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, Kelsie Fowler, Nancy Price

The first step toward a cleaner tomorrow is to raise awareness about the plastic waste crisis, and small-scale recycling is a possible solution. Learn how IN MOCEAN and its Recycling Fleet are collaborating with others on a local level to set up micro recycling workspaces around the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about IN MOCEANs global project and of the possibilities and potential of small scale recycling. With information about the process of plastic recycling and how anyone can get involved, one might be interested in setting up a recycling workspace in a school or community.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Zaidlicz Everett

Explore the NSTA website with us and learn how to maximize your member benefits! NSTA provides high-quality digital resources and opportunities—all within a professional community—that supports professional learning and classroom instruction. NSTA staff will be available to answer questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
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 knowledge and improve their teaching practices.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Phillips, Flavio Mendez

Explore tailored strategies for secondary science teachers to differentiate instruction effectively for emergent bilinguals. Engage in hands-on activities and collaborative planning to enhance student comprehension and engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Differentiation strategies for emergent bilingual students in secondary science

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Borunda, Katherine Meraz

Please join us for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the exhibit hall, featuring companies with services, support, and resources for science educators.

Discover the latest and greatest science and STEM teaching and learning resources, tools, and products available during this break in concurrent sessions.

Humans’ arms race with pathogens shaped history and influences life today. Understanding the evolutionary ecology of diseases, including H1N1 flu, COVID and HIV, that infect two or more species is vital to understanding current and future threats to individual and public health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn to use our fascinating relationships with infectious disease in demonstrating the importance of evolutionary and ecological concepts in medical practice, public health, and students’ lives.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

In today’s fast-paced world, chronic stress is common, but your mind and body can pay a high price. Learn to recognize overwhelming stress—and what you can do about it.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to manage stress.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Phillips

Restorative circles as a cornerstone of classroom culture builds safe, equitable spaces for students to thrive. After a short introduction we will participate in several circles and see how easy it can be to make this a part of your pedagogy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Restorative circles as a cornerstone of classroom culture builds safe, equitable spaces for students to thrive. Atendees will particpate in circles and leave with a list of prompts to use in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Mallory

Discover how the concept of wing loading influences the physics of airplane flight, bird wings, and wind-dispersed seeds. From aerodynamics to ecological adaptations, this hands-on lesson will explore the interconnectedness of flight across diverse organisms and systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to calculate and apply the concept of wing loading to the flight dynamics of airplanes, birds, and wind-dispersed seeds. Life science and physical science teachers will leave with lesson plans and resources to take back to their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew McVay

NSTA provides in-person, online, and blended personalized professional learning experiences for cohorts of K–12 educators. All programs engage educators with digital resources, virtual experiences, the larger online community, and expert staff. NSTA membership included.

TAKEAWAYS:
District and school leaders will learn about the variety of professional learning opportunities that NSTA offers, delivered in-person, online, and blended that give their teachers the power to personalize their learning as well as the ability to learn with their peers. Membership is included.

SPEAKERS:
Tricia Shelton, Flavio Mendez

Explore a seabird study and the effects of climate change. We will share our integrated curriculum: authentic data analysis, field techniques, seabird biology, the Arctic ecosystem, and talking about climate change with students. Come try a fish foraging simulation, bird banding, and research tools!

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore an integrated curriculum for all ages centered on a 50-year Arctic seabird study and the impacts of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem. Hands-on: fish foraging simulation (very fun!), bird banding activity, research tools, and strategies for talking about climate change with students.

SPEAKERS:
Alyssa Barr, Katie Morrison

Culturally responsive teaching practices are essential in science. You will leave this workshop with NGSS based lessons to help students make sense of identity mapping and positionality in the classroom. Come and design models where identities are atoms and collective identities are molecules.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience a set of identity based and NGSS aligned lessons that can be implemented upon return home.

SPEAKERS:
Autumn Burton, Kathleen Boucher-Lavigne

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

Create large scale models and diagrams on a wide variety of subjects in open spaces both on inside floors and outdoors. Learn how to get the most out of your school building spaces and engage your students’ interests using inexpensive materials and kinesthetic activities!

TAKEAWAYS:
You and your students will learn how to make and use large scale models to explore many scientific topics. Using materials like electrical tape, sidewalk chalk, rope and other simple materials, we will make and use large scale models of an ellipse, heart and body systems, cells, water cycle.

SPEAKERS:
David Ebersole

This introduction to STEM for elementary, secondary, or special education classrooms will allow participants to explore motion and energy while creating their own Rube Goldberg machine using found objects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students can easily plan, build, and problem solve their own Rube Goldberg project using recycled and found materials.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Sevin

A hands-on beam lab produces graphs critical to understanding properties for engineering.  With focus on making, interpreting, and teaching the graphs, real-world uses and applications of stress-strain curves in engineering will be shared and help to illustrate the importance of this type of graph.

TAKEAWAYS:
Real-world uses and applications of stress-strain curves in engineering will be shared and help to illustrate the importance of these graphs.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Spohler

Participants will be able to examine several practical (and budget-friendly) models for classroom hydroponics and consider ways to adapt them to fit age-appropriate lesson plans to make this activity suitable for any learning stage.

TAKEAWAYS:
Everything you've ever wanted to know about hydroponics but were too afraid to ask! This session is designed for anyone looking to implement hydroponics into either the formal or informal learning environment, appropriate for all ages of learners.

SPEAKERS:
Caleb Bagby, Jessica Dobrin

This immersive and engaging workshop is designed to empower and cultivate teacher leaders in science education. It will provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective leaders in their schools and communities, driving positive change in science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
One key takeaway related to leadership in science is the importance of raising awareness of implicit bias in science education. Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that influence our perceptions and actions, often leading to inequities in educational settings.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kay Williams

This session will explore a process for creating NGSS aligned IEP science goals using the Science & Engineering Practices. Attendees will be presented with a prototype tool for collecting data, writing goals, and monitoring progress that has been created for use across Chicago Public Schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore a process for writing science IEP goals that goes beyond simply recreating math and literacy based goals.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Brady, Joseph Seabloom

Explore how makerspaces can be seamlessly integrated into the classroom to facilitate transdisciplinary and project-based learning. Discover strategies for designing engaging, hands-on activities that cultivate critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration across subject areas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to leverage makerspaces as dynamic learning environments that empower students to tackle real-world challenges. Help students develop critical skills, improve collaboration and communication, boost technical fluency, improve perseverance and resilience, develop a maker mindset.

SPEAKERS:
Kelleigh Huey, Andrew Bruening

How can we shift the culture of science teaching and learning in an elementary school or district? Explore how transformative leadership practices can build the capacity of teacher leaders and create the conditions for equitable opportunities for 3D phenomena-based science in K-5 classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away ideas and next steps for building the capacity of educators in their own school or district context, including how teacher leadership fits within a broader set of conditions that support the teaching and learning of science in that context.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott, Leslie Stenger, Matthew Christiansen

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress at work and home, there are steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to relieve pressure and regain control.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Phillips

Participants will use patterns seen through the use of red, green, and violet lasers being shown at copper wires and strands of hair to learn about diffraction of light. Briefly learn how technology-mediated lesson study has helped rural science teachers collaborate to design 3 dimensional lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
During the session, participants will shine lasers at copper wire and strands of hair to construct an explanation for how diffraction patterns can be used to make sense of the phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Sansom, Douglas Morris

Discover the latest and greatest science and STEM teaching and learning resources, tools, and products available during this break in concurrent sessions.

This poster explores strategies for teachers to ensure ALL students – including SWD, ASD and other II -can actively share their science knowledge. Learn how to leverage students' unique experiences and differentiate instruction to meet their needs and support students to share their learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away strategies and resources that can be utilized by teachers to support students to share their background knowledge about science and communicate their learning. Student work samples, videos and QR codes will be incorporated to create an interactive experience for visitors.

SPEAKERS:
Theresa Lee

We will share examples of how educators can incorporate Social Emotional Learning into their science lessons. Specifically, we will address the emotional impact of climate change discussions, and will share strategies for incorporating SEL to foster hope amongst students.

TAKEAWAYS:
We aim to illustrate ways that science educators can provide a basis for hope around climate change, in order to empower and inspire their students to pursue STEM careers and tackle environmental challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Rogers

Through discussions and workshopping, participants consider ways to leverage the curriculum adoption process, including setting an instructional vision, developing criteria, and evaluating materials, to develop teacher leaders in science and support understanding of rigorous science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop a plan for using K-12 curriculum adoptions to develop teacher leadership, support deep professional learning around the NGSS/Framework, and increase stakeholder buy-in.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Wachowski, Matthew Christiansen

Are you a preservice teachers’ instructor? Learn how NSTA's digital resources, web seminars, and online community can help students become the BEST teachers they can be. We will discuss what’s available in the NSTA and how to easily access it from your own Class Landing Page. Membership is included.

TAKEAWAYS:
Instructors using NSTA as their Textbook (or as a supplement) have students who create a library of resources, grow their network of professional colleagues, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge of science. Membership is included.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Come explore teaching strategies and instructional supports for helping youth learn about climate justice-centered phenomena and issues. Youth are seeking out this type of socio-ecological learning opportunity! Help them learn how to engage in collective action!

TAKEAWAYS:
Our climate tools contain rich examples of climate justice instruction, strategies for engaging youth, and to support climate change learning and communication among educators. These open education resources (OER) include video overviews, valuable guidance, and tons of background resources!

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler

Learn how students have revolutionized cultrually and linguistically sustaining teaching and learning in Denver Public Schools. Engage with student stories, research, and district leaders to understand how one district is changing the narrative of how to select high quality instructional materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with knowledge and resources to determine what science instructional materials are culturally and linguistically sustaining.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Johnston, Matthew Christiansen

Inviting all Preservice Teachers and Faculty Advisors to learn about NSTA’s Preservice Teacher Chapter Program with National and Local Preservice Teacher Chapters options.

TAKEAWAYS:
Preservice Teachers and Faculty Advisors walk-away informed to participate in NSTA’s Preservice Teacher Chapter Program.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez, Lisa Brown

Make the literacy connection to science with fairy tales. Join us as we explore activities that integrate multiple content areas with an emphasis on writing across the curriculum. You will even have a chance to engineer a house for a pig.

TAKEAWAYS:
This workshop has been designed to show educators: -how to become advocates of literacy for elementary science and engineering -to provide connections between science and literacy and -to learn strategies for actively engaging all learners.

SPEAKERS:
John Hutchens

Searching for engaging and effective activities to teach students about misinformation? This presentation provides examples of active inoculation assignments that help students understand pseudoscience, science denial, conspiracy theories, etc., and teaches you how to design your own assignments!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use (and design) active inoculation activities to protect their students from misinformation, such as designing an advertisement for a health pseudoscience product and creating conspiracy theories.

SPEAKERS:
Melanie Trecek-King

NSTA's Early Childhood - Elementary Science Committee welcomes educators seeking science and STEM teaching resources for our youngest learners. Discover teaching support, network with peers, and explore leadership opportunities with NSTA membership. All EC and elementary teachers are welcome!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about NSTA's leadership opportunities, committees, and resources available to early childhood and elementary educators.

SPEAKERS:
Jenn Brown-Whale, Katie Morrison, Jennifer Williams, Simone Nance

30 years of teacher leadership development have generated impressive results in Wisconsin. Three iterations of summer institutes shaped the science education field, formed lifelong professional networks of educators, and cultivated teacher leaders that steer our state science teachers' association.

TAKEAWAYS:
Fueling educator’s passion and building strong professional networks can work hand-in-hand to develop leadership in your region or state. This session will provide a recipe for a leadership development program certain to transform careers and invigorate your state science teacher association.

SPEAKERS:
Sue Whitsett, Chad Janowski, Matthew Christiansen, Dennis Rohr

We will present the efforts of twenty secondary schools and partners at Stanford University to create authentic Drosophila-based research experiences, and how you can too!

TAKEAWAYS:
Through coordination with the Stan-X Network of schools, students and teachers can learn science through authentic, open-ended, publishable genetics research.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Lantz

In this session, participants will explore strategies for fostering emotional engagement among undergraduates on climate change. Through social-emotional learning, we learn how mindfulness activities, videos, and readings deepen emotional connection and enhance understanding of climate science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will grasp using mindfulness, videos, and readings to engage undergraduates on climate change emotionally and cognitively. They will gain strategies for integrating SEL into teaching, empowering students to deepen environmental connections and climate literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Gayle Buck, Tajinder Saroya

WSST serves the teachers of Wisconsin. It offers myriad resources for new leaders including operational handbooks and our annual conference. We coordinate with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) adding support to our efforts. This session will share numerous resource successes.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will offer proven ideas for supporting leaders especially new teachers in leadership positions. We will share the historical evolution of these resources as well as the current state of documentation to make leadership work both easier to and more effective.

SPEAKERS:
Sue Whitsett, Ray Scolavino, Kevin Niemi

Leveraging 21st-century technology to foster STEM identities through experiential learning. Explore how innovative tech tools can create equity through engaging students in STEM experiences that promote creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration with a focus on digital fabrication and AI.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about the transformative potential of leveraging 21st-century technology to cultivate equitable opportunities for all students to develop strong STEM identities. They will explore how centering on digital design & fabrication and AI can equip learners from diverse backgrounds.

SPEAKERS:
Lora Taylor

This presentation shows the benefits and methods for bringing local marine animals into the classroom for long term growth in mindset about local ecosystems through hands-on husbandry experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Bringing local animals into the classroom allows students to see a local ecosystem inside the classroom instead of just from a textbook and allows them to feel a "sense of place" for the ecosystem, getting them interested in protecting the ecosystem.

SPEAKERS:
Savanna Finley

This session connects archaeology, anthropology, and history with STEM to bring TPBL activities and culturally relevant information to the classroom. The goal of these activities is to encourage diverse students to see themselves in STEM as a way to promote positive affect and a sense of belonging.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with materials, biographies, and TPBL activities that can be utilized to boost engagement among diverse students and help them see themselves in STEM majors and careers, while complying with NGSS goals and state standards.

SPEAKERS:
Lane Fargher Navarro

The key to understanding this energy model rests in the knowledge that energy is conserved in an isolated system. Energy manifests itself as stored in either the motion of objects in the system or in the fields generated by the objects in the system.

TAKEAWAYS:
Energy in chemical systems manifests itself in two ways. It is stored in 1) the motion of particles in the system, or in 2) the electromagnetic fields generated by protons and electrons. Changes in energy within an isolated system are measured by changes in 1) temperature or 2) enthalpy.

SPEAKERS:
Gabriel De la Paz, Nathan Peck, Sarah Falkoff

Is Culture is key to engaging underrepresented populations in STEM education? Understanding how to use culture in the classroom is necessary to grow diversity in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain an understanding of how culture plays a role in STEM engagement and how to bring the student’s culture into the learning process.

SPEAKERS:
Nikita LaCour, Rochelle Darville

Full inclusion of students with disabilities in STEM involves both accommodation strategies for students and universal design of instruction that enhances learning for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Universal design of instruction makes science lessons accessible to students with special needs as well as mainstream learners.

SPEAKERS:
Lyla Mae Crawford

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

TAKEAWAYS:
How do architects and manufacturers manipulate common metal properties to get the metals to behave in the desired way for a specific use? Participants will make a simple low-melt tin-based alloy and explore a binary phase diagram. Heat-treating of steel and cold-working of copper is also explored.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Spohler

Learn how to use low-cost materials to effectively teach biology students how to use a cladogram model to interpret and test predictions of evolutionary relationships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Identify key features of cladograms and learn to create a cladogram model using pipe cleaners and using plastic pony beads given provided different character states.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Little

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

The start of an urban STEAM Garden, in a mostly Latino elementary school, led to an increase in community engagement by nurturing a sense of belonging, empowerment and opportunities for families to learn science along with their children.

TAKEAWAYS:
Establishing an urban STEAM garden with the active participation of various segments of our school community allowed for our project to meet the needs of the whole child while building social capital.

SPEAKERS:
Marcia Manzueta

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 NGSS are used to make sense of these real-world phenomena and problems.

SPEAKERS:
Rick Henningfeld, Craig Rebich, Brian Beierle

Come experience a new way to review that will have your students saying, "YES! IT'S REVIEW DAY!" Teachers will be introduced to a variety of games that can be applied to any subject area! These games have proven to increase student engagement with material and retention of knowledge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with new ways to engage students in reviews through using games in the classroom which support students of all levels and lead to increased retention of information.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Goodwin