems are complex, interdisciplinary phenomena. Learn about a conceptual framework that connects drivers of change with global systems to help students understand the science behind the headlines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Human-biosphere interactions offer relevant narratives and conceptual frameworks that integrate cause-and-effect; systems and system models; structure and function; and stability and change.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

Hands-on workshop highlights considerations of water use and equity. Uses anthropology, geosciences, and environmental sustainability principles to discuss water equity and incorporating these concepts and disciplines into science education. Bring a laptop/tablet to fully participate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will investigate the ethnohistoric context of water ownership, access and use in their regions, and practice how to unpack the complex topic of water equity and incorporate various aspects into activities that address the learning objectives of their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Chelsie Romulo, Sharon Bywater-Reyes, Sarah Johnson

Explore a suite of free, standards-aligned lessons that get elementary students engaged with climate science by connecting them to their environment, fostering empowerment, and supporting social-emotional and interdisciplinary learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how climate science can be included in elementary classrooms in ways that help students feel empowered, connected to their environment, and grow their social-emotional skills as they learn how climate works and how climate change happens.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel, Leanne Rehme, Katie Wolfson, Lisa Gardiner

Climate science is interdisciplinary and when broader society issues are addressed, like environmental justice, it becomes even more expansive. This presentation address these challenges by describing specific topics to include in instructional “storylines” that integrate student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
To learn how to sequence and communicate topics essential to explaining climate change, its environmental impact, and the broader societal concerns.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Clark

Sponsoring Company: STEM Sports®

STEM Sports' session will provide participants with a hands-on approach to learning STEM disciplines through Sports. Attendees will take on the role of students and be given an overview of how to design a sustainable golf course by considering the good of the planet, people, and profitability.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Golner

Engage students in answering the question "How can I impact change?" as you partner Civics with Ecology. Learn to take students from hearing about ecology to taking a stand on ecological policy, and developing passion projects to influence change at the local, state, or national level.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away from this session with a cross-curricular project that takes students from merely hearing about ecology, to caring deeply about an issue, to take a stand and answer the question “How can I impact change?”

SPEAKERS:
Katherine Willet

Environmental issues, such as plastic pollution in the ocean, are often global in scale and thus overwhelming for students to consider. We’ll explore how engineering can frame these problems so that they are manageable for students to solve in the classroom while remaining relevant to global issues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to apply socially engaged engineering to environmental problems using free lessons from the Museum of Science, Boston. Experience open-ended design challenges that get students thinking about large-scale environmental issues while building their confidence in solving problems.

SPEAKERS:
Darshita Shah

Sponsoring Company: Nuclear Energy Education Initiative

Megawatt is a card game where students must build resilient, sustainable electricity grids while adapting to events like weather changes and carbon taxes. Players gain systems thinking skills as they balance cost, environment impact, and energy reliability tradeoffs. Learn to facilitate in a class!

SPEAKERS:
Miguel Trenkel-Lopez

This session will provide a brief overview of the basic science behind global warming and its consequences, plus discussion of how we can in principle achieve a “post-global warming” future in which today’s children will someday be able to talk about global warming as a problem of the past.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to teach global warming science without “gloom and doom” — and without provoking parents — by inspiring students to envision a post-warming future.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bennett

Come discover how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all dimensions of the NGSS to your Earth, Climate, and Life Science teaching, with a special emphasis on the Practices. Bring a device to this interactive session and take away free resources!

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies in the use of simulations for 3D NGSS-aligned teaching of Earth, Climate, and Life Science.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

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

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans, Margaret Hill

Practice techniques for carbon footprinting and novel ecological impact assessment strategies for influencing mindful consumer choices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain tools to guide students to consider the systemic ecological impact of consumption choices.

SPEAKERS:
Maya Bhagat, Maggie Osman

Climate Change is inevitable. Preparing students to deal with heat related change will enable advocacy and build community resilience. Building mapping literacy through use of the EPA’s EJScreen tool, attendees investigate climate risks to their communities and explore mitigation strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
To assess heat waves’ disproportionate impact on communities, participants will gain insights into Environmental Justice issues through the use of the EPA’s EJ Screen tools to identify risk. We will also explore teaching strategies to engage students in meaningful investigations and discussions.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Luna, Tamanna Shahid

So your students understand the basics of climate science, but what’s next? Dig deeper into climate literacy by focusing on solutions. In this workshop we will explore hands-on activities and digital interactives that help high school students learn how we can solve and adapt to climate change.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will walk away from this workshop with several classroom activities that they can use to help high school students learn about climate solutions and develop a deeper understanding of the choices communities must make when designing mitigation and adaptation strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Gardiner, Kathryn Boyd, Melissa Rummel

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games North America LLC

Come play & hear from teachers using Adventerra’s unique games to engage students and achieve curricular goals while also addressing students’ eco-anxiety. Will include updates from a Johns Hopkins Univ. study on the effectiveness of our K-12 environmental education games in teaching eco concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Bryan Mundell, Lauren Kelly, Cynthia Crockett, Sue Mundell

There’s an ever-growing need for accessible resources to inform teaching climate change concepts in a variety of disciplines. Participants will tour the new Fifth National Climate Assessment and Climate Literacy Guide, share feedback with developers, and explore applications for the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
This interactive workshop will immerse educators in new authoritative climate information resources: the Fifth National Climate Assessment website; featuring an art gallery, key messages, engaging graphics, and the updated Climate Literacy Guide, a framework of climate principles and concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Carol ODonnell, Jenna Hartley, Haley Crim, Frank Niepold, Aaron Grade

Discover how and at what point in the curriculum to teach climate change in the elementary NGSS classroom. Explore student-friendly online resources to engage students, science projects to deepen understanding, and the many ways to move forward with environmental stewardship.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers are introduced to “classroom-tested” climate change activities and online resources that they can use to engage and educate diverse learners. They will also learn how to inspire their students to take climate action, helping to decrease climate anxiety and increase a positive outlook.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Levine, Kottie Christie-Blick, Jacob Tanenbaum

Climate change is here. Come explore ways to teach about this that intersect with issues of justice and provide action for the future. This workshop will support educators in all grades and contexts, including those who can’t even say “climate change”!

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for engaging in climate change and climate justice learning appropriate to grade band NGSS standards, climate and energy literacy standards, and for both school and community based learning contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler

Harness the power of technology with student-designed solutions for a changing climate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use technology to expose students to coding and engineering design solutions for severe weather.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux, Jessica Kohout

Ready to engage students in climate learning while attending to equity, 3D teaching, and integration across content areas? Join Washington State’s ClimeTime network to dive into K-12 NGSS-aligned lessons and resources about climate science learning available for free from our state open-access hub.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will share example lessons for teachers, professional learning resources, and other ways that climate science learning has been supported across Washington State. Attendees will then have the opportunity to explore and incorporate these resources into their own practice.

SPEAKERS:
Lori Henrickson, Brad Street, Jacob Parikh, Korey Peterson

The science of climate change is simple to learn but serious for communities. Yet, it is solvable! Through role-playing, attendees will engage in an NGSS-aligned lesson for high school or college students centered on visualizing climate change from diverse cultural and economic perspectives.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Simple, Serious, Solvable model makes the teaching of climate change engaging, relevant, and accessible to students and teachers in diverse settings. Teachers across science content areas can adapt this NGSS-aligned lesson that focuses on drawing, role-playing, self-evaluation, and discussion.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Denning, Elizabeth Diaz-Clark, Meena Balgopal

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Participants will examine how models can be used to drive understanding of complex concepts. Tree ring data will be used as an example of a line of evidence to support climate models and a balloon model will be used to support universe expansion.

SPEAKERS:
Crystal Risko

Hands-on lessons for your students to explore how we produce, consume, and save energy, and how this can affect our homes, communities, and our health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn activities to help students develop an awareness of environmental justice and inequities that can have influences on one’s local environment and personal health outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Swan

Learn to use the Solutionary Framework to design instruction that engages students in solving real-world problems in their community. Empower young people to become climate solutionaries who explore complex problems and enact solutions that do the most good for all stakeholders.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will use the four-part Solutionary Framework to expand their ability to design units that empower students to address the complex climate issues facing their generation.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Meltzer, Angela Whittaker

STEM educator, Heidi Ragsdale will introduce the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) Collection of reviewed educational resources for teaching about climate and energy. Educator participants will learn how to search the CLEAN Collection and participate in Climate Trivia.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will know how to access grade and content level Climate and Energy resources for direct implementation within classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Heidi Ragsdale

Bring your laptop and come explore a place-based, virtual climate change investigation. This activity uses real-world data from across the country to highlight the potential impacts of a changing climate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this session will leave with a virtual activity that can be tailored to science classrooms across the country.

SPEAKERS:
Merryn Cole, Jake Johnson

NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project is using drones and aviation technologies to improve wildland fire coordination and operations. In this session, you'll learn how to incorporate the use of drones and aviation for climate protection into your education program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use NASA Aeronautics' resources for educators to incorporate the use of aviation technology for climate protection into their education programs.

SPEAKERS:
April Lanotte

Wildfire, floods, and drought are becoming more severe; the impacts are most heavily felt by frontline communities. Experience an NGSS-driven curriculum that explores the science of hazards and engages students with scenario-based role-play games and community action projects to build resilience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced to free units that use Colorado-based data and games to empower students to help their community be more resilient to climate-related hazards. Veteran teachers will share stories about actions they have taken with their students and communities using the curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Alicia Christensen, Krystal Brown, Mike Munoz, Katya Schloesser, Jamie Breitner

This workshop provides an overview of a 2 week project-based learning unit that empowers students to advocate for legislation that will improve local air quality. Teachers will create scaffolds to support student-authored policy briefs that address equity in considering the needs of communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
We can advocate for policy changes that will address some of the sources or sinks of air pollutants to improve our community’s health. By understanding air quality in our community, we can present solutions that meet our needs and address historical and modern inequities.

SPEAKERS:
Amber Eglund, Madelyn Percy

Come to this session to learn how one teacher engaged students in analyzing graphical and map-based data to explore environmental justice in the local community. We’ll introduce a variety of data sources that can be used no matter where you live and share learning tasks that use those data sources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to engage students in analysis of environmental justice issues in their community by exploring a variety of data sources and mapping tools. They will also walk away with data analysis scaffolds to support student engagement with these tools/data sources.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Balke

Creative Engineering Design is a classroom-tested, ready-to-teach, hands-on introductory engineering curriculum that highlights concepts of the NSF-funded ASPIRE Engineering Research Center, which aims to make equitable and sustainable widespread electric vehicle-based transportation a reality.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore the Creative Engineering Design free resources and starter kit to engage your students in understanding the connections between engineering and environmental justice through real-world engineering applications of electric vehicle technology to improve health and quality of life for all.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Ramos-Chavez, Jennifer Taylor

Designing and implementing meaningful sustainability-focused learning involves all stake-holders in a community. Join CSSS members as they share their use of the Building Awareness for Sustainability Education (BASE) framework to advance equitable sustainability education in their communities'.

TAKEAWAYS:
Decisions about advancing sustainability education in a region should be made at the local level and include all local stake-holders.

SPEAKERS:
Carol ODonnell, Lori Henrickson, Deb Morrison

Climate change impacts are causing distress and anxiety among young people. Join NCSE and CLEAN to practice and engage with strategies that promote hope and empowerment. Participants will receive free teacher-tested lesson plans, storylines, activities, and other classroom resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will walk away with engaging climate change resources that foster a sense of hope. They will learn how to support their students in the face of climate change-induced stress, as well as help students develop social-emotional skills to cope with climate anxiety.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Johnson, Alicia Christensen, Kathryn Boyd, Lin Andrews

The most intensely-developed urban neighborhoods tend to be significantly warmer than areas that have more green space and less pavement. We will explore this phenomenon and consider how to use it as a meaningful avenue for students to become citizen scientists and environmental justice activists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using a combination of satellite and student-collected data, we'll discuss strategies to support students working to investigate the temperature variation in an urban area, utilize data to identify neighborhoods at risk, and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation efforts.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Slack

Set up a simple lab and watch a cool demo to talk about resources and the environment, using copper as a specific example. These labs can be used for many levels of understanding - geology, environmental science, chemistry; and a focus on environmental impact of resource acquisition.

TAKEAWAYS:
Recovering pure copper will provide chances to talk about environmental impacts and concerns of resource acquisition. The Berkeley Pit in MT and mining in CO will be discussed. Resources provided will help students understand the challenges faced when balancing competing interests.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Spohler, Briana Richardson

Climate change can affect us all differently, but it is still the biggest threat to humanity on our planet. Learn how engaging in STEM projects can elevate student voices and hope for the future through climate action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get ideas on how to incorporate STEM projects while teaching Climate Change and Environmental Science.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout

CLEAN is a climate education project that supports educators of all types to bring climate and energy topics into their teaching. CLEAN stewards a collection of nearly 900 resources including videos, visualizations, and activities that are reviewed by scientists and educators and easily searchable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through our resource collection, teaching guidance pages, and network, we work to center people, place, and science in climate education. CLEAN offers educators multiple perspectives and ways to understand the challenges, relationships, responsibilities, and solutions for climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Boyd, Patrick Chandler

Classrooms engage with the Float Your Boat program by decorating small wooden boats to deploy on the Arctic sea ice alongside a parent buoy and then track its path across the northern top of the planet. Students learn about Arctic Ocean circulation, its sea-ice cover, and how it’s changing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students engage with the Float Your Boat program fostering connections with the Arctic sea ice, ocean circulation, and its changing conditions. This International Arctic Buoy Programme project reaches numerous young people annually around the world, expanding their understanding of the Arctic Ocean.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Johnson

Want to teach climate literacy but don’t know where to start? NOAA offers lesson plans, videos, data, webinars, and more, to inform and inspire students. This session is appropriate for 3rd grade through college educators and informal educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to improve climate literacy and discuss climate and climate change in your classroom with free resources from NOAA.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Smith, Bekkah Lampe

Sponsoring Company: STEM Sports®

STEM Sports' session will provide participants with a hands-on approach to learning STEM disciplines through Sports. Attendees will take on the role of students and be given an overview of how to design a sustainable golf course by considering the good of the planet, people, and profitability.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Golner

How do we cultivate students’ voice & agency through civic action? Through a partnership between UC Irvine and Anaheim Union High SD, we co-designed equity/justice-centered, NGSS-aligned units and created a civic engagement matrix. We'll share how to use this tool to support students' civic action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a civic action matrix that can be used to guide students' projects and empower students to become agents of change in their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Lieu, Jessica Yett, Hosun Kang

Engage in hands-on, critical thinking, and math-savvy activities that will help students distill a somewhat complex topic and understand how the consumption of energy sources relates to climate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Lessons aimed for students to understand more about energy, carbon dioxide, climate, and climate change with regard to their personal energy choices as well as a global perspective – recognizing choices made in the U.S. have an impact on the global environment.

SPEAKERS:
Vernon Kimball

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Explore a new resource that you educators and students can use to assess environmental injustices in their neighborhoods and school communities. This tool features a community inventory, indicators of environmental justice, and stewardship-based solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Symone Barkley, Bruce Moravchik

Teaching climate change in diverse contexts often means we need to meet communities where they are at and teach through concerns that are central to their lives. The SDGs provide a framework of 17 central goals that help to foster thriving and sustainable communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore the interrelationships between the SDG Framework and climate learning goals across diverse contexts. Using resources provided, plan possible connection points with the SDG Framework to your own teaching to help foster climate awareness and agency.

SPEAKERS:
Carol ODonnell, Deb Morrison, Tana Luther

Workshop will focus on the structure of a Climate Science and Environmental Justice course and how it could be used as a model to engage students of all ages in climate literacy, advocacy, justice, and sustainability.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a concrete template to design a lesson, unit, or course in an interdisciplinary fashion. Also, participants will be given time to plan and design for a lesson, unit, or course to be used immediately in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Bigelow, Ryan Zaremba

Explore the OpenSciEd approach to climate science across the 3-year sequence of HS biology, chemistry & physics. Learn how the curriculum integrates core disciplinary ideas across units to build students’ understanding by exploring the effects and equitable responses to the global climate crisis.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate change is more than one topic that can be learned as a stand-alone idea. By building and integrating core ideas across units and disciplines, students can develop full, meaningful understandings of the causes, effects, impacts & responses to climate change in their communities and worldwide.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Buck Bracey, Kate Henson

Sponsoring Company: KidWind Project

In this workshop you will explore some activities which combine Microbits with wind, solar and hydropower.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Arquin

Explore activities that will engage your students in activities that bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and the real-world impact of climate change on society and the environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session with resources to engage students in activities that promote a deeper understanding of climate change and its impact at various scales in the human and natural world, with opportunities to explore environmental justice.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Yajaira Fuentes-Tauber

Can STEM education prepare all students to be leaders in the transition to a circular economy? By using Circular STEM principles to design “out” waste, students can envision system-scale change. Starting with how things are designed allows current problems to become regenerative possibilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the core principles of Circular STEM design, and how it integrates into K-8th grade sequences aligned with NGSS. We provide illustrative sample lessons, showcase essential materials, and access cutting-edge research pertaining to circular design and its applications.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Watts, Erin Rockenhaus

Environmental challenges are not experienced equally in our communities and around the world. Discover nuanced classroom activities to explore inequities in climate and pollution vulnerabilities, and to collaborate to solve authentic problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn interactive lessons to stimulate students’ thoughts and explorations around environmental justice issues, specifically those focusing on climate change and pollution.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Grams

We will learn about the German fourth-grade bicycle license program, Fahrradführerschein, and consider ways to incorporate the world of biking into our teaching. We will plan bike-related sustainability, climate change, or physics lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Bikes are a useful tool to teach about sustainability, climate change, and physics. We can teach our students how to advocate for better bike infrastructure in their communities so they can ride more safely. We can use bikes as a tool to empower our students to build more sustainable communities.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Patel

Climate change and its impact involve the entire Earth system. Instruction should include not only natural systems, but also the stories of people–those most affected by the impacts, and who’s developing strategies for building resilience and mitigating the problem.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies for building students’ climate literacy, meeting the challenges of teaching climate change, and providing students with hope through stories about diverse people building resilience to and mitigating climate change with free resources from PBS LearningMedia.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy Gifford, Shawn Stevens

Pumped Hydro Storage facilities store vast amounts of energy and can help society transition to cleaner energy sources. In our workshop, we will share an inquiry-based lesson where student teams control hands-on, interactive models of a city’s storage facility while exploring sustainable energy use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will participate in a cross-disciplinary activity for science and math students around sustainability and energy conversion. Attendees will receive complete instructions on how to create their own models and lesson plans aligned to current NGSS science and Common Core math standards.

SPEAKERS:
Caitlin Anderson, Scott Sieke

Come learn about Data Puzzles, a free resource co-designed by climate scientists and instructional specialists from the University of Colorado Boulder that combines authentic data with Ambitious Science Teaching instructional practices to help students make sense of phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore authentic, contemporary data through Data Puzzles resources that frame data analysis for use in middle and high school classrooms with the Ambitious Science Teaching framework and leave prepared to implement these 2-3 day sensemaking tasks in their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Griffith

Addressing climate change can be challenging. Students are given tools for evaluating information then provided a series of myths about climate change. Using reputable data, they dispel the myths with accurate information and use multiple explanations to understand common misconceptions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students are provided with a checklist to determine if information is accurate on a fictional web page. Through small group discussions, students share their perceptions of accurate data and what it means, then challenged to decide if this information is valid in helping to understand global warming

SPEAKERS:
Brett Thomsen, Laura Tucker

To ensure a resilient future, we must engage students with phenomena and problems found in food systems and agriculture. This session explores how food and agriculture connect to students’ lives and presents a highly relevant and authentic science context immersed in the Three Dimensions of NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will see successful examples of authentic phenomena and problems found within food and agricultural systems that are relevant to all students. We will demonstrate how all three dimensions of the NGSS are used to make sense of these real-world phenomena and problems.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Beierle

The Environmental Empowerment Project is a grant-funded curriculum project. Each of the NGSS-aligned units in grades K-8 center locally relevant environmental issues and empower students to act on them. This presentation will describe how the units were developed and how to access them.

TAKEAWAYS:
Student and community voice in curriculum are essential to maintaining and motivating student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Eric CROMWELL

Hands-on workshop highlights considerations of water use and equity. Uses anthropology, geosciences, and environmental sustainability principles to discuss water equity and incorporating these concepts and disciplines into science education. Bring a laptop/tablet to fully participate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will investigate the ethnohistoric context of water ownership, access and use in their regions, and practice how to unpack the complex topic of water equity and incorporate various aspects into activities that address the learning objectives of their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sharon Bywater-Reyes, Sarah Johnson, Chelsie Romulo

Participate in activities using news to connect with students. Attendees engage with digital materials that promote environment awareness and civic knowledge preparing students to be engaged citizens. These free materials focus on media literacy, primary source analysis, and civic awareness.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave with new digital tools and strategies to build student’s confidence and skills. Empower students to be involved citizens if they are passionate about a topic and know who can help them affect change.

SPEAKERS:
Victoria Pasquantonio, Elizabeth Osborn

Engage in a lesson from NASA JPL that examines sea level rise over time, the causes of sea level rise, and its connection to greenhouse gases and climate change. Use the data to forecast future impacts to Earth systems and human and animal populations. Bring a spreadsheet-enabled device.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how NASA monitors sea level rise and other Earth vital signs, participate in a graphing data lesson they can use with their students, and learn about Earth system interconnections and a plethora of classroom climate science resources.

SPEAKERS:
Ota Lutz

Some actions have obvious environmental footprints–water use from long showers is self-evident. The distance between food production and consumption hides the full climate impact. We will put food choices into perspective by visualizing the relative climate impacts of animal and alternative protein.

TAKEAWAYS:
Incorporating alternative protein science into existing course material offers a means for educators to link science and technology with students’ values-driven interests. Given the cross-cutting nature of the material, these lessons can be applied to all levels!

SPEAKERS:
Nathan Ahlgrim

This session will introduce participants to NSTA’s Elementary climate science lessons designed using our Sensemaking approach. Investigating engaging and relevant climate phenomena drives student learning and inspires them to examine critical climate issues in their own communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional lessons and units provide students with opportunities to actively try to figure out how the world works or design solutions to problems (sensemaking).

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews, Patrice Scinta

This session will introduce participants to NSTA’s Secondary climate science lessons designed using our Sensemaking approach. Investigating engaging and relevant climate phenomena drives student learning and inspires them to examine critical climate issues in their own communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional lessons, and units provide students with opportunities to actively try to figure out how the world works or design solutions to problems (sensemaking).

SPEAKERS:
NSTA Online Advisors, Holly Hereau, Patrice Scinta

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

TAKEAWAYS:
In relation to science and engineering projects in society (e.g., associated with the energy transition, ecological restoration, urban development), teachers will learn how to engage students in exploring moral and ethical dimensions of trade-offs in project approaches.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Kelsie Fowler

To achieve a clean energy future, the industry needs new, diverse talent to fill jobs across many different occupations, spur innovation, and build a better world. Let's discuss ways this can be achieved and how the Department of Energy and its national labs can best inspire the next generation.

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal would be to seek feedback from participants, share tools and resources to support challenges to meeting our nation's clean energy workforce needs, and solicit input into future work efforts to attract those that want to build a better world.

SPEAKERS:
Paula Richards, Michael Arquin, Arielle Cardinal, Kimberly Swan, Elise DeGeorge

This session will consider a key framework for integrating climate change education into primary school curricula. It will advocate for Coherence, Authenticity, Principled and Enriched as an approach to ensuring high quality learning for children and young people.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will leave with a clearer understanding of the role of curriculum and pedagogy in relation to children and young people being able to take action, self-regulate and engage with knowledge to address climate change education.

SPEAKERS:
Leigh Hoath

This interactive presentation provides teachers with a ready-to-use middle school science unit. The Unit connects students' current weather experiences to Earth's weather systems. Next, students learn and apply their knowledge of thermal energy to a school building engineering design project.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to teach and assess a dynamic 3D unit addressing Physical Science and Earth Space Science Next Generation Science Standards. Teachers will leave with editable access to all Unit materials. Teachers will get time and guidance on how to adapt the Unit to their classroom and student needs.

SPEAKERS:
Kat Chamberlain

In 2020, New Jersey adopted the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Climate Change Education, interdisciplinary standards that were the first of their kind in our nation. Join us to learn more about their implementation and current expansion efforts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this workshop will gain insight into the development and implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Climate Change Education. We’ll share high leverage resources and programs that may be used to support similar efforts across the country.

SPEAKERS:
Ross Gary, Sarah Sterling

Viruses such as COVID and HIV that infect multiple species evolve by interacting with all members of their infectious ecosystem. The term "zoonosis" appears in virtually no state standards, but it describes most infectious diseases that challenge medicine and global public health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Evolution, ecology, and human activity, including social and economic factors, drive the emergence and spread of new diseases. Controlling pandemics requires scientific literacy to enable citizens and public officials to make wise decisions in personal behavior and public policy.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

Provide students with the power of citizen science as they make observations and analyze data to increase awareness worldwide about the impact of light pollution using NSF’s NOIRLab’s Globe at Night program. Students engage with authentic data to propose local solutions to light pollution.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the impacts of light pollution and walk away with resources and strategies for implementing this interdisciplinary citizen science campaign as a PBL opportunity in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Sparks, Mark Newhouse, Emily Peavy

The AIR Scholars program, launched by AIR COMPANY and the Brooklyn Academy of Science & the Environment, educates high school students about climate change and solutions like CCUS. By combining technical education and environmental justice, it fosters awareness, advocacy, and empowerment.

TAKEAWAYS:
The AIR Scholars Program enhances high school education on climate change, emphasizing carbon capture and environmental justice. It reshapes career aspirations, fosters critical thinking, and offers deep insights into climate solutions and science literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Jesse John

Can STEM education prepare all students to be leaders in the transition to a circular economy? By using Circular Economy principles to design “out” waste, students can envision system-scale change. Starting with how things are designed allows current problems to become regenerative possibilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the core principles of Circular STEM design and how it integrates into K-8th grade sequences aligned with NGSS. We provide illustrative sample lessons, showcase essential materials, and access cutting-edge research pertaining to circular design and its applications.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Watts, Erin Rockenhaus

Join us to experience lessons created with and for CO teachers on water and climate, and to learn from a co-author of the 5th National Climate Assessment. Participants will visit the headwaters of the CO River in a VR tour, analyze data to explore megadroughts, and play a Drought Resiliency game!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore innovative resources (e.g., VR tours, games, data analysis) that combine place-based instructional practices with contemporary research on climate change and its impact on water availability in Colorado, and leave prepared to implement these resources in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Daniela Pennycook, Jonathan Griffith, Katya Schloesser

How can we help students build climate change understanding and keep them hopeful about their future? Using place-based education students see themselves as active and knowledgeable members of their communities who have agency in identifying local climate-related problems and developing solutions

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will build an understanding of how placed-based education creates student agency to drive learning.

SPEAKERS:
NSTA Online Advisors, Holly Hereau, Patrice Scinta