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

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

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Alicia Conerly

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

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

Science instruction is often deprioritized in many urban, low-resourced districts as literacy becomes the dominant focus. But every student, regardless of race, gender, or zip code, deserves access to meaningful, high-quality science learning. This session explores what happens when science is sidelined and why it must be brought back to the forefront. We’ll examine how integrating science with ELA strengthens literacy skills and deepens scientific understanding. Participants will explore national STEM data and patterns that reveal the broader global impact of limiting science access, and how equitable instruction can prepare students to thrive in an increasingly STEM-driven world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Every student—regardless of race, gender, or zip code—deserves high-quality science learning. Prioritizing science in urban, low-resourced schools and integrating it with ELA strengthens literacy, builds STEM understanding, and addresses global equity and workforce gaps.

SPEAKERS:
Tyrone McNichols, Nicole Williams, J Carrie Launius

Curious about AI but not sure where to start? This session is for you! Discover how artificial intelligence is transforming science classrooms and helping do the heavy lifting of teaching. This session will empower you to use AI to personalize learning, boost engagement, and streamline NGSS-aligned lesson planning and assessment—without replacing the essential role of the teacher. Participants will explore examples of how AI can help teachers adapt high-quality instructional materials to local contexts, effectively manage assessment and feedback, and differentiate learning activities to support student sensemaking. The session also will include strategies for how to critically evaluate AI tools to ensure technology integration promotes equitable access to rigorous and meaningful science instruction. Whether new to AI or ready to go deeper, educators will be equipped to integrate AI into their teaching practices responsibly, ensuring alignment with student needs and educational goals.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be equipped with practical strategies and tools to use AI responsibly in middle level science classrooms. They will be able to use AI to adapt NGSS-aligned science learning activities to personalize student learning and streamline lesson planning, assessment, and feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Forsythe

Learn how robust safety programs, driven by district leadership, are crucial for preventing science activity injuries. A public safety official presents a real-world case study of an experiment gone wrong, highlighting the vital role of comprehensive policies and procedures in ensuring a safe learning environment and avoiding emergency response scenarios.

TAKEAWAYS:
Equip your district with vital safety program knowledge to prevent science experiment incidents and ensure a secure learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Cassidy

This session will focus on a large-scale bioplastics investigation that has now spanned multiple years and become a school-wide topic of discussion outside of the chemistry lab. Students are extending the project to determine if the shells of invasive snails in the campus pond can be used to create bioplastics. These projects can deepen learning and instill a sense of rightful presence as students learn to see themselves as scientific researchers. They develop key skills and communicate their work through scientific writing, graphic design, and even video production. This session will share this and other field-tested project-based learning experiences, large and small, including local water quality analysis, electroplating, corrosion, soapmaking, water treatment, and more. Open-ended investigations and real-world chemistry applications do NOT have to conflict with the push to cover a substantial range of topics and maintain a level of rigor in accelerated chemistry courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
It is possible to increase student engagement with project-based chemistry explorations while still maintaining content and rigor. Tackling real-world chemistry problems can create a model environment for students and faculty to learn alongside one another while fostering key 21st-century skills.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Sullivan

In this session participants will dissect an LED shadow box that is 100% student made. As we unpack this project, participants will see how multiple STEM disciplines can come together to create something new and unique while linking together applied STEM topics. You'll observe how 3D modeling and design, coding, soldering, and art come together to create a 3D light shadow box. This project's applied concept approach can be adapted to fit any classroom, all it takes is a little creativity and out of the "box" thinking. In this session you'll gain some tips and strategies for creating your own multi-disciplinary project to use in your own educational setting.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will become inspired to create projects of their own and walk away with some tips and strategies for creating their own unique multidisciplinary projects.

SPEAKERS:
Becca Grumdahl, Beth Peppersack

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has been developing grades 3-8 science performance assessments to provide open-source examples of high-quality science assessments for educators to use in the classroom. These are designed to meet the expectations of the NGSS and be coherent with high-quality instructional materials.  During the presentation, DESE staff will provide an overview of the performance assessment system design, opportunities to explore the open-source classroom science performance assessments, and resources for implementing the assessments and analyzing student work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore open source, NGSS-aligned performance assessments and engage in a protocol to analyze student work.

SPEAKERS:
Corrine Steever, Sonia Neuburger, Michele Snyder

Literacy in science and technical subjects (LST) is increasingly important to develop in our society. Yet, as students learn science they are often just presented with basic vocabulary strategies that do not get to the heart of the literacy standards. By using Common Core, LST 3 and combining with a visual and creative response as listed in LST 4, all students have the opportunity to develop meaningful literacy connections needed to understand text and develop their own writing. In this interactive session, specific strategies for attendees include participating in a concept mapping routine used in a Biology class. Participants will use both student and teacher lenses to review a concept map template, examine student work in a gallery walk and assess using a one-point rubric as they develop an understanding of how and why to implement this framework. The session structure will also provide time to collaborate with other educators to adapt instructional strategies to their own practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive session, educators will use vocabulary, concept mapping, student work, and revision practices to develop their own literacy instruction. Resources will be provided to aid in implementation for students to make deep and equitable connections to science content.

SPEAKERS:
Alexander Dafforn, Kirby Selle

Do you ever feel exhausted by the end of the day AND wonder if the students gained understanding? Do you have students who demonstrate excellent thinking on lab days but not on daily, written tasks? Do you wonder how to best group students of different abilities for success? This session will help you meet all students where they are and engage them in sensemaking all while energizing yourself as a teacher through applying ideas from Peter Liljedahl's "Building a Thinking Classroom in Mathematics" in your science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will leave with a set of easy-to-implement strategies that will engage your students in thoughtful participation and sense making, allow you to interact with students in meaningful and fulfilling ways, and help build a community of thoughtful, independent learners in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sharon Churchwell

Support your students in demonstrating their three dimensional learning! Many high-quality curricula use transfer tasks, phenomenon-based assessments where students demonstrate their three dimensional understanding while exploring novel phenomena. In this session, educators will be introduced to the research that led to this kind of assessment and how these assessments are designed. They will work through an example of a transfer task, analyzing the alignment to the three dimensions of the NGSS. Then, they will work through an activity structure that apprentices students into this new assessment practice, by breaking it down into smaller pieces, discussing in small groups, and participating in peer review. Finally, they will review scoring and feedback guidance to support student learning. Educators will leave knowing how and why to use transfer tasks in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Many high-quality curricula use transfer tasks, phenomenon-based assessments where students demonstrate their three dimensional understanding while exploring a novel scenario. In this session, educators will work through an example of a transfer task and an activity structure that helps students lea

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

How can we discuss difficult environmental realities with children in ways that are honest and empowering? This session presents the research-based 5Es of Eco-Action, a framework to support environmental action by fostering agency and solution-focused thinking. The climate emotion and environmental stewardship experiences of 6-11-year-old children are often overlooked. We undertook research focused on this group to understand how eco-anxiety affects motivation for pro-environmental behaviours. From this we developed the 5Es of Eco-Action framework that supports environmental learning while helping children process their emotions. In this session, attendees will be introduced to the framework and participate in hands-on activities. Practical tools and real-world examples will be explored. Educators will leave with fresh insights and ready-to-use strategies to support children in becoming confident, caring environmental stewards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with an understanding of the 5Es of Eco-Action (Empathy, Education, Excitement, Environmental Stewardship, Empowerment) and how this framework can be applied in the classroom to support children in becoming confident, caring environmental stewards.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Doyle

Come learn about ways that you can help advance the field of Science Education and improve your teaching through the many different leadership opportunities that exist which also allow you to stay in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how participation in teacher advisory committees supporting museums and science centers, or other organizations such as Science Olympiad, NSTA, and NSELA can allow them to improve their teaching and be Science Education leaders while remaining in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
John Loehr

Place-based education enhances learning when students have purposeful activities to engage them. From the school playground to exploring the neighborhood to botanical gardens to zoos to environmental learning centers, nature offers opportunities for teaching and learning. Come hear about a variety of activities and experiences and receive handouts you can adapt for your elementary students as they learn about life science topics such as needs for survival, growth and development, life cycles, food webs and chains, and interconnectedness of living and nonliving materials . Learn how to maximize student focus and attention through observations, hands on activities, and explorations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to identify and apply engaging activities for students to help them learn about life sciences in natural environments.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Boulden

This session invites participants to explore before, during, and after reading strategies and computational thinking opportunities to enhance sensemaking in the middle school science classroom. Attendees will construct an argument and make a claim based on evidence from an investigation and use writing strategies to strengthen their understanding while communicating scientific information.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leverage the science of reading and computational thinking strategies to boost sensemaking in science.

SPEAKERS:
Madison Weary, Dina Dormer

The Mission Moon traveling space camp is a dynamic educational initiative designed to ignite interest in space exploration and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) among youth in grades 4-8. The program offers immersive, hands-on experiences that simulate real-world space missions and challenges. Key elements of the experience include collaborating to complete mission tasks, learning about space careers, and using a variety of platforms to share learning with others. During the presentation, learn more about these key elements and how they work to support state and national STEM standards. Additionally, pilot data and the key role that partnerships played in the development and implementation of the program will be discussed. At the end, walk away with Mission Moon material lists and lesson plans that could be used to replicate this experience in your community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educational simulations, like Mission Moon, let students apply STEM concepts in hands-on, interactive ways that deepen understanding, and engagement. They foster problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation while making complex ideas more relatable for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Dennis Culver, Sara Nelson

Receive a classroom ready math-based lesson in which students use electricity usage monitors and everyday household appliances to calculate electrical consumption and cost. This lesson supports students in distinguishing between watts, kilowatts, kilowatt hours, and power. Understanding how to teach students about electrical power, energy consumption, and cost is becoming increasingly important in today’s energy-conscious world. This lesson is designed for educators who want to empower students with the knowledge and tools to interpret electricity usage in their homes through the use of affordable electricity usage monitors.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tools that enable students to calculate home energy use makes learning about Power (Voltage × Current) both personal and meaningful.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Oesch

What happens when science is taught as a standalone special for every K–6 student, every week? In this session, we share how our district implemented a Science Specialist model that ensures all students regardless of language, ability, or background engage in phenomenon-driven, 3D NGSS instruction. Aligned with the Framework’s vision of equity and coherence, this model provides weekly access to science instruction rooted in sensemaking. Participants will explore inclusive strategies like multilingual scaffolds, discourse routines, and walking rubrics that help students model, explain, and argue from evidence. Storyline-based units and classroom artifacts will show how student ideas evolve over time and how we prepare 12,000+ students for new state assessments. Whether you're skeptical or curious, come hear how this bold model is transforming instruction and why “science as a special” may be the future of equitable science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how a Science Specialist model can provide all K–6 students with equitable, NGSS-aligned instruction every week and leave with tools, strategies, and examples to bring inclusive, phenomenon-driven science learning to your own school or district.

SPEAKERS:
Frankie Valenzia, Vincent Fosco, Deborah McMullen

What happens when general biology students choose the lens through which they learn biology? In this session, we present a flexible, phenomenon-based curriculum where learners explore core biology concepts through themed “lenses” such as medical, sustainability, animal science, and forensics. These lenses give context to content, deepen engagement, and empower students to drive their own learning. Rooted in NGSS and sensemaking strategies, the curriculum uses anchoring phenomena, real-world problems, and student inquiry to connect life science to future careers and personal interests. We’ll share classroom-tested units, student work, and tools that support choice, equity, and relevance in the biology classroom. Participants will leave with ready-to-use resources and ideas for integrating themed pathways that shift the focus from memorization to meaning-making.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students engage deeply in biology by choosing a personalized pathway through themed lenses—medical, sustainability, animal science, or forensics. This lens-based approach supports sensemaking, increases relevance, and empowers student-driven, inquiry-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Caroline Milne

Amid a groundswell of exciting instructional materials and meaningful professional learning that reflects A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards, our assessments are still a black box. Science assessments remain confusing, and often disappointing: most science assessments, and guidance for assessment practices, that are currently available fail to achieve that precise balance between reflective of our teaching and learning priorities, practical for classroom implementation, and useful to both students and teachers for guiding learning. In this interactive session, we focus on four practical and distinctive priorities for science assessment: things that really distinguish meaningful, future-focused assessments from all the noise. Participants will engage with each of the priorities, inventorying their existing assessments, and planning for ways they can incorporate these strategies—and sample tasks—into their practice immediately and over time.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive session, we focus on four practical and distinctive priorities for future-focused science assessment: the things that really distinguish meaningful assessments designed to prioritize learning for our rapidly changing world from all the noise.

SPEAKERS:
Aneesha Badrinarayan

This session explores the pivotal role teacher beliefs play in shaping students' attitudes, understanding, and actions related to climate change mitigation. Drawing on current research and classroom practice, we will examine how educators' personal and professional beliefs about climate science, environmental responsibility, and pedagogical approaches can directly influence student engagement, critical thinking, and climate-positive behaviors.

TAKEAWAYS:
Whether you're a classroom teacher, curriculum developer, or education leader, this session will provide insights into how cultivating informed and reflective teaching practices can inspire the next generation of climate stewards.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Luna

What if your students could use programming and technology not as an extra, but as a core part of making sense of science? In this session, explore a new model for STEM integration through free and open OpenSciEd + Computer Science middle school units. These phenomenon-driven units engage students in real-world investigations where they build and use technology, including programming, to explain scientific ideas and design solutions for local challenges. Career-connected features highlight pathways in STEM and computer science. Think of STEM integration like a soundboard, where disciplines can be “turned up” based on learning goals. These units are turned and designed with support for teachers new to computer science!

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how new OpenSciEd + Computer Science units authentically integrate science and computer science. Students use programming and build tools to explain phenomena and solve problems. Educators will see how integration is accessible, engaging, and aligned to three-dimensional teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Novak, Nicole Vick

We will begin by exploring opportunities to use AI as a partner for brainstorming phenomena that enhance learning and assessment, including ways to customize existing high-quality instructional materials like OpenSciEd. After selecting a focal Performance Expectation (PE), we will utilize MagicSchool AI along with a phenomenon brainstorming script to create an initial list of potential phenomena. These will include natural, everyday, historical, contemporary, culturally significant, and justice-oriented phenomena, as well as design challenges and starting points for data sources. Collaborating with colleagues and receiving support from the 5D Assessment Project team, we will ask follow-up questions to refine our results. Finally, we will consider our knowledge of students' interests and identities, along with a brief unpacking of the standard, to select 2-3 top candidates for further development. We will also reflect on the ethical considerations of using AI tools in our practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Join us to explore how to use AI to assist in brainstorming NGSS-aligned phenomena that enhance 3D instruction and assessment and connect to students’ interests and identities. These tools come from the 5D assessment project, a collaboration between inquiryHub and BSCS Science Learning.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Campanella

Join the NSTA PL committee for one or all of the interactive sessions in our Interdisciplinary Connections strand to explore the what, why and how of interdisciplinary science teaching and learning. Each session will engage participants in interactive experiences to solve problems or investigate phenomena using science while focusing on a particular pairing of interdisciplinary opportunities. In this session, you'll explore how engaging in purposeful ELA activities during a phenomenon-based lesson is essential to both figuring out phenomena in science and boosting literacy development! Participants will engage in a science learning sequence in which they read, write, listen and speak in authentic ways like scientists do and will discover how ELA can be leveraged and integrated into science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience a model lesson and learn how to align ELA standards with authentic science practices like reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Discover how integrating purposeful ELA activities into phenomenon-based science boosts both literacy and science sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott, Rebecca Garelli, Jesse Wilcox, Erik Wade

If you have done inquiry based learning you know that it can be challenging when students don’t seem to have any questions they want to investigate! The good news is that you can build and foster a classroom community that makes curiosity the default rather than something you have to manufacture. Whether they realize it or not, students want to understand the world around them, they just often don't think it's worth the work to actually do so. By creating a culture where questions are normal, expected, and encouraged, I'm able to push students to continue working towards content mastery rather than deciding they "know enough to pass the test". Strategies like question boxes, science hot seat, question stems, and others have been invaluable in bringing back the curiosity in my middle and high school students that is so inherently present in younger grades.

TAKEAWAYS:
Curiosity isn’t something that exists naturally in all groups of students, but fear not and come join me to discover how to build a curious classroom culture!

SPEAKERS:
Anneliese Johnson

This presentation will explore the intersection of 3D learning applied to support sense-making around climate science and global change, emphasizing how integrated, hands-on approaches can enhance understanding of human and non-human influences on complex environmental systems. It will highlight crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas within the context of climate-change and related global change phenomena. Through models and real-world data, the presentation will demonstrate how students can engage in evidence-based reasoning about global change, climate impacts, and sustainability solutions. The goal is to foster critical thinking and informed action on pressing environmental challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Understanding Global Change conceptual framework uses 3D learning to empower student sense-making around climate change, global change, and sustainability, by connecting scientific practices, core ideas, and real-world data to inform critical thinking and evidence-based action.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

The Summer Research Academy is a series of two-week research opportunities for students in grades 7-12, developed as a collaboration between our school and a local college with sessions co-lead by faculty from both institutions. We’ve developed a model for engaging students in the research process by introducing accessible topics and techniques, and facilitating the research process in an developmentally-appropriate manner. This includes developing research questions and experiments that can be answered in our limited time together. As students work through the experimental design and data collection process, they learn that science is not a linear process, continually revisit their hypothesis, and modify their experiment. The week ends with a research symposium where results are shared with their families and the community. SRA sessions have included a range of topics, such as: water quality of the local watershed, biodesign, astrophysics, zebrafish physiology, and microbiology.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to scaffold authentic science research experiences across a range of disciplines. We will present a model to help students develop research questions, design experiments, collect and analyze data, and present results - all in a two-week period.

SPEAKERS:
Rachael Lancor

This session focuses on designing, building, and using three-dimensional formative assessment tasks. The session will feature ways to use assessment within scientific investigation to inform teachers and students of learning three-dimensional science learning progress. The role of crosscutting concepts in focusing performance tasks will be modeled in the sessions. The session will feature discussions about the effective alignment of assessment tasks to three-dimensional science standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take away lessons that include formative assessment tasks and how to use formative assessment to enhance classroom instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Moulding

While student investigation using authentic data-driven phenomena can be a powerful tool for sensemaking, the process of identifying and integrating high-quality data can be overwhelming and time consuming. This session supports educators in tackling both of these challenges. Join us as we highlight sources and strategies for identifying locally relevant data-driven phenomena and share practices for transforming these into engaging and accessible phenomena for your students. Participants will leave with a curated directory of data-sources and classroom-ready strategies to bridge the gap between raw data and rich phenomena-based learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a curated directory of data-sources and classroom-ready strategies to bridge the gap between raw data and rich phenomena-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Like, Tiffany Morgan

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

Research shows that providing opportunities for youth to interact with and learn from diverse STEM role models can break stereotypes and increase motivation to pursue a career in STEM. Join Twin Cities PBS as we share research-based strategies for incorporating role models into STEM learning spaces, created through 20 years of award-winning research and outreach as part of the SciGirls television series on PBS Kids. This session will outline: ways for teachers to prepare students for meeting a role model; how to prepare the role model for talking with youth (including specific talking points for role models and self-paced training for role models); how to find STEM Role Models; and printed guides on Role Model strategies and gender equitable teaching strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn research based strategies for incorporating role models in formal and informal learning environments, with a focus on how to prepare youth and role models to get the most from the experience!

SPEAKERS:
Katie Hessen

My Taiwan Fulbright-Hays experience inspired me to incorporate the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in all my courses (Environmental Science, Biology, Anatomy & Physiology). The SDGs help to teach our students through the lens of interdisciplinary challenges that are part of all our lives. This session will include examples of how I have integrated the SDGs and Climate Action into the standard curriculum for grades 9-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Examples will be provided as to how to incorporate the UN SDGs into a high school science class, including elective courses (Environmental Science, Anatomy & Physiology) as well as core science classes with a more stringent curriculum (Biology, Anatomy & Physiology).

SPEAKERS:
Kristina Hayda

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

Join us to explore how to leverage students' communication tools in the high school science classroom. This session will focus on strategies and approaches integrated into the OpenSciEd Chemical Reactions unit which challenges students to investigate chemical processes impacting oyster populations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to guide students in articulating their ideas, collaborating effectively, and constructing evidence-based explanations while encouraging the use of their own language and perspectives to make sense of complex scientific concepts and connect them to pressing environmental issues.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker, Kristin Rademaker

Is it important to distinguish between data and evidence in science? YES! We’ll observe young students engaged in analyzing data and then broaden our focus to explore how data and evidence are woven through the science and engineering practices and across students’ K-12 science experience in school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Distinguish between data and evidence and why the difference matters in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Moorhead, Ann Guglielmo, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Equitable grading isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. In this how-to session, two science educators share lessons from 12 years of working with public, private, and charter schools, navigating the shift from standards alignment to equitable grading. Learn how to address resistance, support uneven adoption, and overcome both real and perceived barriers while bridging the gap between early adopters and hesitant stakeholders. Whether your school uses standards-based grading or traditional gradebooks, this session offers practical strategies to shift mindsets, align assessment practices, and move grading systems forward.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain actionable tools to support teachers in moving from unpacking standards to selecting aligned assessments and implementing equitable, standards-based grading, tailored to meet educators at different stages of change.

SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Kaywood, Melinda Campbell

Ever wonder how to connect science and engineering? This session provides insight into a group of Wyoming elementary teachers’ classrooms through sharing a STEM task that brought science and engineering to life for students. Beginning with a familiar natural phenomena and allowing students opportunities to create solutions to a real world issue stemming from that phenomena, student ideas are foregrounded through engineering design practices and locally relevant instruction that welcomes all students an access point. Then, we introduce two phenomenon-driven assessment tasks with evidence on how students performed. The first, Creating a Park, presents the real-world issue of a city council proposal for a park that would thrive in a very dry climate while still promoting wildlife. The second, Air Pollution in LA, asks students to recommend to city leaders ways to reduce air pollution based on source data. We end with a list of wonderful free STEM resources and time for questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants see examples of supporting 3-5th grade students in phenomenon-driven, engineering connected lessons and performance assessment tasks. They see how these resources were used in multiple contexts to promote student sensemaking by applying science ideas/data to solve real world problems.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Sawyer, Brenda Leonhardt, Kristan Trujillo, Martha Inouye, Ryan Summers, Chad Lemley

Teachers are essential in supporting students as they engage in experimentation, scientific research, and engineering design. The overarching aim is to help students communicate the knowledge they gain with the broader community. This session will highlight best practices for organizing science fairs ranging from small school-based events to larger regional competitions. We will also explore the distinct goals of science fairs compared to symposia and various formats will be presented. Learn how to empower students to confidently present their STEM research or projects through either platform.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will leave with best practices for successfully planning and executing a science fair or symposium in which all students are encouraged to confidently share their STEM experiment or research findings.

SPEAKERS:
Dianna Gobler, Dana Schaefer, Mary Kroll

Engaging students in phenomenon-based 3D science learning is challenging; when students are absent, it can feel impossible. In this session, participants will take away strategies for supporting absent students in staying engaged in learning when they miss classroom instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away strategies for supporting absent students in staying engaged in learning when they miss classroom instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney

In this workshop participants will engage with our innovative computational thinking curriculum unit. Our approach is grounded in phenomena, science storylines, coherence and student modeling. We have innovated upon these time tested NGSS teacher practices by incorporating computational thinking through physical computing (Micro:Bit). In our approach, students use programmable sensors to ask questions, define problems and engage in the rest of the science and engineering practices. The participants will experience these practices in student-hat so that they better understand the student experience and how to implement the units. Participants will write computer programs, collect/analyze data and connect investigations to place-based contexts. Participants will walk away with a co-designed, classroom ready toolkit of resources that they are ready to implement based on the workshop experience. No prior experience using sensor technologies or programming is needed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to effectively bring computational thinking., data collection, and programming into the middle school classroom, based on curriculum units developed by inquiryHub at the University of Colorado Boulder. Our place-based focus is a powerful promoter of equity for all student

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bush, Greg Benedis-Grab

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

Accessing a suite of regional data exploration tools can broaden the ways that students make sense of complex climate stories and science ideas while connecting to their own stories and curiosities. A teacher-researcher partnership designed a learning progression where students access and use climate data visualization platforms and interpret social science-derived future narratives that connect data with human impacts (SEP: Analyzing & interpreting data; CCC: Stability & change; DCI: ESS3.C Human impacts on Earth systems and ESS2.D Weather and climate). Together, learners use this evidence to make sense of phenomena rooted in projections and uncertainties around climate impacts that they already see and will see in their communities. This session shares a learning progression that embeds approaches to localizing anchoring phenomena in context, means of engaging students’ initial and emergent ideas, platforms and resources embedded in the progression, and examples of students’ work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience a data- and sensemaking-driven learning progression, explore its three-dimensional and phenomenon connections, and consider how to connect to student ideas. They will leave with concrete ideas for accessing data and helping students explore the stories data tell.

SPEAKERS:
Clare Gunshenan, Martha Inouye

In this session, participants will explore how to build a Content Storyline to support coherent, discipline-rich, and equitable STEM project-based learning (PBL). Just as phenomena are used to anchor conceptual development in 3D science instruction, we’ll highlight how meaningful end products can serve as anchoring experiences in PBL—driving student sensemaking, surfacing key standards, and promoting authentic engagement with disciplinary practices. Participants will be introduced to a PBL planning framework designed to center science content and equity, analyze a completed Content Storyline to trace how learning builds and spirals across a project, and explore tools to begin developing their own. The session will support teachers in ensuring that their PBL units are grounded in rigorous, student-centered science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
The PBL Project Planning Pyramid Framework highlights Content Storylining as a key element and an effective structure to ensure rigorous discipline-rich PBL projects. Let’s consider the project end product in parallel to a phenomenon and explore Content Storylining for STEM PBL.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah DiMaria

Integrating science and literacy is essential for supporting elementary teachers in science instruction. This presentation presents an argument for using science investigation to motivate students to read, write, and engage in discourse. Participants receive a set of hands-on science lessons to motivate students to learn.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants develop insights and understanding of how to effectively integrate science learning with language arts skills development. Participants will be provided with hands-on scientific investigations that include meaningful reading resources aligned to the lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Moulding

Corn is the most important food crop grown in the U.S., yet climate change threatens our ability to improve yields to continue meeting rising human demand. Solving this global problem requires knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and math. In this session, we will bring real-world STEM to life through modern agriculture. This hands-on session reveals how agriculture extends far beyond traditional farming as we dive into authentic storylines that connect students to pressing global challenges. Framed around the journey of corn’s artificial selection and the real-world problem of feeding our growing population can spark critical thinking and problem-solving skills among students. You’ll leave with activities and strategies that can be easily implemented that showcase cutting-edge technology and engineering in food production. Join us to see how agriculture offers powerful, real-world STEM career pathways that are accessible for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how food can provide relatable entry points for students using STEM skills to solve real world problems. Engage in several activities from a new storyline unit that challenges students in figuring out how to solve this food production challenge as they engage in 3-dimensional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Skelton, Alicia Burge, Chris Embry Mohr, Kristin Rademaker, Jessica Holman

AI is already shaping the future our students will live and work in—but how can science classrooms harness AI tools today to deepen 3D learning? In this session, explore practical, classroom-tested strategies for using AI to support scientific inquiry, creativity, and personalized learning without losing rigor or equity. Learn how AI can enhance phenomenon-based investigations, model development, and data analysis, while helping students ask better questions, communicate their thinking, and engage critically with technology. We'll highlight free or accessible AI tools that align with real NGSS practices and provide examples of how students can use AI ethically to extend their scientific curiosity and voice. Walk away with sample prompts, lesson ideas, and a vision for integrating AI thoughtfully and powerfully into your science teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn practical ways to integrate AI tools into 3D science learning to support inquiry, data analysis, modeling, and critical thinking, while keeping student creativity, rigor, and ethical use at the center.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Radday

This presentation will showcase how transdisciplinary, real-world problem solving can be integrated into science classrooms through engineering design. Aligned with NGSS standards such as generating multiple solutions to reduce impact of Earth’s process on humans and focused on environmental literacy, participants will explore hands-on, student-centered investigations that engage multiple disciplines such as math, technology, science, art, and computer science. Examples of projects include designing/building air cleaners to reduce impact of wildfire smoke; analyzing floodplain maps and proposing engineering solutions to lessen the effects of flooding; and constructing bee hotels for pollinators using creative design with 3D printers. These projects engage students in the engineering design process, foster critical thinking, and connect academic content to authentic, community-centered issues. Attendees will leave with strategies and ready-to-use resources including assessment ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to engage students in solving real-world environmental problems through hands-on engineering projects that address wildfire smoke, flooding, and pollinator decline—empowering them to think critically, design solutions, and make meaningful connections to their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Rapstad

The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) empowers middle school educators to teach evolution with confidence by providing free, standards-aligned resources and professional development opportunities. In this session, educators will experience hands-on activities, NGSS-aligned lessons, and online tools designed to clarify key concepts such as natural selection, common ancestry, and biodiversity. Participants will explore the TIES website, test out interactive classroom activities, and receive a complete evolution unit ready for immediate use. TIES has hosted over 350 workshops nationwide and continues to support teachers through webinars and direct communication with evolutionary scientists. Whether you're new to teaching evolution or looking to enrich your instruction, this session will leave you with practical tools and expert-backed content to meet your curriculum needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain access to free, NGSS-aligned resources—including a complete unit with materials, engaging classroom activities, and effective strategies—to teach evolution confidently and meet science standards.

SPEAKERS:
James Finch, Alison Peterson

Come along as we explore extreme weather and avalanches. We know avalanches are inevitable, but how can we limit their impact on forests and people? This session is built around an NGSS-designed lesson sequence targeting 3-LS3-2, with an emphasis on student modeling, explanation, and collaboration. Attendees will create and test their model to immerse themselves in a performance assessment. Discussion of other possible formative assessment strategies, rubrics, and how to support student explanations using evidence.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be engaged in an immersive Next Generation Science experience where attendees will step into the learner’s shoes in a high-quality, hands-on, inquisitive experience. Attendees will also participate in a performance based assessment. One real-world strategy used to mitigate avalanche.

SPEAKERS:
Greer Clark, Teresa Merager

Writing effective assessments in science can be challenging for any teacher, especially to meet the needs of diverse students in the modern classroom. Come explore the criteria for high-quality 3D science assessment items and learn strategies for writing them. Your session leader is a widely-published writer of science assessments and curriculum, and he has a wealth of experience to share.

TAKEAWAYS:
By applying the proper criteria, you can write assessments that reinforce science learning and develop critical thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Berman

STARBASE has developed insight into the benefits of a growth mindset in STEM career integration into curriculum planning and has identified strategies and supports to help students see their growth in STEM and related skills. In consultation with STEM corporate partners, specific STEM career skills were identified that would be beneficial for a future workforce: Teamwork, Creativity, STEM, Curiosity, and Perseverance. Using these skills, you can build a classroom culture at any grade level or STEM discipline that celebrates strength and growth while providing real-world examples of STEM professionals who are reflective of diversity and the depth of STEM careers available to students.

TAKEAWAYS:
At this session, attendees will learn strategies for incorporating STEM Career integration into curriculum and lesson planning applicable to all grade levels and science focus areas. Free resources and access to STEM Career website will be provided to all attendees.

SPEAKERS:
Melanie Peters, Charity Johnson

Consider and discuss why student-to-student discourse in elementary classrooms is essential for making sense of science. Science is the perfect setting for building students' capacity for deep discussions, and the strategies for making those discussions happen are transferable to other subject areas. Consider ways to help elementary students grapple with evidence from multiple sources, make their thinking clear for others, and productively build upon or challenge the ideas of others.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will consider strategies for supporting deep and meaningful student-to-student discourse in elementary science class.

SPEAKERS:
Ryan King

You have a coherent phenomenon-based learning plan for your students, and midway through, you get sick or jury duty - now what?!? This session will highlight approaches to substitute plans that are flexible, easy to implement, and support student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
When students are tasked with sensemaking and figuring out day in and day out, it is easier to have that happen without the teacher present. Utilizing a quality curriculum that supports student coherence and phenomenon-based learning is the best tool to make that a reality.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney

In this workshop we will explore the AIK12 standards through an unpacking activity. We will then explore tested lessons that can engage students in learning about the nature of AI and how to responsibly use it. During the session we will use the lesson materials to have participants reflect on the value of learning about AI and to deepen the conversation on the role of AI in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will gain a deeper understanding of AI, its role in education and how to incorporate AI in your classroom. You will leave with proven lessons that you can add to your classroom to get students thinking about and be critical of AI.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bush, Greg Benedis-Grab

Food waste is more than an environmental issue—it's a matter of equity and justice. This session delves into the intersection of waste management, food systems, and climate justice, emphasizing how addressing food waste can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while promoting social and environmental equity. Participants will explore the systemic causes of food waste, from production to consumption, and examine how waste disproportionately affects marginalized communities. Through interactive discussions, real-world case studies, and practical strategies, this session will highlight how schools, communities, and individuals can implement sustainable waste practices that support both planetary health and social justice.

TAKEAWAYS:
By connecting waste reduction to broader movements for climate and food justice, this session empowers educators, activists, and community leaders to drive meaningful change—transforming waste into a pathway for equity and sustainability.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Luna

Phenology is the study of seasonal changes, a leading indicator of climate change, and an approachable way to actively engage communities with climate science. We will share our experiences developing a local community science program at Barking Slopes Conservation Area, a forest near Pittsburgh, that uses a free app called Nature’s Notebook, learn about the ongoing research at the site, and explore how the phenology program is supporting it. Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) and Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) partnered to implement a phenology trail at Barking Slopes Conservation Area. Nature’s Notebook is a free app developed by the USA National Phenology Network that empowers the public to record and share observations in a national scientific database. This program relies on community volunteer efforts to collect phenophases, or observable life stages. Data and activities can be adapted for classroom use.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main take away from this session will be that we can observe wildlife through a phenological lens and tell a more complete story of our landscape. By closely monitoring seasonal changes, we are able link these events with climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Klingensmith

OpenSciEd’s free, upcoming middle school Contact Forces + Computer Science unit helps students develop a deep conceptual understanding not just of forces, but also of computer science and engineering principles. Rooted in the phenomenon of collisions (just like the science-only unit), students figure out that their work would be easier if they could measure forces with a digital sensor. They engage with a variety of sensor systems, make sense of hardware and software, and develop and test a series of increasingly complex and independent designs that allow for measurement of forces in collisions or a variety of other applications. Participants will see how micro:bit devices and MakeCode block coding are integrated into the unit and leveraged for deeper physical science sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students’ investigations of forces are enhanced by development of sensor systems that measure forces for a variety of applications, with students also having opportunities to build computer science and engineering practices and understandings along the way.

SPEAKERS:
Dan Voss

See exciting energy, motion, laser, and wave demos plus learn how to access and compare the sensor data on the impact forces experienced by the crash-test dummies during the IIHS’s famous “Vintage Car vs New Car Crash Inquiry” of a 1959 Bel Air vs 2009 Chevy Malibu. Which car is the most crashworthy in a 40-mph, “head-on” crash-test? Make students predict the outcome then learn how to use “notice and wonder” questioning routines to kickstart students’ engagement in the free “Crash Science in the Classroom” activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see a selection of engaging discrepant events plus exciting crash-tests; and learn how to access free lessons plans with formative and summative assessments, teacher and student tips videos, lab sheets, and answer keys to teach crash-related science and engineering concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Pini Kalnite, Griff Jones

One of the first special education teachers I ever worked with said something to me that will stick forever; “ You modify assessments, not children.” Modifying assessments in a way that changes how students communicate rather than what they learn has become an essential part of my classroom. By taking a 3D approach to assessment, it's much easier to be responsive to student needs without diluting the content you expect them to know. I've successfully integrated several 3D assessments into my classrooms and would love to share my process, tips, and initial pitfalls (to help you avoid them).

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, you will learn several techniques and strategies for writing and modifying assessments that adjust how students communicate their knowledge rather than lowering expectations for student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Anneliese Johnson

In this session, we will share about programming focused on supporting the wellness of educators through providing supports for caring for themselves, cultivating and sustaining compassion for students, students’ families, and colleagues, and working towards more compassionate schools. We will share audio recordings from educators that highlight key realizations or themes that emerged for educators related to compassion in schools, including how compassion has impacted their professional lives. We will explore the concept of compassion and identify the benefits and science of compassion. Participants will also engage in compassion practices, reflect, and discuss in small groups their experience of the practices and how they intend to strengthen compassion in their lives, in their classrooms, and in their schools. Cultivating compassion for oneself and others strengthens the social and emotional competencies of self-awareness, social awareness, self management, and relationship skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Cultivating compassion within the context of teaching and learning can be an important resource for sustaining caring for self and others. We invite you to join us to pause and practice compassion. Come learn about tools for resourcing yourself to apply in school and personal contexts.

SPEAKERS:
William Penuel

This session aims to deepen educators' expertise in selecting, modifying, and implementing high-quality assessment materials aligned with NGSS and state-specific standards. The focus will be on integrating the 3-dimensions of science into common formative assessments (CFA), ensuring equitable access for all students and teachers. Through guided practice and collaboration using a developed CFA and state-provided item specifications, educators will explore connections with standards, SEPs, CCCs, stimulus materials, and item types, ensuring seamless incorporation of the 3-dimensions of science. Participants will engage in hands-on activities to synthesize their knowledge, collaborating on exemplar responses and instructional strategies. By applying these skills, educators can develop and refine aligned assessments that foster a deeper understanding of content knowledge and enhance assessment accessibility, providing opportunities for student engagement with aligned materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will gain the skills to create and refine high-quality, aligned assessments that seamlessly incorporate the three dimensions of science, ensuring equitable access and deeper understanding for all students.

SPEAKERS:
Alicia Doty, Haley Smith

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 session will focus on how using peer feedback in classrooms can drive students' ability to collaborate, evaluate phenomena, and deepen their skills of modeling and constructing explanations based on evidence. Emphasis will be on how collaboration through feedback creates an environment that allows students to enhance their growth mindset through the feed up, feed back, and feed forward framework. This method provides all students an opportunity to develop life skills through scientific practices. In this session, participants will observe classroom examples of how to implement the feed up, feed back, and feed forward framework supported by examples of students' work. Participants of this session will leave with adaptable tools that can be implemented with ease into their classrooms and strategies to help them create equitable learning environments driven by classroom collaboration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this session with adaptable tools and strategies on how to use peer feedback to empower students to take charge of their learning.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Hoenig

Engaging All Learners Through Gameplay and Engineering in Science Come explore how we've infused gameplay and hands-on engineering design challenges into 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade science units to engage and support all learners. Discover how we've created or adapted activities to provide real-world learning experiences directly aligned with NGSS grade-level standards. You'll leave with ready-to-use resources and fresh ideas to bring into your own classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on, experiential learning using games and design challenge examples from our classrooms, and will leave with practical resources they can use immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Nathaus, Laura Strejc, Jill Burns

We promote teacher leadership by offering teachers paid opportunities to present our resources. We'll introduce teachers to ScienceSaves and show how our lessons can be used to teach content and skills, such as graphing, data analysis, and correlation vs causation. The session will share our scholarship opportunity for high school seniors ($15,000/yr) and include a cursory look at our science lessons. Examples: Do We Take Our Health for Granted? Students will work on graphing skills using a graph on child mortality data from 1800-2020, and learn the difference between causation and correlation in data. The Savior of Mothers Students will learn about Dr. Semmelweis, the first person to promote the idea of handwashing, and will design an experiment to test his hypothesis. The Scientist Who Saved A Billion Lives Students will interpret 2 graphs of the astounding agricultural advancements of Norman Borlaug. Each lesson includes standards and a modifiable lesson plan document.

TAKEAWAYS:
Recognize that scientists who make contributions to scientific knowledge come from all kinds of backgrounds and possess varied talents, interests, and goals.

SPEAKERS:
Kathlyn Van Hoeck

This session will help educators apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to adapt and enhance science materials and assessments in support of three-dimensional (3D) teaching and learning. Participants will learn how to identify barriers in instructional design and explore strategies to support engagement, access, and rigorous sense-making for all learners. Specific examples will include flexible approaches to instruction and assessment- both formative and summative- that honor student voice, choice, and varied modes of expression while maintaining alignment with NGSS dimensions. Participants will leave with practical strategies and planning tools to ensure that every student can meaningfully engage with phenomena and science practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will equip educators with practical tools to apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in science instruction and assessment, enabling all students to access and engage in three-dimensional (3D) learning through flexible, inclusive strategies that support voice and choice.

SPEAKERS:
Shennel Hunte

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

Ready to take your STEM lesson planning to the next level? Join us for an interactive and inspiring session where you’ll discover how artificial intelligence—specifically ChatGPT—can become your new favorite teaching assistant. Explore how preservice teachers in a pilot program used ChatGPT to blend South Dakota Science Standards with Engineering and Technology standards to design innovative, classroom-ready STEM lessons and kits. Learn how to craft effective prompts, refine AI-generated content, and apply human feedback to ensure every lesson is developmentally appropriate and tailored to your students' needs. Whether you're new to AI or looking to deepen your practice, this session will give you practical tools and real-world examples to boost creativity, save planning time, and spark student engagement. While we’ll focus on STEM, the strategies shared can be adapted to any grade level or content area. Come curious- leave inspired!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies for using ChatGPT to streamline lesson planning, align with science and engineering standards, and design engaging, grade-appropriate STEM lessons and kits—tools they can immediately apply in any classroom setting.

SPEAKERS:
Betsy Schamber

Virtual Reality Goggles have great potential for providing unique and immersive experiences for students. While this technology is still in its infancy, the implications for teaching and learning are limitless. From experiencing virtual field trips in 360, or working collaboratively to solve problems, VR offers a unique learning experience. This session will introduce attendees to the potential for teaching and learning science virtually through the Metaverse .

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be introduced to the learning potential of Virtual Reality and some student-tested ideas for teaching in a virtual environment.

SPEAKERS:
Chantelle Renaud-Grant, Donna Governor

Yale professor Laurie Santos' course "Psychology and the Good Life" became a campus phenomenon in 2018, attracting nearly 25% of Yale undergraduates. Its free Coursera version has since enrolled almost 5 million people worldwide. This workshop offers educators a condensed experience of the science behind happiness and well-being through targeted mini-lessons and interactive activities. Drawing from Santos' research and "How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier," participants will explore why our intuitions about happiness often mislead us and examine the cognitive biases that distort our expectations. The seminar introduces evidence-based strategies from gratitude science and positive psychology for authentic happiness. Teachers will gain practical tools to implement these techniques in their personal lives and classrooms, fostering student well-being and creating school communities that promote genuine flourishing and positive habit formation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn evidence-based strategies to enhance personal well-being and discover practical tools to implement happiness science in their classrooms, helping students develop authentic happiness practices while addressing common misconceptions about what truly drives human flourishing.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Kos

This session will explore how high-quality, research-based PBS media can enhance STEM learning through a transdisciplinary approach. Using content from trusted sources like PBS LearningMedia, NOVA, and SciGirls, educators will learn to engage students in solving real-world problems by applying concepts from science, technology, engineering, math, humanities, arts, and computer science. Participants will explore classroom-ready tools that foster creativity, collaboration, and innovation. This session also highlights best practices and strategies for using media in the classroom to promote deeper understanding and active engagement. Attendees will leave with effective methods and access to thousands of free, standards-aligned PBS resources that support rich, cross-disciplinary STEM instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will discover how to use PBS media and best practices to create engaging, transdisciplinary STEM learning experiences that prepare students to think critically and solve real-world problems.

SPEAKERS:
Caylee Haus Reger

In this workshop, participants will experience a part of the Student Experience Improvement Cycle (SEIC), a teacher-team based approach to using evidence of the quality of student experience formatively to make OpenSciEd classrooms more equitable. The SEIC begins by a teacher team setting a goal for improvement in one of three aspects of student experience: coherence, relevance, and contribution. Then teachers review, adapt, and test research-based strategies for improving the quality of student experience overall and for students from systemically marginalized groups and communities. In this workshop, we’ll practice gathering and interpreting data using the digital Science SEET and explore strategies that other teachers have tested and found to be effective in promoting more equitable participation in OpenSciEd classrooms. Teachers will leave with research briefs they can use in their teacher teams and an understanding of how to lead the SEIC with their colleagues.

TAKEAWAYS:
How do we know which students of our students are figuring things out that they care about? Which students are contributing to knowledge-building in small groups? Join us to learn about a simple approach to using data from exit tickets with research-based strategies to promote more equitable partici

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Campanella

Do you need some fresh ideas for stories? Join us as we share some newer/recent stories that can support your existing science curriculum and provide a means for learning outside. Gain practical ideas on how to integrate the science and engineering practices using literature as a launching point for a science lesson. Learn how having your students experience outdoor lessons can build a sense of community and the local level and beyond. No matter how much outdoor space you have access to, discover ways to use what’s available to engage students in learning and exploring. Outdoor lesson ideas that can be used no matter what month of the year it is will be shared along with practical tips for how to find success.

TAKEAWAYS:
No matter what your outdoor setting is like, you will come away with ideas to implement outdoor lessons in your classroom next week. No matter what grade or curriculum you use, learn ideas that can fit into your existing curriculum and spark engagement and benefit students.

SPEAKERS:
Jill Jensen, Kim Benton

This session explores strategies that elementary teachers can use to integrate student narratives into STEM instruction. Drawing from practices used in a teacher preparation program’s courses, the session will highlight how elementary educators can implement STEM lessons despite time constraints and scheduling challenges. Attendees will examine how teachers can use students’ communities and lived experiences to design meaningful, relevant instruction. The session will also walk through a practical framework that includes: identifying lesson objectives, connecting those objectives to student narratives, linking academic content to student experiences, and designing assessments that reflect student-centered learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have a practical framework to help elementary teachers design student-centered STEM lessons that connect academic content to students’ lived experiences, even within the constraints to implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Shereen Holmes

“Ecology isn’t rocket science— it’s much harder” (Hilborn and Ludwig, 1993). Natural resource management provides rich, meaningful phenomena for classrooms that support students in the complex science- and data-driven decision-making that all students will face, regardless of their ultimate career trajectories. This presentation will showcase a unit that, through a natural resource management and decision-making lens, provides students with rich learning about complex ecosystem dynamics through a 3D lens grounded in student interests. This phenomenon-based unit progression compares ecosystem dynamics between two local reservoirs. I will share the methods students used to integrate multiple real-time data sources to predict and model food webs and trophic structures. Students confirm their predictions and models by engaging in a fish dissection and stomach-content analysis, and interpretation of stable fish isotope data to make management decisions about our two local reservoirs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away a unit progression for ecosystem dynamics, practical implementation resources to support and engage all students, tools for students to collect and critically analyze data, and assessment ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Jenny Edwards

Appropriate and useful for all grade levels. Still confused about the basics of the NGSS? Need a refresher about what it is and why it matters? Come learn from the experts. The NGSS is very complicated. The Institute for Quality Science Teaching at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry provides professional learning opportunities for K-12 science teachers in Chicagoland and surrounding areas. Our approach is to ground everything we do in the NGSS and take a deep dive into all the elements of 3-dimensional learning. The professional learning programs at Griffin MSI are invested in helping teachers understand how to teach science effectively using these standards. This presentation will review the basics of the NGSS, the 3 dimensions, how they’re combined in Performance Expectations, and the basics of how to enact the NGSS in the classroom. If you’re new to the NGSS, just want a review, or still don’t have all those acronyms straight in your head, this is the presentation for you.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers in all grades K-12 will leave with a basic understanding of the structures of the Next Generation Science Standards and how they inform 3-dimensional standards and 3-dimensional science teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Sean Murphy, Karin Klein

How can one rubric serve as a roadmap for sensemaking, assessment, and student feedback? In this session, explore how educators use NGSS-aligned, three-dimensional, standards-based rubrics to design instruction that supports phenomena-based learning and centers student thinking. Participants will learn how to create rubrics that integrate SEPs, CCCs, and DCIs using NGSS evidence statements and apply them across multiple grade levels. We’ll highlight student work, formative checkpoints, and summative tasks that show how these rubrics support equitable, transparent expectations for all learners. Classroom-tested examples will illustrate how 3D rubrics make student sensemaking visible and support lesson coherence. Participants will leave with adaptable templates, classroom samples, and strategies for using rubrics to design, assess, and advance student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to design NGSS-aligned, 3D rubrics that center student sensemaking, clarify expectations, and guide assessment. Leave with templates, student work examples, and strategies to plan, assess, and give feedback that supports equitable and coherent science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah McMullen, Vincent Fosco, Frankie Valenzia

One of the best ways to support student sensemaking in NGSS is to be very clear as teachers about what we want students to know and be able to do. Unpacking NGSS can be complex as you analyze progressions and evidence statements. Come learn how an elementary science team in California has been refining their previous work on learning targets, assessments, and rubrics by creating proficiency scales with learning gradations. This work has helped our group of over thirty science elementary specialists come to greater consensus on student proficiency, increasing equitable expectations across our district. We will have elementary samples to share, as well as protocols to help walk you and your colleagues through the process.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to create proficiency scales for NGSS that will more clearly and accurately identify what we want students to know and be able to do.

SPEAKERS:
Meg Vanek, Kim Cashin

In addition to the two-yearly national conferences on science education, NSTA provides year-round in-person, online, and blended personalized professional learning experiences for groups of K–12 educators. This is the ideal formula for best professional learning, as it must be high quality and on-going. So, what are your plans for the teachers in your district? Join us to learn what NSTA has to offer. The online option, known as the NSTA Partner Program, provides educators with access to digital resources, virtual events, the online community, expert staff, and digital professional membership for all participants. A variety of in-person workshops are available, including OpenSciEd. Presenters will share case studies that are representative of the different professional learning options available.

TAKEAWAYS:
Education leaders will learn about 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. Some programs include membership for all participants.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

This session will bring together ESTEP participants and instructors with the purpose of sharing experiences, strategies, resources and phenomena! Come learn more about our program, and how participants have changed their approach to be student focused!

TAKEAWAYS:
ESTEP participants are leaders in Minnesota science education - come see what they are doing and how you can do it too!

SPEAKERS:
Dana Smith, Haley Kalina

We will share insights from a research project to test middle school formative assessments that reduce language barriers. One of the participating educators will discuss how the design of the tasks and specificity of the rubrics helped improve communication between the teacher and students. Incorporating the materials positively contributed to a classroom culture where assessments are understood to be FOR learning, not OF learning; and students at all levels developed and used a common language for learning based on the three dimensions of NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with 3D formative assessments and rubrics ready for their middle school classrooms, as well as research-based strategies for adapting their existing assessments to meet the needs of learners at all levels.

SPEAKERS:
Katrina Pommerening, Esther Brown, Sara Krauskopf

Explore the intersection of climate and energy while learning about microgrids and their role in fostering energy resilience. During this hands-on session, participants will make models of a microgrid that includes solar power and battery storage and learn how microgrids supported community resilience during Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. We’ll discuss opportunities to integrate this topic into instruction to offer a relevant context for learning about electricity and energy resilience to climate impacts as well as engaging students in learning that mirrors the work of professionals in the energy sector.

TAKEAWAYS:
Updating instruction to include learning about and modeling microgrids introduces students to a real-world energy challenge, a timely and relevant solution, and related career opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Haine, Shannon Oesch

Learn how OpenSciEd’s new middle school units are intentionally designed to expand access to computer science by integrating it directly into science instruction. This session will introduce an instructional model that addresses longstanding equity gaps in computer science education by embedding programming, computational thinking, and engineering design into phenomenon-based science investigations. Explore how this approach not only deepens science understanding but also inspires students—especially those historically underrepresented in STEM—to pursue advanced computer science courses and careers. Participants will also learn about the career exploration opportunities woven into the units that help students make meaningful connections to their futures in STEM fields.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will understand how OpenSciEd’s integrated model expands access to computer science by embedding it in science instruction, engaging all students in authentic, career-connected learning that builds pathways to future STEM opportunities

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Vick, Tiffany Neill, Michael Novak

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

Unlock student potential in writing and reasoning skills! This session dives deep into Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER), focusing on the crucial link between evidence and reasoning. Explore feedback strategies to empower students to apply their knowledge and construct strong scientific arguments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore resources that expand literacy skills, specifically targeting writing, in the middle school science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Vossel

Come start and end your day with NSELA! The Leader's Lounge is your exclusive networking space for science leaders. Join us at the beginning and end of the day to connect with colleagues, relax, and recharge. Light refreshments and food will be available. Come snack, chat, and share insights with NSELA and other leaders in this dedicated, comfortable space.

TAKEAWAYS:
An opportunity to build your professional network by connecting with other science leaders in a relaxed, informal setting with complimentary refreshments.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Weatherhead

NSTA has revised and updated its position 2018 position statement on climate science, strengthening its commitment to high quality education on the teaching of the science of climate change. This presentation outlines the changes to the position statement and the rationale for the changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become equipped with the rationale and tools necessary for teaching the science of climate change, as well as the talking points necessary for engaging with the range of constituencies that have voice in or impact upon science education in general.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Pyle

This presentation weaves together the interdisciplinary perspectives of evolutionary theory, immunology, and epidemiology with insights from the humanities to examine the complex threats posed by the problem of pandemics and strategies to develop solutions to mitigate those threats. It explores how pathogens evolve, how the immune system responds to novel threats, and how disease spreads through populations. In addition, drawing from historical and cultural perspectives, it highlights the societal impacts of past pandemics and the contemporary human behaviors and public health policies that influence disease outcomes. By integrating science with ethics, communication, and public policy, the presentation offers a holistic, transdisciplinary framework for understanding and addressing current and future global health crises.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding and responding to pandemics requires a transdisciplinary approach combining knowledge and skills from multiple biological fields and humanities to reveal how diseases emerge and spread, and develop strategies for sensemaking and management through science, policy, and societal action.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

The session will focus on the shift from traditional instruction to three-dimensional, phenomenon-based teaching. Participants will explore how students learn better with phenomena that stimulate student questions and a storyline where each lesson builds on what students have learned in earlier lessons and sets the stage for learning in later lessons. Participants will review examples of anchor phenomena and review a storyline to see how investigative phenomena can be used to support student collection of evidence to answer their questions about the anchor phenomena. We will emphasize having students construct explanations and develop models of phenomena to gather insights into student thinking. Finally, participants will learn a process of developing a phenomenon-based storyline. Through this process, they can see how a coherent storyline can be developed to address all three dimensions, leading to greater student engagement, and fostering a more equitable learning environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
How having students make sense of phenomena leads to greater engagement and better understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

This session will provide an overview of the most recent developments at the state level in STEM education policy

TAKEAWAYS:
Everything you need to know in state STEM policy

SPEAKERS:
James Brown

What if your students could remember more without studying harder? This session dives into practical, research-backed strategies from cognitive science that make learning stick. Participants will explore how to “hack the brain” using techniques like spaced retrieval, elaboration, interleaving, and dual coding- all applied within the context of 3D science instruction. We’ll examine why traditional methods often fall short, and how small shifts in lesson design and assessment can lead to big gains in retention and reasoning. Participants will leave with classroom-ready tools and routines to increase engagement, deepen sense-making, and build long-term mastery.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to integrate brain-based learning strategies into science lessons and assessments to improve retention, metacognition, and student engagement—without sacrificing depth or rigor.

SPEAKERS:
Shennel Hunte

Explore how UDL principles are integrated into the OpenSciEd Natural Selection unit. This session will focus on using high quality instructional materials that meet the needs of all learners, ensuring accessibility and engagement for diverse student populations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain practical strategies for scaffolding complex concepts, providing multiple means of representation and expression, and fostering student agency in collaborative, real-world problem-solving.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

Generative AI is an emerging technology that has made its way into the classroom and cannot be ignored. I developed and will share a summative assessment for a Biodiversity class aimed at promoting proper usage of GenAI while developing technological and ecological literacy. Traditional assessments can inadvertently disadvantage students who excel in areas beyond rote memorization. Incorporating AI into an assessment can promote equitable classroom practices by offering multiple means of representation and expression. This proposal attempts to integrate all 3 dimensions of the NGSS: application of scientific and engineering practices, by using GenAI, disciplinary core ideas in ecology, and crosscutting concepts. The AI assessment supports NGSS’s overarching goal to develop scientifically literate citizens. I will discuss the rationale for the assessment, its development and implementation in the class, how students engaged in the activity, and will share examples of the students' work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience one example of how we can integrate AI into the science curriculum, fostering curiosity and engagement with technology, while promoting proper use of AI. This type of assessment can be applied to a variety of science topics.

SPEAKERS:
Rita Margarida Quinones De Magalhaes

Building data skills in today’s learners can often feel very dry, but it’s arguably the most essential skill to succeed in the future workforce. And in a time where so many adults use data poorly to prove a point, why not use these “What not to do” stories to help teach these skills and build their digital literacy at the same time! In this session, we’ll describe multiple data misuses such as Cherry-Picking, Correlation vs Causation, and Sampling Bias to help learners see and interpret data through a more sophisticated lens. While highlighting the type of error, students also break down fundamental components of graphic organizers and how they should be decoded. Pulling from relevant and familiar examples of how data is misused in society to make arguments allows for a natural bridge to your 6 - 12 science classroom and builds confidence in analyzing the data you provide them!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be provided with multiple student-friendly examples of how data misuses and biases lead to argument fallacies that span the societal spectrum. They will also see the learning opportunities found within each example and how they can be implemented immediately in any 6-12 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Ramy Mahmoud

This session will highlight how two middle school teachers embedded a model of Indigenous Ways of Knowing into a curricular unit focused DCI in aquatic ecosystems. We highlighted Indigenous perspectives on issues of water as biotic or abiotic, the importance of water quality, the interconnectedness of beings within an ecosystem, and solutions to water quality. Attendees to this session will participate in lesson activities including games, readings, short videos, online content, writing, individual work, small group work and entire class discussions. We will share our formative and summative assessment strategies. Participants will gain access to our online lessons, teacher and student guides, readings and all resources. We will conclude the session by describing lessons learned from our perspectives as experienced middle school teachers including challenges of the readings in the unit and trying to balance students' learning from the unit with other demands of our science classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how our model of Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWK) can be embedded within curricular units, not just aquatic systems. They will leave this session with a model of how we embedded IWK and a plethora of materials that will allow them to bring elements of IWK into their teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Susie Freiburger, Patricia DuganHenriksen, Michele Koomen

How can weather data help 3rd graders think like scientists? Both place-based and project-based instruction have been shown to increase students’ motivation for learning science and their acquisition of science concepts and practices in ways that support all learners through local context. Additionally, in their 2024 statement, NSTA called for educators in all disciplines to scaffold students’ experiences with data and integrate data with disciplinary lessons. This session will provide an overview of work a group of elementary educators did to engage students across multiple districts in collecting and compiling weather data from their local places over a school year. Presenters will share specific examples of how they helped students use the data by developing place-based, project-based learning opportunities aligned to NGSS standards. Challenges encountered along the way will be discussed, as well as how the team worked to overcome those challenges and ideas for next steps.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about potential ways to engage elementary learners in place-based projects that utilize student-collected weather data, encourage collaboration, and foster scientific thinking. They’ll hear about some challenges this team of educators faced and how they worked to overcome them.

SPEAKERS:
Kelli Petrick, Rebecca Qualm, Andrea Hayden

Have you read great articles in the NSTA journals that changed or added to the ways you and your students do science for the better? You could inspire other educators across the country in the same way by sharing your teaching ideas, activities, or lessons as an NSTA journal author!

TAKEAWAYS:
Instructions and tips on how to prepare and submit your manuscript for publication in NSTA's journals.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Lindeman

This session will delve into a district-led initiative focused on the continuous curriculum improvement process (CCIP) in secondary biology education. Participants will gain insights into a collaborative framework that empowers teacher fellows to define, evaluate, and pilot curriculum resources aligned with a shared vision for inclusive, phenomena-driven learning. The presentation will highlight the key stages of this process, including the development of a biology vision statement emphasizing diverse sense-making, curiosity, critical thinking, real-world connections, and ethical solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session offers a practical roadmap for districts and schools seeking to engage educators in a meaningful and impactful curriculum improvement journey from the teachers’ perspectives.

SPEAKERS:
Anton Olbricht, Taylor Wusk, Betsy Barent

Join us to learn how our AP Environmental Science team assesses student proficiency in NGSS science and engineering practices. By identifying key connections between the NGSS skills and those required for success on the AP exam, we’ve been able to create a framework of understanding to effectively evaluate both skill development and content mastery. We'll share how we've designed our course to allow for skill-building while ensuring students are well-prepared for the AP exam content.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, attendees will explore the structure we've developed to assess scientific skills while teaching essential content. Educators will leave with practical strategies and insights to adapt and apply this approach in their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Carlson, Jill Lisius

Computer science is woven into the 2019 Minnesota Academic Standards in Science through benchmarks that emphasize modeling, data analysis, and computational thinking. Participants in this session will learn practical, flexible strategies to help them bring these concepts to life—regardless of grade level, setting, or access to technology. Participants will explore a real-world classroom example, engage in collaborative planning, and leave with tools to support meaningful integration of computer science into science instruction in ways that align with the Minnesota standards and support student inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Planning tools and ideas to support integrating computer science (including modeling, programming, and data science) into your K-12 science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Carter, Haley Kalina

In this workshop participants will engage with our innovative Self Driving car unit. Our approach is grounded in phenomena, science storylining, coherence and student modeling. We have innovated upon these time tested NGSS teacher practices by incorporating AI and computer science. In our approach, students explore the phenomenon of Self Driving Cars to ask questions, define problems and engage in the rest of the science and engineering practices. The participants will experience these practices in student-hat so that they better understand the student experience and how to implement the units. Participants will engage with Teachable Machines to create their own AI image classifier.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will leave ready to implement our high quality unit with your students engaging student interest and using powerful storylining teaching routines. You will also have authentic student assessments to accompany the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bush, Greg Benedis-Grab

Come engage in activities (elementary, middle, and high school) to experience how to embed social-emotional learning alongside the NGSS! We will explore teaching strategies that can be used in any lesson, connect with the 3 dimensions, and embed essential SEL skills along the way.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn strategies to embed SEL instruction into existing NGSS lessons in ways that engage students with both content and social-emotional growth. Combining these practices facilitates a deeper understanding and more effective use of both.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Borton

How can we move beyond rote learning to create classrooms where students think, talk, and act like scientists? In this workshop, participants will experience Building Thinking Classrooms strategies in action through an inquiry-based biology lesson that launches with the real-world phenomenon. Working in randomly assigned groups at vertical whiteboards, attendees will explore data, collaborate on sensemaking, and practice the same processes our students use to develop scientific literacy and thinking skills.
We will unpack how the BTC framework supports:
Vertical learning to make student thinking visible.
Discourse and literacy by requiring explanations, justifications, and evidence use.
Authentic science practices such as modeling, analyzing data, and constructing arguments.
Attendees will leave with:
A concrete model lesson they can adapt for their own classrooms.
Strategies for embedding literacy and sensemaking into science content.
Practical tools to foster student collaboration, curiosity, and deeper understanding.
Whether you teach biology, environmental science, or other STEM courses, this workshop provides a hands-on look at how BTC principles transform passive note-taking into active problem-solving — and how anchoring instruction in real world phenomena makes science come alive.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain practical strategies to adapt outdoor/place-based, sensemaking 3D biology lessons for diverse learners, including English Language Learners and various biology contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Devon Bowker, Karen Maier

Assessment of NGSS performance expectations requires a multi-faceted assessment tool. Multiple-choice and one-word answer questions will not be sufficient to assess the science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and cross-cutting concepts that have been incorporated into the performance expectations. In this session, we will share how we employed the method of backwards design to develop classroom assessments based on NGSS performance expectations for our middle school students in all branches of science. The sample assessments that will be provided require students to engage in performance tasks, develop, incorporate, and analyze models, gather and analyze data, and use both models and data as evidence to support their statements. Along with the assessments, we will share a format that can be implemented by teachers to develop additional assessments for their own classrooms and explain how our teaching of the content changed once these assessments were written.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will examine sample assessments for 3 dimensional questioning and be given a chance to enhance a question on a topic relevant to their teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole McRee

Too often, science is treated as the expendable subject in the school setting, particularly in the elementary grades, where reading and math (and their standardized test scores) reign supreme. For many of our brightest students, however, it is also their favorite subject. This presentation will demonstrate the importance of implementing challenging and engaging science experiences that provide students with opportunities for critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity within the confines of district mandates.By engaging in hands-on experiences themselves, attendees will be provided with the tools they need to facilitate similar opportunities for their students, thereby instilling the ultimate goal for all educators—a love of learning and exploration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with easily implemented resources, effective strategies, and rigorous lessons that facilitate students' higher-order thinking, creativity, and problem solving in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Joyce Greco-Foster

This session will provide an overview of federal-level STEM policy developments in 2025 and their implications for science educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Everything you need to know about federal STEM policy in one hour.

SPEAKERS:
James Brown

Imagine a classroom transformed into a stage where fourth and fifth graders become thought leaders, sharing innovative ideas and sparking change. This session provides a roadmap for planning and executing a student-led TEDx conference—from initial idea to final publication on TED’s platform—integrating STEM, humanities, and public speaking. Participants will learn how to empower students to research, develop, and present ideas that matter to them and their communities. Rooted in the belief that all learners deserve access to high-quality science education, this project fosters science literacy, collaboration, and critical thinking. From incorporating technology and media production to cultivating real-world problem-solving skills, educators will leave with practical strategies to amplify student voices and build a learning community that inspires curiosity, passion, and lifelong learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to plan and execute a student-led TEDx conference, empowering young learners to research, develop, and present big ideas while integrating STEM, humanities, and public speaking to create a meaningful, real-world learning experience.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Robinson, Katie Musick, Jesse Wren

Discover how the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Discover Nature Schools program brings outdoor and place-based learning to life with the free middle school curriculum, Nature Unhooked, a free NGSS-aligned middle school curriculum available as a digital resource. This session spotlights three recently revised lessons—Schoolyard Topography, Aquatic Invertebrate Sampling, and Using Chemical Tests to Measure Water Quality—that engage students in authentic scientific investigations rooted in local landscapes. Participants will explore how students use two free online tools - ArcGIS MapViewer and CODAP (Common Online Data Analysis Platform) - to map, analyze, and compare schoolyard and stream data to student data from Missouri Stream Team #5221. Attendees will leave with practical tools and instructional strategies that promote 3D learning, data literacy, and environmental stewardship through the lens of their own communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to use free tools, ArcGIS and CODAP, with the free Discover Nature Schools Nature Unhooked curriculum to support place-based watershed investigations, analyze real data, explore land use impacts, and build NGSS-aligned STEM skills.

SPEAKERS:
Gwendolyn Parrett

What happens when future teachers step outside the classroom to design real-world, standards-based learning for their local community? This session showcases a collaborative place-based education project between teacher education candidates, trail locations, and two elementarty schools. As part of a semester-long service-learning experience, preservice teachers investigated local wildlife, vegetation, geology, and health science topics while developing cross-curricular trail-based lessons for elementary students. The final product included literature-rich, NGSS-aligned, three-part instructional modules with pre-visit, trail-based, and post-visit components. Each module included standards, materials, assessments, and original videos to guide both teachers and students. These trail lessons were piloted with grades K-5 and will be installed for continued community and school use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to design and implement a place-based education project grounded in local STEM standards

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Engle

Do you struggle to help your multilingual students (MLP) engage with and understand your science lessons? If so, please join us to explore specific, practical strategies that you can use immediately to assist your MLP students.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to apply various strategies for Scientific Literacy, such as using, Language Objectives, graphic organizers, and color-coding key vocabulary to any science unit.

SPEAKERS:
Sydnie Chouery

Come hear what secondary science teachers have tried in their classrooms related to the astronomy standards! Teachers from the Earth Science Teacher Education Project (ESTEP) and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) will share. Look for handouts, lesson plans, and unit plans that tie to standards, as well as conversation about our community goals around teaching astronomy in Minnesota.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teacher-tested astronomy activities from the teachers themselves.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Anderson, Alan Dewey, Robert Palmer, Kate Rosok, Emma Johnson

In this session, participants will explore research-based mentoring and instructional coaching approaches, professional development strategies, and practical interventions designed to support beginning science teachers' professional growth, classroom effectiveness, and long-term retention in the field. Novice science educators face unique challenges during their initial years in the classroom. Generalized management and engagement strategies from teacher prep programs are often not fully adequate when considering the technical and nuanced nature of science content, vocabulary, and student practices. Initial educators need additional time and support to explore content-specific strategies and teacher practices for engagement and management in the science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will identify common challenges experienced by early-career science teachers, develop targeted mentorship and support frameworks, and implement evidence-based coaching strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Baillargeon

How do you assess young elementary students in science? How do you measure progress in the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices? I have developed rubrics that allow me to chart the growth of my grades 1-4 students, using the SEP as my standards. I will share students' work samples from a variety of units and show how I use the rubrics to record and share their progress. My rubrics can be used with students to set goals, clarify expectations, and teach explicitly. They can also be used to share progress with parents, and they can support a standards based report card system. This session will allow participants to review the rubrics and discuss the pros and cons of using them in their own teaching practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will review grades 1-4 rubrics based upon the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices and be able to take them to use and adapt to their own teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
Shelley Petzold

Dive into the science of microplastics with this presenation designed for science educators across the country. Whether inland or costal, participants will learn practical techniques for extracting microplastics from both water, air and sediment samples using field and classroom-friendly methods. Learn how to bring this critical environmental issue into your curriculum through engaging, inquiry-based activities that align with NGSS standards. From collection to analysis, you'll gain the tools and confidence to guide students in investigating real-world pollution in their local waterways and landscapes. Discover how microplastics impact aquatic ecosystems, human health, and global sustainability—and empower the next generation of environmental stewards through science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will leave with hands-on protocols for extracting and analyzing microplastics from water and sediment, empowering students to explore local environmental issues through scientific investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Schaefer, Mary Kroll, Dianna Gobler

How can teachers advocate science safety in a way that sticks? Superheroes like Spider-Man, the Flash, and Ms. Marvel provide meaningful and memorable case studies for promoting safe practices in the classroom, school, and community. From the Avengers to the Fantastic Four and Ant-Man to Black Panther, we’ll explore examples to teach and train lab safety.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this interactive session, participants will explore multiple superhero case studies as tools for enhanced science safety training and advocacy, applying materials and policies from NSTA and other sources. Attendees will also examine copyright “fair use” with multimedia resources in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Bergman

Sweller's Cognitive Load Theory is an important consideration in every activity, assessment, and assignment we create as teachers. We will learn about the theory, the different types of cognitive load, and methods to enhance our time with students. Leave this session with hands on, logical ways to reduce unwanted cognitive load, while increasing efficiency of learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Do not waste precious teaching time by trying to increase content delivery. Use our knowledge of the different types of cognitive load to reduce where needed, and increase brain efficiency to avoid wasted ineffective teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Kirsten Landry

Grading that supports student sensemaking doesn't have to keep you at school all night. Learn approaches to grading that prioritize 3D sensemaking and utilize technology, collaboration, and existing resources so you have can your evenings back.

TAKEAWAYS:
The process of giving feedback and assigning grades is easier when there are strong materials and assessments to build from and technology can help make it faster without decreasing effectiveness for students.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney

Localizing instructional materials provides the potential for students to be able to identify with science and engineering ideas they are learning and helps students connect with their communities. It can also help students see where science and human systems intersect, particularly when students are made aware of issues and different points of view. In this workshop, participants will discuss how to elicit students’ own interests in local phenomena and community priorities and explore how to examine and use survey data from students. In addition, they will encounter and learn about five different strategies for adapting OpenSciEd instructional materials to be more local: (1) adding or swapping an anchoring phenomenon; (2) adding or swapping an investigative phenomenon; (3) writing a local transfer task; (4) making use of the related phenomenon board throughout a unit; and (5) using exit tickets to help students connect the lesson to something important to them.

TAKEAWAYS:
It is powerful to connect science instruction to local phenomena and community priorities—but it is challenging work! Join us to explore benefits and cautions of adapting OpenSciEd instructional materials to local contexts and to learn multiple strategies for localization of resources. In this works

SPEAKERS:
Kate Henson

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

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

Techniques such as CRISPR, mitochondrial transfer, and mRNA therapeutics have opened new possibilities for genetic manipulation of plants, animals, and the humas genome, bringing with them new opportunities to energize the biology curriculum. Although genetic engineering and molecular biology have been part of the biology curriculum for decades, the past several years have seen the introduction of new techniques that dramatically alter the landscape of human biology. These now include the possibility of directly modifying the human genome using CRISPR to treat diseases that previously were beyond the reach of medical science. We will examine how these powerful techniques work, suggest ways to incorporate them into the curriculum, and explore the promise and peril that awaits the brave new world of human genetic modification.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced to high interest case studies/phenomena that will engage their students in biology, demonstrating that biology is both dynamic and relevant to their lives.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Miller

Looking for an engaging way to bring climate education to life? Join this session to learn how New York City Public Schools launched Climate Action Days—four themed days each year that inspire creativity, learning, and sustainability across school communities. Designed for educators and school leaders, this workshop will explore how Climate Action Days were developed, how they’ve been supported citywide, and how you can adapt the model for your own district. Whether you’re just beginning your climate education journey or looking to expand current efforts, this session offers a flexible, community-driven approach to meaningful action. We’ll share ready-to-use resources, reflect on impact, and brainstorm ideas tailored to your students and context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators and school leaders will explore how to bring Climate Action Days to life in their own communities, using NYC’s model to spark student engagement, creativity, and climate action.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Slack

This hands-on, immersive experience is designed to help educators deepen their understanding of an effective and practical strategy to support students with the Science and Engineering Practice of Asking Questions called the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a method that teaches students to generate and refine their own questions, fostering critical thinking and enhancing phenomena-based learning. Participants will observe a phenomenon from a OpenSciEd High School Lesson, collaborate in a small group utilizing intentional discourse structures, to revise and develop testable questions for the causes of the phenomenon. Resources include an OpenSciEd Lesson, a structured, collaborative questioning form for engaging students with the QFT, guidance and question stems for helping students revise questions, student discourse table structures, and sentence stems for support with developing a whole class Driving Question Board (DQB).

TAKEAWAYS:
In this hands-on experience, educators will discover how to utilize an effective instructional strategy, the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), to customize OpenSciEd lessons and support students with developing questions for a Driving Question Board (DQB) about the causes of a phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Garelli

What happens when students lead global climate and biodiversity education? In this session, discover how high school students created the National Biodiversity Teach-In, a student-run webinar series reaching 120,000+ participants in over 40 countries. Aligned with the NGSS and the Framework’s vision of student agency, this project empowers students to investigate real-world environmental issues, collaborate with scientists, and produce professional-level public outreach. Students manage logistics, interview scientists, co-create presentations on topics like Arctic warming and plastic pollution, and inspire local and global action. The model fosters 3D learning, civic engagement, and sustainability literacy. Attendees will explore classroom strategies, student artifacts, and ready-to-use resources to launch similar programs in their own schools amplifying youth voices in climate and biodiversity education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how students can lead powerful, real-world climate and biodiversity education by organizing global webinars with scientists. Walk away with tools, resources, and inspiration to launch student-driven initiatives that foster agency, 3D learning, and sustainability action.

SPEAKERS:
Frankie Valenzia, Vincent Fosco, Brittney Mallen, Deborah McMullen

This session will be training in the fundamentals of individual advocacy and how to get started along the path of being an effective advocate for science education with your state, local, and federal elected officials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get started in making your voice heard by your elected officials.

SPEAKERS:
James Brown

What if students couldn’t wait to do science—and it still aligned with your standards? In this session, discover how Personal Interest Projects (PIPs) can transform your classroom into a space where creativity, curiosity, and content come together. Based on the upcoming book Learning They’ll Love, this session explores how to guide students as they investigate questions that matter to them while building deep scientific understanding. You’ll see how PIPs engage diverse learners, support rigorous thinking, and offer natural opportunities for authentic assessment—all without sacrificing structure. Whether students are researching coral bleaching, designing climate-friendly sneakers, or building models of diseases that impact their communities, PIPs make room for real science with real meaning. Leave with planning tools, student examples, and inspiration to launch PIPs that bring joy, relevance, and rigor to your middle or high school science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design and implement Personal Interest Projects that ignite student creativity and ownership while meeting science standards through meaningful, real-world learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Radday

Thinking about shifting to phenomenon-based science teaching—but not sure where to start or how to sustain it? This session is for you. We’ll explore what makes this approach so powerful for student sensemaking, while also naming the real challenges teachers face in making the shift—like facilitating discussions, sparking curiosity, supporting modeling, and rethinking assessment. You'll get a look at a free, growing library of short, on-demand video resources designed to support these transitions. Whether you're exploring new practices or looking for concrete tools and planning strategies, you’ll leave with practical ideas and access to high-quality, open instructional materials that can support your journey.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phenomenon-based instruction is powerful—but challenging. Explore free, on-demand resources and curriculum tools designed to help you take the next step with confidence.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Affolter

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

This presentation explores Newton's Laws of Motion within the framework of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), emphasizing both scientific concepts and their real-world applications. By aligning with NGSS Performance Expectations, such as HS-PS2-1 and HS-PS2-2, educators will gain strategies to guide students in making sense of DCI through the SEP by asking questions, developing models, constructing explanations of the relationship between force, mass, and motion. The session will highlight instructional approaches that foster student engagement through inquiry-based learning promoting the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Through practical classroom examples and collaborative discussions, educators will be equipped with physics strategies that nurture students’ ability to apply physics principles beyond the classroom and through the NGSS framework.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation equips educators with NGSS-aligned strategies to teach Newton’s Laws of Motion through inquiry-based learning, emphasizing real-world applications, critical thinking, and student engagement using practical classroom examples.

SPEAKERS:
Zahera Zahreldin

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

A Sidewalk Science display is the STEM version of the Little Free Libraries that appear in many places: a self-contained interactive science museum display. This idea will have two impacts: on the students who create them and on the kids who stop by to play with them. The creating students will need to deepen their understanding of their subject in order to design one, and design thinking (as done at the Stanford d school) can be applied to leverage their creativity to build an effective one. Neighborhood kids who come by will get a hands-on opportunity to learn a bit of science, engineering, math, or whatever topic is presented.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sidewalk Science projects will deepen your students' understanding of their subject and connect them more deeply to their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Steven Heilig

How can we help every student feel like they belong in STEM and succeed? This interactive session shares a real-world, problem-based approach to STEM that focuses on equity, representation, and access. You'll explore lessons and student work from a high school program designed to uplift underrepresented voices in STEM. The session highlights how science, technology, engineering, and math can be taught alongside real-world issues and students’ own experiences. You'll leave with easy-to-use planning tools, student voice rubrics, and strategies that promote inclusive, culturally responsive teaching. The presenter will also share research on how identity-affirming lessons increase student engagement and performance. This session supports NGSS, the NRC Framework, and NSTA’s focus on equity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with easy-to-use tools to create inclusive STEM lessons that highlight diverse voices and connect to real-world problems.

SPEAKERS:
Adnan Hakimji

Upon witnessing poverty in South Africa 14 years ago and wanting to make an impact, the idea of storing “Sunshine in a Jar” was developed. Through the years, like-minded teachers, engineers, and social entrepreneurs collaborated on the research and development of materials that will empower students across the globe with safer, cleaner solar energy. Participants will convert a glass canning jar into a solar lantern using photovoltaic panels, rechargeable batteries, and a customized PCB. This STEAM based workshop demonstrates how students can construct their personalized take-home solar lanterns with an eye towards a greater good.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to make solar lanterns while addressing the middle and high school NGSS Physics standards as well as the NRC Framework Standards for Matter, Energy, and Human Impacts. Connect this simple lantern to the collective work of teachers and engineers working towards alleviating energy poverty.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Ulicny

This activity usually requires very expensive 3D models. The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Biology has created its own version of this essential investigation for under $10. Each group will only need our free slides, data table, sets of paper copies of seven hominid/primate species, two 12-inch rulers, and one protractor. Teachers will begin by describing, measuring, and comparing cranial drawings from contemporary apes, modern humans, and fossil hominins, discovering the pattern of the gradual accumulation of traits over time, leading to modern humans. Each student group will make measurements of the following: Forehead, Chin, Sagittal Crest, Prognathism, Facial Slope, Supraorbital Brow Ridge, Dental Arcade, Canines, Foramen Magnum, Cranial Module. (Each measurement is carefully described in the classroom presentation and student instructions). An analysis and discussion of the patterns and trends will follow. 3D printed skulls will be raffled off.

TAKEAWAYS:
Over millions of years, human ancestors evolved from small-brained, plant-eating hominids with strong jaws to larger-brained Homo sapiens with flatter faces, advanced thinking skills, and the capacity for speech—highlighting a dramatic shift in diet, cognition, and social behavior.

SPEAKERS:
Kathlyn Van Hoeck

In this workshop participants will engage with our innovative STEM unit on MagLev trains. We will engage as a group in the anchoring phenomenon routine to rehearse the unit. We will also explore the freely available materials so that the unit can be implemented in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will leave with a high quality, ready to implement unit that you can use in your classroom. Our storyline teaching routines will engage students and spark their curiosity. The MagLev phenomenon is engaging and exciting for students.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bush, Greg Benedis-Grab, Kate Henson

Attempting to support 20+ teachers transitioning to the NGSS for all our science students, we used a state STEM Integration grant to gain tools for teaching using sensemaking/storylines/NGSS. Large PLC’s and singleton teachers of various science content areas (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, ICP, Environmental) participated in the PD throughout the school year. We found some successes and setbacks. We hope to be able to help other schools as they plan and work toward more sensemaking and NGSS-based science classrooms. Attendees will learn what strategies have worked well to take back with them and also be made aware of challenges to expect. [NOTE: COULD BE A 30 minute Presentation/Panel, however, to unlock the TEACHING for SENSEMAKING STRAND, we had to click the 60-min session]

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn some of what worked well and could have been better in attempting a large, school-wide, science PD initiative in their district.

SPEAKERS:
Zackary Lopez, Fabian Lopez, John Gensic

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool can support teachers shifting their instruction to create opportunities for student sensemaking. Gain experience using the tool to identify “look and listen fors” in classroom observations and to facilitate productive discussions about successes and overcoming challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use the NSTA Sensemaking Tool for classroom observations and providing feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta, Emily Mathews

Engaging students in real world science is an important first step in three-dimensional science instruction, but what do you do with phenomena once students are hooked? In this session, we look at the next steps of learning through phenomena, getting students to ask questions, collect evidence, and make meaning using claim, evidence, and reasoning. Attendees will dive into what makes a good phenomenon, eliciting questions from students, and how to structure instruction to guide students through the CER process. They will leave with strategies for creating a true 3D environment and graphic organizers to help them on their way.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to build true NGSS learning off of strong phenomena, taking the "next steps" in thinking like real scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Obie Martin

NSTA’s suite of instructional coaching tools support teachers, coaches and leaders in making the best use of instructional coaching cycles to support students’ sensemaking in the classroom. Become familiar with all of our OER coaching tools and try a few out a few in this session!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use NSTA’s suite of instructional coaching tools to support instructional coaching cycles in your school/district.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

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

Experiential learning is a cornerstone of science education. Students learn by doing, engaging directly with materials, experiments, and real-world scenarios. But does “hands-on” always mean minds-on? Too often, experiential activities are mistaken for inquiry simply because they are interactive or engaging. In reality, students can perform tasks, follow procedures, and even have fun without ever engaging in true scientific thinking. This session will unpack the distinction between experiential and inquiry-based learning and explore how educators can design experiences that intentionally bridge the two. While experiential learning offers the context and sensory engagement, inquiry provides the cognitive structure—the purposeful questioning, analysis, and meaning-making that lead to deep understanding. When combined thoughtfully, the two approaches can create powerful opportunities for students to behave like scientists: not just doing science, but thinking scientifically.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using real classroom examples, we’ll show how to shift from procedural tasks to investigations that spark curiosity and deepen understanding. Participants will leave with practical strategies to embed inquiry into existing lessons, helping students think and act like scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Onusko

This workshop provides actionable plans and encourages CS teachers to embrace counselor collaborations for a diverse, thriving CS Program. Explore the transformative role of school counselors in shaping CS education. Dive into collaborative strategies, understand counselors’ impact, and share unique educator challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Counselor collaboration is key to a thriving, diverse CS program. Learn actionable strategies to partner with counselors and boost student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
MaKenzie Johnson

This session will describe a partnership between instructional coaches and SC elementary/middle school science teachers working to shift from a "traditional" approach to a 3D model. As part of a multi-year NSF grant, teachers received one-on-one support through monthly coaching meetings and biannual in-person coaching cycles. The presentation focuses on this coaching component, targeting school/district leaders and coaches seeking to support similar shifts in their schools and districts. The presentation will introduce the dialogical coaching model (Knight, 2018), outline the coaching structures used, and describe how the NGSS Science & Engineering Practices and teacher-identified goals guided reflection and feedback throughout the year. Teachers' challenges and successes in implementing 3D instruction will be shared, along with students' learning outcomes. A live Q&A backchannel will be available, with time reserved at the end for discussion. Resources and references will be provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain an understanding of how to design & implement a supportive coaching model grounded in the dialogical approach, differentiated based on teachers' goals, & structured around the Science & Engineering Practices to support the shift to 3D instruction in K–8 science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Anna Morrison

How might cover crops improve soil health? How might anyone who grows plants benefit from the use of cover crops? Participants will investigate the characteristics of different cover crops and apply them to specific scenarios found in agriculture to select a set of cover crops that will achieve specific soil regeneration goals. Soil ecosystems can be improved with the use of cover crops to retain soil nutrients, improve soil structure and increasing biodiversity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain knowledge of what types of cover crops are being used in agriculture and how they affect soil health including biodiversity.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Bryan, Jeff Jostpille

Discover how invention education (IvE) empowers ALL students to solve real-world problems using STEAM! Educators will become inventors themselves! We will highlight how IvE engages all learners and allows students to take control of their learning. IvE begins with students reflecting on their lives and identifying problems. Once they identify a problem they are passionate about solving, their self-agency begins! Rather than being given a problem to solve, IvE empowers all students to solve problems in their lives/their communities. This compelling premise then inspires students to design a solution which marries STEM, empathy, and student-led learning. Attendees will become inventors as they go through an innovation activity. They will even brand and pitch their invention! Inventing/marketing leads to IP. Participants will learn the power of trademarks, and other types of IP. Educators will see free resources and be inspired by the power of invention and IP education!

TAKEAWAYS:
IvE empowers students to solve real-world problems using STEAM, fostering self-agency and student-led learning. Educators will experience the innovation process firsthand, creating their own inventions and learning how IP plays a key role in student creativity and ownership. Free resources too!

SPEAKERS:
Christine Lawlor-King

Leaning into cultural relevance and social justice issues can be a powerful tool for building strong student engagement in the sciences. This session will showcase strategies used with teachers to adapt and redesign phenomena-based science units in Chicago Public Schools to increase relevance, criticality, and joy. The techniques we will explore can be applied to any phenomena-based science curriculum and can help build deeper student engagement with pressing science issues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore strategies for designing or modifying units to create rich, culturally relevant science unit storylines that engage students as critical actors within challenging, real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Seabloom

Teaching OpenSciEd brings exciting shifts—and some real challenges. This session introduces a growing library of short, on-demand resources designed to support teachers as they make those shifts. Whether you're just getting started or deep into implementation, these videos and tools offer actionable guidance on everything from launching a Driving Question Board to navigating student-led discussions. You'll hear how they’re being used in PLCs, coaching cycles, and planning time, explore examples tied to real teacher questions, and help shape what gets built next by sharing your own ideas and needs. Come explore, reflect, and contribute to building a resource that’s truly teacher-powered.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover bite-sized, teacher-driven videos designed to support real OpenSciEd challenges—ready to use when and how you need them.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Affolter