Teachers spend about 7-12 hours per week searching for & creating instructional materials. In this session we’ll hear from teachers about how using vetted, high quality materials as a starting point opened up new possibilities and helped them to be the teacher they always wanted to be.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how using high-quality instructional materials in your classroom can shift your role as teacher from "creator" to "innovator" and allow more time for supporting students and improving outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Palys

The Framework and NGSS called for phenomena-based 3D learning experiences for all students. Unpack WHY this is so important and HOW to make it a reality in your classroom. Take away phenomena and storylines to try in your classroom and strategies for making every student look forward to your class

TAKEAWAYS:
The shift to phenomena-based 3D learning brings the student to the center of the learning and uses their life experiences and approaches to sensemaking to drive it.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney, Matt Krehbiel

Many schools have common planning time or PLCs but sometimes they can feel more like a chore than a benefit. Why can’t you just have more personal prep time? In this session, we will share resources for CPT or PLCs that make them feel worthwhile, productive, and even enjoyable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Common planning time or PLCs are more effective when teachers are working with strong curricular materials. Well-designed and ready to use tools and structures for CPT/PLCs can support teachers to deepen their understanding of the materials and effectively prepare for future lessons they will teach.

SPEAKERS:
Benjamin Lowell, Renee Affolter

Looking for strategies that improve student questioning skills? Are your students struggling with developing questions for a Driving Question Board? The Question Formulation Technique empowers students to develop critical thinking by asking better, more insightful questions.

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

Explore how a Watershed organization partnered with a large suburban PA school district to adapt the OpenSciEd curriculum, creating engaging learning experiences that build environmental literacy through real-world, local issues. Hear from formal and non formal educators on leveraging the rich resources available.

TAKEAWAYS:
We’ll share how we set the vision for our work, planned field experiences, trained volunteers, and piloted lessons to ensure learning goals were met. Participants will engage in discussion to identify how they can utilize this process to identify partners and field experiences that fit into OpenSciEd.

SPEAKERS:
Erin McCool, Eryn Jackson

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

Wondering how to customize your curriculum to be more relevant for your students? Using examples from OpenSciEd as a context, we’ll share tools and strategies for customizing curriculum to increase relevance. Come ready to work!

TAKEAWAYS:
If curriculum enactment pairs great materials with support for teachers to make those materials even better, amazing things can happen. Customizing the use of phenomena in quality materials to support relevance for students is a great way to increase engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Affolter, Austin Moore

Are you in a “complicated” relationship with the materials you or your district have chosen? How you interact with your HQIM matters. Let’s do some couples therapy - using practical planning tools - and work towards a strong and healthy teacher-curriculum relationship that supports student learning!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will consider their student needs and work with educative tools to support more effective and efficient planning with HQIM in service of student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Hillary Paul Metcalf, Renee Affolter

Discover how to enhance OpenSciEd units with Project-Based Learning (PBL). Learn the overlap and distinctions between the two, select units that naturally fit PBL, and explore tools that boost engagement, real-world skills, and authenticity. Leave with actionable strategies for immediate use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how to enhance OpenSciEd units with Project-Based Learning (PBL). Learn the overlap and distinctions between the two, select units that naturally fit PBL, and explore tools that boost engagement, real-world skills, and authenticity. Leave with actionable strategies for immediate use.

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

Do you or your students sometimes get bored of the anchoring phenomenon or feel like you’ve figured it all out early in the unit? In this session, we will explore potential causes for “phenomenon fatigue” and strategies to avoid it as you help students engage deeply with complex natural phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
There are many reasons why students and teachers may experience “phenomenon fatigue” when teaching with units driven by an anchoring phenomenon. However, this can be avoided by being clear on the unit trajectory, leveraging the related phenomena, problemetizing, and strong navigation.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Affolter, Benjamin Lowell, Matt Krehbiel

Come learn about Tennessee's collaborative effort to use OpenSciEd's high-quality, open-source materials to simultaneously build capacity in educators and build a state-specific version for all TN teachers to use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Customizing high-quality, open-source instructional materials is a great opportunity to build capacity in educators.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Naegele, Vicki Kirk

Experience a live simulation of key OpenSciEd strategies— the Driving Question Board, collaborative experiment design, and Scientist Circles—through a lens of increasing teacher agency. Walk away with practical strategies to adapt science instruction for your unique students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Empowering teachers to customize curriculum leads to better student engagement in sensemaking. Participants will experience hands-on examples of how to adapt the Driving Question Board, experiment design, and discussions to make science accessible to their students.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Fitzgerald, Kristy Lathrop