Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific

If you can only attend one session, make it this one. Transform your classroom with exciting, easy-to-perform (& crowd-pleasing) chemistry & physical science demos! Perfect for teachers, admins, and new educators, this session showcases unique demonstrations and classroom classics to engage students.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Marvel, Ph.D., Jonnathan Medina Ramos, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: LEGO® Education

Together, we can change this by making science more engaging, relevant and meaningful. We’ll explore how hands-on experiences with LEGO® Education spark those 'ah-ha' moments, helping students build knowledge, skills, and excitement for learning.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Sliwinski

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

How do forensic scientists find evidence in invisible ink? Students must think like both detectives AND scientists to find out! By capturing spectra of ink samples, students investigate electromagnetic radiation, explore light-matter interactions, and use mathematical models to calculate energy.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Martin

Build, test, and change ramps and consider ways to help early elementary students answer some BIG questions: How do different objects move? How can we change the way an object moves?

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this workshop with the hands-on experience and curricular materials needed to support young elementary students as they explore and make sense of forces and interactions.

SPEAKERS:
Adrien Kaye

Join us for an immersive EarthX experience, where you will don your student hat to explore the interconnectedness of Earth and the traditional sciences. We don’t experience the world as discrete biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science interactions, so why do we teach these subjects in silos?

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the session having experienced first hand a student-centered, 3-dimensional lesson showcasing NGSS Earth Science DCIs integrated into traditional high school curricula, taught by one of the Baltimore City science teachers who helped develop the materials.

SPEAKERS:
Edmund Mitzel, Jr., Ph.D., Kevin Garner, Alan Berkowitz, Cassidy Johnson, Angela Hood, Kyle Gregory, Nina Groseclose

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Experience the best way to teach basic circuits! Learn how to build circuits with modular components that look identical to schematic drawings. We'll show you how to skip the tangled wires that confuse students so you can focus on the physics.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Sponsoring Company: Simulation Curriculum

Dive into Earth's wonders! Our Earth Science workshop offers hands-on activities, expert insights and teaching strategies to inspire curiosity and deepen understanding. Join us in exploring the dynamic systems of our planet! Geology, Meteorology, Climate & Physical Geography! Grades 5-8, 9-12.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Goodman

Sponsoring Company: PhET Interactive Simulations

Be empowered with PhET Studio, PhET’s first customization tool for teachers! Learn how to create unique sim experiences that fit your lessons and inspire students like never before. Join us to see Studio in action and gain free Open House access. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity!

SPEAKERS:
Linda Stegemann

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Explore easy, engaging, and safe chemistry activities that guarantee a reaction in your students. These lab activities support 3-dimensional learning and work every time, not just periodically.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Sponsoring Company: UL Research Institutes

This workshop focuses on sense-making about lithium-ion batteries and the phenomenon of thermal runaway. Participants will develop models to understand the phenomenon, applying cross-cutting concept of matter and energy. Participants will then ideate solutions for safer battery enclosures.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Gilbert, Jessica Sparacino

Sponsoring Company: LEGO® Education

Successfully engaging students in scientific reasoning, discourse, and investigation requires confident educators and reliable tools. Join us to explore hands-on lessons you can use to spark student curiosity, address Pennsylvania’s STEELS standards, and improve outcomes with LEGO® Education classroom solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Tom Taylor, Evangelia Papacostas

Upon witnessing poverty in South Africa 13 years ago and wanting to make an impact, the idea of storing “Sunshine in a Jar” was developed. Currently, this solar lantern project is evolving into a “Power it Forward” movement in hopes of providing reliable solar power to those in energy poverty.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendants are briefed on the solar lantern project, which covers the middle and high school NGSS Physics standards as well as the NRC Framework Standards for Matter, Energy, and Human Impacts. Plans will be shared about how these lanterns are launching a movement towards alleviating energy poverty.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Ulicny

How do you leverage the powerful computer in students' pockets to teach E&M? The modern smartphone's magnetometer can be used to do things as basic as detecting currents and permanent magnets and as complex as collecting data to linearize and discover distance dependencies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Every student "doing the lab" is better than one student "doing the lab" and 3+ students watching a demonstration of the lab. Turn your students into scientists with the tools to answer questions right in their pockets.

SPEAKERS:
Helene McLaughlin, David Rakestraw, Michael Tobler

Participants will be provided with engineering lessons for two 8th grade physical science topics: electromagnetism plus force and motion. The focus is on how the lessons were implemented, student work was assessed, and discussions to improve instruction and student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see video evidence of teacher-student interactions in real time as the engineering lesson was implemented. Additionally, participants will see samples of student work and the feedback teacher candidates provided.

SPEAKERS:
Imelda Razo, Makenzie Wall, Romola Bernard

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Come and participate with the author of the book, Arthur Eisenkraft, for a close-up look at a new Physical Science book. Experience a fun, take-home lab and learn more about this super curriculum from Activate Learning.

SPEAKERS:
Gary Curts, Arthur Eisenkraft

Join us for an exciting mini workshop designed to familiarize students with innovative technology, entrepreneurship, and career pathways leading to a career in STEM. This hands-on session is perfect for teachers to explore trending STEM careers with easily scaled classroom programs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers and faculty will walk away with examples of STEM innovation and entrepreneurship programs developed by the Manufacturing USA network. These programs can layer over existing classes and familiarize students with career pathways and new technologies.

SPEAKERS:
Brad Conrad, Amy Keesler, Christy Johnson, John Zappa

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Rockets zoom and race cars zip through hands-on activities that engage your middle and high school students. Apply creative problem-solving skills and engineering practices to chemistry and physical science challenges. Experience how Carolina makes it easy to incorporate STEM into your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Patti Kopkau, Alexandra Felts

Learn what representations and data your students can use to bridge phenomena and mathematics, and how to use data tasks to assess 3D kinematics understanding, as opposed to rote algebra skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to assess student problem-solving ability and conceptual understanding through students' use of multiple representations and approaches in physics classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Moore

Sponsoring Company: LEGO® Education

Join LEGO Education for a special presentation/Q&A with Dr. Lisa Carnell from NASA’s Biological and Physical Science Division. Learn how they use space-based research to study phenomena in ways that cannot be done on Earth. Get inspired, be curious, and empower the next generation through science. 

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to facilitate deeper student understanding of mole ratios, stoichiometry, and limiting reactants. This hands-on activity uses common household chemicals to simplify setup and a Wireless Pressure Sensor to support live data collection and immediate data analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

NGSS inquiry based lessons about food and energy, as well as energy transfer will be shared. All lessons are OER.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with an understanding and blueprint of how to incorporate these lessons into their classroom, as well as make necessary modifications.

SPEAKERS:
Liz Martinez

Using free or low-cost resources in the middle school classroom, you can get your students excited about earthquake science. IRIS and EarthScope resources will be shared, explained, and demonstrated.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be able to have their classrooms and students monitor local, regional, and global seismic events even before they make national news stations. Authentic seismic data in the classroom will make your science classes more relevant and interesting for all students.

SPEAKERS:
David Curry

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific

Ignite your students’ curiosity with hands-on STEM activities that integrate engineering, physical, life, and earth sciences. Designed for middle and high school teachers, these real-world connections energize students and enhance learning. Handouts provided! Visit www.flinnsci.com.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Cambron, M.S., Jillian Saddler

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience a hands-on model lesson from OpenSciEd for Middle School and discover how the Carolina Certified Version enhanced these high-quality instructional materials, making them more accessible, user-friendly, and safer for classroom use.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort

Discover chemical reactions and animal adaptations through fireflies! We'll explore chemiluminescence, build a circuit, and practice communicating like beetles. This workshop is half chemistry lab, half engineering design challenge, and 100% fun!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learners will walk away with a clear understanding of how to run the lab activity, including access to all digital and printable materials. A hyperlinked list of affordable consumable materials is included.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Leys

This hands-on session is designed to engage elementary science teachers in a model lesson on building and testing ziplines using an engineering design process as advocated by the Next Generation Science Standards. We will also explore the physics, and energy and forces involved in a zipline.

TAKEAWAYS:
The experience within the session will help teachers develop a shared understanding of NGSS in action, 5E model, and engineering design process. Participants will work collaboratively to experience designing and testing ziplines for them to engage their future students in engineering design.

SPEAKERS:
Derek Cox

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Discover how PASCO's innovative equipment seamlessly integrates with OpenSciEd's standards-based curriculum. Engage in hands-on Middle School investigations. See how sensor-based data transforms traditional labs into dynamic learning experiences, empowering students to think like scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Get to know our most popular physics sensors! From exploring Ohm’s law in simple circuits to studying Newton’s third law with force sensors and a rubber band, Vernier data-analysis technology makes it easy to integrate hands-on, 3D learning into your physics and physical science curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Martin

This session will provide strategies and resources to support Pennsylvania science teachers, administrators, and curriculum supervisors transitioning to the PA STEELS standards. Many of the resources provided are also applicable to NGSS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with knowledge of a website with a variety of resources for implementing 3-dimensional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Wack

Should you text and drive? Let’s find out with fun, easy-to-do, hands-on, and content-rich activities from the Exploratorium. Open your eyes to your eye-brain system and how clearly you see the world. Explore your visual perception while engaging with three dimensions of the NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Find out why you need to “Keep your eyes on the road!” Participants will engage in hands-on activities. They will collect, analyze, and interpret data about their own eyes and visual systems. Discover the “Structure and Function” and how “Information Processing” works in the eye-brain system.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Muller

Discover how GIS tools empower students to investigate their school environment, collect data, identify patterns, assess human impact on ecosystems, and suggest improvements. Topics include Urban Heat Island, ecological benefits of trees, and analysis of cellular and Wi-Fi signal strength.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of this session, you'll be equipped to integrate GIS tools into your environmental science, biology, chemistry, and physical science classes. You'll also discover the adaptations we've made to support students with special needs.

SPEAKERS:
JODIE HURLEY, John Costanza, Kate Popejoy, PhD

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Assume the role of a crime scene investigator to solve a realistic crime scenario. Students use fingerprint, hair analysis, tire track impressions, blood typing, forensic entomology, and a police log review to identify a primary suspect from a pool of 6 alleged perpetrators.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Sponsoring Company: LEGO® Education

Ever wonder how your cells are like a tiny city? Or what a sheep would want in their hotel room? Come experience science standards in a way that will make science the highlight of your students' day. Reignite your passion for teaching with engaging, hands-on science lessons and LEGO® bricks.

SPEAKERS:
Jenny Nash

Physical computing allows students to design and create interactive objects that encourage inquiry investigations and emphasize computational thinking skills. Participants will engage in activities designed for middle school students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Microcontrollers are small computers that can come with several integrated sensors making them useful for bothc investigations and engineering projects. Participants will learn about and experience hands-on various microcontrollers & their use in inquiry investigation tasks & student sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Susan German, Michael Bowen

There is no shortage of jaw-dropping discoveries made from meteorites. Known as the “poor man’s space probe” most meteorites come from the asteroid belt, but now that we have actual material from a known asteroid, we better sharpen up about meteorite science because we’re going to need it.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will how to teach about the exciting history and evolution of meteorites science through falls and discoveries. From 500 years ago to recent meteoritic events, the science just keeps advancing as we are showered by these enigmatic rocks from space.

SPEAKERS:
Martin Horejsi

Sponsoring Company: LEGO® Education

Walk away with powerful insights from real classroom on how to better engage students in science with hands-on playful learning. A panel of educators will share how they use hands-on, inquiry-based methods and tools to spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and improve long-term learning outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Joshua Johnson, JoEllen Schuleman, Paula Don, Theresa Goltermann, Jenny Nash

The modeling-focused activity centers on interpreting student work and providing effective feedback on students' modeling and argumentation practices using the Argumentation and Modeling Science Practice Instructional Tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn techniques to offer feedback on (1) the reasons behind the differences in particle motion during freezing and melting and (2) the most effective ways to depict particle motion visually.

SPEAKERS:
Alex St. Louis, Jaclyn Murray

Sponsoring Company: UL Research Institutes

In this session, we will practice the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) by engaging in lab footage from UL Research Institutes and then reflect upon how this technique can be applied in our classrooms to support student-centered, phenomenon-driven learning.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Gilbert, Jessica Sparacino

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Rockets zoom and race cars zip through hands-on activities that engage your middle and high school students. Apply creative problem-solving skills and engineering practices to chemistry and physical science challenges. Experience how Carolina makes it easy to incorporate STEM into your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Alexandra Felts

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific

Boost student curiosity with quick, impactful demos for teaching force, motion, waves, energy, and more! Ideal for middle and high school physical science teachers, this is a "can't miss" session! Handouts for all activities included! Visit www.flinnsci.com.

SPEAKERS:
Jonnathan Medina Ramos, Ph.D., Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Get in the groove and make a real working record player! Investigate sound and wave properties with an easy-to-build homemade record player. Learn how music is encoded and played back. Understand the difference between digital and analog information transfer with this DIY device.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how to play the biggest hits of the NGSS: Learn about sound, waves, and the difference between digital and analog encoding with a DIY vinyl record player.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Muller

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to facilitate deeper student understanding of mole ratios, stoichiometry, and limiting reactants. This hands-on activity uses common household chemicals to simplify setup and a Wireless Pressure Sensor to support live data collection and immediate data analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Gain strategies and tools for enhancing opportunities for computational thinking in your current high school life or physical science curriculum. Bring current lessons and leave with concrete ideas for helping students engage authentically in the SEP of Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take home strategies and tools based on the Computational Thinking for Science Framework that they can use to enhance opportunities for CT-S in any high school science curriculum. They will receive immediate feedback on lesson modifications they can implement in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Maia Binding, Eric Greenwald, Wendy Jackson

Balance phenomena permeates our lives. Explore the phenomenon of balance in playful ways that include rotational balance, kinetic balance sculptures, and mobiles. Take a handout with you with ideas on how to provide your students daily opportunities to investigate balance using simple materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be empowered to introduce space, time, and materials for their students to investigate balance for stability, kinetic balance, and balance to compare.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Dykstra VanMeeteren

This year’s OSTB award books will be available for participants to peruse and enjoy. Learn about connections you can make to your instruction using these books and our experiences serving on the committee.

TAKEAWAYS:
NSTA and The Children’s Book Council have given awards for the best science trade books for over the past fifty years – At this share-a-thon table, learn more about this year’s selection and peruse some potential instructional connections.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Geary, Ana Houseal

Sponsoring Company: Ward's Science

Challenge and inspire your middle school students using the OpenSciEd curriculum. Perform hands-on experiments in Chemistry and Physics through problem-based learning activities from a 3D framework. Get a taste of Ward's Science kits that complement this open-source program.

SPEAKERS:
Patty Muscatello, Michelle Linn, Norman Marshall

Learn what representations and data your students can use to bridge phenomena and mathematics, and how to use tasks to assess 3D stoichiometry understanding, as opposed to rote algebra skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to assess student problem-solving ability and conceptual understanding through students' use of multiple representations and approaches in chemistry classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Moore

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific

Bring science to life with fun, NGSS-aligned activities for middle school and high school! Explore physical, life, and earth science topics like chromatography, energy, and blood types. Perfect for middle and high school teachers! Handouts included. Visit www.flinnsci.com.

SPEAKERS:
Jonnathan Medina Ramos, Ph.D., Mike Marvel, Ph.D.

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Discover how PASCO's innovative equipment seamlessly integrates with OpenSciEd's standards-based curriculum. Engage in hands-on Middle School investigations. See how sensor-based data transforms traditional labs into dynamic learning experiences, empowering students to think like scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Parallax is hard to understand from traditional illustrations. Here's a fresh take on parallax, and how to use your cellphone with google apps and a little dance to measure angular displacement between images, calculate distances, and validate your results.

TAKEAWAYS:
You'll learn to measure your phone camera's field-of-view, and use that information with layout tools in the Google Suite (or any similar suite) to measure angular displacement between views and calculate distances. We'll also discuss the Gaia mission to use parallax to make a 3-D map of our Galaxy.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Kaiser, Vincent Urbanowski

PhET simulations are evidence-based open education resources shown to improve student learning. Engage with PhET’s 170+ simulations, find and evaluate lesson plans against an equity-centered rubric, and curate a collection of your best finds using our newly-redesigned Activities database.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to (1) navigate the newly redesigned PhET Activities database with the capacity to save their favorite lesson plans, (2) evaluate lesson plans for quality and equity, and (3) become a contributor and reviewer for activities.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Blackman

Modeling workshops are structured inquiry approaches to physics teaching that incorporate computers and insights from content and physics education research. Modeling workshop attendees develop skills in scientific discourse, Socratic questioning, and in assessment of student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this session will be introduced to Modeling Instruction via a hands-on activity that is engaging and is representative of a typical modeling paradigm lab.

SPEAKERS:
Lee Burwasser, Jon Anderson

A discussion of philosophy and experiences of reshaping teaching and learning of conceptual physics at a small technical college. The presentation will detail the use of a portfolio assessment approach instead of traditional high-stakes exams, and the effects on student performance and attitudes.

TAKEAWAYS:
The use of a portfolio assessment strategy allows students the chance to learn and apply physics through doing, rather than memorizing and applying formulas. A draft based approach encourages students to continually revise and improve their understanding of difficult concepts over the semester.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Romanovich

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

This presentation will showcase best practices to address that “all forms of energy production” have “risks as well as benefits.” The free, online Switch Classroom provides non-partisan content in this critical area of NGSS instruction. Adaptable for grades 4-12.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

Investigate the role of evidence in scientific explanations using an interactive activity! Participate in a real world-based scenario about drinking water and make a decision based on evidence. This lesson is part of a free high school curriculum developed at the University of California, Berkeley.

TAKEAWAYS:
This lesson supports students’ use of evidence in decision-making so that teachers may use this approach in their own classrooms. The activity, a part of a 10-lesson unit on evidence and iteration in the context of water quality and availability, is free for download.

SPEAKERS:
Kristina Duncan, David House, Sarah Metz

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

TAKEAWAYS:
Whether you're a novice or a seasoned pro, Instructional Sequence Matters will empower you with both the rationale and tangible, real-world examples to revamp your hands-on teaching methods.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

This presentation will explore the implementation of Standards-Based Grading (SBG) within an integrated math and science 9th grade course, highlighting its benefits, challenges, and practical strategies for effective assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore Integration of Math and Science: Present the pedagogical rationale for integrating math and science in the freshman curriculum. Share examples of interdisciplinary lessons and assessments that utilize SBG principles.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Vogl, Zhanna Glazenburg

Sponsoring Company: Estes Rockets

Learn how to use simple household materials to create a fun and engaging STEM challenge for your students. Concepts covered include potential and kinetic energy conversions and the impact of mass on height. Get hands on, have some fun, and take away a great activity to use in your classroom!

SPEAKERS:
Bela Power

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Assume the role of a crime scene investigator to solve a realistic crime scenario. Students use fingerprint, hair analysis, tire track impressions, blood typing, forensic entomology, and a police log review to identify a primary suspect from a pool of 6 alleged perpetrators.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Design, construct, and test a waterwheel to demonstrate the conversion of water power into mechanical power, capable of lifting several pennies. This lab will reinforce the concepts of renewable energy and energy transformation.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

See how we can use cheesemaking to explore concepts like chemical reaction rates, solubility & precipitation, and pH. Participants will see how students can investigate these concepts in a fun, exploratory way that emphasizes building science practices. An easy investigative hands-on lab is included

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will do a simple hands-on lab that can be easily scaled up or down and see how students can make sense of curd formation by drawing on what they already know, making meaningful observations, analyzing data, asking questions, and applying an understanding of how chemical reactions work.

SPEAKERS:
Shawn Boggs

Research in science education shows students assert epistemic agency when teachers cede authority over knowledge, create space for alternate claims, and take up students’ ideas as classroom resources. Drawing on literature, we present a framework for supporting elementary students’ epistemic agency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers can make space for students to assert their epistemic agency in the science classroom. Doing so can result in positive learning outcomes such as productive dialogue, active student participation, and meaningful learning experiences for students.

SPEAKERS:
Greta Etherton, Daniel Levin

AGI’s Teacher Field Experience (TFE) program connects geoscience professionals with K-12 educators through immersive field trips and workshops. This poster session highlights partner case studies and how professionals can enhance earth science education while inspiring future geoscientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how they will be able to join AGI's Teacher Field Experience (TFE) program, connecting with local geoscience professionals to participate in hands-on field experiences or workshops that will enhance their knowledge of specific geoscience areas.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsay Mossa, Lauren Brase, Ed Robeck, Sequoyah McGee, Maliya Malik

We will present evidence from different classrooms, from regents level to ICT, highlighting how PEER Physics has been successfully integrated into the curricula. It will include student samples and analysis of student surveys to show the positive impact on student engagement and understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to adapt the PEER Physics approach to fit your specific teaching context and student population.Leave this session equipped with the knowledge and tools to create a more engaging, collaborative, and effective learning environment for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Campbell Fee

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience a hands-on model lesson from OpenSciEd for Middle School and discover how the Carolina Certified Version enhanced these high-quality instructional materials, making them more accessible, user-friendly, and safer for classroom use.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort

Participants will learn how to deliver instruction using professional scientific career settings creating friendly competition and engagement. This instruction promotes creativity and problem solving, and it builds communication, collaboration and investigative skills while meeting standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using physics as a primary example, participants will learn how to teach 3D science classes from the perspective of a professional in the career world. Audience participation will include brainstorming ways this can be applied to any science content area in middle or high school.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Strong

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Create and test Play-Doh electrical circuits to explore conductivity, resistance, and circuit design. This fun, hands-on lab provides an engaging way to teach foundational electricity concepts and energy science, making complex ideas accessible for students of all ages.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler

Sponsoring Company: Ward's Science

Too much work to do in preparation for OpenSciEd? We will share some time-saving measures and enhancements to give you back time to enlighten your students' learning of magnetism, electricity, and spectroscopy using Ward’s Science Kits. Get better results with less hassle.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Linn, Norman Marshall

Unlock the power of student sensemaking in science. Learn research-based strategies to ignite curiosity, foster discourse, and writing to create an inclusive classroom. Elevate science teaching to ensure you have a student-centered classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
For students, communication through talking and writing is natural. When they are making sense of science through talking and writing, they are making their thinking visible. The session highlights strategies and routines that will transform science lessons into student-centered learning.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Rhoades

In this session, participants will work on hands-on activities and use a storybook to teach about motion and forces using the engineering design model and translanguaging for K-2 levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to teach about motion and forces for K-2 using a storybook, the engineering design process, and translanguaging (English/Spanish).

SPEAKERS:
Hattie Wommack, Romola Bernard

Engage in a hands-on Self-Controlled Coaster Challenge that connects physics concepts like potential and kinetic energy with self-control. Learn how integrating SEL into STEAM fosters student understanding and emotional regulation, creating immersive, accessible science learning for all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain strategies for integrating SEL into NGSS-aligned STEAM lessons. This hands-on activity serves as an example, offering ideas to adapt similar student-centered approaches to make abstract concepts like energy and self-control accessible, engaging, and relevant for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Le-Marie Thompson, Nuria Gabitova

Sponsoring Company: The NEED Project

Inquiry-based, hands-on STEM and critical thinking activities that help secondary students develop a comprehensive understanding of energy, electricity, hydropower, and emerging ocean technologies. Applicable to a CTE classroom as well and can be easily modified according to students' skill levels.

SPEAKERS:
Paula Miller, Kimberly Swan

Balance is something we can feel but can not always see. The center of mass is not always the at the visual center of an object. Explore balance with your students using just paper, tape and scissors. Create a Engineering with Paper balance bar and objects to test just very simple supplies.

TAKEAWAYS:
That paper is an extremely adaptable and inexpensive material that can be used to create engaging science activities.

SPEAKERS:
Godwyn Morris

Are you looking for resources to engage learners about solar storms and auroras? NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) has built a framework with three big ideas and 9 topics, mapping existing and future resources to the framework. See demonstrations and share your favorite ones.

TAKEAWAYS:
Heliophysics is a study of the Sun and its impact on Earth, the solar system, and humanity. Find sample activities to share Sun-Earth Connection with youths and the public.

SPEAKERS:
Carolyn Ng

Sponsoring Company: BFW Publishers

Collisions and work-energy concepts are key topics in AP® Physics 1, and often challenging due to gaps in understanding. This session explores a clearer way to describe interactions, helping enhance students' comprehension so they tackle these problems more effectively. (Examples from recent exams).

SPEAKERS:
Gay Stewart, Rachel Friedman

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Experience the best way to teach basic circuits! Learn how to build circuits with modular components that look identical to schematic drawings. We'll show you how to skip the tangled wires that confuse students so you can focus on the physics.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Riley

Using data from labs of various science topics from speed to kinetics, attendees will perform simple labs then chart, graph, and analyze their data with the other participants. Attendees will perform a type of vertical whiteboarding carousel walk to analyze other groups' information.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ideas on how to incorporate labs that attendees may already use for specific curriculum, but use for graphing and data analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Coker

Talking about science is an integral part of sensemaking. Together teachers will experience a phenomenon to explore talk formats, talk moves, and monitoring tools. Teachers will consider how these tools will help students clarify, build, and share their ideas with others

TAKEAWAYS:
Supporting student talk that meets the targeted learning goals for your instruction requires a plan for classroom talk and practice facilitating learning conversations. Teachers will engage in the science practices and employ talk moves, to support students in 3D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Shafer, PhD

Test some heat-treated metal samples; practice your math skills and artistry with a STEAM activity; work in groups for an engineering challenge! There’s a little something for everyone and we won’t judge you for wanting to be hot and cheap in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with at least 3 useful lab activities giving opportunities for measurement, math, engineering, collaborative work, and an understanding of the materials around us. All of the activities use easy to find and household materials that are available at low cost.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson

With simple gel filters, their own phones and computers, students can make images at different optical wavelengths and combine them as astronomers. Then, they’ll download real space telescope images in invisible wavelengths to make astrophotos. This activity supports STEM fun – and serious science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn to create multi-wavelength datasets with their phones and process them as astronomers do and access and process real astronomical images from free professional resources. Shared with students, this rich, non-language dependent activity deepens understanding and engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Kaiser, Vincent Urbanowski

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Explore easy, engaging, and safe chemistry activities that guarantee a reaction in your students. These lab activities support 3-dimensional learning and work every time, not just periodically.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Sponsoring Company: Arbor Scientific

Creatively explore physics and physical science equipment, discovering versatile ways to use materials across different courses. Participants will develop strategies for making cost-effective purchasing decisions while aligning equipment use with standards-based instructional goals and inquiry level

SPEAKERS:
Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Alex Gonzalez

A hallmark of collaborative sense-making is student questions. This session will introduce an alternative approach to the driving question board for generating and centering student questions. Participants will also receive samples of high-quality instructional materials to use with the approach.

TAKEAWAYS:
Identification of gaps or uncertainties in models and the beginning of a learning experience is a useful approach for generating and centering student questions.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

Sponsoring Company: UL Research Institutes

From the mindset of solutions, participants will preview the Xplorlabs online pathway Extraction to E-waste and consider the role of trade-offs in the lithium-ion battery supply chain and how this problem could be part of classroom curriculum for both formal and informal settings.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Gilbert, Jessica Sparacino

Using the story, The Great Paper Caper and Let's Fly Planes, participants will experience an inquiry-based lesson through the lens of a student. Come and join us as we design and fly airplanes using the science and engineering practices and the crosscutting concepts to solve a problem.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants take away one lesson in an elementary force and motion unit that uses literacy to identify a problem, unpacks all NGSS dimensions by defining that problem, developing a solution, observing and measuring while testing to show evidence that patterns can be used to predict future motion.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Ryack-Bell, Kathy Renfrew

Explore a unique approach to building student comprehension of natural phenomena through direct relationships with physical science concepts. These methods help students connect and apply chemistry and energy basics to meteorology and ecology experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with the tools to teach the physical science foundations of natural phenomena, making clear connections between different areas of science for full understanding of weather, climate, biomes, and ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Schoeffler

An empty field. A human corpse. Maggots and flies. Who is the victim? What happened? Can you solve the mystery? (Spoiler alert: the maggots may hold the key......) This middle and high school activity will challenge you to apply science and deductive reasoning to determine what happened!

TAKEAWAYS:
LOTS of factors and LOTS of specialists play roles in solving mysterious crimes. Teamwork and open minds are essential to expedite the process of Forensic Science. This hands-on activity will show participants how experts must work together to piece together a "case closed".

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens

Engineering To Learn is a project-based course using the engineering design process to enhance students’ future-ready skills (4Cs). This workshop immerses participants in intentional practice of brainstorming, ideation, and blueprinting. Project ideas and 4Cs student evaluations will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this workshop with an understanding of course development and goals, project ideas, and advice on implementation including successes and failures of ETL. Project and activity ideas will range from one day skill building activities to weeks long engineering-design projects.

SPEAKERS:
Timothy Foster, John Scholtz Jr, Jeremy Tomaszewski

The American Meteorological Society’s Education Team will help teachers connect the forces acting on high- and low-pressure systems to the weather patterns they create.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will walk away with the ability to guide high school students through an inquiry-based weather lesson about the forces acting on high- and low-pressure systems and the weather patterns they create.

SPEAKERS:
Diane Ripollone, Erin Smoak

Unlock the power of inquiry by integrating puzzling phenomena into every unit you teach. Teaching this way has a dynamic impact on your students and truly makes them curious about the world around them. By incorporating puzzles and mysteries into the learning process, all students will love science!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with the template of how to develop units using a puzzling phenomenon to drive their lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Bean

Like it or not, generative AI is here to stay. This session will set aside debate to focus on how it can be a useful tool for teachers. We are not AI experts; we are teachers starting to recognize that micro-incorporations of AI into our classrooms just might enrich the student experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Easy to replicate and adaptable to your own needs, we’ll share specific ways we've successfully and unabashedly used AI in our middle school science classrooms this school year. You'll leave with practical ideas to implement right away and perhaps a bit more confidence to take the next step with AI.

SPEAKERS:
Bekah Hassell, Rebecca Smith

An overview of how Modeling Instruction can build understanding in science so that students can solve problems reasoning from models instead of relying on having seen similar problems in the past. The connection between Modeling Instruction and the NGSS Science Practices will be included.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students build a stronger foundation when they learn science by doing it the way practicing scientists do. Through Modeling Instruction they develop a small set of core models that allow them to address a wide range of challenges and problems without the need to memorize large amounts of material.

SPEAKERS:
AMTA Executive Officer, Geoff Nunes

NGSS Core Ideas support students as they investigate phenomena. Learn how providing students with Core Ideas throughout 3D investigations results in enhanced learning for all students, and how to support students in using and applying Core Ideas in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a better understanding of the utility of NGSS Core Ideas in science investigations, and with tools and strategies for supporting all students in using and applying Core Ideas, rather than simply confirming them.

SPEAKERS:
Stacey Van der Veen, Wil Van der Veen

This talk reports on findings from a three-year empirical study of the impact of revising lab reports on high school physics student scientific reasoning development in an Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for incorporating resubmissions into the high school science classroom as well as the effects of this authentic engagement with the scientific process on high school physics student mindsets toward learning science.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Bugge

It seems so simple! All you have to do is observe! What do you see? What do you hear? Come experience and test your powers of observation as participants engage in science through illusion. Learn how to build wonder with your students and leave with activities you can put into action immediately.

TAKEAWAYS:
Take home the experience of illusion! Being part of this session, participants will leave with strategies they can implement any day of the school year to spark wonder and curiosity in their students or staff.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Santoro

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

When students engage in sensemaking using the key elements of NGSS, it helps to push their learning and understanding of the world around them. Experience examples of how to strategically transform your lessons and units to better support student learning in an equitable learning environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience and review student work from strategies that help create equitable learning environments conducive to sensemaking in science. Examples are connected to the four attributes of sensemaking: phenomena, science and engineering practices, student ideas, and science ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Emilie Cross

Gender disparities in STEM persist despite progress. This session explores Science Lunch & Learns—30-minute sessions where professionals share their career journeys with students. Dive into research around gender equity in science education while gaining insights on how to launch your own program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students are more likely to pursue science courses and careers when they hear from guest speakers who reflect their own backgrounds and experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Wack

Do you teach about the Sun and its effect on Earth? NASA created a heliophysics division 20 years ago to study the Sun-Earth relationship . Now NASA science educators have created a Framework for Heliophysics Education connected to NGSS so you can bring this exciting content to your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
We exist because of our Sun, but it’s not in the dictionary and gets only limited attention in the NGSS. You can change this by bringing the powerful knowledge NASA has developed through its missions to your students bringing physics and Earth science alive!

SPEAKERS:
Hilarie Davis

Through some hands-on activities learn how you can use existing science kit materials to support your student to achieve the goals of the NGSS, based on experiences from the Elementary Science Olympiad program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to modify "instructional kits" available to them to allow for authentic student inquiry where cycles of failure and feedback can occur to achieve the learning outcomes established by the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
John Loehr

Engage with lessons that make invisible forces “visible”. As students collect data they see the evidence of forces at work. Videos and student notebooks show connected investigations illustrating elementary students’ science thinking about gravity, friction, static electricity, and magnetism.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn ways to design lessons that engage all students with making sense of physical science phenomena related to forces. The lessons are sequential and use a content storyline structure to leverage student ideas for building explanations about science concepts not easily seen.

SPEAKERS:
Kimber Hershberger, Kate Hallinger, Jennifer Jones

The 3D unit aligns with a fifth-grade NGSS Performance Expectation to provide a practical opportunity to investigate the conservation of matter of an open system contained within a closed system. Participants investigate and model the phenomenon. The unit emphasizes modeling and C-E-R.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will (1) investigate and explain why an object grows, yet the amount of matter remains the same within a closed system, (2) make observations and measurements and engage in collective sensemaking, and (3) explain a phenomenon by developing a model and writing a C-E-R statement.

SPEAKERS:
Alex St. Louis, Jaclyn Murray

Join the fun and conduct inquiry to experience how core concepts build across the grade bands from elementary to middle school to high school.

TAKEAWAYS:
One of the goals of NGSS is that topics should not be taught in a striated series of unrelated levels, but rather learning should be articulated vertically through the grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Wayne Snyder, Karen Ostlund

We will go through a set of hands-on, physical and digital experiences to learn how objects vibrate and make sound, and how that sound can be turned into music. Participants will get access to free curriculum resources and digital tools created by music neuroscientist and sound artist, Victor Minces

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn how to use everyday objects and free digital tools to explore the science of sound and music. You will create beats and sound compositions, and tune an orchestra made with beakers and water as an anchoring phenomenon to bring to your students.

SPEAKERS:
Alec Barron

STEM exists in every sport, including baseball! Participants will learn how our double play combination of cognition and physical activity is applied to the "Art of Pitching" through Balanced and Unbalanced Forces.

TAKEAWAYS:
Build a stronger foundation and understanding of how academics and athletics work together to change how students learn and apply STEM concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Golner