Join us to experience how students make decisions and engage in classroom discussion as part of their sensemaking in OpenSciEd Elementary’s newly released 1.3 Sky Patterns Unit. Find out about the seamless integration of 3D science with ELA and mathematics and built-in guidance for supporting a range of learners. During the session, we’ll engage participants in an immersive curriculum-based professional learning experience and experience the joy possible when elementary science classrooms engage in collective science sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
The OpenSciEd instructional materials can support science classrooms that leverage the Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of K-5 Educators. OpenSciEd Elementary units are designed to support classrooms with embedded opportunities to use ELA and math to support science sensemaking and designed to support a range of learners. The storyline approach is designed to provide students with a meaningful experience that is motivated by the students’ own desires to explain something they don’t understand or to solve a problem their classroom has come to care about.

SPEAKERS:
Janna Mahfoud, Susan Gomez Zwiep, Yanira Vazquez

Discover how OpenSciEd has redesigned five middle school science units to authentically integrate computer science and computational thinking into the core middle school science program without extending instructional time. These units embed micro:bits, sensors, and design challenges within OpenSciEd’s signature phenomenon-based storylines, while also weaving in meaningful career exploration opportunities in computer science and engineering. In this institute, you’ll engage in hands-on investigations using micro:bits and sensors to analyze contact forces in collisions. You’ll design and program sensor systems to measure forces and explore how these tools can be applied to minimize damage or tackle related real-world challenges. You’ll also see how computational thinking builds across multiple units and disciplines, creating a coherent experience for students and we will dig into the design choices that made this integration possible. If you’re already implementing OpenSciEd middle school units, these can serve as powerful replacement units that expand access in science and computer science. If you’re new to OpenSciEd, they offer an excellent first step into phenomenon-based, STEM-integrated science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Neill, Dan Voss, Nicole Vick, Michael Novak, Dominique Poncelet

Join the inquiryHub team for a day-long deep dive into the use of programmable sensors in science learning. Professional science leverages computing in all aspects of the scientific process. This workshop provides tangible ways to incorporate real world computational thinking into your classroom. You will experience a model curriculum sequence including an introduction to the micro:bit and MakeCode computing platform as well as a Maglev Trains investigation that complements a physical science curriculum. Our approach is grounded in phenomena, storylines, coherence and student modeling. We build on the three dimensions of the NGSS by incorporating computational thinking through physical computing (micro:bit) where students use programmable sensors to ask questions, define problems and engage in all of the science and engineering practices. Participants will experience these practices through a hands-on experience and will be prepared to implement the units. We will write computer programs, collect/analyze data, and connect investigations to place-based contexts. You will walk away with classroom ready toolkit of resources that ready to implement and incorporate into other lessons and units.

SPEAKERS:
Greg Benedis-Grab

NSTA is providing an OpenSciEd Curriculum Launch Workshop* for the High School Physical Science Unit: P.1 Energy Flow from Earth’s Systems. This immersive professional learning experience is centered around the compelling and real-world context of the Texas power crisis of February 2021. Participants will explore how to guide students in making sense of the complex social, environmental, and physical systems involved in meeting community energy needs.

Throughout the workshop, you will experience key lessons from the unit as a student would—engaging with phenomena, analyzing data, and developing explanatory models that span multiple scales, from electrons moving through circuits to decisions made by power companies. You’ll see how the unit supports students in understanding energy transfer, evaluating the reliability of different energy sources, and applying engineering design principles to propose solutions that meet the real needs of their communities.

By participating, you’ll gain an understanding of how this unit supports student sensemaking, critical thinking, and civic engagement. You’ll also learn how to effectively navigate the embedded instructional resources to foster meaningful and relevant science learning in your classroom.

All attendees are invited to extend their professional learning virtually through the OpenSciEd High School Physical Science Unit P.1 Curriculum Launch Workshop (24 hours total) and Facilitator Training (32 hours total), empowering you to confidently lead and support energy-focused learning in your school and beyond.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain experience and confidence to implement an OpenSciEd high school unit in your classroom. Create an opportunity to complete the OpenSciEd high school curriculum launch and facilitator training after the conference ends (virtual workshop sessions).

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker

Are you looking for better ways to design meaningful, standards-aligned assessments that reflect your students’ thinking? In this full-day workshop, we’ll work together to design three-dimensional (3D) science assessments—supported by a powerful generative AI tool and guided by your teacher expertise. Using the Next Generation Science Assessment (NGSA) Design Framework and real classroom examples, we’ll walk through how to unpack performance expectations, craft learning performances and evidence statements, and co-create tasks responsive to your students’ diverse backgrounds and learning needs. You’ll learn how to write effective prompts for AI, evaluate and adapt AI-generated content, and ensure that what you create is instructionally useful and meaningful. Along the way, we’ll also engage in honest, practical conversations about the ethical use of AI in education. This session is designed specifically for upper elementary and middle school teachers—and you’ll leave with ready-to-use assessment tasks, access to customizable prompts and design templates, and new strategies you can apply immediately in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
- Learn how to design NGSS-aligned 3D assessment tasks with the support of a GPT-empowered AI system. - Gain practical experience writing prompts, generating and refining tasks, and applying a clear design framework. - Explore ways to responsibly integrate AI into your work that honors student voice, local context, and teacher judgment. - Walk away with a complete prototype assessment, classroom-ready resources, and a deeper confidence in your assessment design.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Krajcik, Tingting Li, Selin Akgun

Looking for meaningful ways to integrate the “T” in STEM into your K-5 instruction? Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision (www.exploravision.org) is a K-12 STEM competition that engages teams of 2-4 students to envision ways to solve student selected real-world problems by reimagining current technology for applications 10 years from now.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer O'Sullivan, Kristen Moorhead