Leadership in Motion: Designing the Future of Science Education Leadership

A partnership between the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA) and NSTA.

Join science education leaders from across the nation for a transformative one-day leadership experience focused on strategic vision, systems thinking, collaboration, and building cultures of innovation. Participants will strengthen practical leadership skills while collaborating with peers to shape the future of science education at the local, state, and national levels.

More information about the sessions will be available soon!

The science and engineering practices provide a framework for how students, at each grade level, do science. The use of data in science extends beyond the mere practice of analyzing and interpreting it. Thinking deeply about data fuels the process of science, and we can support students in using data in their questions, models, explanations, and more.

Join Tuva and the NSTA Professional Learning Team for a deep dive into how data can be authentically integrated into the eight science and engineering practices. In this interactive 2-12 session, attendees will explore strategies and tools that position students as the drivers of sensemaking and deepen their use of data.

Through grade-band breakout groups (2-5 and 6-12), educators will engage with data-rich tasks and instructional routines tailored to the unique needs of students at different grade levels, leaving with practical approaches to bring back to their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
- Develop a deeper understanding of the role of data across all eight science and engineering practices. - Experience and analyze data-rich tasks that engage students in multiple science and engineering practices. - Identify instructional moves that position students as the drivers of sensemaking through the use of data.

What makes STEM meaningful for students? This professional learning experience provides an immersive opportunity to explore how phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional teaching and learning create meaningful STEM experiences for all students. Participants will engage with high-quality instructional materials and analyze classroom videos and vignettes to examine what meaningful STEM looks like in practice.

Join the NSTA Professional Learning Team to engage with high-quality instructional materials and build a shared definition of what meaningful STEM looks like in practice. Participants will explore the key instructional shifts needed to support all learners through immersion tasks and guided reflection aligned to research-based practices for STEM learning in science. In grade-banded breakout groups, participants will build strategies to support students at different grade levels to ensure they leave with practical approaches to bring back to their classroom.

By the end of the experience, participants will be better prepared to foster evidence-based classroom communities, leverage student assets, and identify, revise, and design instructional materials that promote meaningful STEM learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
- Experience and analyze authentic STEM tasks to develop a deeper understanding of the role of sensemaking in meaningful STEM learning experiences. - Build capacity with practical strategies that can be used to increase authentic student engagement in STEM learning. - Use NSTA tools to evaluate lessons for alignment with the critical attributes of Sensemaking and STEM.

Have you ever spotted the Moon in the middle of the day, or wondered why some constellations disappear for months at a time? These are the kinds of questions that stop students in their tracks—and they're exactly what this unit explores. Come experience a unit from the Elementary OpenSciEd curriculum and see how phenomenon-driven science turns everyday sky observations into deep investigations of Earth's place in the universe.

You'll see what it looks like when elementary learners do real science: arguing from evidence, revising their thinking, and driving the storyline with their own questions. You'll also leave with a clear picture of what it looks like to bring OpenSciEd into your school or district—and get introduced to free, high-quality materials designed to support professional learning communities while teachers are actively teaching the curriculum.

Come ready to be curious, think alongside colleagues, and imagine what becomes possible when rigorous materials meet the brilliance of elementary learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
- The OpenSciEd Elementary curriculum units are designed using a storyline approach, providing students with a meaningful experience motivated by their own desire to explain something they don’t understand or to solve a problem their classroom has come to care about. - Explore ways to make time for science in an elementary schedule and the math and ELA opportunities incorporated into units. - Leave this session with free, ready-to-use Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) resources built to help teacher teams implement OpenSciEd Elementary materials with confidence.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Belcastro, Guy Ollison, Yanira Vazquez

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping science, engineering, and society. Science classrooms need approaches that help students understand the science behind AI, how it is used in STEM, and how it can support their learning. In this full-day professional learning institute (PLI), participants will explore emerging AI standards and how the problem-based storyline curricular units can anchor AI learning in meaningful ways that support equitable participation.

During the session, participants will engage with a set of three units: Sensor Immersion, Self-Driving Cars, and Animal Prosthetics. In this three-unit progression, students use Micro:bit sensors to investigate real world problems. They explore meaningful AI concepts including the shift from decision trees to probabilistic neural networks, the important role of training data, how AI makes predictions, and the ethical implications of AI. Participants will get hands-on experience with how it feels to participate in a unit from the student perspective, allowing participants to understand how the units leverage students' own questions to support coherence and sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
- A deeper understanding of problem-based, storyline units as an instructional model that supports coherence from the student perspective. - Firsthand experience with three curricular units focused on AI mechanics and societal impact. [ Strategies for both helping students figure out how AI works and teaching with AI tools. - Practical approaches to leveraging AI responsibly to support sensemaking and student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Greg Benedis-Grab, Kate Henson

What if students could learn computer science through science—without adding a single minute to your schedule? In this session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science units integrate coding, sensor-based systems, and engineering design directly into phenomenon-based science learning. Participants will step into the role of students as they investigate why floods and droughts are happening more often in Unit 7.6 + CS, designing and prototyping technology to explore and solve real-world challenges. Through this hands-on experience, see how inquiry-based coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology and engage deeply in science and engineering practices. We’ll also make explicit connections to classroom implementation, showing how this approach expands access to computer science, creates meaningful career connections, and strengthens student sensemaking. This session is ideal for both current OpenSciEd users and educators new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
- Experience how students engage in sensor-based systems, coding, and engineering design to explore and make sense of phenomena - Try out an OpenSciEd + Computer Science unit and build familiarity and confidence to begin exploring or piloting it in your own classroom—integrating computer science without adding instructional time or sacrificing science learning - Learn how students “unlock the black box” of technology by designing tools that support sensemaking and solution-building in phenomena-based science

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Neill

Every student deserves access to high-quality, meaningful science instruction designed to leverage and support students' linguistic resources. Join professional learning leaders from BSCS Science Learning and NSTA for a full-day deep dive into classroom instruction that supports multilingual learners through rich, engaging, and inclusive science learning experiences.

In this immersive session, we’ll explore the specific approaches using lesson and unit examples to see how intentional strategies and routines promote language and science understanding. You’ll learn how high-quality science curricula foster opportunities for multilingual learners to interact with the classroom community to share their ideas, deepen their ability to engage in science, and make sense of the natural world.

TAKEAWAYS:
- How intentional instructional design supports multilingual learners - Strategies that promote language-rich, collaborative science classrooms - Real-world examples and specific strategies from classrooms

SPEAKERS:
Janna Mahfoud, Susan Gomez Zwiep

Buckle up for an energy-packed look into Rocks vs Big Rigs.

Welcome to Class CrunchLabs (CCL), a completely free, NGSS-designed (phenomena and problem-based) curriculum resource composed of short, modular units packed with videos, activities, googly eyes, and serious science sensemaking.

In this session, we’ll join YouTuber Mark Rober and his unit co-hosts as they navigate the Rocks vs Big Rigs storyline [MS-PS3-1 & MS-PS3-5]. We’ll explore how to lead classroom investigations designed by the CrunchLabs toy engineers, teach with interactive video assessments, track student progress using Mission Logs (student portfolios) and reflection activities, plus more.

Curious about teacher and student supports? Our curriculum writers will host these discussions firsthand and answer your questions. We’ll also explore how to customize the curriculum to fit your classroom, all while keeping our eyes on the ultimate goal: sparking student curiosity and boosting creative confidence. Of course, we'll engage in plenty of purposeful play, which may or may not include your very own mini-rigs, ramps, and a gravel bed that may surprise you.

Please Note: Mark Rober will not attend this session, but he may share a video message for early adopters. Don't miss out

TAKEAWAYS:
--Gain a clear understanding of how to implement CCL's NGSS-designed, phenomenon-based science units and promote sensemaking through hands-on investigations into kinetic energy. --Explore effective strategies for using CCL's interactive video assessments, Mission Logs (student portfolios), and reflection activities to track and support student progress. --Discover ways to customize and adapt this playful, engaging curriculum to spark student curiosity and build creative confidence in your classroom.

Join science education leaders to collaboratively explore the critical leadership actions needed to drive system-wide change across every stage of curriculum implementation. In this immersive, research-based experience, you’ll engage with proven strategies and practical frameworks while strengthening the leadership mindset required to guide change with confidence—from building the case to sustaining long-term impact. Develop the approaches needed to move your organization forward and create a more adaptive, thriving system.

TAKEAWAYS:
- Deepen understanding of principles of change. - Increase the ability to lead change as part of a strategy to strengthen science teaching and learning through curriculum implementation. - Strengthen the ability to deal with reluctant staff (e.g., other leaders, teachers).

SPEAKERS:
Jenine Cotton-Proby, Jody Bintz, Brittany Thompson