Discover practical strategies for integrating data analysis and graphing into science instruction. This interactive workshop guides participants through hands-on activities involving data collection, linear modeling, and prediction using lines of best fit. Learn how to help students interpret graphs as scientific tools, explore the correlation coefficient to evaluate model strength, and use the Desmos Graphing Calculator for dynamic visualization. Leave with classroom-ready resources aligned to NGSS and math standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to help students use data, linear models, and correlation to make scientific predictions, supported by tools like the Desmos Graphing Calculator, and leave with ready-to-use strategies for integrating graphing meaningfully into NGSS-aligned science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Stirling

Given the persistent lack of STEM teachers who have sufficient knowledge of engineering and the design process to teach an integrative transdisciplinary approach to STEM that addresses today’s increasing technologies and digital innovations, this NSF Noyce Project, Mechatronics Integrated into STEM Teaching for Transformative Inclusive Communities (MISTTIC) supports 20 district Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs) to implement convergence mechatronics learning by creating innovative solutions in K-12 settings that are steeped in real-world, socially-relevant context that draws on knowledge across multiple disciplines to address the technological demands within society, acknowledging that early exposure to mechatronics can impact students’ decision to pursue STEM career pathways.

TAKEAWAYS:
MISTTIC has prepared teachers to catalyze change and advance the integration of mechatronics within their curriculum, including experiential education activities to enhance inclusivity and broaden the pipeline to bridge the school to STEM field workforce for a larger group of students.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Holman, Dodi Cline, Stephanie Arthur

Engage in hands-on, standards-aligned investigations across physics, life science, and Earth-space science that use real-world data to uncover patterns and drive inquiry. Participants will analyze phenomena such as pendulum motion, global temperature trends, and population growth through the lens of mathematics—graphing, calculating rates, identifying trends, and modeling relationships. This session will provide practical strategies for embedding mathematical thinking into science instruction and equip teachers with ready-to-use lessons, data sets, and planning tools to help students use data to make sense of the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to engage students in science inquiry by using real-world data and mathematical analysis to identify patterns, build models, and make evidence-based claims across physics, life science, and Earth-space science investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Szentmiklosi

Why do some materials feel warmer or cooler to the touch? This hands-on session guides educators through a lab experience where students measure temperature changes in various materials to explore thermal conductivity. Participants will calculate averages, compare rates of heat transfer, and discuss implications for insulation and energy efficiency. Digital graphing and collaborative whiteboard tools will be used to help students visualize and interpret their findings.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain a hands-on lab and data analysis activity that helps students explore heat transfer in everyday materials and understand thermal conductivity through real measurements and visual tools.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Szydlowski

In this session, we will examine how to leverage time used to practice and reinforce math and reading skills to also include phenomenon-based science. By using math and ELA standards as a starting point, short units building off of a common science phenomenon are created.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience the process of creating a phenomenon-based, science-focused lesson series to help reinforce and practice the standards in math and ELA, thus leading toward equity for students and subject areas.

SPEAKERS:
Miranda Orellana

Good data begins with accurate measurements. Students often struggle with science data due to a lack of facility with the International System of Units (SI). A series of engaging, hands-on measurement activities can empower students to be successful using SI in the practices of computational thinking and arguing from evidence. A Concrete to Representational to Abstract approach is used during the exploration lab on finding volume by displacement. This technique boosts the confidence of students who may struggle with written communication. The crosscutting concept of scale, proportion, and quantity is the focus of concept development activities where students estimate values before measuring them. The series culminates in a formative lab assessment where students argue from indirect evidence they gathered regarding the density of water. Appropriate levels of scaffolding for the computational thinking required by this activity will be discussed. Walk away with 3 great measurement labs!

TAKEAWAYS:
Students need to be proficient with various measurement techniques. They also need to be adept at reading, recording, and comprehending data in System International units. Find engaging lessons that incorporate literary and computational skills into explaining phenomena with measurements.

SPEAKERS:
James Duff

This interactive workshop introduces participants to Play-Doh Volumes, a field-tested lesson developed and refined from 2022 to 2025 in elementary STEM methods courses. The lesson integrates the development of volume formulas (prisms, pyramids, cones, cylinders, and spheres) with scientific inquiry around conservation of mass. Students hypothesize, build, measure, calculate, and analyze using everyday materials—then use CER (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) to draw conclusions from their findings.

Participants in this session will construct and measure geometric solids with Play-Doh, apply volume formulas to various shapes, and engage in 3D learning practices including modeling, mathematical thinking, and evidence-based reasoning. Analyze how shape transformations impact volume and mass, discuss adaptations and extensions for classroom use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understand how NGSS and Common Core math standards can be integrated through authentic problem-solving. Engage in a model lesson grounded in hands-on learning and the 3 dimensions of science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Engle

Explore a Transdisciplinary STEM+X approach, fostering real-world problem-solving, critical thinking, leveraged learning, differentiation and engagement. Participants will learn STEM+X lesson design principles and experience a STEM+X activity. Emphasizing teacher support and agency for effective implementation to promote student agency, collaboration, and engagement from a two-time NSTA SHELL Science Lab Challenge Grand Prize Winner.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to design and implement engaging STEM+X lessons, incorporating real-world problem-solving and critical thinking, with practical strategies and insights from an award-winning educator to empower both teachers and students. Empower your inner STEM confidence.

SPEAKERS:
Arianna Moody

Learn about the STARBASE Minnesota, Inc. Destination Mars STEM Kits and Curriculum, a free integrated STEM unit for upper elementary students! This presentation introduces educators to curriculum that transforms students into Mars explorers, scientists, engineers, and more. In this curriculum, students engage in hands-on STEM lessons to plan a human mission to Mars. They'll conduct investigations, create models, practice coding, design a Mars base, explore topics like energy transfer and chemistry, and apply math throughout. Students track growth in STEM career skills and expand their awareness of careers through a STEM career interactive, featuring real STEM professionals. The presentation will include a demonstration of several lessons and educators implementing the program will share the positive impact of these STEM kits on their students. Participants will receive access to the free online curriculum, and Minnesota teachers can register for free sets of classroom materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to implement a standards-based integrated STEM unit that provides connections to STEM careers and engages students through an exciting storyline of a future mission to Mars.

SPEAKERS:
Charity Johnson, Aaron Stolp, Melanie Peters

Explore the storyline of a newly released OpenSciEd unit and see how students leverage connections to ELA and math as they investigate and make sense of a puzzling phenomenon.

TAKEAWAYS:
OpenSciEd Elementary units provide significant opportunities for students to explicitly connect with grade-level mathematics, reading, writing, speaking & listening, and language standards in service of their science sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Gomez Zwiep

This workshop focuses on how STEM learning experiences, like simulations, can be adapted to learner needs and preferences using PhET's Inclusive Features as an exemplar. These features – across audio, visuals, and various inputs – address a multitude of common access barriers for learners and empower all science learners to interact, discover, and learn with their peers. We will explore sample sims and collaboratively determine access challenges learners with disabilities may face when interacting with the sims. The presenters will introduce the work and scope of PhET’s Inclusive Design process and introduce participants to the features that are available in PhET’s suite of sims. Participants will determine how to make appropriate modifications to their lesson or activity to meet diverse needs in multiple scenarios. Emphasis will be placed on increasing learners’ interaction time with the sim and allow for both collaborative and independent self-discovery of the 3D learning targets.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain insight into PhET’s approach to inclusive design, find PhET Sims with Inclusive Features, and adapt lesson plans to leverage any or all features of PhET Sims to adapt to the needs and preferences of learners in diverse classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Fiedler

Step into our Sugarbush camp—a place-based, interdisciplinary learning experience that weaves together the cultural tradition of maple syrup production with engaging, standards-aligned instruction in science, math, Ojibwe language, and computer science. Rooted in local Indigenous knowledge and outdoor learning, this unit invites students in both elementary (4th-grade) and high-school grade levels to explore data collection, temperature monitoring, graphing, analysis, and coding through real-world, hands-on activities. From collecting and analyzing temperature data with Micro:bit computing devices to investigating the physical science of syrup production, discover how this model extends classroom learning into their local forest, fostering deeper connections between students, community, and land. Leave with adaptable, cross-curricular ideas to bring fun and engaging activities to your own learning environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how maple syrup production connects outdoor learning with STEM through hands-on, cross-curricular lessons. They’ll leave with micro:bit coding experience, student-friendly data analysis activities, and adaptable curricular resources including a teacher guide and slides.

SPEAKERS:
Paul Schonfeld

Teachers and students face a substantial amount of learning as outlined in the NGSS and Common Core standards. But content isn't the only focus in these guiding documents. What are SEPs and SMPs? How can we transform these essential practices from feeling like "one more thing" into valuable opportunities for students to build knowledge in math and science? In this session, we'll explore the crossover between these vital practices and how recognizing them can enhance learning. We'll share activities and discuss how to implement these practices in both math and science settings. Come ready to engage in strategies that promote science and mathematical practices, including ways to assess them and make students aware of the vital skills they're using. By the end of the session, we'll demonstrate how promoting these practices aligns with social-emotional competencies, as it IS all connected.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the conclusion of this session, attendees will have gained an understanding of how the NGSS SEPs and Common Core SMPs intersect and complement each other. Along with that knowledge, they will learn how these practices can be applied in math and science settings to support student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Coulter, Kathryn Borton

Bring mathematics to life in the science classroom with engaging, hands-on STEM integration! In this interactive session, discover how math can deepen students’ understanding of scientific concepts through real-world problem solving and cross-disciplinary exploration. From calculating force and motion to analyzing experimental data and modeling natural phenomena, you'll explore practical strategies that connect math meaningfully to science content. Learn how to use activities like bridge building, geometric pattern analysis, and data-driven investigations to reinforce key math skills while making science more accessible and exciting. Walk away with classroom-ready resources, implementation tips, and a renewed vision for using math as a powerful tool for scientific discovery.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to enhance science instruction by integrating meaningful mathematics through hands-on STEM activities that promote problem-solving, data analysis, and real-world application of math concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Szentmiklosi

Sponsoring Company: ExploreLearning

Ready to make science class more engaging and meaningful? Join us to explore how easy-to-use technology can help your students think, investigate, and explain like real scientists. We’ll dive into interactive simulations that put students in the driver’s seat, empowering them to collect evidence, analyze data, and build strong explanations for real-world science phenomena. Join this session to discover how digital tools like Gizmos Simulations, Investigations, and STEM Cases can turn your most reluctant learners into curious problem-solvers, using authentic experiences that mirror what scientists do on a daily basis. You’ll leave with practical, classroom-ready strategies to spark student curiosity and deepen scientific thinking, no matter what subject or grade you teach.

SPEAKERS:
Cassie Harrelson

Without local data it is impossible to fully understand community environmental and climate problems and their effects on different groups. Attendees will explore different environmental and climate data sets and learn how to use these with students to create well-informed solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participatory methods for collecting and acting upon environmental and climate data is more important now than ever, yet students are not taught about this data or how to use it. Throughout the workshop, resources and examples for supporting youth in collecting and using data to create real community will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Deb Morrison

More schools are adopting Physics First—but how can we ensure mathematical rigor without leaving students behind? In this session, you’ll explore concrete strategies to support students of all levels in building math-based models, interpreting physical phenomena through patterns, and using multiple representations to deepen conceptual understanding. Learn how to streamline your curriculum around a toolbox of essential functions, design assessments that balance rigor and accessibility, and collaborate with math colleagues to align support. Walk away with adaptable lessons and practical tools for bringing 3D teaching and meaningful math into your physics classroom—starting on day one.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to structure a Physics First course that supports all learners by anchoring instruction in physical phenomena, modeling patterns with mathematical tools, and using multiple modes of representation to build lasting understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Meg Harms

How do chance events shape evolution? In this interactive simulation, participants will explore natural selection and genetic drift through a probability-based activity. Using coin toss simulations and simple scientific calculator data analysis tools, students model trait survival across generations while adjusting for environmental change. Participants will graph trait frequencies, make predictions, and interpret how chance and selective pressures influence populations over time. A shared digital whiteboard supports collaborative thinking and real-time data visualization.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain a ready-to-use simulation that uses probability and data analysis to help students model how natural selection and chance influence trait survival over generations.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Szydlowski

Wondering how to fit meaningful science into your busy day? Finding time for science in the busy, often fragmented schedules of primary classrooms can be a challenge—but it’s not impossible! Discover time-saving strategies and flexible routines to help you integrate science into the school day without sacrificing literacy, math, or play-based learning. This session will explore NGSS-aligned activities and assessments that work in short blocks of time, across subject areas, and within real classroom constraints. Practical examples will show how to turn everyday moments into science opportunities, how to use quick routines to build scientific thinking, and how to adapt lessons to fit your district schedule. Whether you have 10 minutes a day or 30 minutes once a week, you’ll leave with ideas that fit your classroom and support your students’ diverse learning needs. Perfect for new and experienced teachers looking to keep the joy and wonder of science alive when only given minimal time.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with flexible routines and NGSS-aligned activities that integrate easily into busy PK–2 schedules. They will be able to adapt time-saving strategies to weave science into literacy, math, and daily routines—making science a natural, joyful part of every school day.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Forsythe

Climate change is one of the most important scientific topics of our time—and students are eager to learn about it. SubjectToClimate is an innovative and free online platform that provides teachers with a suite of engaging and interactive climate change teaching resources and lesson plans that are aligned to NGSS standards. In this 10-minute presentation, Ben will introduce SubjectToClimate's science resources and demonstrate how they can be used to enhance climate change education. We will walk through the platform's features, including lesson plans by teachers, news for students, teaching guides, and more. Attendees will leave this presentation suite of free resources they can immediately access to effectively teach climate change, no matter their grade level or subject. Join us to learn how SubjectToClimate can help you educate and inspire the next generation of climate leaders.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how SubjectToClimate’s free, NGSS-aligned resources can help you confidently teach climate change across any grade level or subject, and inspire your students to become climate leaders.

SPEAKERS:
Benjamin Charles

Elementary students are not ready to jump directly to organizing data in tabular format. In this session, learn about a strategy for organizing data onto case cards that helps make the data collection and organization process manageable for younger students and builds skills that will be needed in the secondary level. I'll introduce two modes for doing this, one analog and the other digital, using a free tool called Tuva Jr.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with a concrete strategy for helping younger students collect and organize data onto "case cards", which will scaffold the eventual creation of tabular data.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran

As inquiry and data literacy become increasingly emphasized in K-12 science education, accessible, authentic research opportunities for students are critical. This session explores how to introduce students to the inquiry process via ecological investigations with arthropods and environmental factors. Teachers will learn how to leverage place-based ecological phenomena to guide students through creating testable questions, designing and carrying out experiments, and selecting appropriate analyses to process, visualize, and interpret data. Specifically, teachers will explore a lesson that opens with a reading from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and continues with a “wonder wander” activity to spark curiosity and connect learning to place. Participants will also learn ways to support students with arthropod sampling and identification and data analysis tools and methods in order to link student-collected arthropod data to local environmental variables.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will explore fostering inquiry and data literacy in secondary life science education through authentic, ecological investigations using arthropods and environmental factors.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Retterath

Graphs are central to scientific thinking, yet many students lack the skills to interpret them accurately. This poster equips grades 6-12 science educators with a visually engaging, classroom-ready resource that teaches students how to read, analyze, and make sense of scientific graphs. Featuring common graph types, annotated examples, and student-friendly question prompts, it helps build data literacy through clear strategies tied to NGSS and Common Core Math Standards. Educators will gain practical tools to help students identify variables, interpret trends, evaluate claims, and avoid common pitfalls. By integrating graph analysis into daily instruction, teachers can support students in thinking critically with data and making evidence-based conclusions across all science disciplines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with a standards-aligned, visually engaging tool to help students confidently interpret scientific graphs, strengthening data literacy and critical thinking across all areas of science.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Towery-Stove

The student-centered activity engages learners in considering global conservation challenges through mathematical thinking and data analysis. It uses up-to-date, authentic data used by scientists, conservation organizations, and policymakers worldwide.. The activities empower learners to evaluate biodiversity distribution, protected areas, and human impacts and provide teachers with a detailed framework to guide student communication, consensus, and peer review. Learners will better understand the science that drives decision-making and appreciate how conservation targets, like Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), can be monitored and measured. Visitors to the poster will receive access to all materials, online tools, and data to support successful classroom implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Data science is integral to studying, conserving, and managing ecosystems worldwide.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Miller

Come discover how free, NSF-funded tools for data exploration and AI from The Concord Consortium can enhance your NGSS teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices. Take away free tips and resources that you can use immediately to bring NGSS to life in your classroom! This hands-on session will demonstrate how teachers can enhance existing lessons using free, open source software for data exploration and science investigation developed by The Concord Consortium over a decade of NSF funding. With a particular emphasis on use of the Science and Engineering Practices, examples and hands-on interaction will engage participants in exploring data, integrating AI tools, and using models and simulations for powerful NGSS-aligned teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn to use free, NSF-funded tools for data exploration and AI from The Concord Consortium to enhance their NGSS teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

Math teachers are excited Peter Liljedahl's "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics," and for good reason. Liljedahl spent years observing students and teachers, researching what led to deeper thinking on tasks, and compiling his results into an accessible framework to help math teachers implement the evidence-based practices. In this session we will learn more about the practices, the research behind them, and how the same methods can be implemented in science classes to capitalize on student skills transfer between math and science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience some of the Thinking Classroom practices, discuss research, and explore implementation crossover between math and science classrooms, particularly in terms of sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Casey Rutherford

How might an integrated approach to system-level math and science strategy expand possibilities for students’ lives? System leaders often struggle to effectively integrate math and computational thinking (CT) into science education, missing an opportunity to help students develop durable skills needed for future success. This can result in graduates who have content knowledge but are not prepared to tackle complex, real-world problems. A former chemist turned science educator and a director of science will explore how system leaders can champion instructional approaches that bring math and science together. Learn how to support teachers to use math and CT to strengthen science and engineering practices and foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical abilities that are essential for students’ future success. Also explore how effective resource allocation, vision building, and data evaluation can improve student outcomes and equip learners with lasting capabilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain actionable strategies to integrate math and computational thinking with science strategy. Learn how you can support teachers to use practices that deepen students’ conceptual understanding and develop durable skills.

SPEAKERS:
Solona Hollis

How could using a micro:bit (pocket-sized computer) promote deeper development of science ideas, and support development of computer science ideas? Examine classroom video of middle school students engaging in science thinking about sound sources and wave characteristics without the use of micro:bits and a spreadsheet. Then, put on your student hats to experience the same lesson using micro:bits to record the motion of a moving stick to develop science ideas related to wave characteristics. Reflect on your experience and discuss the affordances of having students transform data using computer science thinking to make sense of science ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Student’s sensemaking around wave characteristics in the context of sound is enhanced through the use of real-time data collection of a moving object with micro:bits.and transformation of that data in a spreadsheet.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Vick, Michael Novak

Get a brief introduction to free OER integrated science curricular units for Grades K-5 and see how well the features of Project-Based Learning provide the tools and routines to support sensemaking. Review the extensive integration of literacy and mathematics throughout the units. Learn more about the research behind the curriculum and resources available to support implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will get a detailed description of the free resources, look at how PBL works, hear examples from the Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) Research and Development Project. They will learn how to access the free resources for later review, and connect with free support.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere

Have you heard your students say that they don't like math? Have you heard a student say that math is hard? Have you ever felt that way yourself? Math is like a vegetable, not everyone like it, but you need it for a well-balanced lesson. In this sessions you will discover a variety of ways to include mathematics into your science curriculum to create engaging opportunities for student learning. When done correctly, students are learning and having fun without realizing that they're doing any math at all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees in this session will walk away with the confidence that they can incorporate math into their own lessons by blending it into what's already being done.

SPEAKERS:
Jill Englund, Beth Peppersack

Science doesn’t exist in isolation—and neither should science instruction. This session explores how integrating literacy and mathematics into science deepens students’ understanding and mirrors real-world learning. Participants will engage in high-leverage routines that promote vocabulary development, data analysis, and evidence-based reasoning through reading, writing, speaking, and mathematical thinking. We'll share practical strategies for weaving language arts and math into science lessons, along with classroom examples, planning tools, and take-home resources. Whether you're a science teacher, an elementary teacher, or part of a cross-curricular team, you’ll leave with ideas that build disciplinary literacy and mathematical thinking—while keeping science learning at the center.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover why integrating literacy and math strengthens science learning, how to embed them seamlessly into lessons, and what high-impact strategies support vocabulary, data analysis, evidence-based reading, writing, and sensemaking across content areas.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Wenger, Wendy Towery-Stove, Kimberly Morton

Explore how middle schoolers can apply real-world math skills to model the destructive power of earthquakes. In this session, participants will use scientific calculators to find the energy release using the Richter scale’s formula and compare seismic data from different locations. Emphasis will be placed on interpreting patterns in magnitude and energy, using easy tools to enhance student understanding. A digital whiteboard will be used to visualize fault zones and map the global distribution of earthquake events.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to guide students in calculating and comparing earthquake energy using real seismic data and math models, making natural hazards more meaningful through hands-on analysis and visual tools.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Szydlowski

In this interactive session, attendees will take a learner stance and complete a murder mystery from the student perspective. The primary focus will be on strategies designed into this experience that can help motivate ALL students to take the lead in questioning, collaboration, and critical thinking as it applies to the content of the course. While the topic of this lesson ("The Kinematics Crime Scene") will focus on physics and kinematics, there is no expectation of a physics background required to attend this session. Materials for this and other murder mystery lessons will be provided with a discussion about how to incorporate a similar format into any content area.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience a group-worthy content task in the format of a “murder mystery”. In addition to receiving the materials for this and other murder mystery lessons, attendees will learn strategies for group-worthy lesson design that can be applied to other classroom tasks.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Cossette