A vision to support collaboration of district teachers, administrators, scientists and educators working to integrate Earth and environmental science phenomena into high school biology, chemistry, and physics courses in Baltimore City Schools. The 5+1 framework guides the integration of earth science by incorporating the following components: 1) 3-Dimensional instruction, 2) phenomenon driven units, 3) student-centered learning (specific to ML with language and content objectives) , 4) responsive instruction with “in the moment” resources, tools, and strategies;, and 5) Earth science content for all students (+1). The framework ensures the curriculum developed is aligned to NGSS, infuses Earth science content, and is accessible to all students. Participants will use the 5+1 model to examine specific unit/lesson examples, in biology, to develop instruction that is responsive, phenomena driven with considerations to use language objectives to build instruction for ML students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the 5+1 model for Earth science integrated instruction, participants will analyze units and lessons in biology for the presence of key components designed to differentiate instruction for all students with a focus on diverse learners with a specific focus on multi-language learners (ML).

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Garner, Andrew Collins, Edmund Mitzel, Jr., Ph.D.

Ready to transform your science teaching? Discover Cultural Bridges - an equity strategy connecting students' lived experiences with NGSS phenomena through culturally responsive questioning. This hands-on workshop guides PreK-8 educators through adapting existing lessons using the Framework's emphasis on connecting to students' interests and experiences. Participants will experience student perspectives while transforming their chosen lesson using Cultural Bridge questions, witnessing increased engagement for multilingual learners and students who may face barriers to access or engagement. Leave with your revised lesson, implementation rubric, and practical tools. Bring any PreK-8 science lesson you teach. Address equity while maintaining three-dimensional learning rigor.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will adapt an existing science lesson using Cultural Bridge questions, experiencing how this simple addition transforms student engagement and deepens NGSS learning for multilingual learners and students who may face barriers to access or engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Almitra Berry

Explore how place-based and environmental justice focused lessons transform science learning by connecting students’ lived experiences to local water systems. Participants will examine three NGSS aligned case studies: Salmon in the Klamath, San Gabriel Valley groundwater pollution, and Owens Valley water conflict, to see how Traditional Ecological Knowledge, local data collection, and storytelling deepen understanding of Living Earth systems. Attendees will engage in interdisciplinary strategies that integrate biology, earth science, and environmental policy while supporting multilingual and neurodiverse learners through visual data tools, community mapping, and reflective journaling. The workshop models assessments that invite students to think critically, act locally, and communicate scientifically. Teachers will leave with ready-to-use lesson frameworks demonstrating how equity-centered science increases engagement, equity, and agency in the STEM classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain ready-to-use, NGSS-aligned frameworks for teaching local water systems through place-based and environmental justice lenses. They will leave equipped to integrate storytelling, data analysis, and traditional ecological knowledge to engage all learners in equitable science.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Ann Ng

Join this session to explore how my former students with special education experiences are using GenAI to dismantle barriers and expand learning opportunities in their daily lives. Drawing on case studies from my research and Engeström’s concept of expansive learning, I will highlight how collaborative engagement with GenAI fosters agency, supports expansive learning, and opens new possibilities. Examining why youth use GenAI also helps identify changes and innovations needed in learning environments. I will share moments when a participant’s use of ChatGPT raised questions about potential misuse and prompted reflection on how I designed the study. Join to explore the power of co-design with GenAI for expansive learning and accessibility, and gain practical strategies for engaging students as active, ethical participants in shaping their learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the power of discussing and collaborating with youth on GenAI use, using these conversations to inform improvements, foster ethical decision-making, and create more inclusive, responsive learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero

Participants will make sense of a phenomenon by engaging in 3D tasks that require the explicit use and application of Disciplinary Core Ideas to develop system models and construct explanations. Participants will discuss how the Principles of Learning (How People Learn, 1999) and recommendations from the Framework (NRC, 2012) require us to rethink the role of Core Ideas to promote conceptual understanding. We will show and discuss several unique classroom videos to illustrate what this looks like in a classroom and how it motivates all students to learn science. We will share examples of student models and explanations and as well as tools and strategies to support students in using and applying Core Ideas to phenomena. Participants will have open access to these tools, which can be used with any investigation, and they will leave with strategies that build community, spark passion for science, and ensure all learners have access to meaningful science experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will deepen their understanding of Core Ideas in science learning and gain strategies and tools to help all students use and apply these ideas to explore and explain phenomena in any 3D investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Wil Van der Veen, Brielle Tesauro

This session explores the crucial lessons learned during the first year of our OpenSciEd high school materials rollout and details the successful instructional shifts observed in the second year. We will share a multi-faceted model for systemic change, focusing on three core strategies: building effective school-based leadership, leveraging trailblazing teachers to support reluctant implementers, and proactively minimizing barriers to high-quality science instruction for all students. Join us to gain actionable insights into supporting science educators and accelerating the transition of high school instruction to align with A Framework for K-12 Science Education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how a phased rollout strategy provided scalable affordances, built a robust network of administrators, and leveraged science teacher leaders to address challenges and remove barriers to support all students with a high-quality science learning experience at scale.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Craddock, Kristin Lilley, Kristoffer Carroll, Mary Shane, Dawn Bien, Audri Rosen

How can a greenhouse become more than a structure, serving as a space for equity, sustainability, and student voice in science education? The Greenhouse Initiative at New Brunswick Public Schools showcases how place-based, three-dimensional learning can transform science education through sustainability, equity, and community engagement. Created as a living lab, the greenhouse provides equitable spaces for Multilingual Learners and Ability Diverse Learners to engage in authentic, NGSS-aligned learning experiences that honor student voice and foster inclusion. This initiative led to the development of an elective course that naturally integrates science, health, and environmental problem-solving, positioning students as leaders in addressing local and global challenges tied to UNSDG #11: Sustainable Cities & Communities. District leadership, science specialists, teachers, and community members collaborated to design and sustain this work, ensuring alignment with system-wide priorities.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will explore how a Greenhouse Initiative promotes a place-based approach to environmental challenges, while advancing equity for all and cultivating strong community partnerships. This initiative deepens three-dimensional learning and drives system-level advocacy for sustainable practices.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Nunez

Selecting and implementing instructional materials is a key part of implementing the vision of the NRC Framework. This session will explore the current state of culturally responsive STEM curriculum in the country as well as lessons learned from the field to increase the use of materials that empower all students. Breakout discussions will allow participants to explore opportunities to overcome common challenges to implementing culturally-response curriculum in an effort to community source and solve these challenges. Session discussion will focus on integrating instructional practices that promote equity and support culturally responsive instruction across materials that embody the vision of the Framework. By strategizing about how to implement curriculum and instruction that realize culturally responsive practices, instructional leaders will be equipped to support teachers in fostering deeper connections with diverse learners, empowering their STEM thinking and identity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn the importance of culturally responsive teaching and the role it plays in STEM education through identifying key components that make curriculum culturally responsive and considering lessons learned for making sustainable, scaled changes in curricula and teaching practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Childress Self, Joi Merritt, Shannon Wachowski

All students have the right to develop a deep understanding of how the world works in ways that support their personal goals and the interests of their community. Science education can help build a more just and equitable world. Come explore how instruction can support science learning that is consequential to your students, their communities, and the broader world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about and apply two equity project frameworks for science education to support professional learning and implementation projects. They will learn how open education resources (http://stemteachingtools.org/) can help them develop equitable approaches to science teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

This presentation is centered around the 2019 National Geographic Magazine, "The Race Issue". This is a mini-unit that engages secondary students in accountable talk about the science of race, diversity, and genetics. The unit includes microscopy, guided readings, hands-on activities, and discussion. Participants will leave with tools to share with their students that are safe and appropriate. Contextualizing race within the study of genetics allows students, and adults, to speak about misconceptions and experiences. This session will share differentiated lessons for learners at multiple levels (grades, IEPs, gifted). Prerequisites for this unit are an understanding of mitosis and meiosis, experience in accountable talk and microscopy. I have done this unit for 6 years with much success, I teach in a diverse, urban school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a "camera-ready" unit, that is relevant and appropriate, to extend their current genetic lessons. The unit engages participants in the science behind the discussions of race, ethnicity, and diversity. The lesson is adaptable for all learners in a 7-12 life science class.

SPEAKERS:
Margaret Busker-Postlethwait

In a science classroom, accountable and productive talk is essential for developing students’ understanding of scientific concepts and for fostering critical thinking. In this session, participants will engage with a breakdown of what this looks and sounds like, and how it contributes to student growth. Included learnings in the session: how to encourage students to actively participate in discussions, not just listening passively; how to encourage peer-to-peer dialogue, not just student-to-teacher talk; teaching respectful debate and understanding of multiple viewpoints; and encouraging students to apply concepts to new situations or real-world problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn and practice the classroom-tested practices of accountable and productive talk that turns science class into a space for thinking, not just knowing and helps students become inquirers, analyzers, and communicators (core components of scientific literacy and critical thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Annette Venegas

How can department chairs cultivate trust and collaboration that allow every teacher to thrive? Drawing on 24 years in the classroom and over a decade as department chair, I’ve learned that effective leadership is less about fixing problems and more about nurturing relationships. This roundtable invites science leaders to share strategies for building inclusive, flexible, and human-centered departments. Discussion will include practices such as differentiated goal-setting, rotating peer-learning structures, flexible meetings that build connection, and feedback tools that elevate all voices. Participants will leave with ideas for fostering trust, shared purpose, and professional growth across diverse teaching teams.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain ideas to lead with trust and collaboration to sustain thriving, human-centered science departments, through practical strategies that can be implemented immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Ellie Beyers

Urban school districts are uniquely positioned at the intersection of innovation and inequity. This roundtable invites educators, leaders, and community stakeholders to discuss strategies that increase access, engagement, and achievement in STEM for historically underserved students. Together, participants will examine real-world challenges such as resource gaps, culturally relevant pedagogy, and teacher retention, while sharing solutions like community partnerships, after-school STEM initiatives, and project-based learning. The session will serve as a collaborative space to exchange best practices and inspire actionable steps toward equity in STEM education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Equity in STEM education requires more than good intentions—it takes intentional strategies, culturally relevant teaching, and sustainable partnerships that ensure urban students see themselves as scientists, engineers, and innovators.

SPEAKERS:
Tamia Murphy

Sponsoring Company: JoVE

What Secondary Science Leaders Can Do When Every Teacher Fills the Gaps Differently. Middle and high school science leaders know that curriculum supplementation is common, with most teachers adding videos, labs, or activities to fill gaps. The challenge is guiding supplementation in ways that support instructional quality and coherence across classrooms. This interactive workshop is designed for middle and high school science leaders, instructional coaches, and department chairs responsible for instructional consistency and teacher support. Through live polling, leadership case scenarios, and small group discussion, participants will examine where supplementation occurs, what drives teacher decision-making, and how variation impacts instruction. Attendees will discuss practical strategies to guide supplementation while preserving teacher autonomy, including shared instructional anchors and trusted instructional resources.

SPEAKERS:
Shauna Carlson

Faculty websites are often the first entry point for students seeking research opportunities, yet they vary widely in showing inclusive values. We examine how biology faculty websites at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and non-MSIs include elements that welcome students from marginalized backgrounds. The main focus is the presence and content of inclusivity statements, referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion, provide resources, or support underrepresented students. Using qualitative coding, we analyze websites from a random sample of biology departments, examining inclusive factors such as lab member representation, personal information, and explicit anti-discrimination language. Results show that inclusivity statements remain rare overall, with minimal differences between MSI and non-MSI websites. By raising awareness of the role of faculty webpages in shaping belonging, this project advocates for intentional, equitable, and welcoming online spaces in biology education.

TAKEAWAYS:
This project is aimed towards research faculty. It highlights the importance of personal websites, and encourages those without one to create one. For faculty with a website, it is hoped to implement more inclusive and welcoming practices, increasing participation from minoritized groups in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Taona Maphosa

This poster will share information from an NSF-funded teacher professional development program focused on "Two Eyed Seeing"-- the braiding together of Western and Indigenous science in a place-based curriculum focused on exploring marine habitats. In the Ocean Tech unit, students learn how First Nations harvested dentallium shells, which were used as currency, from 60 feet beneath the ocean surface. They also learn how local tribes are engineering clam gardens to restore local habitat health and nourish communities. Engineering and technology are integrated through students designing and building a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) that they can use to answer questions about their local marine environments and engage in stewardship projects based on what they learn. We will showcase real examples of Western and Indigenous scientists collaborating, and how ROVs are being used in scientific work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Poster visitors will learn how in-service and pre-service teachers adapted and implemented the Ocean Tech unit to incorporate students' own culture and funds of knowledge while introducing them to ways Western and Indigenous scientists are working together to address environmental problems.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Hanuscin

See the 5E instructional model, Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate, come to life in a complete phenomena-based science lesson. This simple five-step framework makes teaching NGSS, inquiry-driven science easy, structured, and fun for any classroom. In this poster session, you will explore each phase through visuals, lesson examples, and student work samples. Discover how the 5E model sparks curiosity, strengthens sensemaking, and turns real-world phenomena into meaningful learning experiences without adding extra work. You will leave with ready-to-use lesson ideas, practical strategies, and a digital toolkit that makes implementing the 5E model approachable, playful, and completely doable. This session demonstrates how even teachers new to phenomena-based science can confidently design lessons that engage students and support lasting understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
The 5E model gives teachers a simple, five-step framework to design phenomena-based science lessons that spark curiosity, support sensemaking, and engage students, all with low prep and tools ready to use immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Paddy Rich

Within in food education, Pilot Light has set the table, where they have created a national footprint by impacting students, teachers, and families in Chicago, NYC, and nationwide. They are now part of school culture with in 26 states, over 530 educators have received professional development, and over 24,640 have engaged in the program. Pilot Light has created a vision for a future where Food Education becomes an integral part of schools nationwide, through the leases of curiosity, community, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity. The standards: 1. Food connects us to each other. 2. Foods have sources and origins. 3. Food and the environment are interconnected. 4. Food behaviors are influenced by external and internal factors. 5. Food impacts health. 6. We can make informed food choices. Each of these standards can and have been integrated within the NGSS, Common Core, and SEL.

TAKEAWAYS:
Planting the seeds of change, Pilot Light has created a cultural shift in food education where they cultivated food standards, within the lenses of NGSS, Common Core, and SEL. One apple at a time....food education is here to stay!

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Ernst, Antoinette Schlobohm, NBCT, NCST

Undergraduate chemistry is often a gateway course with high enrollment but low success rates. Underrepresented minority students are disproportionately impacted, reducing diversity in STEM. One way to address this is by integrating social-psychological interventions, like Growth Mindset (GM) and Effective Learning Strategies (ELS) into the curriculum. This study discusses results from three semesters (Fall 2024–Fall 2025) in general chemistry courses at one institution. Students were randomly assigned to one of four groups (control, GM, ELS, GM+ELS) and completed different modular activities. Findings show students are reflecting more on their study habits and shifting how they handle challenges and failure in chemistry. This poster highlights both quantitative and qualitative outcomes, emphasizing the pedagogical design of the modules and their adaptability to other science classrooms, including high school and undergraduate sciences courses beyond chemistry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn practical ways to integrate GM and ELS modules into science courses to better support diverse learners and improve persistence in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Li Ye, Emily Pak

Hands-on science activities can present engagement challenges for some students, and teachers often lack training or resources to meet all learners' unique needs. The GLOBE Weather Pathways project developed and tested an approach to help middle school educators adapt a weather unit to support all students and explore STEM career pathways. The project included: 1) building a learning community of STEM educators, content and special education specialists, and professionals working in STEM; 2) professional learning on the NGSS-aligned, phenomena-driven GLOBE Weather curriculum; and 3) workshop time to adapt lessons for accessibility. This presentation will share project outcomes, including strategies educators used to adapt lessons, best practices for implementing universal design for learning (UDL) principles, and insights for building a professional learning community that supports inclusive science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how middle school educators adapted a weather curriculum to support all learners using universal design for learning (UDL) principles, and hear about strategies and best practices for building professional learning communities to support diverse student needs.

SPEAKERS:
Kirsten Johnson Nesbitt, Melissa Rummel

For many urban students, “nature” can feel far away, tucked into forests or national parks. But what if we flipped that idea on its head? This poster highlights a community-based science unit that helps students rediscover the ecosystems woven into their own neighborhoods. Set in Philadelphia, this freshwater ecology unit invites students to explore how rivers, streets, and people form one dynamic, interconnected system. It features classroom-ready examples that blend science, historical data, and art-based activism. The lessons combine three-dimensional NGSS practices with a historical lens to trace how local rivers and surrounding communities have transformed over time. Drawing inspiration from local storytelling and art movements, students design public-facing eco-art that raises awareness about the relationship between the city and nature. This poster is designed to help educators create meaningful community based and culturally relevant experiences for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with adaptable strategies for designing place-based investigations that help students see nature and ecological systems not as something distant, but as part of their everyday urban experience woven into the streets, rivers, and rhythms of their own communities.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Szablya

One of the significant barriers to meaningful implementation of the NGSS is the fact that it is seen as a set of tools or strategies rather than a vision for teaching and learning science. In this session we will focus on how the foundation behind the NGSS – the Principles of Learning from How People Learn – led to the vision behind the NGSS as outlined in the Framework, and the two supporting National Academies reports, Investigation and Design at the Center and The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators. We will connect this foundation to leadership for science teaching and learning and then collaboratively develop a vision. We will discuss how participants can use these strategies to collaboratively develop a vision in their schools. Finally, we will share examples from NJ district leaders about how engaging in this process motivated and supported their teachers and positively impacted the school culture for teaching and learning science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will collaboratively develop a vision for effective science teaching and learning based on the Framework. We will share examples from local leaders about how engaging in this process motivated their teachers and drove meaningful NGSS implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Wil Van der Veen, Stacey Van der Veen

Transform your classroom and make a lasting impact on education with one philosophical shift that puts learning back into the hands of students. Join one teacher’s journey to revolutionize assessments with renewed focus on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Research suggests that a standards-based electronic portfolio promotes a positive learning environment that emphasizes student mastery, develops self-regulated learning, and strengthens the classroom community. This real-world application in Physics confirms it! Explore how the systems approach has promoted equity and accessibility through universal design for learning (UDL) strategies and purposeful implementation of peer reviews, self-assessments, and revisions. See examples of how an “Ask 3” protocol and “Actionable Norms” positive behavior intervention shift student thinking from compliance to continuous growth. Let’s turn theory into practice and leave energized to effect change together.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how implementing a comprehensive learner-centered electronic portfolio system with NGSS (& AP) standards-based grading plus a clear revision process can positively impact student learning to address the 4 Cs while it also transforms teaching into a more sustainable practice.

SPEAKERS:
Albert David Valderrama

This workshop invites secondary science and STEM teachers to explore strategy guides for enacting Language and Racial Equity Practices (LaREP) to support linguistically and racially diverse students’ sense of belonging, academic success, and STEM identity development. Participants will (1) explore the LaREP framework, (2) review strategy guides that translate LaREP into actionable classroom practices with instructional designs and student work examples, (3) experience two model activities—one focused on language equity and another on racial equity—and (4) discuss with participant teachers their feedback and comments on the LaREP’s potential and challenges. Participants will gain access to all resources via our project website, including the full LaREP Strategy Guide Package: one overview guide, three Language Equity Strategy Guides (e.g., Connecting Science and Everyday Words), and four Racial Equity Strategy Guides (e.g., Disrupting Structure, Funds of Knowledge and Raciolinguistics).

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will bring with them the practical strategies, lesson examples, and insights for enacting Language and Racial Equity Practices in secondary STEM classrooms to strengthen linguistically and racially diverse students’ sense of belonging, academic success, and STEM identity.

SPEAKERS:
Won Jung Kim

It is essential for middle school science students to learn to generate new ideas, interpretations, and solutions collaboratively. In this presentation, we first convey a stance that values and leverages multilingualism and multilingual learners' (MLs) lived experiences. We then share work done with science teachers and teacher educators through the federally funded Biliteracy and Content Area Integrated Preparation (BCAIP) Project to translate this stance into moves that mobilize MLs' full linguistic repertoire (i.e., translanguaging). Specifically, we use a middle school science unit, Ecosystem Interactions and Resources, to model how bilingual texts, collaboration norms, and multilingual assessment performances serve as translanguaging moves to scaffold data and text analysis along with collaborative language development. Attendees come away with resources and tips to designing a trajectory of collaborative inquiry for their own classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Multilingual learners benefit when are supported in mobilizing their full linguistic repertoire (i.e., translanguaging) for the purpose of generating new ideas, interpretations, or solutions collaboratively.

SPEAKERS:
Edward Lyon

Implementing hands-on, student-centered models of instruction such as the 5E through labs and other activities can be challenging in practice because of unavailability of time and materials. Additionally, it is a challenge to help students understand the science phenomena behind each experience, and not just the experience itself. Structured visuals bridge that gap: they are easy to make or find, and they intuitively engage students in deep, rich thinking and academic conversation. Additionally, they help level the playing field by providing all of the needed background information for students to access critical thinking opportunities about science concepts. Participants in this session will experience exploration of science phenomena from students’ perspective by engaging in peer-to-peer academic conversations using structured visuals. Participants will also be shown how to create structured visuals and structured visual resources such as The Visual Non-Glossary.

TAKEAWAYS:
Structured visuals are easy to prepare and implement, and they can either replace labs or dramatically enhance them. Structured visuals get students talking and making inferences and connections. This session shows how to find, make, and use them.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Fleenor

What does it mean to teach science in ways that honor students’ cultural identities, lived experiences, and language resources? In this session, participants will explore how culturally competent science teaching creates more meaningful and equitable opportunities for students to engage as sensemakers. Using classroom examples and instructional routines, we will examine how students’ language practices—such as sharing noticings, asking questions, and building ideas together—can be intentionally leveraged to support rigorous, phenomenon-based science learning. Participants will reflect on their own instructional choices and consider practical moves that help all students use language to make their thinking visible and see themselves as capable contributors to scientific understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with concrete approaches for designing and facilitating science instruction that values students’ cultural and linguistic assets, strengthens engagement, and supports equitable participation in classroom sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Gomez Zwiep, Rachel Myers

The presenter situates Hip Hop pedagogy in children’s literature as a tool for helping students discover their STEM identity. Hip-hop pedagogy and identity-centered teaching practices bridge students' cultural knowledge with mathematics. This interactive workshop will demonstrate how educators can utilize identity-centered teaching as one pathway to accessing high-quality STEM instruction and one approach that empowers students to envision themselves as future STEM leaders. Attendees will gain insights into instructional strategies and activities that support the development of student agency in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to apply a cultural identity framework in conjunction with hip-hop pedagogy to design culturally relevant STEM tasks that enhance student agency and foster inclusive environments in STEM classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Sherita Flake

Students bring amazing intellectual resources to make sense of science phenomena based on their personal and community experiences—including languages, perspectives, gestures, as well as knowledge, interests, and values. Come learn how to notice and leverage those intellectual gifts in your teaching! By analyzing a series of awesome learning situations, this session asks participants to work with others to ‘learn to see’ students’ diverse sense-making resources—and connect these pedagogical strategies to their own classroom practice. Come join us for this fun, interactive session!

TAKEAWAYS:
Culturally responsive education supports student sensemaking and learning in science. Inclusive science strategies help teachers learn to see and leverage students’ diverse sense-making resources. These methods help us create and adapt curriculum that is equitable and centered on justice.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell

Join the professional learning team from The Lawrence Hall of Science to explore three transformative leadership practices that can help you take tangible steps towards increasing phenomena-based, 3D science learning in elementary classrooms in your school or district. We will dive into a case study of one district and examine strategies leadership used to shift their system from little-to-no elementary science instruction towards a burgeoning commitment to phenomena-based science teaching and learning for all. Using a systems lens, participants will engage in a process to analyze the concrete strategies that the district took to work towards equitable science learning across the district. By considering how these strategies relate to three areas: high-quality instructional materials, increasing instructional time, and engaging in professional learning, participants will start to formulate ideas and next steps for enacting these three transformative practices in their own contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away concrete strategies that can be used to boost science in elementary classrooms and a systems-based framework for analyzing these strategies. They will also take away next steps for increasing time and capacity for science education in their own school or district.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Stenger, Shannon Wachowski

Join our session to learn about resources developed to support instruction in inclusive classrooms. These resources, designed within the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Assessment System at the University of Kansas, are based on “learning maps”—cognitive models that specify multiple pathways for student learning, accounting for diverse learning needs. Learning maps show progressions of knowledge and skills in all three science dimensions, allowing for flexible integration of dimensions to help educators meet students where they are and work toward common learning goals for all students. This session will use the SEP Planning and Carrying Out Investigations to illustrate how learning maps can support planning targeted and individualized inquiry-based instruction in middle school. Teachers of science in general education classrooms, special educators who teach science, and science educators interested in supporting all students’ learning are encouraged to attend.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about 3-D science learning maps and how to use related resources from the Dynamic Learning Maps system that are publicly-available, aimed at planning targeted and individualized inquiry-based instruction in inclusive classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Richardson, Dante Cisterna

Pilot Light supports healthy classroom communities. The program integrated Food Education improves academic outcomes.. Standard-based models allow for flexibility to meet schools' individual needs. It is not "another thing on an educators plate. The resources, and fellowships make food education accessible of all. At the present time over 15 years, 24,000 + students, 534 educators and 24 states. With developed standards from FES-1-Food Connects us to each other. FE-2-Foods have sources and organs. FES-3-Food and the environment are interconnected. FES-4-Food behaviors are influenced by external and internal factors. FES-5-Food impacts health. FES-6-We can make informed food choices. FES-7-We can advocate for dood choices and changes that impact ourselves, our communities, and or world. Common Core/SEL

TAKEAWAYS:
It is to support students as they learn and advocate for informed choices by origin the lesson they learn to the food on their lunch trays, at home, and in their communities. As part of this, food impacts us all as individuals and as members of the food systems, but is rarely taught in schools.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Ernst, Antoinette Schlobohm, NBCT, NCST

This session introduces “A Misadventure in Teaching,” a Unit 5 storyline for AP Biology. Attendees will view a video about a biology student who learns she is colorblind and the unexpected turn of events that follow when she tells her parents. After the creation of a driving question board (DQB), participants will engage in inquiry activities, collect and analyze data, examine strategies to integrate FRQ practice with interactive notebooks, explore the use of SpiderWeb discussions, and learn how to apply initial and final models in storylining pedagogy. A brief question-and-answer session will conclude the session.

TAKEAWAYS:
After an introduction to the Lab Hamster AP Bio Unit 5 storyline, participants will leave with advanced knowledge and skills needed to implement student inquiry activities, apply science practices, and use pedagogical strategies that boost student engagement and reduce teacher workload.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Christiansen, Chandra Mitnik, Kristin Clements, Noel Pauller

We show how instructional materials can be adapted for local contexts—and how to elevate issues of climate justice and ethical responses to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about how a high school physics unit from OpenSciEd about reliable energy sources was adapted to attend to Indigenous land rights and sovereignty.

TAKEAWAYS:
Related to STEM projects in society (e.g., energy transition, ecological restoration), teachers will learn how to engage students in exploring moral and ethical dimensions of trade-offs in project approaches. A broadly applicable framework for equity-focused curriculum adaptation will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

As AI tools become more accessible to students, science educators face the challenge of guiding responsible and meaningful use. This session will explore how to create classroom AI guidelines that protect academic integrity while enhancing inquiry, lab investigations, and scientific writing. Participants will engage in collaborative activities to evaluate case studies, identify risks and opportunities, and design guidelines tailored to their own teaching contexts. Educators will leave prepared to introduce AI responsibly, ensuring it supports—not replaces—student learning in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design classroom-ready AI guidelines that ensure responsible, ethical, and effective use of AI in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Stefany Palomba

Engineering in K-5 classrooms creates rich, authentic opportunities for students to communicate and make meaning. In this hands-on workshop, you will experience an engineering design challenge that optimizes opportunities for language learning and sensemaking. You will discover how engineering can surface students' assets and connect to their community and lived experiences - and how it naturally encourages all students to communicate. We will share tools to support multilingual students that include and go beyond scaffolding. You will then apply these insights to your own work and context by modifying and adapting your existing curriculum materials, or creating your own activities, to amplify opportunities for sensemaking in engineering. This session builds on work done in collaboration with teachers in the San Diego Unified School District as a part of the Elevating Engineering with Multilingual Learners (EEMLs) research project.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to amplify language learning opportunities for all students through engineering! You will leave the workshop with practical tools and strategies to take back to your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Tanya Warren, Nico Janik

Come hear about how our NSF-funded informal science education project inspired bilingual (English/Spanish) 5th–6th grade Latinas and their parents through hands-on rocketry and culturally responsive science learning. This 7-week program, grounded in Family Problem-Based Learning and Community Cultural Wealth, fostered curiosity, confidence, and family engagement in science. Presenters will share key curriculum elements and artifacts from three successful iterations, highlighting strategies that bridge home and school learning. Attendees will participate in two interactive activities. In the first activity, we will design personalized NASA mission patches while exploring their symbolism and history. In the second activity, we will model an activity that celebrates contributions of Latino/a scientists and engineers by designing a social media post. Come ready to create, collaborate, and take home practical ideas to launch inclusive family science experiences in your own community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how culturally responsive, family-centered rocketry experiences can ignite young Latinas’ curiosity and strengthen science identity through hands-on, bilingual engagement for both students and parents.

SPEAKERS:
Caitlyn Ishaq, Peter Rillero, Margarita Jimenez-Silva

Join us for boppin' lessons that address NGSS K-2 (force & motion, biomimicry, pollination). We integrate computational thinking, literacy, robots, science, and sense-making! We show how we adapted for students' cultural, and linguistic (Apache, Navajo, Spanish) backgrounds.

TAKEAWAYS:
The attendees will learn to analyze and implement interdisciplinary K-2 STEM teaching and learning using 3D NGSS standards, sense-making, aligned assessment and also integrates the language, culture, and place of a community in ways that position young students as leaders for their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Sophie Forbes, Mesina Kee, Deena Gould, Megan Smith

Modeling is everywhere in NGSS, but too often it’s treated as a final product instead of a thinking process. This session reframes modeling as an iterative cycle of develop → revise → predict that makes student sensemaking visible at every stage. Participants will walk through the cycle themselves, starting with initial sketches, updating as evidence is introduced, and ending with predictive models. Alongside their own work, they will examine authentic student examples from lessons on seasons, energy systems, and engineering. To lower barriers, attendees will explore ready-to-use templates and a universal flowchart that help teachers choose the right modeling pathway for a given standard. Grounded in equity and accessibility, this approach ensures that modeling is not reserved for advanced learners, but a core practice that empowers all students to build, test, and refine ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain tools—including modeling templates, prompts, and a decision flowchart—to support equitable student engagement in the complete NGSS modeling cycle.

SPEAKERS:
Reyna Rivera

Empower your teaching with “Supporting Multilingual Learners with a Science Scaffold Toolkit.” This session is designed for educators seeking effective strategies to help multilingual learners thrive in science classrooms. Explore a step-by-step science lesson sequence that integrates the Science Scaffold Toolkit—an innovative resource focused on supporting language development, facilitating science inquiry, and enhancing student engagement with scientific content. You'll learn how to leverage practical scaffolds such as vocabulary supports, sentence frames, and visual aids to make science accessible and meaningful for all students. Join us to gain hands-on experience, discover adaptable tools, and leave equipped to foster both language acquisition and scientific thinking in your multilingual learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with the Science Scaffold Toolkit in hand, along with practical strategies for seamlessly integrating it into daily instruction—all aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Anthony Quan

What does it mean to lead leaders in science education? In this interactive session, participants will experience highlights from our Secondary Coordinator Leadership Summit, designed to build belonging, strengthen leadership identity, and align practice with core district values. Together, we will engage in protocols from our coordinator workbook, discuss challenges and opportunities in leading adult learners, and reflect on how courageous leadership can catalyze change. Participants will leave with practical tools and a renewed vision for cultivating leadership in others to advance science education forward.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies and reflective tools to courageously lead other leaders—fostering belonging, strengthening teams, and advancing meaningful change in science education.

SPEAKERS:
Pam McWilliams, Rebecca Rolater

No set of materials are perfect. Teachers require a systematic approach to customize HQIM for use in their local context. This session will outline work that Saint Paul Public Schools and BSCS Science Learning have done to customize the OpenSciEd middle school science materials to support standards implementation and district goals. The session will describe key considerations and modifications needed to align materials with domain-specific standards, while maintaining curricular coherence from the students’ perspective, and students’ interests. The team will explain their approach to customizing select units and the professional learning approach used to support teachers in customizing summative assessments to better engage their students’ interests and science-linked identities. Leaders will analyze example customized units and teacher-designed assessments and identify important components to include in their own HQIM customization plans.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify what considerations are important for developing a well-crafted plan for implementing and customizing high quality instructional materials for use in local contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Leifeld

While HQIM are an important lever that can impact students’ science experiences, access to HQIM is not consistent across schools and impacts marginalized students most. And, claims around NGSS in materials is common. How might educators sift through all this information to identify materials that best meet their students' needs? Participants will learn about the characteristics of high-quality phenomena, problems, and sensemaking and how to identify those characteristics when selecting and using materials. They will utilize sample lesson materials, identifying the presence and use of phenomena/problems and sensemaking and considering how these factors contribute to student experiences. Through guided practice and discussion, participants will learn how to begin to narrow materials selection through a critical lens. Participants will also orient to EdReports' free reviews of instructional materials and other resources for making materials selections for their school or classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain an understanding of the characteristics of phenomena/problems and sensemaking opportunities and how to identify them in materials. With example lessons, they will use tools to evaluate materials for NGSS-aligned instruction in order to effectively identify aspects of quality.

SPEAKERS:
Sam Shaw

Coaching conversations shape not just instructional moves, but how educators grow, thrive, and make meaning of their work. Too often, however, coaching focuses narrowly on evaluating instruction, overlooking the human dimensions of identity, power, and emotion—and thereby risks reinforcing existing inequities. This session invites participants to explore the full coaching cycle through the Knowles Teacher Initiative’s Coaching Planning Maps. Attendees will learn to adapt these tools to support transformational coaching, build collaborative partnerships, and foster sustained teacher growth. Practical strategies and reflective activities will provide participants with actionable approaches to enhance coaching effectiveness in their own contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn actionable coaching approaches to meet diverse teacher needs, promote sustained growth, and foster positive, collaborative learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Shafer, PhD

“Doing science” requires students to participate in science practices to figure out phenomena, like analyzing and interpreting data, and engaging in argument from evidence. However, these practices involve students “using language” as they make sense of the natural world. For multilingual learners, this is especially difficult when instruction is often presented or expected in English. In this session, we introduce a list of strategies to help consider how to adapt instructional materials to support multilingual learners in “using language(s) and doing science.” Participants will analyze classroom video from an 8th-grade chemical reactions lesson and a 4th-grade Earth processes lesson. Participants will reflect and unpack how the instructional strategies can be used to support multilingual learners in figuring out phenomena, while expanding what counts as sensemaking in science. Then, participants will reflect on and share how they can apply the strategies in their instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will walk away with a set of instructional strategies to notice, support, and engage with multilingual learners in science and engineering practices to explain a phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Gomez Zwiep, Samuel Lee

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

What does brain science tell us about how students learn—and how can we design classrooms where all learners thrive? In this interactive session, participants will experience an explore-before-explain lesson and directly connect it to how the brain processes and retains science learning. We’ll examine a redesigned workshop model that blends the 5E framework, student discourse, and equitable practices, all grounded in the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). This workshop is ideal for teachers and leaders working with diverse populations who want strategies to help every student make sense of science and remember it long-term.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science learning lasts when instruction aligns with how the brain works—engaging the frontal and parietal lobes through exploration, discourse, and purposeful lesson sequencing. Participants will leave with a 5E workshop model and strategies to turn learning into lasting understanding for students.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Rolater, Pam McWilliams

How can we break down barriers between classrooms and empower students as agents of change in their communities? This session showcases a replicable partnership between UCI, AUHSD, and IUSD that is #trendinginscienceeducation. Eleven teachers across 7 disciplines and 6 schools participated in professional learning to co-design and enact climate justice units. Using a co-developed, transdisciplinary framework, teachers collaborated across content areas and moved beyond sensemaking to help students develop critical agency, care for human and more-than-human communities, and take informed action. Units investigating local food waste and the community impacts of genetically modified foods demonstrate our core finding: when students tackle authentic problems, they develop profound civic agency. Attendees will learn best practice to build similar partnerships and foster compassion and community action in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore a university-district partnership where educators from multiple content areas craft transdisciplinary climate justice units. This model merges diverse knowledge systems, empowering students as change agents to foster civic agency through local issue engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Yett, Hosun Kang, Becky Friedland

This session explores discussion prompts that invite youth to co-design more ethical and equitable GenAI policies and practices with their teachers or school leaders. I share research with former students from my special education classroom, whose discussions highlight how they use GenAI, set boundaries, and engage in reflective practices. Their engagement with these prompts reveals and strengthens their capacity as ethical decision-makers, challenging the notion that young adults with disabilities are passive users of potentially harmful technologies. Join to explore strategies for initiating conversations that support developing policies and practices in partnership with your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see examples of how neurodiverse youth navigate GenAI use, set boundaries, and make ethical choices, demonstrating the value of engaging students in shaping equitable and responsible AI practices.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero

Curriculum adoptions provide a unique opportunity to support deep professional learning and ensure equitable student outcomes. Using EdReports’ review tools and experience supporting districts and states, this session will focus on how to use the curriculum adoption process to engage all stakeholders by supporting them to learn more about the Framework/NGSS for evaluating materials and improving instruction. Participants will model using an instructional vision for science to improve teachers' understanding of the broader implications of the Framework/NGSS on rigorous science instruction. Participants will also examine how training teachers to use evaluation criteria can improve their knowledge of the three dimensions, in particular SEPs and CCCs, and what high-quality phenomenon and problem-based science instruction can look like. Participants will leave with strategies for implementing broader professional learning using curriculum adoptions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for using K-12 curriculum adoptions to support deep professional learning around the NGSS/Framework, particularly sensemaking with the three-dimensions and phenomenon and problem based instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Sam Shaw

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how scientists and engineers ask questions, analyze data, and solve problems. To prepare students for this future, teachers must develop AI literacy—understanding how to integrate AI tools ethically, inclusively, and meaningfully into instruction. This interactive workshop builds teacher confidence and competence in using AI by demonstrating how to enhance NGSS-aligned, three-dimensional learning. Participants will explore AI tools to support key Science and Engineering Practices. Throughout the workshop, we will include equity and inclusion strategies (UDL, scaffolding, multiple representation, student voice and choice) for English Learners and students with disabilities. Educators will explore student work samples that integrate AI and then participate in the design of a short, NGSS-aligned lesson.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop AI Literacy by exploring classroom applications and supports to make science learning accessible for all students, including English Learners and students with disabilities.

SPEAKERS:
Ortavia Manning-Dixon, Leilani O'Dell

This session bridges the Science of Reading and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to help educators design interdisciplinary learning that builds strong readers and critical thinkers. Participants will explore how the five essential components of reading—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension integrate into the NGSS science and engineering practices when viewed through the STEM4Real Connect, Create, Cultivate Framework. Using this framework, attendees will learn how to connect foundational literacy with real-world scientific phenomena, create lessons that engage students in discourse and evidence-based reasoning, and cultivate a culture of language-rich, inquiry-based classrooms. Through hands-on examples and model lessons, educators will discover how to leverage NGSS to reinforce reading comprehension and vocabulary development without replacing existing curricula. Leave with a curriculum-agnostic lesson that supports reading, literacy and STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with a practical, culturally-responsive and adaptable learning sequence aligned to the Science of Reading and NGSS that strengthens literacy, builds background knowledge, and supports all learners; regardless of curriculum or grade level.

SPEAKERS:
Leena McLean

3D science assessments can be difficult for learners with skill set discrepancies. When students are given time to collaborate with other learners during data analysis and modeling tasks, this increases equity of learning in the classroom. Then, by independently reflecting and reevaluating group efforts, students are better able to synthesize personal ideas and provide solid evidence-based claims that truly reflect individual student achievement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn processes of 3D assessment using group and independent science performance tasks. Please bring an assessment from your practice to workshop, discuss, and receive feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Mallory Davis

With the quickly expanding interest in and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education, we believe it is vital to explore fundamental questions about when, how, and even if it should be used in education. Initiatives and products focused on educational applications of AI are outpacing the discussion of responsible and ethical approaches to doing so. This concerns us. The session will offer principled and evidence-based analysis of the implications of AI for teaching, lesson planning, tracking and supporting student progress, assessment, and educational monitoring. Together, we will learn about AI and how to think with and against its use in education in specific ways. Productive approaches for framing the use of AI with students will be shared. We invite you to join us for this important and urgent discussion of AI in education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about uses of AI in science education along with ways to think about ethical dimensions and the evidence base for specific pedagogical uses. We will explore possibilities, tensions, trade-offs, uncertainties, and strategies of resistance in this quickly shifting landscape.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Philip Bell

Culturally relevant teaching begins with the tasks we design. In this workshop, participants will learn how to unpack and redesign STEM standards that validate culturally acquired knowledge, which affirms every learner’s cultural identity. Guided by the presenter’s Justice Centered Task Framework, the presenter will model how to transform traditional standards into inclusive, high-cognitive-demand tasks that connect rigorous content with students’ cultural experiences. Grounded in research and real classroom experiences, this session equips educators with practical tools to create STEM classrooms where generational currency drives engagement and deep learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a process for unpacking and designing STEM tasks to embed culturally acquired knowledge and create tasks that affirm identity, promote agency, and sustain rigorous learning for all students.

SPEAKERS:
Sherita Flake

Research shows the power of coaching cycles in transforming teaching and learning in the classroom, but many teachers are hesitant to engage in individualized coaching for a variety of reasons. In-house, targeted professional learning that aligns to the needs of the individual teacher and site goals is needed if educators are going to continue to grow in their practice in order to support their students. This session will provide the participants the opportunity to unpack the needs of their site through discussion and interaction. We will then share unique opportunities that sites could use to involve more teachers in professional learning. Some of these will include site level learning walks, site level targeted power days for teacher teams, and learning lunches. These are teacher designed, teacher facilitated and teacher selected. We will also provide ways in which sites can monitor and assess the effectiveness of the learning programs being offered in-house.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with a variety of creative professional learning (PL) opportunities to implement at their site/district based on the needs of the site/district as well as tools for how to assess the effectiveness of the PL being provided.

SPEAKERS:
Leah Ward, Becky McKinney

Keeping students engaged in 3D, phenomenon-based science learning is challenging—and when students are absent, it can feel impossible. This session offers practical, teacher-tested strategies to help all students stay connected to the storyline, even when they miss class. Participants will explore simple systems, digital tools, and collaborative routines that make catching up manageable for students and sustainable for teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies and tools to help absent students stay engaged in 3D learning and rejoin classroom sensemaking without adding hours of extra work for teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney

How might we build equitable and cohesive classroom communities with Ubuntu pedagogy? Ubuntu pedagogy is grounded in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, meaning “humanity to others” in Bantu. It is a transformative decolonial approach that emphasizes social justice, equity, inclusion, and our shared humanity. In this workshop, we will examine the implications of individualism in our communities and share real-world strategies of how we infused Ubuntu pedagogy into classroom practices. Participants will critically examine their practices and brainstorm collaboratively to create learning environments that are supportive, inclusive, and empowering for all students. Participants will walk away with a toolkit of activities and strategies to kickstart Ubuntu pedagogy into their practice and to turn key within their school communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Learning is not an individual pursuit, but a collective journey. Explore Ubuntu Pedagogy to empower classroom communities, ensuring that every student’s growth is tied to the community’s success.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Spadaro, Alvis Wilson, Kernita Mwalumogo, Ellie Williamson

Do your students forget the notes they just took? Students love to sketchnote in science! Come learn how visual note taking leads to deep processing and retention of content. Editable templates will be provided. This hands on session provides you with a mini workbook to practice making visual notes. This session is for 6-12th grade teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to greatly increase student processing using templates and a new strategy of sense making called Sketchnotes.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Weibert

Science texts are central to instruction, yet many students—especially multilingual learners and those with IEPs—struggle to access them. Curricula often provide texts without guidance for supporting comprehension. This interactive workshop addresses that challenge by leveraging insights from the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and aligning with the NRC Framework for K–12 Science Education and the NGSS Science and Engineering Practice of Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information. Participants will engage in a model literacy-rich science experience, then apply strategies to spot text barriers, analyze vocabulary demands (focusing on Tier 2 words), and plan scaffolds to support all students. Leave with practical tools to adapt lessons or implement high-quality materials, ready to design inclusive supports that help every student access and succeed in science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to analyze vocabulary and structural demands in science texts, identify potential barriers, and apply UDL- and science-of-reading–based strategies to adapt materials so all students can access and make sense of science content.

SPEAKERS:
Althea Hoard, Daniel Sonrouille

As borderlands educators, we support Mexican American students by differentiating processes, assessments, and classroom culture to navigate language/ cultural dynamics in NGSS-based, inquiry-driven lessons. In break-out groups, we: 1. explore strategies for communication, such as vocabulary charts, sentence starters, data visualization, to support science and engineering practices; 2. illustrate formative (storytelling, drawings, surveys) and summative assessments (one-page infographics, interviews) that provide multiple ways to elicit student thinking; 3. link investigations into students’ cultural and community knowledge through daily experiences with food, weather, biodiversity, and environmental issues; and 4. foster equitable participation in groups shaped by gender/ cultural dynamics, such as machismo. Finally, we showcase a 5th-grade ice cream inquiry lesson tied to NGSS outcomes with these strategies and invite you to brainstorm ways to apply them in your classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will apply differentiated strategies across processes, assessments, and classroom culture to support Mexican American students in NGSS-aligned lessons, such as an ice cream activity with 5-PS1-3 and its related 3D learning outcomes to observe and compare material properties.

SPEAKERS:
Leanne Trevino, Jahdaly Rios, Karla Quintanilla Garza, Gustavo Perez, Andrew Kipp, Cecilia Marin, Samuel Rivera, Gabriela Ristaino

The goal of this session will be to highlight the advantages of using single column rubrics in the classroom and spark thinking around feedback and assessment. Single column rubrics can be used to emphasize feedback, give students more choice, and provide more opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning. The session will involve an in-depth introduction into single column rubrics, valuable group discussion on feedback and assessment in the classroom, and sample before/after rubrics and their uses (labs, science fair, pbls). Teachers will leave the session with a new strategy to try out in the classroom and access to a myriad of resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave the session with a new strategy to try out in the classroom: single column rubrics. There will be a QR code resource folder to guide them in the future as they develop single column rubrics of their own.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Vandervort

This session introduces “Survivor–American Southwest,” a Unit 1 storyline for AP Biology. Attendees will view a video showing challenges faced by desert rodents and participate in activities, including building a driving question board that increases motivation for inquiry. Participants will conduct an investigation to collect data for statistical analysis and graphical interpretation to answer questions about the benefits of crypsis. A related investigation of the hygroscopic properties of seeds will show how students explore burrowing behavior while connecting to water properties, macromolecules, statistics, and natural selection. Sample student lab CER posters and impacts on exam performance will be highlighted. The session will end with a question and answer session.

TAKEAWAYS:
After an introduction to Lab Hamster’s AP Biology Unit 1 storyline, participants will leave with the knowledge and skills needed to implement student inquiry activities, apply science practices, and use pedagogical strategies that boost student engagement and reduce teacher workload.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Christiansen, Chandra Mitnik, Kristin Clements, Noel Pauller

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Discover how DNA technology has reshaped forensic science and the courts. Through case studies and hands-on investigation, participants examine how cognitive bias, witness error, and flawed evidence can lead to wrongful convictions. Learn how post-conviction DNA analysis can confirm or overturn a case, and explore teaching strategies that integrate inquiry, statistics, argumentation from evidence, and ethical reasoning. Leave with meaningful activities that empower students to see science as a tool for justice.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Fong

Today’s most urgent challenges—from climate change to food insecurity—are wicked problems that demand new approaches to teaching and learning. This session shares insights from co-design work between Boston University’s Center for STEM Professional Learning at Scale and Relevant Classroom, a Division of Vivayic, focused on developing professional learning experiences that move beyond disciplinary boundaries. Through examples from pathway design and facilitation, participants will explore strategies for creating transdisciplinary, phenomenon-based learning that is adaptable to local contexts while connecting to students’ interests and identities and maintaining coherence. The session highlights design moves that foster systems thinking, teacher and student agency, and equitable participation, as well as lessons learned about scaling professional learning through collaboration and shared ownership.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience how convergence-based professional learning equips educators to navigate complex, real-world phenomena and problems and design instruction that connects local relevance with global socio-scientific challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Beierle

Student perecption data in the third largest county in Michigan is showing that secondary students are struggling in schools with relevance and belonging. Join this session to collaborate, learn, and consider action around Student Engagement Pillars created by Kent Intermediate School District in Kent County, MI, where we will explore strategies to foster meaningful student participation and commitment to learning. This session brings together educators to examine key pillars of student engagement—including relationships, student-centered learning, school climate, instructional moves, and asset-driven teaching. Then, help to crowd source and share some insights on how science education leans into these accelerators with research-based best practice such as classroom discourse and creating a culture and climate for constructing understanding of core principles in science and engineering. Resources included. Please note this is content area agnostic and 6-12 (I had to add a subject).

TAKEAWAYS:
Through interactive discussions, research-based insights, and real-world examples, participants will: Consider student engagement indicators as a phenomenon, learn what reasearch says about student engagement, and relate it to science education.

SPEAKERS:
Wendi Vogel

Explore how a large, diverse school district tackled the challenge of implementing K–12 Science and Engineering Practice (SEP) progressions to ensure access for all stakeholders. In this interactive session, participants will engage in collaborative sensemaking strategies designed to unpack the SEP progression of Developing and Using Models. Participants will engage in a strategy that can be used in K-12 professional learning and classrooms, making it accessible for all learners through scaffolding and differentiation. Authentic examples will drive participant reflection and planning for their own school communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
The experience provides a professional learning model that can be adapted for multi-functional implementation. Participants will analyze and take action on the SEP progression, leaving with an equity driven strategy that can be applied in professional learning communities and K-12 classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Vikki Romanoski, Noel Wagner, Kenneth LeCompte, Eve Case

Too many learners see science as something done by others in distant labs. Community science flips this: YOU are the scientist. This session shows how educators transform learners from passive consumers into active contributors who see themselves as part of the scientific community. Discover how to build scientific identity by connecting learners to real research where their observations matter and data creates change. When students contribute to authentic science—documenting biodiversity, analyzing data, tracking patterns—they develop agency and understand science is something they DO. Learn frameworks for facilitating community science that centers learner voice and demonstrates science happens everywhere by everyone. Explore Science Friday's curated resources connecting learners to diverse research topics and settings. Walk away with strategies for building belonging, tools for any learning environment, and an action plan for empowering all learners as scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators learn to use community science to build scientific identity and agency, transforming learners from passive observers into active scientists who contribute to real research and create change through accessible projects in any setting.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Roberts

Across the country, rural school districts are typically underfunded and underrepresented. This reality can make it difficult to bring many STEM programs into schools. This session will provide attendees with information and resources on how to incorporate a variety of STEM experiences into your science curriculum, with little or no cost to the school. The presenter will discuss programs that have been successful at a rural school district in Pennsylvania, including both in-school and extra-curricular activities. All the programs and resources discussed in this presentation can be utilized at low- or no-cost in any school across the country!

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway of this session that it is possible to bring quality STEM programming to underfunded schools. A list of resources will be provided to help attendees reach this goal.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Hackney

You’ve heard of NGSS-ing your instruction, but have you heard of JEDI-ing your lessons?  Join us to explore how to embed Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion into your existing instructional practices to improve accessibility for all students.  Participants will collaborate to explore learning experiences that have embedded JEDI practices and how they address the pedagogical needs of California’s various student populations. Participants will reflect on their own practices to improve accessibility, foster equitable outcomes, and adapt learning objectives for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience & explore practical ways to integrate elements of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion into your learning sequence to make science relevant and meaningful to your students.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Myers

Science in the elementary school is meant to be focused on sensemaking of phenomenon that are accessible to all students. Young children have the right to engage in science explorations daily toward the goal of them having the tools to explain their world. This session is created by COESEE - a collaboration of several science educators who are focused on equity in elementary science. In this session, we (COESEE) will engage participants in examples of elevating student-led sensemaking as an integral part of science learning by leveraging the science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts. We will provide opportunity for supported discussion around elementary school science learning as a transdisciplinary experience and offer arguments that can be used to advocate for extended, high-quality, science learning time in the elementary school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Elementary science is a critical part of every students' school learning experience and is a right of every child.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Starr

How can we design science learning that allows multilingual learners to shine? This session explores instructional approaches, and teacher moves that create rich opportunities for students to use their full range of meaning-making resources. Through classroom examples—such as building consensus ideas or sharing noticings and wonderings about puzzling phenomena—we’ll examine moments when students make their thinking public, collaborate, and grow as sensemakers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Multilingual learners are brilliant and capable of engaging in rich and rigorous scientific sensemaking when classrooms make space for their ideas. Walk away with practical tools and routines that elevate student thinking and strengthen whole-class science sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Gomez Zwiep

Multilingual learners often need extra support to fully engage with science content, but the goal is independence. In this session, elementary teachers will explore strategies for creating scaffolds that provide just the right amount of support, then systematically fade them as students gain knowledge, language skills, and confidence. Through examples, hands-on activities, and discussion, participants will learn how to scaffold science investigations, discussions, and writing so students can move from guided participation to independent problem-solving. Teachers will leave with practical, classroom-ready approaches to support multilingual learners’ language and content growth while fostering independence, curiosity, and a love of science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Develop strategies to fade scaffolds effectively for multilingual learners in science, supporting a transition from guided participation to independent thinking while fostering curiosity and mastery.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Cieslak

This interactive workshop demonstrates how Gameclass and digital games can transform science classrooms into spaces of active exploration. Participants will experience firsthand how game-based learning engages students in critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration while reinforcing core science concepts. Using Gameclass, educators can seamlessly integrate standards-aligned games into their lessons, monitor student progress, and foster inquiry-driven learning. The workshop will showcase sample activities where scientific principles—such as ecosystems, forces, or chemical reactions—are taught through dynamic gameplay that mirrors real-world challenges. Attendees will collaborate in small groups to play, reflect, and design their own classroom applications, leaving with concrete strategies for incorporating games to deepen student understanding and motivation. By harnessing the power of play, science education can evolve into an immersive, student-centered experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use Gameclass and games to boost engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration in science. They’ll gain strategies for lesson integration, assessment, and equity, plus hands-on experience designing game-based activities.

SPEAKERS:
Tammie Schrader

This presentation introduces educators to California’s Alternate Diploma Pathway—a transformative and inclusive graduation option for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Participants will learn from veteran special education teachers how students can earn a standard high school diploma by meeting the state's minimum course requirements using California’s Alternate Achievement Standards, fully aligned with federal accountability guidelines under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Audiences will learn how East Side Union High School District’s special education program transformed over the last 3 years to answer the CA Alternate Diploma pathway requirement. Presenters will also share the instructional shifts that provide high-quality, equity-driven standards-based science education, rooted in the Next Generation Science Standards that engage and empower learners often left out of traditional pathways. Participants will see examples of strategies for adapting science l

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be equipped with a model of a school district’s programmatic shift that provides authentic access to the standards based science curriculum for students with significant cognitive disabilities and instructional strategies needed to ensure their success in science.

SPEAKERS:
Ethyl Santos, Vanessa Vitug, Marrika Martin

Science with Structure: Cultivating Collaboration and Positive Learning Environments explores how cooperative learning structures can transform science classrooms into spaces where teamwork, respect, and curiosity thrive. Participants will experience practical strategies to integrate engaging science content with positive behavior skills, such as listening, accepting criticism, and working with others, within the laboratory classroom. By weaving positive behavior support into engagement structures—like think-pair-share, reciprocal coaching, and team investigations—teachers will foster both academic success and social growth. This session highlights how structure not only enhances scientific inquiry, but also builds a classroom culture where students feel safe, supported, and empowered to learn together. Session led by 2025-26 LBUSD Teacher of the Year and 2021-22 LAUSD Teacher of the Year.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore methods to sustain student engagement and high academic expectations in classrooms consisting of diverse skill levels, while promoting teamwork and a positive learning culture.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Rodriguez

Every science classroom includes students with diverse learning needs, and small instructional shifts can make a big difference in their engagement and success. In this session, we will explore common learning differences and how they may appear in the science classroom. Participants will see a concrete example of a differentiated science project designed to support students with learning differences, and then engage in collaborative discussion to share strategies, ask questions, and brainstorm ways to make science more accessible for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn practical strategies for recognizing learning differences in the science classroom and designing differentiated projects that help all students thrive.

SPEAKERS:
Joanne Tan

How can we ensure every student has a voice in making sense of scientific phenomena? This interactive session explores how accountable talk strategies can transform classroom discussions into powerful opportunities for equitable sensemaking. Participants will experience and analyze routines that support students in listening actively, building on one another’s ideas, and using evidence and reasoning to explain their thinking. We will examine how these strategies not only strengthen conceptual understanding but also foster inclusion, especially for multilingual learners and students who may be less confident contributing to academic dialogue. Participants will leave with practical tools and planning resources to intentionally embed accountable talk into their science instruction, from warm-up routines to sensemaking discussions. This session will help you create a classroom culture where every learner contributes to, and benefits from, the collective construction of scientific understan

TAKEAWAYS:
Accountable talk can transform science discussions into equitable opportunities for all students, especially multilingual learners, to actively engage in sensemaking by listening, reasoning with evidence, and building shared understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole McRee

Science education has a key role to play in supporting a just transition to the climate crisis.. Participants will learn about 20 priority areas associated with climate and environmental justice—and then will explore educational approaches, resources, and groups related to these areas. Many free resources that support climate justice education will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Working towards climate justice involves a multifaceted set of issues and priorities. Teachers will identify which priority areas relate to their goals and context and learn about related resources. A climate justice framework will help teachers learn about different dimensions of climate justice.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

Portfolio-based assessments can make student sensemaking visible in a way that is equitable, asset-based, and holistic. This interactive presentation will walk participants through how one district in Los Angeles is constructing portfolio-based assessment in grades TK-12. This portfolio system is geared toward developing student self-confidence through asset-oriented feedback about their science sensemaking directly linked to the NGSS Performance Expectations. We will share examples of student portfolios across TK-12, supports that students needed to build those portfolios, and professional development teachers needed to design and evaluate this type of three-dimensional assessment. Participants will be invited to consider how to begin developing portfolio-based assessments in their own context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive examples of portfolios and professional development structures needed to develop an assessment system that can be applied in a single classroom or district-wide.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Scholz

What does the Science of Reading have to do with reading and writing science? Quite a bit, actually! In this session, we will explore some of the reasons students struggle to read, write, and comprehend scientific texts. More importantly, we’ll dive into some strategies you can use to support students in accessing grade-level texts, including doing more hands-on science! Educators will engage in real practice and take away tangible ideas to bring better literacy practice into any type of science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use strategies from the Science of Reading philosophy to help students become better readers, writers, and speakers of science.

SPEAKERS:
Obie Martin

Sorting tasks in science create opportunities for students to engage in science practices as they recognize patterns, categorize, hypothesize, generalize, and make connections through multiple modalities including images, text, symbols, diagrams, tables, and graphs. Yet, often, students simply engage in “silent shuffles” with little opportunities for sensemaking. What could be an opportunity for rich dialogue and meaning making is dominated instead by speed, with cursory explanations offered after the fact. When designed with an intentional purpose and implemented with specific steps that structure both the process and the language for the interaction, however, card sorts create opportunities for all students to fully participate in making sense of science ideas through language. In this interactive session, participants will engage with a variety of sorts and explore how they can be structured and sequenced within a lesson to support sensemaking for multilingual learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Card sorts allow students to explore science concepts in multiple modalities When intentionally structured and sequence in a lesson, these activities both engage and support multilingual learners as they draw on their prior knowledge and co-construct understandings with others.

SPEAKERS:
Tanya Warren

Physics continues to lag behind other sciences in student enrollment, with persistent underrepresentation of women and other marginalized groups. Yet there are ways teachers can help disrupt and change this trend by applying practical, evidence-based strategies in the classroom. This session introduces the STEP UP curriculum—research-based lessons designed to shift classroom culture and inspire students to pursue physics. Participants will engage with two cornerstone lessons: Careers in Physics, which showcases diverse and rewarding career paths with a physics degree, and Women in Physics, which addresses the roots of gender bias while equipping teachers with strategies to counter it. Through interactive activities, attendees will experience the lessons from a student perspective, then reflect on practical approaches for classroom integration. All STEP UP resources are freely available, teacher-friendly, and developed by the American Physical Society in collaboration with educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with ready-to-use strategies for STEP UP’s evidence-based lessons, full access to digital resources, and a supportive national teacher network to help you make your physics classroom more welcoming and inclusive, and encourage more students to consider taking physics courses.

SPEAKERS:
Pooja Gupta

Instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and teaching teams often ask the question, “How can we better support multilingual students during science?” We have lists and websites and books of MLL strategies, but how can we intentionally (and swiftly) make decisions that work with and support high quality science instruction? Join us to consider ways instructional leaders can support educators and teaching teams as they seek to better support multilingual learners while using adopted science instructional materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sometimes MLL supports can feel at odds with collaborative, inquiry-based science learning. By focusing on how to elevate and expand the language students use during discourse-rich, 3D science sensemaking, MLL supports can enhance rather than detract from students figuring out together.

SPEAKERS:
Janna Mahfoud

Science teachers must create learning environments where ALL students, regardless of their language proficiency and ability, have equal access to meaningful STEM/STEAM curriculum (Lems & Stegemoller, 2019). Session shows how integrating second language acquisition principles and constructivist STEAM content is effective for diverse students (Lee & Stephens, 2020). Presenters focus on Ecosystem lessons based on goals from Arizona Science Standard: LS2C Ecosystems Culturally relevant STEAM curricula and strategies for Latino, Indigenous, and Filipino populations will be demonstrated. Examples focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion via Indigenous Web of Life Curriculum and Hispanic Community Science Projects. Culturally/linguistically diverse STEAM lessons enable teachers to effectively teach Multilingual learners, Neurodiverse learners, and diverse students with disabilities. Takeaways are STEAM lesson examples and activities teachers can immediately use in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers experience STEAM strategies and curriculum materials for instruction of Diverse Multilingual Learners, Neurodiverse Learners, and Diverse Students with Disabilities so they can replicate the effective materials and teaching strategies for similar students in their own schools and community.

SPEAKERS:
Gerry Madrazo, Ph.D, Elaine Luzbert, Patricia Peterson

The role of information in our society has been changing over the past few decades, and the development of AI is accelerating these shifts even more rapidly. Now, more than ever, it is critical that all students can think and learn in ways that are meaningful and relevant to the world in which they will live and work. This session will explore the skills that are most relevant to students in the 21st century and how teachers can design science classrooms that promote deep, rigorous thinking for all learners. Participants will examine practical tools to assess and increase both the rigor and relevance of learning experiences, ensuring equitable access to high-level thinking and engagement for every student.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies to design and modify science learning that is both rigorous and relevant, supporting all students in developing the high-level thinking and problem-solving skills that are essential for success in today’s rapidly evolving world.

SPEAKERS:
Aaron Schwartz

When students are given authentic opportunities to act as scientists, science becomes relevant, engaging, and meaningful. This session explores how phenomena, practices, students, and science ideas can be integrated into lessons and assessments to create equitable opportunities across diverse classrooms. Presenters will share strategies that align with the Framework for K–12 Science Education, Georgia Standards of Excellence, and NGSS Science and Engineering Practices. Lessons will show how small adjustments—such as offering open-ended inquiry or added scaffolding—can make the same activity accessible to gifted, general education, and co-taught classes. Equity will be emphasized through culturally relevant pedagogy, scaffolding, and differentiation so all students have an entry point. Classroom examples from Biology, including Protein Synthesis, Evolution, and Ecology, will anchor the discussion. Participants will leave with adaptable strategies and tools to support all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover strategies to equitably engage gifted, general ed, and inclusive classrooms. See classroom examples of student work and assessments that show learning in action. Leave with tools and frameworks to adapt these strategies for your own teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Madison Shelton, Holly Lewis

Youth need opportunities to learn about green colonialism and how Native Science and Indigenous sovereignty are fundamental to addressing the climate emergency. Workshop participants will engage in talk activities designed to support non-Indigenous youth in learning and processing these topics.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will support educators in understanding that climate experts across the globe are calling for the broad recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and climate expertise as fundamental to mitigating climate change and building a just future.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

Education leaders struggle to scale STEM programs without losing equity and excellence. This session presents the SCALE Framework™, developed through work with 38,000+ students, showing how to lead system-wide STEM implementation that maintains three-dimensional NGSS learning across diverse populations. Participants engage with real student work examples and case studies demonstrating equitable phenomena-based learning at scale. Address post-pandemic STEM recovery challenges while building capacity for curriculum redesign, inclusive community partnerships, and sustainable change leadership. Leave with comprehensive tools: equity assessment frameworks, asset-based partnership strategies, and leadership development resources, ensuring STEM excellence reaches every learner. Perfect for superintendents, curriculum directors, and district leaders managing system-wide transformation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leaders will master the SCALE Framework™ for maintaining equity outcomes while scaling STEM programs system-wide, ensuring three-dimensional NGSS learning reaches every student through strategic partnerships, inclusive leadership development, and community-centered implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Natoshia Anderson

Are you wondering how to make grading motivational for students and less exhausting for teachers? Come learn to apply research-based strategies for providing feedback that is positive, efficient, and hopefully even joyful. This session will explore how to provide feedback in a way that accounts for the 3-dimensional nature of the NGSS by sharing the distinction between evaluating student knowledge about DCIs (which are often taught only once per grade band) and student sensemaking with the science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts (which are taught multiple times per grade band). In our experience, grading and assessment systems often replicate and perpetuate unjust patterns of opportunities and achievement. This session will provide alternatives that teachers can use to mitigate these patterns of oppression. You will have opportunities to examine your own practice and consider new and inspirational ideas for your own classroom assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
During this session, participants will identify grading practices that increase equity, use a protocol to provide asset-oriented feedback about the 3 dimensions of NGSS, and make a plan for moving toward more equitable, growth-oriented grading in your own classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Dozier

Our team has been developing and piloting an integrated STEM unit in which middle school students address the societal challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. To foster a learning environment where all students critically engage with societal challenges, we have found certain instructional practices particularly effective. In this session, two middle school science teachers of multilingual learners highlight these practices: (a) mind-mapping, (b) fishbowl discussions, and (c) an annotation system for handouts. Each practice is modeled in the context of our integrated STEM unit in which students unpack the disproportionate negative outcomes of COVID-19 on marginalized communities. The teachers describe these practices through classroom examples and provide suggestions for classroom integration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how instructional practices such as mind-mapping, fishbowl discussions, and annotated handouts foster a learning environment where all students, and especially multilingual learners, critically engage with societal challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Kos, Alison Haas, Abigail Schwenger

Make student thinking come to life with notebooks! No more cutting and gluing! Ditch the worksheets and get students owning their work. Increase the rigor of student work—learn new strategies for organizing content and how to use templates for any science class. This is notebooking like you have never seen before! Take home many current NGSS classroom examples to get you started. This session is for 6-12 grade teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Notebooking in science should focus on sense-making and creating ownership of the work. Moving away from worksheets and discovering-1.) The how and why of science notebooks; 2.) How to engage ALL students in science; and 3.) Templates scaffold student learning for success.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Weibert

The story of the double helix is standard fare but is usually told in a cursory and superficial way. The actual story, however, can be brought into the classroom in a way that excites students and shows the scientific process, warts and all, in a manner that promotes equity, inclusion, & science. I will describe how clues to DNA’s structure were developed over several decades and how they came together over six remarkable months in 1952 and 1953. I will focus on new research regarding Franklin’s role in the discovery and will examine how the race for the double helix fits into our usual understanding of the scientific process. I will also examine how this remarkable story can be brought into the biology classroom in a way that energizes students and provides them with a more realistic understanding of the human side of scientific discovery.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be presented with a realistic narrative that departs from the usual step-by-step version of the scientific method, addressing what this work and the reaction to it illuminates about the role of women in science and ethical values in research.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Miller

Leading educators in Science Studio can act as a catalyst for instructional transformation. Participation in Science Studio can deepen teachers’ understanding of science content and pedagogy while ensuring that all students—regardless of background—can access, engage with, and succeed in rigorous science learning. The features of Science Studio include Collaborative professional learning, Focus on high-quality, standards-aligned instruction, Equity and student access, and Reflection, leadership and capacity building. In this session, participants will engage with a 4-part science studio course that covers how the core practices of developing and using models, summary tables, accountable and productive student talk change how science looks and sounds in the classroom and how a variety of sense-making activities can be used to explore and explain a phenomenon. The course will be shared with participants; it can be adapted to meet their school or district needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers learn how a series of four professional development sessions in Science Studio can build deeper science content understanding and pedagogical skills in their classroom and across their school community.

SPEAKERS:
Annette Venegas

Modeling is a core practice of science and one of the most powerful tools for student sensemaking and systems thinking. In this interactive workshop, participants will engage in the modeling process as learners: starting with a phenomenon, generating questions, building flowcharts, connecting visuals to real-world systems, and co-creating models that evolve. You'll explore how students use models to make thinking visible, revise ideas through peer feedback, and build understanding across a unit. You’ll also learn how to modify a classroom-ready modeling template, pair it with phenomena of your choice, and use a model tracker across units to help students reflect on and revise their thinking. By the end of the year, students compile a portfolio that celebrates not just mastery, but growth, curiosity, and the evolving nature of scientific thinking. Walk away with practical tools to make modeling meaningful, collaborative, and fun.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to implement and adapt a classroom-ready modeling template, design phenomena-driven lessons, and use model trackers to build student portfolios that showcase sensemaking, systems thinking, and growth throughout the year.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Doran

This poster will showcase practical ways to make chemistry more engaging, accessible, and memorable by integrating student choice, gamified learning, and creative activities into daily instruction. The focus is on increasing motivation, conceptual understanding, and classroom community by inviting students to take an active role in shaping their learning experiences. Participants will see examples of how these approaches have been used to boost participation and collaboration in real classrooms with real student feedback (without requiring extensive prep time or expensive materials). Each activity aligns with NGSS science practices and can be easily adapted for a range of high school chemistry courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will walk away with ready-to-use ideas and full access to a shared Google Drive folder containing templates, printable game materials, digital activity links, and resources they can immediately bring back to their classrooms to make chemistry learning more engaging.

SPEAKERS:
Cassie Herndon

This poster explores the powerful intersection of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and science instruction, demonstrating how SEL strategies can deepen student engagement, improve collaboration, and drive meaningful scientific inquiry. By incorporating practices such as goal-setting, self-reflection, peer dialogue, and emotional awareness, science educators can create classrooms where students feel safe to ask questions, take intellectual risks, and persist through challenges. Attendees will discover: Practical examples of SEL-aligned science activities Classroom-tested strategies to foster student agency and resilience How SEL can support scientific practices outlined in the NGSS Evidence of improved academic and social outcomes when SEL is embedded in science instruction This session is ideal for educators, instructional coaches, and curriculum designers looking to create more inclusive, emotionally intelligent science classrooms where all students can thrive.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integrating SEL strategies into science instruction creates a more supportive and engaging learning environment, empowering students to think critically, collaborate effectively, and persist through scientific challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Mulligan

Traditional science labs build content knowledge but often fail to connect students to real-world STEM opportunities. This poster session shares practical strategies for transforming labs into interdisciplinary, NGSS-aligned projects that deepen engagement and build workforce-ready skills. Drawing on a pilot design and multimedia pathway in an urban high school, we’ll showcase how projects rooted in core science ideas and extended through design, technology, and communication helped students apply three-dimensional learning to authentic challenges such as the Tech Challenge. Attendees will explore before-during-after lesson structures, planning tools, and student artifacts that illustrate how science learning can become meaningful, relevant, and empowering. Participants will leave with ready-to-use templates and strategies to redesign labs as collaborative, career-connected STEM experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to transform traditional science labs into interdisciplinary, NGSS-aligned projects and leave with ready-to-use planning templates, lesson structures, and strategies for connecting science learning to real-world STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Maafi Cook

The goal of this poster presentation is to highlight a new interdisciplinary course called Build It, Dream It: The Da Vinci Way. We are already a STEM-centered school, but we wanted to create a course that goes beyond that. We wanted a course that invites students who are artists and who are historians, students who do not view themselves as science-minded. We want to wow these students into understanding that science is embedded in every discipline. Science is thinking critically. It is looking at a problem and brainstorming ways to find an answer. This is done in literature, in math, and in social studies. Overview of Units in this course: Renaissance, The Engineering Process & Art, Simple Machines,. Sculptures,Animal Anatomy, Human Anatomy, and Space. Da Vinci was a master student although he was not well educated in the traditional sense. He thrived on learning and sought out experts to help him absorb knowledge. This is a great starting point for many middle school students.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster highlights Build It, Dream It: The Da Vinci Way, an interdisciplinary course designed to engage all students not just STEM students. The display will showcase the course units, sample activities, guest speakers, student artifacts, and qualitative feedback from students.

SPEAKERS:
Ana Simzer

Dive into a hands-on experience where students explore buoyancy, density, and forces through culturally relevant activities inspired by chinampas and the axolotl! Learners design a floating paper axolotl capable of holding 20 pennies, testing and selecting materials based on observable properties while planning and conducting investigations. By connecting ancient Mesoamerican ingenuity to modern sustainable farms in flood-prone Sri Lanka, students discover how diverse cultural and global perspectives inform real-world problem-solving. These immersive experiences foster curiosity, critical thinking, perseverance, confidence, and positive identification with science, helping learners see themselves as capable problem-solvers and innovators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies to teach buoyancy with hands-on projects inspired by chinampas and axolotls, creating culturally relevant experiences that foster curiosity and problem-solving while helping students see themselves as capable scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Monica Dennis

As teachers, we often wonder what happens in groups when we step away. This poster will take you behind the curtain with 3 different student groups in an undergraduate physics lab as they engage in multiple NGSS SEPs. This research project found that the most important factors for student success in engaging in inquiry-based SEPs are the connections between procedural and conceptual elements through epistemic elements, underpinned by social engagement. Each pairing of a student group with their instructor showed different instructional styles and levels of teacher guidance. This poster will provide specific examples of student groups successfully navigating the lab, less successful groups navigating challenges, and teacher moves that mitigated unproductive struggles. Equitable access to post-secondary physics labs requires that instructors adapt to the needs of their students, which will be shown in this poster.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster will provide guidance for secondary and post-secondary instructors who want to better support their students during sensemaking. Teachers can adopt an adaptive approach to teaching by evaluating student ideas with the aim of meeting students’ needs throughout the sensemaking process.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Dozier, Brian Wilcox

Learn from two experienced transdisciplinary teachers how to assess students as they combine science-based storytelling and justice advocacy. In our food systems/justice context, students make observations around urgent food-related topics, including interviews at local farmers' markets and with community partners. They then explore related scientific evidence on topics they choose, including SNAP budgeting, food waste, and front-of-packaging labeling. Students generate ideas for evidence-based storytelling through interactive "tabling" showcases held during school lunch. For this poster, we'll showcase the lesson arc, portfolio rubric, student work, and sample booths as a clear before/during/after model for other teachers to use. As food insecurity, climate impacts, and equity shape students’ lives and policy shifts affect access and opportunities, this assessment provides a model for teaching science in a social justice context, empowering youth to connect content to action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover a model of authentic assessment where science and justice meet as students observe, investigate, and generate ideas while turning their science learning into civic leadership.

SPEAKERS:
Tania Bettis, Elizabeth Gottlieb

Learning Assistant (LA) programs have grown in popularity over the last 20 years as a form of near-peer instructional support, largely due to LAs reducing DFW rates, increasing retention in STEM programs, enhancing teacher recruitment, supporting curricular and pedagogical transformation, and increasing positive attitudes about science. This poster focuses on recurring themes that emerged from student and LA focus groups conducted during the semesters between Fall 2023 and Spring 2025. Some of the key themes that emerged from being involved in the LA program were helping students foster STEM identity, broadening students’ perspectives on who can do STEM, allowing students to feel more comfortable asking questions, and encouraging LAs to consider teaching as a possible career choice. This data will provide insights for how the LA program fosters an inclusive learning environment through student to student interactions, and how these interactions influence the development of STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning Assistant programs help students foster their STEM identity, broaden students’ perspectives on who can do STEM, allow students to feel more comfortable asking questions, and encourage LAs to consider teaching as a possible career choice.

SPEAKERS:
Aubrey Layton, Elijah Roth

Urban school districts are uniquely positioned at the intersection of innovation and inequity. This roundtable invites educators, leaders, and community stakeholders to discuss strategies that increase access, engagement, and achievement in STEM for historically underserved students. Together, participants will examine real-world challenges such as resource gaps, culturally relevant pedagogy, and teacher retention, while sharing solutions like community partnerships, after-school STEM initiatives, and project-based learning. The session will serve as a collaborative space to exchange best practices and inspire actionable steps toward equity in STEM education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Even in resource-limited urban classrooms, innovative and low-cost STEM practices can break barriers, spark curiosity, and open pathways to future success.

SPEAKERS:
Tamia Murphy

This Lesson Showcase shares an interdisciplinary elementary unit developed in response to a parent’s concern about food waste at school. Using the bilingual trade book Rainbow weaver / Tejedora del arcoíris as a central teaching resource, students engaged in real-world investigations of food waste at home and school. Hands-on activities, such as sorting and weighing food waste, helped students connect abstract science concepts to real world experiences. Literacy connections through reading, discussion, and family interviews made complex science content more relevant to their everyday lives. Students also highlighted cultural traditions that shaped how families reuse food and materials, illustrating the power of integrating personal and community knowledge into science learning. By grounding lessons in authentic issues of waste and sustainability, the unit encouraged student agency by linking science with meaningful action in their lives and communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive all lesson materials and resources to implement this interdisciplinary, bilingual unit that connects food waste, culture, and sustainability through hands-on science, literacy, and family knowledge.

SPEAKERS:
Caitlyn Ishaq

The goal of this session is to prepare educators to use teaching strategies grounded in the four pillars of sensemaking (phenomena, science and engineering practices, student ideas and science ideas) into their practice to enhance engagement and STEM identity among Black students. This session provides opportunity to examine approaches to practices backed by research that foster meaningful student understanding, belonging, and agency in STEM learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with practical approaches to enhance STEM engagement and learning outcomes, particularly for Black students who are underrepresented in STEM, aligned to current research on sensemaking and best practices for STEM instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Jones

Scientific vocabulary is often a major barrier for emergent bilingual students, as the terms are highly content-specific and rarely used in everyday conversation. Without direct vocabulary support, students may struggle to access key scientific concepts. This poster session, presented by a veteran teacher with a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction, highlights small group strategies such as pictionary, word pop, and graphic organizers that create intentional opportunities for emergent bilingual students to identify, classify, manipulate, and apply scientific vocabulary in meaningful ways. Emphasis will be placed on hands-on experiences, visual supports, and language scaffolds that promote active engagement. Participants will explore how leveraging small group settings can foster deeper comprehension, confidence, and long-term retention of science vocabulary, ensuring that emergent bilingual learners can access rigorous science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies for using small group instruction to foster deeper comprehension, build confidence, and support long-term retention of science vocabulary, ensuring that emergent bilingual learners can access and thrive in rigorous science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Suzelene Pooler

This paper introduces a theoretical contribution, Historically Relevant Science Pedagogy, to the science teaching and learning community and education field broadly. Historically Relevant Science Pedagogy is a by-product of (1) these Sista Circles, (2) a continuation of social justice oriented teaching in science teaching and learning and (3) the amalgamation of three previously established pedagogical frameworks: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1994), Liberatory Pedagogy (hooks, 1994), and Culturally and Historically Responsive Education (Muhammad, 2020; 2023). This framework is positioned within the history of science teaching and learning as a way to demonstrate the need for future approaches of teaching that center critical consciousness. Historically Relevant Science Pedagogy is a K-12 pedagogical approach that displays how Black women science teachers discuss their anti-racist teaching and showcases several phenomena that center anti-oppression and liberation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Curriculum maps and NGSS-aligned phenomena that centers critical consciousness will be provided. In this space we will consider the examples and discuss how this might inform our praxis in the K-12 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Alexis Riley

Explore research findings on sense of belonging in middle and high school physics classrooms. This poster shares practical strategies, backed by student data, that demonstrate how intentional classroom design, collaborative structures, and inclusive practices enhance student comfort, engagement, and self-efficacy. Discover how fostering a sense of belonging directly impacts participation and retention in physics.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn data-supported, practical strategies to intentionally design physics classrooms that significantly increase students' sense of belonging, leading to higher engagement, participation, and self-efficacy.

SPEAKERS:
Shayna Goldstein

Participants will explore the importance of building a positive STEM identity and integrating it into the K–12 curriculum. This poster will highlight strategies for fostering an environment that promotes competence, curiosity, and confidence in students as they pursue STEM learning. Attendees will discover ways to leverage students’ existing “working knowledge” to deepen engagement and connection to STEM concepts. Resources and examples will be provided to help educators support students in developing a strong and lasting STEM identity. This session is ideal for educators seeking to empower their students in STEM, regardless of background or experience. Participants will leave inspired and equipped to make a meaningful impact on their students’ STEM identity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Unlock students' STEM IDENTITY with hands-on strategies that inspire confidence, curiosity, and STEM skills. Learn how aviation and aeronautics can promote a growth mindset and create real-life engineering scenarios and career connections. Get free resources and actionable steps at this session.

SPEAKERS:
Jesse Steiner, Christina Davis

Want more students at your STEM Table? Your STEM Table is only as big as the chairs you pull up! The session highlights practical, scalable strategies that educators, instructional leaders, and program designers can adapt to a variety of contexts. Rather than viewing rural settings as limitations, we emphasize leveraging local assets—such as community industries, environmental contexts, military installations, and regional partnerships—to create meaningful, place-based STEM learning experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Pull up a chair! Learn strategies to design STEM pathways that intentionally include rural learners, connect learning to local assets, and build community partnerships. Leave with concrete tools to give every student a meaningful seat at the STEM table.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Crystal Ricks, Jessica Minton, Michelle Hendrick

Drones may seem like tools reserved for AP Physics or college engineering courses, but with simple, low-cost builds they can give middle school students authentic opportunities to explore forces, motion, and energy through hands-on investigations. This session shows how the DIY Mini-Drone Project from Science Buddies can be adapted into classroom labs. Each stage connects to science ideas: balancing the frame highlights unbalanced forces, spinning propellers demonstrate Newton’s 3rd Law, and the battery shows energy transfer to motion. Test flights become mini-labs where students see how net force and mass affect motion or how payloads change acceleration. Student journals, sketchnotes, and reflections illustrate how drones provide equitable entry points for multilingual learners, neurodiverse students, and others who thrive with hands-on science. Participants leave with strategies to make drones affordable, rigorous, and centered on sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how low-cost drones can transform forces, motion, and energy into accessible, high-rigor classroom investigations, with student examples and strategies that keep the science, not just building, at the center of learning.

SPEAKERS:
Reyna Rivera

This interactive workshop equips educators with strategies to support multilingual learners in science by making abstract concepts accessible and engaging. Participants will engage in exploration and discussion activities that build vocabulary, confidence, and collaboration while practicing sequencing and problem-solving. Strategies highlight the power of multimodal instruction to break complex ideas into digestible steps and foster language growth across listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The session highlights how strategies used in informal learning can enrich classroom instruction, advancing equity by making science and technology accessible to all students and supporting them as confident, capable learners and innovators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies to support Multilingual Learners as confident science learners, breaking complex concepts into manageable steps and using hands-on, multimodal approaches to create equitable, engaging experiences for all students.

SPEAKERS:
Lorena Morales-Ellis, Monica Dennis

Are you new to co-teaching or wanting to learn about it? If so, please join us to explore specific, practical strategies that you can use immediately to begin your co-teaching journey in the science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to apply various strategies for co-teaching, such as identifying co-teaching roles, implementing different models of co-teaching, and how to practically plan given limited time.

SPEAKERS:
Harper De Mey, Sydnie Chouery

All students deserve access to meaningful science inquiry that connects to their lives and communities. This workshop helps educators design accessible, engaging learning through project-based learning (PBL) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies so students of all abilities can succeed. Participants will explore “low floor, high ceiling” cross-curricular projects integrating ELA, math, NGSS-aligned inquiry, computational modeling, and engineering design, using examples of student work. We will discuss strategies to support English Learners, students with disabilities (SWD), and marginalized learners through inclusive, culturally relevant design. Participants will use a modular planning approach to build their own NGSS-based projects, integrating chosen disciplines and standards. Educators will leave with a roadmap for designing projects that promote equity, student choice, and authentic assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a road map to plan an engaging project that incorporates student choice, community relevance and different ways that students can demonstrate their learning.

SPEAKERS:
Ortavia Manning-Dixon, Leilani O'Dell

Dreamline Pathways™: From Classroom Engagement to Career Achievement showcases an equity-driven model that connects students to STEM and health careers through innovative learning experiences and long-term support. Participants will learn how Dreamline Pathways™ provides classroom kits for younger scholars, free online health-focused STEM lesson plans, and VR tools that bring science to life. The program also shares the immersive campus experiences, sustained mentorship, and pre- and post-college support that guide students through secondary education and beyond. This workshop highlights strategies that strengthen STEM identity, foster career-connected learning, and build an inclusive pathway that transforms curiosity into career success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how Dreamline Pathways™ uses classroom kits, free STEM resources, VR, immersive experiences, and mentorship to build inclusive pathways that guide students from early engagement through college and into STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie McGrew

Many students, including those labeled at-risk, struggle to engage in the science classroom. The presenter will share proven strategies to engage these learners. These are applicable in any secondary science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn easy to implement strategies that will engage reluctant learners in the science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Nadene Klein

West Chicago Community HS Science has transformed its program to better serve a diverse student body by offering purposeful courses and student-centric classrooms. These changes are driven by three tenets that shape culture, instruction, and curriculum: create a place students want to be, make every kid's brain “hurt” daily, and ensure all learners think, act, and speak like a scientist. In 12 years, enrollment rose from 82% to 89%. During this time, Honors/AP/Dual Credit participation grew 8%, with Latino representation nearly doubling. Additions also included the creation of healthcare career pathways. Instruction shifted to inquiry, problem-solving, and discourse. The improved program at West Chicago Community HS demonstrates how a clear vision, intentional design, and commitment to student-centered learning can create dynamic science experiences for all. Participants will leave with a roadmap, reflective tools, and strategies to drive change in their own classroom or department.

TAKEAWAYS:
West Chicago HS Science models transformation by purposefully changing climate and courses. Driven by 3 tenets: build a place where students want to be, make students’ brains “hurt” & think like scientists. The result: enrollment & advanced courses increased as Latino participation nearly doubled.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Albright

How can science learning experiences help students develop ecological caring approaches to the living world? Come explore educational approaches to multispecies justice with us! Expanding how students connect to and care for the living world around them is vital at this time of climate crisis. We will draw on resources from STEM Teaching Tools (stemteachingtools.org) and Learning in Places (learninginplaces.org) to support these experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
People’s relationships to nature are culturally and historically rooted and are embedded in approaches to science teaching and learning. Science can be used to guide ecological caring responses and support the thriving of people and ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Fowler, Philip Bell

The presenter uses her research-based Identity-Belonging-Agency (IBA) framework to guide attendees in their thinking about their roles as STEM leaders. This presentation introduces a reflective leadership approach that can support teacher growth towards embodying the presenter’s four inclusive teaching mindsets pathways. The presenter will use her Inclusive Teaching Mindsets tool to discuss coaching options that support STEM teacher growth and ways to align professional learning with justice-centered practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a reflective process that supports teacher growth towards embodying inclusive teaching mindsets that can transform STEM classrooms into spaces of belonging, innovation, and agency.

SPEAKERS:
Sherita Flake

How can educators use AI to help multilingual learners engage more fully in science and engineering practices like constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence? Building on Part 1, this session introduces an interactive AI bot that provides targeted scaffolds for language and reasoning in science tasks. Participants will explore how AI can translate assignments, offer real-time feedback, and support students in using evidence to communicate scientific ideas. Through a hands-on investigation, attendees will experience how tools like adaptive prompts can lower language barriers while enhancing sensemaking. Leave with ready-to-use examples, AI prompts, and classroom applications that make the practices of science accessible, equitable, and authentic for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience strategies for designing phenomenon-based science lessons where multilingual learners thrive. Learn how AI can scaffold language, personalize tasks, and support equitable access to three-dimensional sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Drenth

How can science teacher educators and mentors prepare science teachers to deeply engage multilingual learners in science practices? This presentation models and discusses tools, research, and lessons learned from a federally funded project to answer this question through translanguaging pedagogy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Translanguaging pedagogy involves teaching moves that go beyond giving multilingual learners access to the content and instead helps them mobilize their full linguistic repertoire to engage in science practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jonah Firestone

How do we create STEM learning spaces where all students see themselves as capable and belonging? This interactive workshop models hands-on strategies rooted in culturally relevant pedagogy to help educators disrupt stereotypes and expand representation in their classrooms. Participants will engage in activities such as identity reflection through journaling, analyzing and redesigning representation in science and technology, and coding creative projects that link computational thinking with storytelling. These activities are framed around Social Identity Theory and the principle that students’ sense of belonging is strengthened when they see their identities reflected in STEM spaces. While the session draws inspiration from a study on girls in gaming, the strategies are designed to be broadly adaptable for diverse learners and classroom contexts. Educators will leave with practical tools, adaptable activity templates, and a framework for integrating representation and identity work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn adaptable, culturally relevant STEM teaching strategies that integrate identity reflection, representation, and creative hands-on activities to increase students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy.

SPEAKERS:
Kiy Benton

Imagine a classroom where every girl feels confident exploring science, technology, engineering, and math—and sees herself as an innovator with the power to change the world. This session dives into the latest research on girls in STEM and why it matters for today’s educators. Together, we’ll uncover the challenges that contribute to underrepresentation and explore small but powerful classroom shifts that spark curiosity, build confidence, and connect learning to real-world possibilities. With insights from female scientists and ready-to-use strategies, you’ll leave inspired and equipped to create classrooms where girls thrive as problem-solvers and leaders in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the recent research on females in STEM and learn how to take intentionally small but powerful steps in your classroom to ensure that our future female problem-solvers have the confidence, encouragement, and motivation to change the world, one STEM field at a time!

SPEAKERS:
Dawn McCotter

Tired of spending hours grading or scrambling to provide accommodations for diverse learners? This session will show you how to make technology work for you. Discover self-grading spreadsheets that give instant feedback, interactive Google Docs for collaborative learning, and digital features that make modifications and accommodations simple to implement. These tools save time, increase efficiency, and ensure all students get the support they need—without adding to your workload. Walk away with ready-to-use templates, classroom-tested tips, and strategies that can be applied in any content area to boost productivity and student success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to use practical tech tools—like self-grading spreadsheets, interactive Google Docs, and built-in supports—to save time, streamline grading, and easily provide accommodations and modifications for all learners across any content area.

SPEAKERS:
Kyla Glasser

In this session, STEM4real will share how our partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Michigan State University (MSU), and Richmond Public Schools is helping teachers bring equity to life in science classrooms. Together we used lesson study to support teachers as they planned, taught, and reflected on NGSS-aligned lessons that center student voice, culturally relevant phenomena, and equitable access. Through this work, teachers were able to adapt high-quality materials to meet the needs of their own students while strengthening their practice. We will share professional development and classroom examples from Virginia, including climate and ecosystem storylines, that show how students engaged in real sensemaking. Participants will also get to try out one of the discourse protocols we used during lesson study and walk through a mini-cycle of collaborative reflection.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators and teachers will gain knowledge on how lesson study strengthens collaboration and supports equitable, discourse in science teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Neotha Williams

Assessment and grading are an integral part of science instruction in the classroom, but they don't have to be scary or daunting. Working together, the science curriculum team and the assessment team have developed a process for creating a transfer task with a new phenomenon to gather information and assess student understanding of their application of the standards from a unit. This process asks students to apply learning in a new way, rather than fill in the blanks with key vocabulary or recite certain facts from DCIs. These types of tasks peek student curiosity and promote a feeling of calm rather than anxiety because they don't look like a "test".

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk through the process that we use to create a transfer task for a unit of instruction. The process includes reviewing the standards, instruction from the unit, identifying a new phenomenon that the students can connect with, and designing the task.

SPEAKERS:
Miranda Orellana

What if one question could transform your science classroom? Discover "Cultural Bridges" - a powerful equity strategy that connects students' home experiences to NGSS phenomena through intentional questioning. This fast-paced, interactive session demonstrates how PreK-8 educators can immediately increase engagement for ALL learners, especially those from diverse backgrounds. Through hands-on practice, participants will experience creating Cultural Bridge questions and witness their impact on student thinking. Perfect for busy teachers who want research-backed equity strategies they can use tomorrow. Leave with confidence to honor every student's cultural wealth while maintaining science rigor. Ready to bridge the gap between home and classroom learning?

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to create "Cultural Bridges." A technique where one specific question connects students' home experiences to science phenomena to immediately increase engagement and deepen understanding for all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Almitra Berry

Join a first-year educator as he shares his experience rooting his science teaching in culturally sustaining pedagogy. More than ever, in an anti-science world, marginalized students deserve access to educational spaces where they can learn while feeling safe, seen, and embraced. Every student possesses wisdom which extends beyond the classroom, yet they are given limited opportunities to demonstrate their unique funds of knowledge. Through reflecting upon anecdotal evidence, examining student work, and dissecting concrete examples of culturally sustaining pedagogy, learn how multiple levels of students’ culture can be embraced to increase student engagement, discourse, and mastery learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have an introductory understanding of culturally sustaining pedagogy and the opportunities it can create in STEM learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Bryant Rivera Cortez

Science and engineering practices offer a clear framework for exploring phenomena and designing solutions, and we briefly highlight our strategies to include our Mexican American students in these investigations. We discuss: 1. supporting student communication through sentence starters, word banks, and vocabulary charts for asking questions and defining problems; 2. using 2D top-down and side drawings to develop and use models; 3. creating concept maps to organize investigations; 4. visualizing data through surveys with bar, line, and pie graphs to analyze results; 5. sharing findings through storytelling, product demonstrations, and peer presentations; and 6. navigating cultural and gender dynamics to foster productive roles in group work. During the Q&A, we invite our audience to share their strategies and supports for Mexican American students, and we share our resources and examples with our audience to help them apply these strategies in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore strategies to develop activities that enhance equity with science and engineering practices for Mexican American students and integrate these strategies into their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Cecilia Marin, Gabriela Ristaino, Karla Quintanilla Garza, Gustavo Perez, Andrew Kipp, Jahdaly Rios, Leanne Trevino, Samuel Rivera

The demands on STEM educators are greater than ever, often leading to burnout and a sense of isolation. This workshop proposes a new paradigm that aligns the principles of restorative and pedagogical practices. We will explore how the "WITH" principle from restorative practices—a blend of high support and high accountability—can be applied to the values teachers guide their classes with both behaviorally and instructionally. Participants will experience being in a community circle and connecting with other educators through sharing stories and approaches of being in the WITH. Following the principles of being in circle raises teachers’ voices and increases our relational connections with each other. This approach not only improves teacher well-being by fostering a sense of community and efficacy but also deepens their understanding and implementation of effective, student-centered STEM instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will takeaway the practice of applying a 'WITH' mindset in collaborative professional learning to strengthen supportive relationships that enhance both professional well-being and instructional effectiveness.

SPEAKERS:
Betsy Barent

Learning Assistant (LA) programs are a type of near-peer instructional support that has been implemented in many schools throughout the US. Research has shown that LAs decrease DFW rates, increase retention in STEM programs, and engage faculty in evidence-based pedagogies and educational research opportunities. This presentation focuses on qualitative analyses of the LA program at Azusa Pacific University (APU). The results include data from student focus groups and LA focus groups. Initial evidence suggests that the LA program helped students feel more comfortable in their STEM classes and increased general interest in STEM. There is also evidence that, for the LA, it is important there is a relationship of trust between themselves and their faculty, and themselves and the students. Further analysis will help to provide insights for how an LA program can be used to support an inclusive learning environment and influence the development of STEM identity in students across cultures

TAKEAWAYS:
According to Hazari's model for STEM-identity, a Learning Assistant program appears to increase the STEM identity of the Learning Assistants themselves, as well as for some of the students enrolled in the course using the LA.

SPEAKERS:
Karstin Knee, Elijah Roth

Our collaborative team of teachers and researchers describes how we integrated and scaffolded data science throughout a 3-week STEM unit focused on a societal challenge. First, we describe the storyline of the instructional unit, which uncovers disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized communities. Then, we describe how four lesson clusters in the unit integrate real data from the COVID-19 pandemic to uncover injustices through data. In the unit, students (a) interpret and problematize comparisons of raw data, (b) compare proportions of population to proportions of infected people, (c) interpret population-adjusted data to identify disproportionality; and (d) use evidence from data to design solutions for a future health crisis. Finally, we provide suggestions for teaching data science.

TAKEAWAYS:
As students make sense of science-related societal challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, they engage with various representations of data. Attendees will unpack our conceptual approach to scaffolding instruction in data science so that students learn to reason with data.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Kos, Alison Haas, Abigail Schwenger

The decision to adopt and implement high quality instructional materials that support three-dimensional phenomena - based and problem driven learning across middle and high schools is a massive undertaking for any school district that requires some strategic partnering.. The leadership work needed to ensure successful implementation begins with a clear vision for effective science teaching and learning and a group of leaders who understand and know how to plan, ask questions, collaborate and execute. Join us as we enter into the district’s leadership process for year 1 implementation with some common professional learning experiences, scenarios and resources that were leveraged to develop a strong, collaborative and diverse team of educators committed to successful learning outcomes for teachers and students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Building and growing partnerships that enhance learning outcomes for a diverse community of students, teachers and leaders requires planning, execution and a commitment to growth.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Buck Bracey, Douglas Watkins, Shannan Pullara, Nancy Hopkins-Evans, Kate Henson, Elizabeth Johnston, Keyerria Howard

Learning in Places (LiP) provides a comprehensive set of instructional materials that provides a detailed sequence of outdoor learning engagements. LiP development is funded by the NSF. In LiP young learners explore outdoors, becoming familiar with their place, make noticing and wonderings, and ask Should We questions. Through this sequence learners begin to establish the background for cycle(s) of inquiry toward change making. LiP focuses on supporting young learners as they become a part of their place and implement change making activities from this stance. In this session, we will provide an overview of Learning in Places and engage educators in selected portions of the materials. Educators will feel confident in the background and implementation goals of Learning in Places, be able to access the freely available materials, online, and will be familiar with the sequence of the LiP storyline.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, educators will become familiar with and more interested in Learning in Places and the goals of science-based transdisciplinary learning.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Starr

See how leaders can scale English Language Learner support in science through a train-the-trainer approach. Learn how coaching systems and AI (as a multiplier) help leaders build capacity, extend impact, and provide intentional instructional guidance across schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave confident in their ability to better support the science teachers they lead. They will gain three practical tools—rooted in a train-the-trainer model and strengthened by AI—that can be put to use immediately to improve instruction for multilingual learners.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Christiansen

Science educators can lead transformative, interdisciplinary learning by building strategic partnerships that expand STEM opportunities for students. This session shares a practical framework for initiating collaborations with CTE programs, design pathways, and community or industry partners to create NGSS-aligned projects that connect science learning to real-world applications. Drawing from a pilot in an urban high school, we’ll explore how science teachers launched collaborative projects that integrated engineering, design, and technology while remaining grounded in core science ideas and three-dimensional learning. These partnerships engaged students in authentic problem-solving and revealed pathways into STEM careers — from technical roles to leadership positions. Attendees will leave with a simple, actionable partnership planning tool and steps to initiate science-centered collaboration in their own schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a practical framework for initiating science-centered partnerships with CTE, design, and community organizations and leave with actionable tools to launch interdisciplinary, NGSS-aligned projects that expand STEM opportunities for students.

SPEAKERS:
Maafi Cook

During this session, participants will have an opportunity to delve into the central, silent pillar of the Sensemaking Framework: Equity! We will focus on exploring and utilizing a suite of strategies that meet a variety of student needs and provide ALL learners with an opportunity to access real-world, authentic science. We will learn how to leverage the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI) to create powerful and engaging lessons/diverse experiences that are aligned to the NGSS expectations and entrenched in the ideals of Sensemaking in science. Participants will also experience a phenomena-based 3D lesson designed for a variety of science learners that can be easily transferred into their own diverse contexts and classrooms. Join us on the journey of making science make sense! #ScienceForAll!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a set of viable strategies for engaging a variety of learners in authentic science experiences, which will allow for access to high quality science instruction and the opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of scientific principles.

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Murdock

Early, career-connected STEM experiences can spark curiosity, shape identity, and open doors to future opportunities especially for students from historically marginalized groups. In this session, we’ll explore how integrating real-world STEM careers into elementary instruction builds foundational skills, fosters persistence, and strengthens the STEM pipeline from childhood through adulthood. Drawing from current research on STEM identity and equity, participants will examine practical strategies, adaptable classroom activities, and tools to help students see themselves as future scientists, engineers, and innovators. We’ll also discuss how career-linked learning supports NGSS practices and 21st-century skills, and how intentional, early exposure can increase enrollment in STEM courses and diversify the future workforce. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas to inspire and sustain STEM engagement in every learner.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to integrate career connected STEM experiences into elementary instruction to build STEM identity, foster persistence, and inspire all students, especially those from underrepresented groups, to pursue future STEM pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kara Ball

Differentiating instruction in science can feel overwhelming—but AI can serve as a thought partner to help educators design engaging, student-centered experiences. In this interactive session, participants will explore practical ways AI can support lesson planning, scaffolding, and content creation for diverse learners. Through live demonstrations and collaborative activities, attendees will see how AI tools can generate differentiated lab tasks, reading passages, and assessments while preserving rigor and scientific accuracy. Educators will leave with strategies to harness AI for equity, engagement, and deeper learning in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use AI as a thought partner to design differentiated, engaging science instruction that meets the needs of diverse learners.

SPEAKERS:
Stefany Palomba

Participants will explore how a schoolwide focus on Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) strengthens both literacy and science instruction through culturally responsive, phenomenon-based learning in preparation for the CAST (CA Science Test) and other statewide assessments3. Using an antibias lens, educators will examine how NGSS-aligned practices can be woven into existing initiatives such as the Science of Reading, Project-Based Learning (PBL), and Civic Engagement to support deeper understanding and improved outcomes on CAST and SBAC assessments. The session highlights how districts such as Pasadena Unified School District have built coherent systems connecting early literacy, STEM, and community action to create inclusive, justice-centered classrooms. Attendees will leave with replicable strategies and leadership tools that support schoolwide integration of NGSS while cultivating student voice, critical thinking, and agency in authentic, meaningful contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integrate Equity and learn how aligning NGSS instruction with existing initiatives such as the Science of Reading, Project-Based Learning, and Civic Engagement can simultaneously advance inclusion, deepen understanding, and raise SBAC and CAST performance with an example schoolwide action plan.

SPEAKERS:
Leena McLean

This session showcases how a rural New Mexico district reimagined its high school STEM internship program to expand equity, affirm cultural identity, and strengthen local career pathways. Through community partnerships, dual language programming, and student voice surveys, every 11th–12th grader now participates in a paid, real-world internship while younger students engage in exploratory placements that build confidence and career readiness. Students gain experience in robotics, agriculture, emergency medicine, and coding while celebrating linguistic and cultural heritage through senior capstones. Participants will explore replicable strategies that link STEM learning with community identity, including financial literacy supports, university partnerships, and family engagement structures that led to improved graduation outcomes and workforce readiness.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will discover how community partnerships, student voice, and culturally relevant design can create equitable, career-connected STEM pathways that honor identity, expand opportunity, and prepare students for future success.

SPEAKERS:
Deena Gould, Daniel Delgado

Modeling Instruction has been demonstrated to produce superior learning outcomes for English Learners due to the structure of the pedagogy itself. (Malone, 2017) Instead of starting new conceptual units with a demonstration or a lecture, Modeling Instruction begins with a hands on laboratory activity. Students construct their own understanding of major scientific learning through project based learning. After these introductory labs, students construct multimodal representations (Models) to represent their thinking: graphs, equations, diagrams, and written descriptions. By exploring concepts in non-linguistic ways before introducing the language of a concept, E.L.s are given an opportunity to have a basis on which the language of science and scientific reasoning is constructed. In this talk, I will briefly cover the structure of Modeling Instruction, the history of Modeling Instruction, the research that suggests that it produces superior outcomes for E.L.s, and resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Modeling Instruction works well for all audiences in teaching introductory scientific concepts; this effect is even more pronounced for English learning populations who are often underserved in the science classroom. This should be a top concern for educators with significant E.L. populations.

SPEAKERS:
Caden Biggs, Cynthia Chan, Eric Robinson

In today’s classrooms, educators are navigating more than lesson plans and labs- their work and well-being is impacted by headlines, legislation, and public narratives that directly influence what and how they teach. This Speed Share explores insights from current research on how media, policy, and law intersect to impact educators’ professional decision-making, confidence, and autonomy, with a focus on science education. Drawing from dissertation findings, this session will highlight real examples of how teachers interpret and respond to external pressures, from state-level mandates to national media debates about education. Attendees will reflect on how these forces shape classroom culture and student learning, and discuss strategies for maintaining academic integrity, supporting inquiry, and fostering inclusive, evidence-based instruction amid changing political climates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a concise digital resource (via QR code) summarizing key findings and offering reflection questions for professional learning communities or department discussions.

SPEAKERS:
Cassie Herndon

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler, Kathryn Boyd

In this session, participants will explore practices that embrace neurodiversity to transform project-based learning environments into safe, empowering spaces where every student feels seen and capable. Through hands-on activities and real classroom examples, presenters will model techniques that build self-awareness, emotional regulation, collaboration skills, and student agency. One segment of the session will focus specifically on self-awareness for both teachers and students, demonstrating how reflective routines and goal setting elevate engagement and improve project outcomes. Participants will walk away with ready to use tools, templates, and strategies that support all learners’ cognitive differences, reduce classroom stress, and ignite authentic student ownership in PBL.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore practices that embrace neurodiversity to transform project-based learning environments into safe, empowering spaces where every student feels seen and capable.

SPEAKERS:
Daniella Hubbard, Angelena Watkins, Laura Wilbanks

This session explores how STEM practices—such as systems thinking, inquiry, data analysis, and iterative design—can be applied to proactively support student behavior through culturally responsive, community-centered approaches. Designed for K–12 educators and support staff, the session reframes behavior management as a design challenge rather than a disciplinary response. Participants will examine how applying STEM principles to classroom culture helps educators identify behavioral patterns, analyze root causes, and design proactive systems that reduce escalation. Using real-world scenarios, educators will engage in problem-solving cycles aligned with PBIS, restorative practices, and trauma-informed care, while centering student identity, voice, and lived experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to apply STEM practices—such as systems thinking, data analysis, and iterative design—to proactively design culturally responsive behavior systems that prevent escalation, preserve student dignity, and strengthen classroom relationships.

SPEAKERS:
Wini Ray, Clifton Chapman

Hands-on science activities can present challenges for some students, and many teachers have limited training to support a range of learning needs. Through the GLOBE Weather Pathways project, we created a professional learning community for middle school educators to apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and explore ways to support all learners. Educators collaborated with science and special education experts to adapt lessons, heard from STEM professionals with disabilities, and used simulators to experience classroom activities from different perspectives—all within a middle school weather curriculum. This session will share lesson adaptations, key takeaways, and strategies for helping all students see themselves in STEM career pathways. Participants will take part in hands-on science activities using simulators to better understand challenges students may face and hear from a project teacher who will share practical tips and strategies through a UDL lens.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to adapt science activities using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to better engage all students. The session features teacher-tested strategies and a hands-on simulator experience to explore barriers to student engagement in science.

SPEAKERS:
Kirsten Johnson Nesbitt, Rachana Bhonsle, Melissa Rummel

How can we assess science learning in ways that are inclusive, rigorous, and responsive to diverse learners? This session explores how to design equitable assessments that support 3D teaching and learning by incorporating a variety of formats—lab reports, hands-on models, student-choice projects, in-class essays, science writing, multiple-choice questions, and FRQs that reinforce close reading skills. Participants will examine how these formats align with science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts while promoting voice, access, and authentic engagement. You’ll explore how varied assessments expose students to the broad skill set needed to thrive in science—modeling, analysis, argumentation, communication, and writing- and how to ensure all students have multiple pathways to demonstrate understanding. Participants will also reflect on student work and adapt their own assessments using equity-focused strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to design equitable science assessments that support all learners by incorporating a variety of formats—essays, models, projects, MCQs, and FRQs. Walk away with tools and time-tested strategies to build access, voice, and engagement into your assessments.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Doran

At my Title I middle school, students often enter performing well below grade level, yet consistently achieve some of the highest learning gains in the district. In this session, I will share the high yield, brain based strategies behind that growth. Participants will see how I use distributive summarizing with whiteboard routines that check responses in real time and questioning cycles that strengthen understanding and long term learning. These high impact strategies help all learners process information in small chunks and make their thinking visible. Classroom examples will show how reflection stems and questioning sequences guide higher order thinking. I will share student work and assessment practices that demonstrate the impact on engagement and achievement. Attendees will receive ready to use templates and strategies that can be implemented immediately and adapted for any grade level or content area to help students take ownership of learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how research based strategies such as retrieval practice, distributed summarizing, and “no opt out” questioning can raise engagement and deepen learning. Leave with practical, high yield tools that make every student visible, confident, and successful in every lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Rebeor