The Next Generation Science Standards describe a vision of scientific literacy that emphasizes informed and participatory citizenship on issues related to science in society.  Many elementary teachers, however, avoid debatable socioscientific issues such as whether we need zoos, the value of a national space program, or whether certain sports are too dangerous for children, because of concerns about arguments in their classrooms and fear of broaching moral/ethical issues.  During this interactive session, participants will be introduced to the theoretical framework behind the Socioscientific Issues (SSI) approach.  They will then collaboratively engage in an activity from the NSTA Press book, It’s Still Debatable, during which they will model negotiation of a debatable issue while analyzing the lesson’s use of SSI, NGSS three-dimensional science learning, alignment with interdisciplinary standards, and multiple means of assessment for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
During this interactive workshop, participants will learn an array of strategies for using debatable societal issues related to science to develop their elementary students’ scientific literacy while modeling 3D teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Sami Kahn

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

Uncertainty motivates sensemaking at all ages – from toddlers learning how to use new toys to scientists deep in their fields. Yet, it is often removed from school science investigations, limiting opportunities for students to engage in science practices like argumentation, investigation, and explanation. Drawing from our recently published book, Productive Uncertainty in Science Education, we will engage participants in a elementary school science investigation designed to strategically incorporate uncertainty. Participants will reflect on their experience and explore tools they can use to elicit, work with, and help students benefit from uncertainty in science investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategically incorporating uncertainty using design strategies and talk tools can help students engage more meaningfully in science practices and make conceptual progress on big science ideas through investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Eve Manz

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

In this session, we will present a tool that elementary teachers can use to support children in planning science investigations. The tool was developed as part of a multi-year research project involving a co-design team of teachers and researchers in an urban public school district. We will describe strategies for anchoring investigations in phenomena and providing opportunities for children to make decisions about what materials to use in their investigation, how to use these materials, and what to count as evidence. These strategies can support children to engage deeply in science practice, while also keeping activity manageable for students and their teachers. Our goal is that this session will provide teachers and curriculum designers with a tool that they can use to support children to engage in joyful, meaningful, and productive science investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with ideas about how to involve their students in planning investigations in ways that are exciting, manageable, and productive.

SPEAKERS:
Eve Manz

In claims and evidence conversations, teachers and students work together to make sense of the evidence from investigations. Students consider questions such as, “What happened?”, “What does it mean?”, and “What do we know now?” They hear each other’s thoughts and engage in argumentation—supporting their claims and trying to convince each other by using and exploring evidence. These conversations have potential to support deep and meaningful engagement with claims and explanations. They can also be tricky to manage. How do we help students see what they are “supposed to see” while also valuing their sensemaking? How do we honor and connect multiple voices? How do we use resources that build explanation? In this presentation, we will explore these questions and provide tools that help educators plan for and enact these conversations in ways that recognize, build from, and resolve uncertainty.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges of claims and evidence conversations and leave with actionable tools for implementing these conversations in ways that support student sensemaking about evidence and explanation.

SPEAKERS:
Eve Manz

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

Whether you're a novice or a seasoned pro, this session offers leadership skills that will empower you with the rationale and tangible, real-world examples to revamp your teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how simple adjustments in activity order can supercharge your students' knowledge construction and seamlessly integrate the NGSS into your teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown