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.

Onsite registration and badge printing are available.

Don’t miss this exciting event showcasing science and STEM-based programs, organizations, mobile labs, and local Anaheim attractions! Explore a variety of displays, connect with showcase presenters, enjoy tasty bites, and take advantage of ample networking opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about science and STEM-based programs, organizations, mobile labs, and local Anaheim attractions.

Navigate your first National NSTA Conference with ease! Join our session for an orientation to the conference, tips on selecting sessions, and an opportunity to meet other first-time attendees. We will share a few insider tips from experienced conference attendees and give an overview of the conference app. This session will help you discover why you belong at NSTA and how to make the most of your experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to get the most out of your conference experience in addition to becoming an engaged learner.

The public needs a fundamental literacy regarding data science—its methods, functions, and role in daily life. This is vital today as data science powers the AI algorithms shaping our world. Its relevance is underscored by massive field growth; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 36% job growth in data science and computing sectors by 2032. To meet this demand, we must prepare students for a workforce where data fluency is a prerequisite. Science education is a critical venue for this across the K-12 science spectrum. This session presents a selection of author contributions from data science special issues in NSTA’s Science & Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher. These exemplars offer concrete starting points for designing and assessing data science learning across all grade levels. By bridging the gap between raw data and classroom practice, we aim to empower teachers to equip students with the competitive skills necessary for modern data-driven careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain a working definition of data science literacy and see how science teachers design data science lessons using real-world applications. The session also covers pedagogical opportunities and challenges when integrating data science and AI into the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Lindeman, Colby Tofel-Grehl, Justice Walker

Join us for an opening reception to mark the start of NSTA ANA26! We’ll keep it casual—enjoy beverages and small bites while networking with old and new friends. The event is complimentary and open to all registered conference attendees.

Onsite registration and badge printing are available.

Navigate your first National NSTA Conference with ease! Join our session for an orientation to the conference, tips on selecting sessions, and an opportunity to meet other first-time attendees. We will share a few insider tips from experienced conference attendees and give an overview of the conference app. This session will help you discover why you belong at NSTA and how to make the most of your experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to get the most out of your conference experience in addition to becoming an engaged learner.

This presentation focuses on student use of AI, with an emphasis on how their motivation can help build a classroom of Sensemakers. Participants will engage with several AI tools and applications commonly used by high school students and evaluate how these tools can be leveraged to support Sensemaking. A strong emphasis will be placed on classroom assessment examples, particularly those involving the critique of AI-generated responses to traditional open-ended student questions. Additionally, survey data from current high school physics students will be shared to help examine student voice regarding the use and leverage of AI implemented instructional strategies. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools and clear next steps to immediately implement routines and activities that foster a community of Sensemakers who also use AI in their learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Instead of fighting AI, flip the script in your high school classroom. This session will explore multiple AI tools, but more importantly, how to leverage those tools to build a community of Sensemakers that critically analyze AI-generated content. Special emphasis will be placed on assessment use.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Bulman

In the modern science classroom, literacy extends far beyond the lab bench, it now encompasses the digital interfaces through which our students consume and process scientific information. This session explores the critical convergence of digital, media, and AI literacies and how they can be leveraged to sharpen, rather than bypass, scientific thinking. As students navigate a digital Wild West of social media algorithms and AI-generated content, the traditional motto of "seeing is believing" is no longer enough. We will discuss how to move students from passive consumers to active investigators by teaching them to recognize human influence in media, understand AI as a pattern-recognition tool rather than a "truth machine," and apply epistemic vigilance to scientific claims found online.

TAKEAWAYS:
Moving from the era of "finding information" to "filtering information" to ensure students use digital tools for the betterment of society. Join us to discover how to transform the potential distractions into powerful opportunities for deep sensemaking and critical scientific inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Anne Royce

To fully understand genetics, students must be able to use the science practices to connect the proteins produced via gene expression and an organism’s traits. During this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore a free HHMI BioInteractive resource focused on helping students understand the relationship between molecular biology and classical genetics by exploring Leber congenital amaurosis, an inherited form of blindness. We’ll engage with several science practices including data analysis, modeling, and constructing explanations as we model classroom implementation strategies to help students build mastery of genetics. Workshop participants will also engage as practitioners to reflect on their own classroom implementation related to incorporating and adapting resources and strategies shared in the workshop to deepen student understanding of how the inheritance of traits is the result of the mechanism of gene expression.

TAKEAWAYS:
Workshop participants will engage as learners and as practitioners to reflect on their own classroom implementation of resources and strategies to deepen student understanding of how the inheritance of traits is the result of the mechanism of gene expression.

SPEAKERS:
Sherry Annee, Ann Brokaw

How can students design technologies that detect and warn people about natural hazards, while learning the science behind them? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, and engineering design into a 6th-grade science unit on Natural Hazards. Step into the role of students as you investigate earthquakes and tsunamis using micro:bit devices to collect and analyze data. See how students design and program early warning systems by adjusting inputs, thresholds, and outputs. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build it, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and engineering design to unlock the “black box” of technology while designing early warning systems for natural hazards through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

This session proposal outlines a student-driven, guided inquiry approach to teaching molecular properties and ionic bonding using tactile models. The activity is structured into five key phases:Foundation & Model Building: Students use LEGO bricks to establish that molecular properties are rooted in composition, setting class-defined rules for using the bricks as elements. Ionic Inquiry: Through experimentation with over 15 compounds (e.g., $CaO$, $Al_{2}O_{3}$), students assign specific ions to LEGO configurations to discover unique chemical combinations. Pattern Recognition: Students map charge numbers onto a periodic table, allowing them to independently identify ionic charge patterns across groups. Application: The lesson concludes with thinking questions and traditional formula writing for compounds like sodium chloride. Extension: The framework allows for natural exploration of periodic trends and nomenclature once students have mastered formula balancing.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway of this session is a student-driven, guided inquiry approach that uses tactile LEGO models to bridge the gap between abstract chemical composition and the concrete patterns of ionic bonding and periodic trends.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Sesemann

What if one carefully crafted question could transform engagement in your high school biology class, especially for multilingual Black and Brown learners? In this interactive session, participants explore the Cultural Bridges strategy: using a single, intentional question to connect learners’ lived experiences to NGSS biology phenomena without lowering rigor. We will examine provided biology lesson excerpts that include subtle deficit or paternalistic “savior” framings and practice rewriting them through Cultural Bridges questions that honor learners’ cultural and linguistic wealth. Educators will analyze sample questions, see how they shift discourse and sensemaking, and consider where this move fits naturally in upcoming units. No materials required—examples and templates are provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own for reference and crosswalking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants leave with simple templates and sample Cultural Bridges questions for high school biology that they can adapt to connect learners’ lived experiences to NGSS phenomena while interrupting deficit and white savior framings.

SPEAKERS:
Almitra Berry

The public needs a fundamental literacy regarding data science—its methods, functions, and role in daily life. This is vital today as data science powers the AI algorithms shaping our world. Its relevance is underscored by massive field growth; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 36% job growth in data science and computing sectors by 2032. To meet this demand, we must prepare students for a workforce where data fluency is a prerequisite. Science education is a critical venue for this across the K-12 science spectrum. This session presents a selection of author contributions from data science special issues in NSTA’s Science & Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher. These exemplars offer concrete starting points for designing and assessing data science learning across all grade levels. By bridging the gap between raw data and classroom practice, we aim to empower teachers to equip students with the competitive skills necessary for modern data-driven careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain a working definition of data science literacy and see how science teachers design data science lessons using real-world applications. The session also covers pedagogical opportunities and challenges when integrating data science and AI into the science classroom.

Experience how embedding literacy supports for reading, writing, and academic discourse in 3D teaching and learning promotes sensemaking and science understanding for ALL learners! Learn how the BSCS Anchored Inquiry Learning (AIL) instructional model succeeds the 5Es and embeds literacy supports throughout cycles of inquiry. The NGSS calls for 3D learning grounded in real world phenomena to ensure science learning is equitable and relevant to all students. The SEPs and CCCs require sensemaking of complex texts and data as well as communicating explanations and arguments and engaging in scientific discourse. In this session, participants will 1) experience literacy strategies that support student engagement in the SEPs and CCCs, 2) consider how these strategies support all students, particularly below grade-level readers and EMLs, in sensemaking, and 3) consider how embedding these strategies in assessments allows all students to demonstrate their learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
The research-based BSCS Anchored Inquiry Learning instructional model succeeds the 5Es and embeds literacy supports for reading, writing, and academic discourse in conjunction with science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts to promote students in figuring out key science ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Cynthia Gay

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. Drawing on BSCS Science Learning's research and curriculum development, this session offers concrete, classroom-tested strategies you can bring back immediately.

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

STEM is often pushed aside in 1st and 2nd grade, but it plays a critical role in building thinking, language, and confidence. In this session, a teacher from a rural Title I school in North Carolina shares how simple, hands-on STEM experiences can create powerful learning moments for students with limited access to real-world opportunities. Participants will engage in classroom-tested activities like a paper airplane design challenge and a chain link engineering task using basic materials. These experiences show how STEM supports literacy, problem-solving, and collaboration. Attendees will leave with practical, realistic strategies they can use immediately.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use simple, low-cost STEM activities in 1st and 2nd grade to build student language, problem-solving, and real-world understanding, especially in classrooms with limited resources.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Calhoun-Minnis

What if the same tool students use to measure focus could help teachers reclaim theirs? This hands-on workshop introduces HRV biofeedback — technology trusted by clinical researchers and elite athletes — as a team-based professional learning model for building educator resilience. Participants experience live demonstrations where physiological data shifts in real time as stress responses activate and coherence techniques restore balance. Teachers don't just learn about burnout — they measure it, and then figure out how to change it. Grounded in autonomic nervous system science and NGSS-aligned data practices, this model translates directly into PLC structures, instructional coaching frameworks, and school-wide wellness protocols. Participants leave with team implementation guides, facilitation protocols, and a roadmap for department- or school-level adoption — building shared capacity without adding initiatives or expectations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will implement a team-based HRV biofeedback model that builds educator resilience through real-time physiological data — translating personal regulation practice into shared PLC structures and sustainable school culture.

SPEAKERS:
Nichi Avina, Kim Condurso

Grab a cup of coffee and join the NSTA Professional Learning team for an informal chat about how we can support your district’s goals and priorities related to science and STEM education. Whether you’re navigating a curriculum adoption, building teacher capacity, looking for sustained mentorship and coaching, or just curious about what we have to offer, this is a chance to connect live with the NSTA Professional Learning Team. Come with questions, challenges, or just curiosity to chat about how NSTA Professional Learning can partner with your school or district.

TAKEAWAYS:
Come with questions, and leave with an understanding of the professional learning support options available through NSTA and next steps for starting a partnership tailored to your needs.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

During this session (on the HASTI Pathways document), HASTI members and non-members are able to come and interact with HASTI Board members. They can ask questions, offer suggestions, and share their thoughts about the future of HASTI.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to connect with HASTI board members, find out about our current work and offer suggestions for future work.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Poindexter

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

Want to help high school students analyze community and citizen science data? Want to use real data in your classroom to support your existing curriculum? FieldScope and BSCS Science Learning offer "Invitations to Inquiry," free instructional activities designed to connect learners with real-world environmental data. These free lessons build student confidence in using scientific evidence to answer critical questions about our planet and the natural world. BSCS Science Learning's Invitations to Inquiry help high school students work with community and citizen science data from projects hosted on FieldScope—BSCS’s platform for collecting, displaying, and analyzing data. Invitations to Inquiry are activities in which students explore FieldScope’s mapping and graphing tools to dig into data in the context of meaningful questions. Each lesson engages students in interpreting graphs and maps to learn about where the data are collected and what they mean.

TAKEAWAYS:
Free, ready to use, and adaptable lessons, datasets, and visualizations for your classroom, using community and citizen science projects! Learn how to use the lessons as is or to build them into your existing curriculum! Teacher guides, slides, handouts, and other instructional resources included!

SPEAKERS:
Jamie Noll

A hallmark of three-dimensional assessment is making student thinking about a DCI, a CC, and an SEP visible at the same time. In this interactive session, you'll step into the role of a student to experience a model Phenomenon-Driven Task and see how it brings sensemaking to life. Together we will unpack what makes a PDT useful, identify the key features that distinguish it from traditional science assessments, and practice analyzing student responses to reveal patterns in learning. The agenda includes: • What is a PDT and Why Does It Matter? (10 min): Key features of 3D assessment. • Hands-On PDT Experience (30 min): Complete a model task as a learner. • Analyzing Student Responses (10 min): Surface patterns in student thinking. • Design Your Own (5 min): Begin sketching a PDT for your classroom. • Q&A and Next Steps (5 min): Resources and support. You'll leave with strategies for designing meaningful assessments that surface student thinking and inform next steps in instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phenomenon-Driven Tasks mirror three-dimensional instruction and can be used to make students' thinking about and with DCIs, CCs, and SEPs visible at the same time.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson

How can educators (re)imagine science education that builds authentic, transformative opportunities for deepening engagement towards career and community readiness? We will introduce participants to a framework for Place-Based Science Teaching that dynamically supports science teachers in (re)envisioning and creating learning activities to respond to the historical and present contexts of students and schools, all while integrating rigorous science practices and phenomena. In this NGSS-aligned session, participants will explore high-interest activities that strengthen students’ sense of geographic location and geologic time, all while triangulating themselves and their potential as scientists in their local context. We’ll then provide an opportunity for participants to engage in a (re)design challenge of an existing activity through the lens of the Place-Based Science Teaching framework. This framework was published in our book with Corwin Press (2025).

TAKEAWAYS:
Place-based learning honors the lived experiences of students and the living beings that form a community. Participants will learn how to develop NGSS-aligned, place-based science lessons that cultivate curiosity and innovation.

SPEAKERS:
Kirstin Milks, Whitney Aragaki

In this interactive session, teachers will experience the science practice of Asking Questions from the perspective of their students. Participants will engage in phenomena-based tasks that spark curiosity, generate investigable questions, and refine those questions through collaborative routines. By functioning as learners, teachers will develop a clearer understanding of how questioning supports sensemaking and drives investigations at different grade levels. Educators will leave with questioning structures, talk moves, and classroom-ready tools to empower students to lead their own learning. Experience the science practice of Asking Questions from the perspective of their students. Engage in phenomena-based tasks that spark curiosity and prompt authentic, investigable questions. Refine and improve questions through collaborative routines and discussion. Leave with questioning structures, talk moves, and classroom-ready tools that empower students to take ownership of their learning

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will engage in phenomena-based tasks to spark, refine, and prioritize student-led questions. By practicing collaborative routines and talk moves, you’ll leave with classroom-ready tools to shift ownership to students, using their curiosity to drive deep sensemaking and investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Galbreath, Misty Richmond

The proliferation of special education frameworks and expectations for general education science and math teachers, whether in the form of inclusion, documentation, behavioral and classroom management expectations, curriculum design, accommodations, etc., has resulted in a whole new world of challenges for teachers without special education training, often accompanied by vague and potentially misleading ‘guidance’ from education professionals who are not themselves SPED and/or science and math teachers. *SPEDagogy provides an approach to support science and math teachers by using the foundations and practices in special education to provide ways to differentiate instruction and assessment as well as assist social emotional learning in gen. ed. classrooms. This session will highlight the interplay of supporting learners and teachers by presenting an overview of adaptations and accommodations to highlight special education’s “how” with science content and applied activities’ “what”.

TAKEAWAYS:
We'll provide you with tools and tips for planning, teaching, and assessment, as well as classroom management in the age of inclusion, while maintaining intellectual rigor and behavioral expectations.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah Bruns, Travis Clayton

What if elementary students could explore real careers while building essential STEM skills? In this session, discover how micro:bit and the engineering design process can introduce students to CTE pathways through hands-on, career-connected learning. Participants will experience ready-to-implement lessons that integrate coding, problem-solving, and career exploration in fields such as engineering, marketing, transportation, and animal science. These engaging strategies help students build early awareness of workforce opportunities while making learning relevant and meaningful. Walk away with practical tools, lesson ideas, and a framework for embedding career-connected STEM into your classroom—starting tomorrow.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use micro:bit and design-based STEM lessons to introduce elementary students to CTE career pathways through engaging, real-world, hands-on experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren Kelly

Purposeful use of quality media can be an engaging strategy for supporting the STEM learning of young learners. Familiar characters can help students build important foundational knowledge and skills such as computational thinking, accessing and creating informational text, and observing and asking questions about the world around them. We will showcase free, standards-aligned media-rich resources that can be seamlessly integrated into the elementary science curriculum. Friends can model how to engage in scientific practices to prepare learners to investigate and make sense of phenomena themselves through three-dimensional instruction. We will highlight how this strategy can be used to support young learners’ investigations into Earth, space, and physical science phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
You’ll leave the session with a list of free resources from PBS LearningMedia and ideas for actively engaging your students with media to support science instruction that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Shawn Stevens

In this interactive session, participants will put on ‘student hats’ to experience beginning-of-year routines that launch themselves and their creativity into a science community. These community-building routines bring multilingual learners’ (MLs) identities into a science class, embed support for MLs within core science instruction, and invite curiosity in learning using crosscutting themes in science. Beginning the year intentionally is essential to cultivate a language-rich learning environment. Participants will engage in structured discussion, scaffolded writing, and identity-centered activities that position students’ linguistic resources as building blocks for learning. Teachers will analyze student work and instructional materials to see how these routines establish norms for collaboration and opportunities for assessment of executive functioning skills. Designed for typical secondary class periods, participants will leave with ready-to-use scaffolds and discussion structures.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will bring back multiple strategies for beginning-of-year activities that center student diversity into secondary science classrooms, and an overview of assessment opportunities, guiding teachers towards developing a welcoming, language-rich, and collaborative learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Kirby Selle, Alexander Dafforn

Step into a calm, supportive space designed to help you recharge. This room includes tactile objects and sensory-friendly features to promote relaxation, focus, and wellbeing. Whether you need a moment of quiet or grounding sensory input, this space is open to all attendees.

A calm retreat from the energy of the conference – a place to pause, breathe, and reset before rejoining the action.

Discover incredible opportunities in STEM education with a range of NSTA-administered K-12 opportunities that engage through innovative programming and recognize achievement with amazing awards. We’ll explore programs and awards that are sure to ignite a passion for discovery and innovation

TAKEAWAYS:
Empower your teaching with dynamic STEM programs and awards administered by NSTA as you learn about innovative opportunities to boost engagement and enthusiasm for K-12 students and teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Lasky

Get your students excited about science with a hands-on project that demonstrates how to help prevent mosquito-borne disease spread using data science with real data collected from a NASA satellite and scientists. Mosquitos that carry serious diseases, such as Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and Zika virus, are becoming more prevalent in the United States because of climate change. Unlike the United States, less prosperous countries do not always have sufficient resources to eliminate mosquitoes and stop the spread of these diseases. In these lessons, we will learn how data science and sensemaking can help solve the problem of mosquito-borne diseases in a cost-effective, time-efficient manner. Your students will see how studies using data science techniques can synthesize data to obtain relevant information that can help solve many societal problems in the 21st century. This relates to careers in biology, environmental science, and data science.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation will demonstrate how to use data science to find the answers to problems in our environment. The lesson will be based on the eight NGSS Science and Engineering Practices. You will receive the lesson plan, the data, and tips for engaging diverse learners.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Feille

Students often see science as a static body of knowledge instead of a dynamic human endeavor. Join the author of Notable Notebooks, Exemplary Evidence, and Wild Wonderings to learn how these books (and the stories of the scientists in them) can illuminate the nature of science. We’ll use the classic Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST, Chambers 1983) to guide reflection on our own perceptions of scientists, as well as that of our students, and we’ll learn more about scientists featured in each book through story, primary source analysis, and discussion. Finally, we’ll utilize portions of the NGSS’s Appendix H (Understanding the Scientific Enterprise) and discuss how this integrated approach can help students gain age-appropriate understanding of the nature of science. Chambers D.W. 1983. Stereotypic images of the scientist: The draw-a-scientist test. Science Education 67 (2): 255–265.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the lives and work of historical and contemporary scientists, why telling these stories is an important strategy for helping students understand the nature of science, and how they might use these books in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Fries-Gaither

Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring how Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids curriculum materials engage K–12 students in learning about clean, safe, and lead-free drinking water. Participants will explore a flexible range of instructional materials, from short, high-impact lessons that fit within a single class period to multi-day, project-based learning (PBL) units that support sustained inquiry. Across these materials, students investigate why water is essential, how lead can enter drinking water systems, the health risks of exposure, and actions individuals and communities can take to ensure safer water. During the session, participants will experience sample activities as facilitators highlight how these activities can function as standalone lessons or be sequenced within cohesive PBL units. Participants will leave with standards-aligned, ready-to-use resources and guidance for adapting materials to fit their instructional context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how adaptable curriculum materials, from single-day lessons to full PBL units, can engage K-12 students in real-world, data-driven learning connected to public health and community action.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

Participation in science classroom discussions is often uneven, with multilingual learners (MLs) contributing less frequently despite having valuable ideas to share. Because scientific learning depends on engaging in practices such as argumentation from evidence and constructing explanations, limited participation can restrict opportunities for MLs to develop and demonstrate understanding. This presentation synthesizes research from science education, language development, and classroom discourse to examine factors that shape who participates in science discussions. Particular attention is given to how classroom norms, teacher responses, and interactional structures influence MLs’ opportunities to engage in evidence-based reasoning. Drawing on literature and classroom examples, the session highlights approaches that support more equitable participation and meaningful engagement in scientific discourse.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will examine how classroom structures shape participation in science discussions and how to make multilingual learners’ thinking visible in scientific discourse.

SPEAKERS:
Tina Ahmadi

Please join us for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the exhibit hall, featuring companies with services, support, and resources for science educators.

Discover the latest and greatest science and STEM teaching and learning resources, tools, and products available during this break in concurrent sessions.

Visit the NSTA Hub in the Expo Hall during the conference! We'll have a variety of fun activities and photo opportunities PLUS a store showcasing the latest NSTA Press books available and awesome t-shirts to make the perfect conference souvenir!

This energetic Lesson Showcase reveals how robotics competitions drive NGSS-aligned science learning through authentic student challenges. During the 60-minute share-a-thon, attendees will explore a complete robotics competition lesson cycle: pre-competition hooks that spark curiosity and build foundational skills, the featured robotics competition lesson where students engage in engineering design, data analysis, teamwork, iteration, and sensemaking during actual competition prep and events, and post-competition extensions that sustain teams, reflect on learning, and connect to classroom instruction. The poster shares take-home resources, equitable strategies that broaden access, and practical tools for building durable skills like problem-solving and collaboration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with practical resources and strategies for robotics competitions that support three-dimensional science learning and sustainable student teams.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Lupton

This poster session showcases how a Science Communication Lab video, Corals on the Brink, was used to anchor a 7th grade NGSS-aligned lesson sequence. Students begin by analyzing coral bleaching as a real-world phenomenon, then build models of coral–algae relationships and explore ecosystem interactions through a hands-on marine ecosystem simulation. Learners analyze data trends, evaluate human impacts, and construct evidence-based arguments about whether humans should intervene to save coral reefs. The session highlights strategies that integrate science content with communication practices, including CER writing, peer review, and solution evaluation. Attendees will explore classroom-ready resources and interactive activities that promote systems thinking, argumentation, and real-world connections in middle school science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use Science Communication Lab videos and resources to anchor NGSS-aligned lessons that engage students in modeling ecosystems, analyzing data, and constructing evidence-based arguments about real-world environmental issues like coral reef decline.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Langston

What happens when 5th graders think like real scientists and engineers? In this interactive poster session, explore a high-energy engineering design lesson that gets students asking questions, solving problems, and making sense of the world around them. You’ll see exactly how the lesson unfolds from sparking curiosity at the start, to hands-on investigation, to meaningful reflection and extension. Walk away with ready-to-use resources, student examples, and simple strategies you can bring straight into your classroom. If you’re looking for ways to boost engagement, deepen thinking, and make science come alive for your students, this session is for you.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a complete, ready-to-implement 5th-grade science/STEM lesson, along with practical strategies to increase student engagement through inquiry. Attendees will walk away with clear, actionable approaches for aligning science instruction to standards.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Henery

A significant shortage of healthcare professionals is currently observed. To mitigate this challenge, multiple approaches have been implemented, including efforts to promote medical careers among K-12 students. The National Cancer Institute is actively working to increase the pool of entrants into cancer-related medical fields. Increasingly, initiatives are emphasizing career education at the middle school level, supported by research demonstrating its critical role in career development. Successful outcomes depend on the active participation of middle-level teachers, a principle foundational to the Medical Research Education Project at Indiana University. This poster presentation will provide an overview of the project and describe engagement opportunities for teachers. Presenters will highlight selected hands-on, inquiry-driven medical lessons collaboratively designed by educators, biomedical researchers, and education faculty. Emphasis will be placed on the alignment with NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Medical Research Education Project at Indiana University is collaborating with middle-level teachers to identify optimal methods for teaching students about medical inquiry. This poster presentation highlights this program, shares previous outcomes, and provides paths to involvement.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Scribner, Gayle Buck

This poster showcases how a school garden can function as core instructional infrastructure rather than enrichment in NGSS-aligned science classrooms. Drawing from a middle school program integrating aquaponics, trout systems, and food production, the poster highlights how outdoor spaces support three-dimensional learning through real-world phenomena. Attendees will explore a visual system model connecting fish, plants, nutrients, and community food systems, alongside classroom examples of data analysis, modeling, and CER-based explanations. The poster also outlines how multilingual learners are supported through structured discourse, visual scaffolds, and hands-on investigation. A key focus is scalability: participants will examine pathways for implementing similar systems across contexts, from no garden to container-based setups to full outdoor learning spaces. Attendees will leave with practical strategies, lesson entry points, and a framework for integrating food systems into scien

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design and scale garden-based systems as core instructional infrastructure to support NGSS-aligned, multilingual-accessible science learning through modeling, data analysis, and real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Ryan Johnson

Augmented Reality (AR) tools, including Merge Cubes, offer an engaging way to make abstract science concepts more visible (and interactive) for elementary students. This poster highlights how pre-service teachers (PSTs) integrated AR into inquiry-based, NGSS-aligned lessons within an educational technology course. Using a 5E instructional model, PSTs learned to move beyond the novelty of using AR to embed purposeful questioning and scaffolding strategies that support student sensemaking. We will share common implementation challenges and offer practical supports such as lesson templates and classroom routines. Findings suggest that intentional, pedagogy-driven integration of AR builds confidence and supports meaningful science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
AR tools like Merge Cubes can enhance elementary science learning when paired with intentional pedagogy. Using the 5E model and structured supports helps teachers move beyond novelty to create meaningful, inquiry-based lessons aligned to standards.

SPEAKERS:
KIRTIKA PANWAR, Sarah McDowell

This session presents three low-prep, high-impact instructional routines for PreK–3 classrooms that advance student sensemaking, science discourse, and science practices. Grounded in purposeful questioning, co-constructed anchor charts, and class-generated science books, these function as efficient, reusable instructional structures that support inquiry, evidence-based reasoning, and equitable participation. Designed for implementation within typical time, material, and planning constraints, the strategies embed formative assessment by capturing student thinking in real time. PreK inclusive classroom-tested examples illustrate how these approaches scaffold language development, support diverse learners, and promote coherent understanding of core science concepts over time. This presentation shares adaptable templates, questioning frameworks, differentiated instruction and replicable routines that enhance instructional rigor while streamlining planning and materials management.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ready-to-implement approaches with examples–purposeful questioning, anchor charts, and class science books—that strengthen student sensemaking and discourse while embedding formative assessment and reducing planning time for Inclusive, PreK classroom-tested, science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jue Wang, Karen Rinehart

This poster showcases CLUES (Crucial Literacy for Understanding Essential Science), an innovative professional learning model designed to support middle school educators—particularly in rural and under-resourced settings—in integrating disciplinary literacy within NGSS-aligned science instruction. CLUES equips science and special educators with strategies to embed reading, writing, reasoning, and communication into three-dimensional science learning. Attendees will explore a lesson showcase featuring before, during, and after instructional supports, with adaptable tools to meet varied learner needs. This work advances NSTA’s mission by promoting equitable, high-quality science instruction through professional learning, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and scalable, practice-based resources that empower all students to engage meaningfully in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be introduced to how to integrate disciplinary literacy into NGSS-aligned science instruction using practical, classroom-ready strategies that support diverse learners, including students with disabilities, and strengthen equitable science learning outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Brooke Moore

Feeling isolated? Looking for other teachers to connect with outside of your building or district? Learn how we built a thriving, local physics teacher network from scratch in the Columbus, OH region. We’ll share recruitment strategies, intentional norms, and organizational tools used to sustain our community for the last two years. Join us to get some ideas and support—if we can do it, you can too!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will hear about how we approached building and sustaining a community of teachers we did not know, and walk away with strategies for how to do it in their own context.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Pochodylo

Teachers have expressed a desire to incorporate authentic climate data into their curricula, but struggle to find accessible and meaningful datasets that can be easily integrated into modern teaching practices. In response to this problem, climate scientists and instructional specialists from the University of Colorado Boulder have collaborated to create "Data Puzzles", a free resource that utilizes instructional practices as outlined by Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) to engage students in data analysis in the context of important scientific research. Data Puzzles challenge students to analyze and interpret climate datasets to construct explanatory models for important questions like, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?” and "Why might the Arctic be warming faster than the rest of the world?".

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced with AST practices and authentic climate datasets in the context of the Data Puzzle resources.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Griffith

What does digital literacy actually look like in a classroom? In this lesson showcase, step inside an Inquisitive Technology lesson and experience how students move from clicking to thinking. Through a real classroom example, see how inquiry-based routines help students use digital tools with purpose, communicate responsibly, and make informed choices online. Watch how a simple, open-and-go lesson builds understanding of digital systems, online safety, and responsible decision-making. Notice how student thinking is surfaced, supported, and extended through discussion, interaction, and reflection. With built-in supports and multiple entry points, these lessons make digital literacy meaningful for students and manageable for teachers. Walk away with practical ideas you can use right away.

TAKEAWAYS:
Seeing a digital literacy lesson in action reveals how simple, structured routines can help students think critically, make informed choices, and act responsibly in a digital world.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Shaw

Join your fellow elementary educators for a free catered lunch. While registration is free, attendance is limited and you must RSVP. Everyone registered will be required to attend one or more Elementary Extravaganza sessions Thursday morning.

This poster session shows how to upgrade what teachers are already doing (bell ringers, notes, exit tickets, stations) into high-impact learning experiences using Embedded Targeted Vocabulary Instruction (ETVI)—without adding new lessons or extra prep time.

TAKEAWAYS:
You don’t need more time or new lessons—small upgrades to what you already do (bell ringers, notes, exit tickets) can dramatically increase student understanding by turning vocabulary into a tool for thinking, not memorization.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Hill

Explore meaningful ways to incorporate AI into your classrooms, clubs, and science festivals that encourage critical examination of this emergent technology. Use AI as a tool to examine AI via: the eeriness of voice cloning, the biases counterfactual thinking combined with prompt engineering can reveal, and the inaccuracies uncovered by testing AI on content that you and your students are experts in.  Learn about field-tested activities on the construction and programming of small autonomous robotic arms (available online at arm.ttic.edu). TTIC (ttic.edu) is a philanthropically endowed university and research institute focused on AI and CS theory. NGSS Alignment.  NGSS Alignment: CCC 1, 2, & 4; Practices 1, 3, 4, 6, & 8.

TAKEAWAYS:
AI is here but one should take it with a grain of salt - here is how.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Rodgers, Randall Landsberg

The lesson presented in this showcase from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis focuses on the principles, protocols, and technology needed to successfully collect evidence from the scene of a mystery. Teachers will be empowered to lead their students through an activity where they will have the opportunity to practice following procedures, making observations, and using the tools that forensic technicians use in their work. Teachers will also be able to lead students in the analysis of the evidence collected, allowing them to draw conclusions as to who might be responsible for leaving the evidence behind.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will see how to set up a simulated crime scene and learn how to guide students through the collection of evidence using real forensics techniques.

SPEAKERS:
John McCollum

Explore how Micro:bits can empower students to quickly design and conduct their own science investigations using built-in sensors. This poster highlights hands-on, NGSS-aligned activities that engage learners in real-time data collection, analysis, and evidence-based reasoning across grade levels. Discover how students can investigate phenomena through motion, temperature, light, and more while integrating computational thinking and scientific practices. The poster shares classroom-tested lessons, strategies for scaffolding inquiry, and approaches to support equitable access and participation in STEM. Attendees will see examples of student-driven investigations, discuss implementation ideas, and gather adaptable, ready-to-use resources. Walk away with practical tools to foster curiosity, ownership, and deeper sensemaking through data-rich, student-centered science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to empower students to design and carry out investigations using Micro:bits’ built-in sensors. Walk way with NGSS-aligned activities that integrate real-time data collection, computational thinking, and student-driven inquiry across grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Silbernagel

This poster showcases a two-lab sequence (a candy DNA model followed by a card-based protein synthesis activity) connected by an explicit bridge activity that transforms two standalone labs into a coherent learning arc. Students build a physical DNA model, use it to generate an mRNA transcript, and decode that transcript into a protein, carrying the same sequence through all three steps. A Teacher Lens reflection asks pre-service teachers to explain the DNA-to-protein process to a 4th grader, building pedagogical content knowledge alongside science content. Materials cost under $3 per group. Attendees will be given access to the full lab sequence, bridge activity, lab report, and a framework for designing conceptual bridges between two related activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
A low-cost, two-lab DNA-to-protein sequence with a built-in conceptual bridge activity that eliminates the "why did we build the candy thing?" problem and a Teacher Lens reflection that builds pre-service teachers' capacity to explain molecular biology to children.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Hasenmyer

This action research project looks at how hands-on, constructionist learning can support student sensemaking in a high school biology classroom, especially during a genetics and DNA unit. Instead of focusing on memorization, students engaged in projects where they designed and created models to explain complex ideas, connecting their work to real-world phenomena. Throughout the unit, I intentionally assigned projects that gave students the opportunity to construct their own understanding by building, testing, and revising their ideas. Rather than just measuring how much content students remembered, this study focuses on how students made sense of the material. Student-created artifacts, reflections, and discussions were used to see how their understanding developed over time. Overall, this approach highlights how giving students opportunities to design and create can lead to deeper understanding, increased engagement, and more meaningful learning in biology.

TAKEAWAYS:
Biology teachers will gain practical strategies for using constructionist, project-based learning within their DNA/Genetics unit to move beyond memorization and support student sensemaking through designing, building, and revising artifacts.

SPEAKERS:
Brooke Stewart

This poster highlights a 6th grade project in which students observe a mini-ecosystem of anoles, insects, and plants, then design and construct models to explain interactions, energy flow, and system dynamics. Students develop and use models and construct evidence-based explanations to represent relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers. The poster includes student models, explanation samples, and assessment strategies that make thinking visible and support evaluation of three-dimensional learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Design and assess three-dimensional learning by using student models and explanations to capture evidence of systems thinking and energy flow in ecosystems.

SPEAKERS:
Shelby Irvin

Many secondary science classrooms struggle to move beyond task completion to true student thinking. This poster session highlights low-prep, high-impact strategies that transform everyday lessons into opportunities for student-driven sensemaking—without increasing teacher workload. Participants will explore how to embed sensemaking routines into what they already do using strategies such as CER (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) micro-responses, structured student talk, and phenomenon-based prompts across topics like cells, genetics, and ecology. The featured lesson showcase demonstrates how a typical class period can shift from passive learning to active meaning-making through small instructional moves implemented before, during, and after instruction. By centering sensemaking, these strategies help students construct explanations, use evidence, and engage in scientific discourse, all while remaining practical for real classrooms with limited time and resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn that sensemaking doesn’t require new lessons—small shifts like CER, structured talk, and phenomena-based prompts can turn everyday instruction into opportunities for students to actively build understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Hill

Every time we fry food, we produce used cooking oil. Most of it gets thrown down the drain or into the trash, quietly polluting waterways, harming aquatic life and the land. But what if that waste could become something valuable? In this 3–4-week STEAM project, high school students turn hazardous waste cooking oil into real, handmade soap. Students begin by investigating the environmental impact of WCO waterways using real water quality data. They then learn the chemistry of soap-making, calculate their own ingredient ratios, choose natural colorants and scents, and design eco-friendly packaging. Along the way, they collect data from their households and use it to build a persuasive public awareness campaign for their community. This project is rooted in a real local problem, particularly in developing countries. Every decision students make, from soap formula to campaign audience, is theirs. Chemistry is the backbone, but the project asks students to think as scientists, engineers,

TAKEAWAYS:
A single topic learned at school can be the entry point for students to think across disciplines, engage with a real local problem, and produce something that actually matters to their community.

SPEAKERS:
Anna Rahmadianty

Throughout the program curriculum, Environmental Studies majors are involved in an experiential learning community at the Manchester University Campus Learning Garden. The goal of integrating project-based learning into courses across the curriculum is to provide students with the capability to apply their knowledge and skills to serving the Manchester University community and improve student competencies in both hard and soft skills through research-based practical applications. In Fall 2025, introductory-level students collaborated to generate hypotheses, develop and conduct basic experiments, and interpret results. In Spring 2026, students in Invertebrate Zoology worked together to build a butterfly garden from project development through completion. Plans for future academic years include developing additional project-based experiences into program courses so that students are involved with experiential learning at the Campus Garden throughout their academic careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integrating project-based learning at the Campus Garden into courses across the Environmental Studies curriculum encourages students to apply their knowledge and skills to serving the Manchester University community and improve their academic competencies through research-based applications.

SPEAKERS:
Sabrina Brown

The session will showcase literacy integration examples from ML-PBL Science Classrooms. Handouts will provide links to the FREE OER ML-PBL units of instruction for Grades K-5, unit/lesson framework showcasing coherence, cross-disciplinary connections; lesson overviews and instructional routines; guidance for formative and summative assessment; literacy integration affordances; and alignment with The Framework/NGSS. ML-PBL units are designed to address ALL grade level NGSS, provide guidance for three-dimensional instruction and learning, engaging all students in sensemaking, and developing and using language literacy and mathematics tools to develop usable science knowledge. Examples of trade books included in the units will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will peruse plans for integrating science and literacy, and for extending science ideas throughout the school day as shared by ML-PBL Elementary Teachers. They will learn how to access FREE OER Elementary Science Units.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere

Receive resources that will inspire your students to connect with nature...and write about it! Participants will see examples of student writing inspired by the "Next Time You See" picture book series and gain access to free resources that will guide students through the writing process.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how a mentor text study can help your students write their own nature-based book.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Morgan

This poster shares preliminary findings from a qualitative thematic analysis of public responses to AI-generated speculative science content on TikTok and Reddit. Guided by research on epistemic play and the NRC Framework’s science and engineering practices, we examine how non-experts question claims, test plausibility, construct explanations, and challenge inaccuracies in comment-thread discussions. Preliminary analysis suggests that humor, exaggeration, and speculative framing can function as low-risk entry points into science sensemaking, making critique and tentative reasoning more socially acceptable in public online spaces. These findings can inform conversations about AI literacy and scientific reasoning in informal learning spaces.

TAKEAWAYS:
AI-generated science media can be a productive prompt for questioning, critique, and evidence-based sensemaking, giving science educators a useful lens for teaching AI literacy and critical engagement with scientific representations.

SPEAKERS:
Lucy Bae, Xinyu Xu

Looking for a way to bring authentic Earth System data to life for your students? Check out our My NASA Data StoryMap collection! My NASA Data StoryMaps offer an immersive storytelling experience that blends rich narrative text with interactive maps and NASA visualizations designed to captivate students. These resources use high-quality multimedia—including images and video— empowering students with the tools to explore complex Earth system processes. Each of the My NASA Data StoryMaps follows the 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), is aligned with NGSS Earth System phenomena, and is ready for "plug and play" use in whole-class instruction, small group rotations, or independent student-led explorations making them a seamless fit for your existing curriculum. Bring Earth system science to your classroom through real world storylines that will engage your students with NASA data relevant to what they are experiencing in their own community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Each of the My NASA Data StoryMaps follow the 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), is aligned with NGSS Earth System phenomena, and is ready for "plug and play" use in whole-class instruction, small group rotations, or independent student-led explorations.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Rizzi, Tina Harte - Ballinger

This poster showcases a classroom-tested framework that supports student agency through real-world problem solving. The poster will feature visual models of the research cycle, student project examples (including food justice and environmental initiatives), and scaffolds used to guide learners from idea to implementation. Attendees will explore practical tools such as project planners, research protocols, and assessment rubrics, along with strategies for supporting diverse learners in open-ended inquiry. This poster is designed as a “lesson showcase,” highlighting what happens before, during, and after student projects. Participants will leave with adaptable resources to implement this research model in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with adaptable resources to implement this research model in their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Kavita Gupta

As the climate continues to change, so should our approach to teaching environmental science. Join the Children's Museum of Indianapolis as we showcase how we adapted a beloved water cycle game to teach about climate change. In this program, students have the chance to become a water droplet and roll their way through the water cycle. During their first round, the dice will represent the standard way water has moved around the planet. On their second trip, dice will be swapped with our climate change dice. This trip will illustrate the changes in how water moves and where water is stored as the planet warms. After the two trips, students will compare their two trips by mapping their journey, allowing them to directly compare how climate change affects the water cycle.

TAKEAWAYS:
With a few tweaks, existing lessons can be adapted to teach about our changing world.

SPEAKERS:
Meghan Carpenter

We will showcase newly developed, middle school STEM lessons that interweave Native American stories, language, and culture to positively impact student learning. The lessons are a part of Native Earth | Native Sky (NENS) curriculum that can be accessed through our website and downloaded for free. The poster will showcase cultural connections with STEM, a 5E lesson overview, the pedagogical approaches of Two-Eyed Seeing and Place-Based Learning, implementation strategies, and NASA resources and tools through graphics, illustrations, and text. As we highlight our standards-aligned lessons in the poster presentation, we will include feedback from students and teachers to demonstrate the positive impact of interweaving stories, culture, and language with STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to connect all students’ cultures to engage students in STEM lessons, using Native American stories as a starting point for standards-based, 5E science lessons and discussion. Attendees will also learn about other free lessons and activities published on our website.

SPEAKERS:
KIRTIKA PANWAR, Kena Hawkins, Kathryn Gardner-Vandy, Sarah McDowell

In rural Alaska, Science becomes most meaningful when it is rooted in place, culture, and lived experienced. This teacher-student collaborative project investigates how locally available resources and subsistence knowledge systems can be integrated into formal science instruction to increase student engagement, conceptual understanding, and scientific identity. Students participated in multiple inquiry-based investigations using materials sourced from their environment, including spruce sap as a potential adhesive, freeze-thaw plant growth systems using lettuce, Do it yourself Pipeline, and Alaskan blueberries as pH paper. These investigations were designed to connect Western scientific methods with Indigenous knowledge systems and rural subsistence practices. This project highlights how place-based, culturally responsive science education can transform student attitudes toward STEM while maintaining rigorous scientific inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how integrating local subsistence knowledge and hands-on investigations can increase student engagement, strengthen scientific thinking, and make science more meaningful in rural and culturally diverse classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Adrian Suladay

This poster will present an exploratory qualitative study examining how high school science teachers conceptualize students’ science identities and how these understandings shape their use of the curriculum and instructional decision-making. Although science identity has been widely recognized as important for students’ participation and persistence in STEM, less is known about how teachers define science identity in practice and how these definitions influence how they adapt, evaluate, and enact the curriculum. Drawing on sociocultural theory, particularly figured worlds and teacher sensemaking, this study uses semi-structured interviews with high school science teachers in the greater Seattle area to investigate how teachers imagine who belongs in science and how curriculum can support students’ identity development. Findings will contribute to conversations on identity-supportive teaching, teacher learning, and science curriculum design.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn that supporting science identity is not only about STEM pathways but also about helping students build academic confidence, engage in scientific reasoning, critically question information, and see science as meaningful for their community.

SPEAKERS:
Anqi Zu

Looking to elevate student achievement through immersive learning? Discover how to harness the universal appeal of flight by captivating students with lessons and engaging activities rooted in biology standards while exploring exciting and fast-growing aviation career fields!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies to construct activities resulting in greater interest and mastery of biology for students in grades K-12. Explore distinct professional practices that expand biology standards into unforgettable learning experiences associated with human life, animals, plantlife, and so much more!

SPEAKERS:
Christina Davis

One area of ongoing research at IU Indianapolis is understanding past climate conditions through lake sediment cores. This lesson covers key principles of stratigraphy and how prevailing climate conditions can be interpreted from climate proxies found in lake sediment cores. Students will explore how to understand what past climate events are represented in lake sediments and what those events say about climatic conditions. The lesson PDF includes a PowerPoint, worksheets and a materials list for conducting the activity with groups of 2-4 students. This HS science lesson is intended to be used after students have received an introduction to climate change. The lab focuses on group work to investigate a Climate Layer Cake made from Playdoh that will have distinct layers representing historical climate events. Students are guided through coring and interpreting the events represented in their cake. The groups will gather their data on the whiteboard for full group discussion at the end.

TAKEAWAYS:
Do you need an engaging lesson designed to build student understanding and discourse around the topics of historical climate change, climate proxies and the three key principles of stratigraphy? This lesson covers it all and it is easily adaptable to teaching rock layers and geologic events.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Plankis

In this session teachers will explore research-based strategies for teaching science in the era of the science of reading, aiding in developing understandings in reading, as well as science content, nature of scientific knowledge, and scientific inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for combining reading and science teaching will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Gayle Buck, Valarie Akerson

Bring STEM to life without breaking your budget! In this hands-on session, educators will learn how to guide students in designing, building, and testing balloon-powered cars using recycled and everyday materials. Participants will explore key science concepts such as force, motion, friction, and air resistance while engaging in an engineering design challenge that promotes creativity and problem-solving. Walk away with ready-to-use strategies, classroom management tips, and ideas for differentiating instruction for diverse learners. Perfect for elementary and middle school teachers, this session shows how “trash” can be transformed into high-impact learning that supports standards and excites students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design and facilitate a low-cost, standards-aligned STEM challenge where students build and test balloon-powered cars from recycled materials to explore force, motion, and engineering design.

SPEAKERS:
Daniell Cossey

The EDP or Engineering Design Process is not just for older students! Any teacher of any class can teach using the EDP as a framework. This interactive poster session will prove it. The poster will allow participants to choose a "lesson" that has been divided into sections and actively connect the sections to the parts of the EDP. This will facilitate valuable conversation and aspects of fun! Blank handouts of the EDP will be available for takeaways in order for partipants to engage themselves in creating their own lesson using the EDP. It's not just simple, it's Elementary!

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway is the Engineering Design Process, and its parts. The poster will feature an interactive portion where participants can choose a "lesson" that has been divided into sections and actively connect the sections to the parts of the EDP aiding valuable conversation and aspects of fun!

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Clark

Engaging with science concepts and their contextual applications is a predominant challenge for English Language Learners (ELLs). This challenge stems from the inability of students to communicate fluently in English, let alone the language of science. Beyond the academic implications, this challenge impacts their social interaction with other students in the classroom. This study explores how visualization impacts the engagement of ELLs when incorporated within a dialogic teaching environment. Visualization tools, including images, pictures, videos, simulations, and building models, were used as instructional strategies. Also, student-student talk and teacher-student dialogue were facilitated while students engaged in building a physical model of the phases of mitosis. The engagement level of students was contextualized across three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral. The outcome of the strategy showed the effectiveness of visualization and dialogue in science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Visualization, when paired with dialogic teaching in science classrooms, enhances the cognitive, behavioral, and affective engagement of English Language Learners

SPEAKERS:
Mary Oloyede

How do we move beyond traditional assessments to truly measure three-dimensional learning? This poster session explores the differences and connections between Transfer Tasks and Case Studies as high-quality NGSS-aligned assessment strategies. Using agriculture-based phenomena, participants will examine how each approach supports sensemaking, increases cognitive demand, and provides meaningful opportunities for students to apply scientific understanding in real-world contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Clear comparison of two high-impact assessment strategies Ready-to-use examples grounded in real-world agricultural contexts

SPEAKERS:
Angela Gulotta, Hannah Wedger

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:
Christina Davis

This poster session highlights how students use real-world data to investigate scientific questions and make evidence-based decisions. It showcases a structured approach to building data literacy within science instruction, allowing students to analyze patterns, interpret results, and communicate findings. Attendees will explore a classroom model that integrates data analysis into everyday learning without requiring additional courses or resources. The poster will include sample tasks, student learning progression, and strategies that support inquiry, sensemaking, and engagement. Participants will leave with practical ideas to help students connect scientific concepts to real-world applications through data-driven learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use real-world data to support student inquiry, helping students analyze information, identify patterns, and make evidence-based decisions in science.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Triplett

What if the true origin of scientific thinking begins with what students see? In this visually rich, graphic novel–inspired session, discover how Visual Wonder acts as the catalyst for engaging students in Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). Through compelling imagery and simple, classroom-ready routines, you’ll explore how noticing, questioning, and interpreting visuals can spark curiosity and lead students into authentic investigation and sensemaking. Grounded in NGSS and aligned with a Wonder → Investigation → Sensemaking structure, this session offers practical strategies that are both meaningful for students and manageable for teachers. Walk away with ready-to-use tools that help students think and act like scientists, starting with the power of what they see.

TAKEAWAYS:
Visual Wonder sparks curiosity that leads directly to Science and Engineering Practices. With simple routines, teachers can turn what students see into meaningful investigation and sensemaking, helping them think and act like scientists.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Shaw

This session showcases how a single agricultural anchoring phenomenon can launch and sustain a coherent storyline across a high-quality unit of instruction. Participants will experience a sample lesson from an HQIM genetics unit, focusing on the phenomenon of the influence of genetics and environment on cattle growth over time. Activities include observation of the agricultural phenomenon, developing a driving question board, making student models that support predictions and phenomenon explanations. Teachers will reflect on how anchoring phenomena can be used in their own classrooms and receive access to all unit materials, including how the resources map the phenomenon to NGSS dimensions and teacher moves for student sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Anchoring phenomena rooted in agriculture topics can spark curiosity and drive coherence across lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Wedger, Angela Gulotta

Elementary students make sense of the natural world through curiosity, discussion, investigation, and meaningful connections, and children’s literature can play a powerful role in that process. Children’s literature can support science sensemaking and go beyond the traditional read-aloud or topic introduction. Using engaging examples and classroom applications for the PK-2 classroom, this session highlights ways teachers can intentionally integrate literature to spark wonder, support evidence-based discussions, encourage modeling and explanation, and help young children connect science ideas across experiences. Participants will leave with developmentally appropriate strategies, book recommendations, and practical ideas for integrating literacy and science in meaningful and authentic ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with practical ideas for moving beyond the traditional read-aloud to create literacy-rich science experiences that deepen curiosity, thinking, and sensemaking in the PK-2 classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Pesnell

Is your classroom bringing learning to life, or is it simply a space where students learn? Dr. Chad LeDune draws on 22 years of public education experience to demonstrate how innovative, student-centered learning environments can transform science instruction into a launchpad for career-connected success. This session explores how technology tools function best not as the focus, but as process-driven supports that enhance inquiry, problem-solving, and real-world application of content knowledge. Participants will examine how iterative instructional design builds entrepreneurial thinking, career awareness, and durable, AI-resilient skills. Through practical examples, attendees will learn how to create engaging environments where students apply science concepts to authentic challenges, develop solutions, and communicate outcomes with purpose. Walk away with strategies to foster engagement, learning, and clear connections between classroom experiences and future career pathways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will leave understanding how to design learning experiences where technology supports an iterative process of inquiry, application, entrepreneurship, and career-connected problem solving

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Chad LeDune

How can students design technologies that help communities respond to water challenges while learning the science behind them? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, and engineering design into a 7th-grade science unit on Earth’s Resources and Human Impact. Step into the role of students as you investigate flooding, drought, and carbon imbalance case studies from communities across the United States using micro:bit devices and sensors to collect and analyze environmental data. See how students explore and modify MakeCode programs as they design technologies to monitor conditions and develop solutions to community water problems. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build it, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and engineering design to unlock the “black box” of technology while designing solutions to community water challenges through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

What does it take to build and sustain an effective district Professional Learning Community (PLC) that improves teaching and learning? This session equips teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators with a practical framework for creating and leading high-impact PLCs that drive collaboration, instructional coherence, and student achievement. Participants will learn to design and facilitate PLCs by setting clear goals, using data protocols, and maintaining a focus on student learning. Through discussion and authentic examples, attendees will examine how educators use data to identify trends, address misconceptions, and plan targeted Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction aligned to NGSS. The session highlights how PLCs support teacher growth, strengthen collaboration, and demonstrate value for school leaders. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to create, sustain, and improve PLCs while addressing common challenges like inconsistent participation and lack of focus.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to design, implement, and sustain effective science PLCs using structured protocols, data-driven practices, and facilitation strategies that improve collaboration, student learning, and Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Tonya Flannery

Data plays a central role in how students make sense of scientific phenomena. In this hands-on session, co-facilitated by the NSTA Professional Learning Team and Tuva, participants will build confidence with foundational data skills while exploring how graphing, statistical reasoning, and data interpretation support students in analyzing evidence, identifying patterns, and constructing explanations. Using real-world datasets and interactive tools in Tuva, participants will examine graph choice, variability, distributions, and common data visualizations through the lens of science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will deepen their understanding of core data literacy concepts and learn practical strategies for helping students use data to analyze evidence, identify patterns, and engage in science sensemaking aligned to the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

This session provides an overview of the RECF Aerial Drone Competition (ADC) program and its advanced progression, ADC Pro. Participants will learn how ADC serves as an entry-level program where students develop foundational drone piloting, coding, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills through engaging competition experiences. The session will then explore how ADC Pro expands on these fundamentals by introducing advanced autonomous operations, mission-based challenges, air and ground robotics integration, and real-world applications inspired by industry needs. Attendees will gain insight into the competition model, competition timeline, workforce development opportunities, and how both programs create meaningful STEM pathways for students while preparing them for future education and careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into the competition model, competition timeline, and workforce development opportunities while learning how RECF Aerial Drone Competition and ADC Pro create meaningful STEM pathways that prepare students for future education and career success.

SPEAKERS:
Louann Cormier, Shelli Brasher, Nicole Mills

We know that elementary students can make sense of phenomenon but often elementary curriculum materials do not give them to the opportunities to dig deeply and develop rich explanations. In this session, we will explore how we can have learners engage meaningfully with phenomenon, engage in wondering and create questions that inspire awe, design the investigations to answer their own questions, and explain phenomenon using multiple formats. Guided by the recommendations in the Brilliance and Strengths report of 2022, we will engage in advocacy to provide support for finding more time in the elementary day for science learning. We won't leave out literacy as part of the plan. We will share our broad view of literacy in science and examples of high-quality trade books!

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will envision elementary learners' sense making as an asset we can build from to engage young learners in true science (interdisciplinary) learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Starr

How do we move students beyond climate anxiety to evidence-based advocacy? Join us for an immersive experience with the New Visions Earth & Space Climate Change unit. Participants will step into the role of science learners to compare past natural climate cycles to current warming trends and then reflect to see how students uncover the "fingerprint" of human activity. This three-dimensional, phenomenon-driven unit empowers students to counter common misconceptions, such as "it's just a natural cycle," by interpreting the same data that has led 99.9% of climate scientists to conclude humans are the culprit. Learn how to build durable skills in reasoning and evidence-based explanation through structured and collaborative sensemaking routines. Leave with classroom-ready materials, including storyline-based lesson sequences and consensus-building protocols, designed to support evidence-based explanations and arguments and empower students to educate their community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate science curricula should empower students to move from anxiety to empowerment. Experience a free HS ESS unit and learn to use sensemaking routines to help students collaboratively analyze data and build 3D explanations that clarify human impact on climate change and debunk misconceptions.

SPEAKERS:
Dora Kastel

This session explores the practical and ethical implementation of AI-driven "Study Bots" to enhance student mastery in high school chemistry. We will demonstrate how to shift AI from a potential source of academic dishonesty to a powerful formative tool that delivers on-demand, targeted practice for complex topics such as stoichiometry and exam preparation. Participants will see concrete examples of how bots can be trained on specific classroom materials—such as unit tests and lab manuals—to provide personalized feedback, guide students through multi-step calculations, and help them develop strategic study plans. The session will also outline a practical rollout strategy, including student verification checklists and clear ethical guardrails, to ensure technology use remains safe, equitable, and focused on original student thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with copy-ready AI prompts and a student verification protocol they can immediately use to create custom, content-specific study bots. These tools streamline instructional planning and feedback while building the durable data-literacy skills students need for future STEM care

SPEAKERS:
Diane Vrobel

In addition to the national conferences on science education, NSTA provides year-round in-person, online, and blended personalized professional learning experiences for groups of K–12 educators. This is the ideal formula for best professional learning, as it must be high-quality and on-going. So, what are your PD plans for the teachers in your school or district? Join us to learn what NSTA has to offer. The online option, known as the NSTA Partner Program, provides educators with access to professional learning resources, virtual events, the online community, expert staff, and digital professional membership for all participants. A variety of in-person workshops are available, including OpenSciEd. Presenters will share case studies that are representative of the different professional learning options available. NSTA staff will be available to answer your questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Education leaders will learn about professional learning opportunities that NSTA offers, delivered online, in-person, and blended that give their teachers the power to personalize their learning as well as the ability to learn with their peers. Some programs include membership for all participants.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Join us to explore the core themes identified by practitioners and researchers at the 2025 NSF-funded Localizing and HQIM convening that took place at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. [DRL#2413236]. This session will build on themes that emerged from that conference, by supporting attendees to focus on the systemic roles that educators and leaders can play in supporting equitable localization of high-quality instructional materials. Drawing from the project convenings’ cross-role dialogues, we will examine how leaders can reduce the burden on individual teachers by legitimizing localization work, enabling partnerships, and providing aligned professional learning. The session will explore policy levers and collaboration models that make localized instruction using HQIMs, feasible and effective across contexts. The session will also highlight how localization can serve as a viable strategy for advancing equity in science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore insights from the Lawrence Hall of Science on localizing K-12 science HQIM. Learn how partnerships and professional learning make high-quality materials relevant and equitable. Discuss and share strategies that reduce teacher burden and make localized science effective for every student.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Wachowski

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool can help educators be critical consumers of instructional materials and create/revise lessons that reflect the shifts required by new standards (sensemaking). Gain experience using the tool and facilitating criteria-based consensus conversations with your colleagues!

TAKEAWAYS:
Use the NSTA Sensemaking Tool to evaluate instructional materials (lessons) and provide feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews

Learn how to connect your students with nature and inspire them to write about it with Emily Morgan, author of the "Next Time You See" picture book series, and Terri Collins, Senior Lecturer of Elementary Education at Kennesaw State University. They will share free resources - teacher guide, videos, and templates - to guide your students through writing their own “Next Time You See” book about a natural object of their choice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with everything they need to guide a mentor text study where their students can write their own "Next Time You See" book.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Morgan

The first human beings who will ever set foot on Mars are very likely in elementary or middle school right now. Learn how you can use this fact to inspire success in both literacy and science through the speaker’s book, Max Goes to Mars, which has been read from the International Space Station (ISS) in both English and Spanish and is currently being made into a movie/planetarium show that you will be able to FREELY stream into your classrooms. This session will also introduce you to the FREE Story Time From Space program (storytimefromspace.com), in which books are read aloud from the ISS and to other ways the speaker/author can support your teaching, including through his free school visits.

TAKEAWAYS:
Inspire your students across the STEAM curriculum by thinking about the fact that some of today’s students are likely to be the first humans to visit Mars.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bennett

This opening session will introduce current initiatives in science, computer science, AI, and STEM from the Indiana Department of Education. Participants will receive an overview of the major projects, resources, and instructional supports currently available to Indiana educators. The session will also provide a conference road map that highlights sessions, workshops, and presentations relevant to Indiana priorities so that participants can maximize their learning throughout the event. The purpose of the session is to ground attendees in the current vision for science and STEM education in Indiana and to support informed participation in the sessions that follow. This session is designed to be accessible to educators from all states who are interested in statewide implementation models and cross state alignment of STEM and science initiatives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain a clear picture of current IDOE science, computer science, AI, and STEM initiatives and will receive guidance on navigating Indiana relevant sessions throughout the conference.

SPEAKERS:
Eimear Towler

Are you interested in learning more about what HASTI has to offer or how you can become more involved? Attend this session to hear from current board members about their experiences and learn more about each board position. We have a position for everyone! We will share a short history of HASTI and why our mission and focus is so important, now more than ever! Teachers of ALL grade levels and areas are welcome, including pre-service, informal, and postsecondary educators!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about HASTI's mission and how they can become more involved with our state science teachers association.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Poindexter

Effective design begins with understanding people’s needs. In this session, we share how our professional learning work, including curriculum-based workshops, curriculum supports, interim assessments, teacher leadership roles, and ongoing partnerships, has evolved through continuous listening and learning. Participants will explore examples of our work and the data informing each step, then engage in a structured activity to map the components of their own professional learning systems. They will examine how these pieces interact and where responsiveness can strengthen coherence. Together, we will reflect on common patterns, consider how feedback drives adaptation, and identify strategies that build leadership capacity. Attendees leave with practical insights for designing adaptive, people-centered systems that support equitable, high-quality science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a practical framework for designing and refining responsive professional learning systems, grounded in feedback loops, iterative improvement, and shared leadership, that strengthen educator growth, build leadership capacity, and enhance coherence across their contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Chatham, Dora Kastel

The science practice of developing and using models supports students in applying crosscutting concepts such as recognizing patterns, making claims about cause and effect, and explaining system changes, to make sense of disciplinary core ideas. This session focuses on designing ‘look-to-learn’ items to guide all students, including learners with varied language and literacy backgrounds, in analyzing visual models from high-content diagrams to simplified comics used as sensemaking prompts. These items can be used at any point in a lesson as group or individual assessments that provide feedback supporting student discussion and explanation revision. Workshop materials include clear examples of look-to-learn items and design rationales, links to effective visuals, and a list of tools to support development. Item types include open-ended, scaffolded performance tasks and closed-ended, multi-modal questions for life & earth sciences, chemistry & astronomy (6-12+, including AP & Onramps).​

TAKEAWAYS:
Expect brief modeling and an overview of materials; spend the workshop collaborating or working solo to design ‘look‑to‑learn’ items (low‑ or ed‑tech) or select from a gallery. Return to your classroom with items that support student sensemaking through structured model analysis.

SPEAKERS:
TeNeal Metcalf

The Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) are abstract, everywhere, and often overlooked. The good news is that your students are likely already using these powerful conceptual tools every day. Come see how you can make them visible and leverage their power as sensemaking lenses. We developed a straightforward framework to help you build students’ sensemaking skills through use of the CCCs. See how this framework can help you set meaningful learning goals and scaffold students toward success. No matter the curriculum you use, this workshop will help you build student competency using CCCs to make sense of phenomena. Participants will leave with the resources and experience needed to bring CCCs to the foreground of their NGSS classroom. Anchored Science by Mi-STAR is a middle school curriculum project created by teachers in collaboration with engineers and scientists from Michigan Technological University, dedicated to quality NGSS-aligned curriculum and OER resources since 2015.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a roadmap for building student competencies with the Cross Cutting Concepts as conceptual tools. Attendees will be able to use this roadmap to set meaningful learning goals, scaffold students toward success, and make the CCCs a visible part of their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Tony Matthys

In this hands-on session, participants will explore the science and engineering practice of Developing and Using Models by stepping into the shoes of K–12 learners. Teachers will assume the role of the student as they create, revise, and refine models that represent their own learning and understanding of phenomena. Through this immersive experience, educators will uncover how modeling deepens sensemaking and progresses across grade levels. Participants will leave with ready-to-use modeling routines, templates, and strategies that make student thinking visible. Experience the science and engineering practice of Developing and Using Models from a K–12 student perspective. Create, revise, and refine models to represent their own understanding of phenomena. Explore how modeling supports sensemaking and conceptual progression across grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with ready-to-use modeling routines, templates, and instructional moves that help students create, revise, and use models to make their thinking visible and build understanding of scientific phenomena across K–12 grade levels

SPEAKERS:
Misty Richmond, Heather Galbreath

The Science of Purification: Hands-On Water Filtration Lab is an engaging STEM activity that allows students to investigate how water can be cleaned through physical filtration methods. Working collaboratively, students design and build their own filtration systems using common materials to remove impurities from contaminated water samples. Throughout the lab, students explore concepts such as mixtures, particle size, engineering design, and environmental science while collecting and analyzing data to improve their models. This interactive experience promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork while helping students understand the importance of clean water access and the real-world applications of science and engineering in water purification systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will design and test water filtration systems to explore purification methods, engineering design, and environmental science concepts while developing problem-solving, collaboration, and data analysis skills through a hands-on STEM investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Bailey

Quantum science-related career paths are rapidly increasing and reshaping curriculum needs. High school students need access now to quality quantum resources to be prepared for their future. Engage in a hands-on introduction to the PhET Interactive Simulations project’s Quantum Education Initiative, which includes a growing suite of free, research-based simulations and classroom-ready activities designed for high school physical science. Participants will engage as learners with newly updated simulations (Photoelectric Effect, Alpha & Beta Decay, Models of the Hydrogen Atom, Quantum Wave Interference, and others), then work through two model activities from the initiative database. Leave with lesson plans, student handouts, and implementation tips you can use next week. You will also learn how you can join the community for this multi-year effort.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave ready to bring quantum science into physics, chemistry, or Earth science classrooms using free, classroom-tested simulations and ready-to-use activities from PhET’s Quantum Education Initiative.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Fiedler, Katherine Perkins

How can we redesign a better school lunch to meet the nutritional needs of all students? In this workshop, participants will explore a 8-lesson high school biology unit that engages students in authentic sensemaking by connecting biochemistry, nutrition, anatomy, and engineering design to their own school meals. Built using OpenSciEd design principles, the unit launches with an anchor phenomena routine where students investigate USDA changes to school lunches and create timelines of how meals have evolved. Lessons then examine added sugars, how carbohydrates fuel the body, balancing energy from macronutrients, protein sources, and the impact of cooking on nutrition, culminating in student-designed lunch menus. Participants will engage in key routines, analyze student-generated questions, and take part in a gallery walk of student work, assessments, and redesign projects. All student-facing slides, worksheets, rubrics, and assessments will be shared as open educational resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience an OpenSciEd-inspired anchor phenomena routine and leave with a complete, freely available 8-lesson biology unit—featuring 3D assessments, student work, and strategies to adapt length and scaffolds to support all learners.

SPEAKERS:
William Baur

Step into the role of a forensic toxicologist in this hands-on workshop that bridges the gap between abstract chemical principles and real-world applications. Participants will conduct a "layered" investigation, using both digital instrumentation and wet chemistry to identify "poisons" in simulated biological fluids. We will demonstrate how to integrate conductivity, pH, and spectrophotometry (using Vernier GoDirect sensors) to screen for physical anomalies before proceeding to confirmatory chemical reagent testing. This session focuses on strengthening student sensemaking by connecting the dots among physics (light absorbance), chemistry (oxidation-reduction and acid-base reactions), and career-connected forensic science. Participants will leave with a complete "Lesson Showcase" packet that includes digital templates for data collection, scoring tools, and strategies for adapting this lab to various grade bands and resource constraints.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Integration of Instrumentation and Analysis: By synthesizing data from digital sensors with traditional chemical observations, students develop durable skills in evidence-based reasoning and adaptability. This workshop demonstrates that true scientific literacy isn't confined to a single subject

SPEAKERS:
Diane Vrobel

# The Hunt for the Mill Race Monster: Building Community-Connected Learning with Lovable AI Follow the clues and discover how a local legend became an engaging, cross-curricular learning experience. In this hands-on session, participants will explore how Lovable AI helped transform the story of the Mill Race Monster into a community-connected unit that engaged students while saving teachers valuable planning time. Learn how we partnered with the Columbus Area Arts Council to support and promote a community arts event through our public schools, creating authentic connections between classroom learning and the local community. Participants will see how Lovable AI can generate lessons, projects, communication tools, websites, and student activities in minutes. Attendees will leave with a working AI-created classroom resource, ready-to-use prompts, practical strategies for creating community-based learning experiences, and ideas they can implement immediately in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how a local legend—the Mill Race Monster—became an engaging cross-curricular learning experience, and learn how Lovable AI can help you transform community stories, events, and partnerships into authentic student learning in minutes.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa HAINES

In this session, educators explore how to redesign assignments for the AI era to strengthen student thinking, creativity, and authenticity. We will examine practical strategies for updating tasks that emphasize curiosity and responsible use, ensuring AI becomes a tool for deeper learning rather than a shortcut. Participants will learn how to approach AI integration at a pace that feels manageable and aligned to their students’ needs and teaching style. By the end, teachers will leave with concrete redesign ideas and a personalized pathway for thoughtfully and confidently incorporating AI into their unique instructional practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will have a better understanding of how to increase the rigor of science-related tasks while integrating the use of GenAI.

SPEAKERS:
Tanika Kinartail

The Science and Engineering Practices help students show how they question, investigate, model, analyze data, construct explanations, and argue from evidence. In this interactive session, participants will examine traditional science assignments and identify where student thinking may remain invisible. Using the SEPs as a design lens, educators will revise tasks so students must use evidence, make decisions, critique ideas, and explain their reasoning. The session helps participants strengthen existing lessons so student sensemaking remains central, even when students have access to AI tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the Science and Engineering Practices as a design lens to revise science tasks so student reasoning, evidence use, critique, and sensemaking remain visible, even when students have access to AI.

SPEAKERS:
Velma Itamura

How do teacher leaders, coaches, and site leaders develop the vision, language, and tools to support teachers making the shifts called for by NGSS? In this session, participants will experience 3-dimensional, phenomenon-driven science instruction through a learner lens using the same high-quality materials their teachers use. Then participants will examine that experience through a coaching lens. We'll surface the real barriers to implementation that coaches encounter, build a shared set of observation look-fors grounded in firsthand experience, and develop coaching conversation starters tied directly to 3D learning in the classroom. Through this dual lens of learner and coach, participants will leave with a clearer picture of what effective NGSS implementation looks like, sounds like, and feels like and what it takes to support teachers in getting there.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leaders who have been inside the learning coach with more precision. Walk away with observation look-fors and coaching moves built from firsthand experience with OpenSciEd Elementary materials and prepared for your next classroom visit and coaching conversations.

SPEAKERS:
Guy Ollison

Ready to energize your science block without adding more to your plate? In this fast-paced Speed Sharing session, you’ll rotate through five high-impact, classroom-tested strategies designed for immediate use. From quick phenomena starters that spark curiosity to simple routines for building Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, each idea is practical, low-prep, and aligned to three-dimensional science learning. Walk away with ready-to-use tools, student-friendly structures, and fresh inspiration to increase engagement, deepen thinking, and make science stick all starting tomorrow!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with ready-to-use phenomena starters, CER frameworks, formative assessment tools, and low-prep science strategies that can be implemented immediately to increase engagement and support three-dimensional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Henery

"This session will demonstrate a classroom-tested approach for teaching series and parallel circuits through hands-on materials, mathematical reasoning, and digital simulations. Participants will experience how a simple circuit kit can introduce key concepts such as brightness, current distribution, and the effect of removing a bulb in a series circuit. The session will also highlight how students use calculations to determine total resistance, voltage drops, and current flow. The presenter will show how the PhET Circuit Construction Kit simulation supports verification, modeling, and deeper conceptual understanding. The session will end with a look at a culminating engineering design challenge where students design and build a functional house prototype using series and parallel circuits. An optional competition format where students present their prototypes to judges for evaluation will also be discussed. "

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a complete, classroom-tested way to teach series and parallel circuits using hands-on kits, math reasoning, PhET simulations, and a student house‑prototype design challenge.

SPEAKERS:
JOANNA MARIE DE BORJA, Kelly Feille

Description Students are increasingly using AI in science classrooms, but using AI does not automatically lead to deeper thinking. This session shares one simple, classroom-ready strategy that uses AI to prompt students to pause and extend their reasoning during scientific tasks. A single prompt can push students to clarify their thinking, identify gaps, and strengthen explanations, supporting NGSS-aligned practices such as analyzing evidence and constructing explanations. This quick, practical move is easy to implement and positions AI as a support for student thinking rather than a source of answers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn one simple way to use AI to prompt students to pause, extend their thinking, and strengthen scientific explanations during classroom tasks.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle McClanan

How can robotics competitions spark deeper science learning? This speed sharing session shows how competition-based experiences can build integrated learning and durable skills in science classrooms. Attendees will explore practical strategies for using robotics competitions to strengthen teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and persistence while connecting science, engineering, and other disciplines. Designed as a fast-paced, high-value session, this presentation offers an adaptable idea participants can use immediately to engage students in authentic challenges and support real-world skill development.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how robotics competitions can build integrated learning and durable skills by strengthening teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and persistence across science and engineering experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Lupton

In the rapidly evolving landscape of STEM education, artificial intelligence is often viewed through the lens of academic integrity concerns. However, when integrated intentionally, AI can serve as a powerful catalyst for authentic learning, bridging the gap between classroom theory and real-world scientific inquiry. This speed talk explores two distinct case studies in high school Chemistry and Environmental Science. First, we examine the use of AI in Chemistry, where students evaluate Large Language Models (LLMs) to support their learning of Chemistry topics. Second, we highlight an Environmental Science project in which AI-driven tools enabled students to evaluate ecological problems, identify areas impacted using data collected from the internet, and create an infographic using that data to help solve the problem, transforming them from passive observers into active participants in the solution.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a framework for designing not AI-resistant, but AI-enhanced use that prioritizes critical thinking, data interpretation, and the ethical application of emerging technologies.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Hendrzak

Traditional lab reports and written responses do not always reveal what students understand about a science concept. Short student-created video explanations give learners another way to explain phenomena, defend models, interpret data, reflect on labs, and communicate claim-evidence-reasoning arguments. This presentation shares a classroom-ready approach for using concise video explanations as formative and summative evidence of science understanding. Attendees will explore prompt types, success criteria, feedback routines, and grading strategies that keep the focus on science thinking rather than production quality. Examples will show how video explanations can support multilingual learners, oral rehearsal before writing, student self-assessment, and teacher identification of misconceptions. The session emphasizes low-prep routines that help students practice science communication while making their thinking more visible.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use short student-created video explanations to make science thinking visible, strengthen communication, and assess understanding without creating grading overload.

SPEAKERS:
Lynette Dickerson

Students often struggle to connect Punnett squares and inheritance patterns to real outcomes. This speed sharing session introduces a classroom-tested, low-prep card game that uses euchre to model genetic inheritance. Participants will learn how trump and non-trump cards represent dominant and recessive alleles, allowing students to explore variation, probability, and trait expression through gameplay. The activity supports NGSS-aligned practices such as developing and using models and analyzing data while increasing engagement and participation. Attendees will walk away with clear implementation steps, differentiation ideas, and ready-to-use strategies that require only a standard deck of cards, making genetics both meaningful and memorable for middle school learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use a simple card-based game to model genetic inheritance, helping students understand dominant and recessive traits, probability, and variation through an engaging, low-prep activity aligned to NGSS practices.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Shultz

Technology literacy is an increasingly important part of science and STEM education, yet technological literacy now extends beyond simply using digital tools. Students must also learn to critically evaluate technologies, consider tradeoffs, and make informed decisions about technologies in personal, societal, and scientific contexts. Research suggests that students often hold uncritical positive views toward emerging technologies, which can limit thoughtful decision-making and engagement with socio-scientific issues (Ankiewicz, 2016). At the same time, many science teachers receive limited preparation in how to facilitate deeper conversations about technology and its impacts. This session will provide an overview of what it means to be technology literate in today's world and introduces a simple, adaptable questioning tool designed to help teachers embed technology literacy discussions into existing science instruction without requiring major curricular changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Help students move beyond simply using technology to critically evaluating it. Participants will leave with a practical questioning tool that promotes effectively embedding technology literacy discourse into science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Isaiah Kent-Schneider

What does digital literacy actually look like in a real lesson? In this fast-paced 15-minute session, take a speed tour through an Inquisitive Technology lesson using the 5E model. See how students move from initial curiosity to making thoughtful decisions in digital spaces through structured, inquiry-based learning. Experience how each phase, Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate, supports students in thinking critically, communicating responsibly, and making informed choices online. With simple routines, built-in supports, and ready-to-use materials, this approach makes digital literacy both meaningful for students and manageable for teachers. Walk away with practical ideas you can apply immediately.

TAKEAWAYS:
A 5E lesson structure helps teachers turn digital literacy into meaningful, manageable learning by guiding students from curiosity to informed decision-making.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Shaw

This session demonstrates how science methods instructors can leverage an "AI Portfolio" to bridge the gap between AI as a convenience and AI as a cognitive catalyst for pre-service teachers (PSTs). By guiding PSTs through a structured cycle of "Quick Writes" and "AI Interaction Evidence," instructors can challenge students to evaluate the quality of AI-generated outputs against established content and pedagogical knowledge. This process pushes PSTs to go beyond passive consumption, requiring them to generate new knowledge by synthesizing AI suggestions with their own emerging expertise and creativity. Attendees will see how this framework builds essential skills in critical decision-making, as students must explicitly justify why they keep or reject specific AI outputs. Ultimately, this session provides a roadmap for methods instructors to help PSTs refine their professional judgment and develop the durable skills needed to use AI as a sophisticated thought partner in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
A digital checklist and set of reflection guiding questions that can be immediately integrated into university science methods courses to facilitate responsible AI use.

SPEAKERS:
William Thornburgh

Take your students’ learning to new heights in this interactive workshop designed to help you plan and launch a school-wide Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience that’s truly out of this world! Participants will actively explore how our middle school implemented a collaborative, hands-on rocketry project that engaged every student and teacher across grades 7 and 8. In this workshop, you will experience and design elements of five major challenges: stomp rockets, model rockets, horizontal rockets, parachute design, and egg-safe landing. You’ll work through key components of the planning process, including organizing student groups, facilitating design thinking, and structuring trial tests and final launch events. Walk away with practical strategies, planning tools, and adaptable resources to implement a large-scale PBL experience in your own school. Be ready to collaborate, create, and launch ideas you can take back to your classroom immediately!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a practical, scalable strategy for organizing a school-wide PBL experience that engages all students and staff through structured team roles, STEM-based challenges, and efficient implementation.

SPEAKERS:
JoElla Hauselman, Abbi Richcreek

This research was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of a designing and facilitating hands-on activities for K-12 students in engaging undergraduate  students to develop a deeper understanding of course learning objectives. Students in various undergraduate biology courses (BIOL-104, 202, 204, 422) participated in a once-a-semester community outreach day at the North Manchester Public Library. Prior to this event, MU students designed a 5-10-minute hands-on activity, translating their didactic material from the classroom into a level that was accessible to the general public. At the event, the MU students facilitated their activities for upwards of 45 local K-12 home school students. Following completion of their outreach project, students in this study were be given a follow-up survey to evaluate their perspectives on whether the task of conveying their didactic material to the public enhanced their understanding of course learning objectives.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will evaluate the effectiveness of a designing and facilitating hands-on activities for K-12 students in engaging undergraduate students to develop a deeper understanding of course learning objectives.

SPEAKERS:
Cassandra Gohn

Insect collecting has long been part of K-12 science education because it gives students direct access to biodiversity, inquiry, classification, and place-based learning. At the same time, growing concern about insect decline and animal welfare has led many to question whether lethal insect collecting is still appropriate in classrooms. This session presents a balanced framework for thinking about the educational value and ethical challenges of insect collecting with K-12 students. Attendees will explore the major arguments for and against collecting, consider issues such as conservation, student consent, and cultural or religious perspectives, and leave with practical ideas for developing a classroom code of ethics and identifying when non-lethal alternatives may be more appropriate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for deciding when insect collecting is educationally justified, how to address ethical concerns, and how to build a classroom code of ethics.

SPEAKERS:
Peter White

Diminished conceptual understanding of core concepts in physics and calculus acts as a primary barrier to STEM persistence. Students frequently struggle to apply theoretical concepts which lead to lower retention in STEM majors. This presentation will focus on how educators can enhance understanding and build connections between various metrics in sports and foundational concepts of math and physical science. Utilization of affordable sensor technology to capture real student/athlete generated data in sport settings such as golf and baseball will help educators visualize how to bring these concepts into their classrooms. The application of various Artificial Intelligence platforms to manipulate student/athlete generated data in various functions and calculations in math and science will be covered and a case study presented. Finally, pilot data demonstrates how conceptual understanding of core concepts in calculus and physics is improved through presented methods.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how sports analytics connects calculus and physics through real athlete-generated data, affordable sensors, and AI tools. Explore how students can apply math and science concepts to analyze performance, solve problems, and deepen conceptual understanding in authentic sports scenarios.

SPEAKERS:
Timothy Goodale

Look‑to‑learn items are brief, visual prompts that guide students to analyze models, discuss evidence, and revise explanations during sensemaking lessons. In this speed‑sharing presentation, the presenter will model look‑to‑learn items that use existing diagrams, GIFs, and simplified comics. Participants will see classroom‑ready examples of both open‑ and closed‑ended look‑to‑learn items and learn how these quick scaffolds can be used at multiple points in a lesson. The presenter will also share brief rationales for matching question types to visuals based on the intended performance outcome. Examples are drawn from grades 6–12 science classrooms, including AP Environmental Science and AP Biology, though the underlying principles are broadly transferable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn practical ways to use visuals—diagrams, GIFs, and comics—as prompts for categorizing, fill‑in‑the‑blank, matching, and sequencing tasks that help students notice patterns, discuss evidence, and revise explanations. Receive a link to a library of classroom‑ready examples with feedback.

SPEAKERS:
TeNeal Metcalf

Insects and other arthropods are common, affordable, and highly engaging for students across grade levels. Because of their ubiquity, rapid life cycles, and essential ecological roles, insects make excellent low-cost model organisms for exploring biological concepts and scientific practices in the classroom. In this Speed Share Session, Purdue entomologists will share NGSS aligned lesson plans and other resources, with a focus on low-prep strategies and answer questions about integrating insects and entomology into your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Insects and other arthropods are among the most accessible and engaging organisms available to science teachers. This session will provide NGSS-aligned resources for integrating insects into your curriculum that are easy to implement and highly effective.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Justus

Help students see themselves in a STEM career through career-connected science learning that illustrates real-world applications and can build their confidence in their knowledge and skills. Learn how media-based career resources can broaden students’ ideas about different types of careers within an industry, the range in points of entry, and the problems these careers solve. Strategies will help you support students in reflecting on their strengths and goals as they explore careers that align with their interests and plan potential pathways to prepare for their futures.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave the session with a list of FREE resources from PBS LearningMedia for sustaining career-connected learning that integrates seamlessly into your curriculum throughout the year.

SPEAKERS:
Paula Menta Rodriguez

This session showcases how a Science Communication Lab video, Corals on the Brink, was used to anchor a 7th grade NGSS-aligned lesson sequence. Students begin by analyzing coral bleaching as a real-world phenomenon, then build models of coral–algae relationships and explore ecosystem interactions through a hands-on marine ecosystem simulation. Learners analyze data trends, evaluate human impacts, and construct evidence-based arguments about whether humans should intervene to save coral reefs. The session highlights strategies that integrate science content with communication practices, including CER writing, peer review, and solution evaluation. Attendees will explore classroom-ready resources and interactive activities that promote systems thinking, argumentation, and real-world connections in middle school science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use Science Communication Lab videos and resources to anchor NGSS-aligned lessons that engage students in modeling ecosystems, analyzing data, and constructing evidence-based arguments about real-world environmental issues like coral reef decline.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Langston

What if one prompt, added to the end of every lecture, lab, and assignment, could deepen student sensemaking, surface misconceptions before the exam, and build professional identity, all without additional prep or grading? The Teacher Lens does exactly that. Embedded throughout a college biology course for pre-service elementary educators, the prompt asks students to explain each concept to a child in their future classroom. The consistency is the mechanism: students begin to anticipate it and do the cognitive work during instruction rather than only at the end. This session shares three concrete examples showing how the same prompt surfaces different depths of understanding across biology topics, plus one formative use that requires no collecting or grading.

TAKEAWAYS:
A single reusable prompt: "How would you explain this to a student in your future classroom?" that deepens sensemaking, reveals misconceptions, and builds pedagogical thinking across any science course or grade band. Zero new prep required.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Hasenmyer

Our year-long STEM Buddy Program fosters enthusiasm for science, builds essential skills and strengthens our school community through meaningful cross-grade interactions. This program is intentionally aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, with a strong emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices that foster essential, transferable skills. While students engage in hands-on engineering challenges, the primary purpose of these experiences is to develop critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. This cross-age STEM buddy program supports STEM for All by creating equitable access to meaningful, hands-on engineering experiences for all students. By pairing 8th grade mentors with 4th grade partners, the program reduces barriers to participation and fosters an inclusive learning environment where students of varying abilities and backgrounds can engage in collaborative problem solving.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session highlights a yearlong STEM buddy program that pairs 8th grade students with 4th grade partners for monthly, hands-on engineering challenges. Attendees will explore examples of low-cost, easily implemented challenges and gain strategies for establishing a program in their own school.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole McJunkin

Short on time but want to bring meaningful engineering into your classroom? Are you looking for plug-and-play STEM labs that require minimal prep while maximizing student engagement and real-world connections? In this fast-paced session, educators will explore ready-to-use, NGSS-aligned engineering labs that come with all materials provided—at no cost. Participants will see how students engage in hands-on problem-solving while collaborating virtually with professional engineers and college mentors, helping them make sense of science concepts through authentic application. What Participants Will Experience: Quick overview of a complete, ready-to-implement engineering lab Hands-on interaction with lab materials Snapshot of how virtual mentorship supports student thinking and engagement Practical strategies for immediate classroom implementation Classroom Relevance: Zero-prep or low-prep labs ready “out of the box” Applicable to existing science units Designed to fit typical class

TAKEAWAYS:
With over 6,900 schools and 1.3 million students served nationwide, engineering focused labs demonstrate how high-quality, equitable STEM experiences can be both scalable and easy to implement—helping students build the durable skills they need for future success.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Kysely

What if you could build a fully interactive, standards-aligned science skill practice page in under five minutes, no coding required? In this speed session, participants will watch a working web tool built live using Claude's Design and Code feature, starting from a plain-language prompt and ending with a browser-ready page that students can use the same day. The prompt structure demonstrated supports educators in designing a single web page that engages students in developing skills from NGSS Science and Engineering Practices and Cross-Cutting Concepts into any science scenario. Attendees leave with a reusable prompt template card, three grade-band-specific example prompts, and a QR-linked resource page to share with their department. Let's create a simple skill-building scenario, ready before the next bell.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical, repeatable methods for turning science skills into an interactive, single-page web experience using AI, enabling faster creation of meaningful, skill-based learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Huber

How do science teachers help students determine what climate information is credible? This qualitative case study examines three Indonesian science teachers' approaches to teaching epistemic evaluation, the practice of critically assessing claims and sources, within interdisciplinary Science classrooms. Findings reveal three key patterns: the instructional strategies teachers use to scaffold information evaluation, how teachers conceptualize this practice, and the curriculum and contextual challenges they face. Although situated in Indonesia, the challenges these teachers navigate:  misinformation, fragmented curricula, and limited frameworks for teaching evidence evaluation, mirror those faced by science educators globally. This session offers practical insights and transferable strategies for science teachers seeking to strengthen students' ability to critically evaluate information about climate change and other natural phenomena in today's complex information landscape.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees, particularly teachers, will gain insight with transferable strategies for teaching students to critically evaluate climate change information, grounded in real classroom practice across any kind of teaching contexts

SPEAKERS:
Anna Rahmadianty

This session presents a secure, fully offline AI system for K-12 science classrooms that supports assignment generation, auto-grading, and real-time AI tutoring. Aligned with the AI and Data education strand and the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education, the tool demonstrates how instructional design and feedback can support NGSS three-dimensional learning, including Science and Engineering Practices such as analyzing and interpreting data and constructing evidence-based explanations. Participants will explore classroom-ready workflows showing how assignments are created, how student work is evaluated using consistent rubrics, and how tutoring responses adapt to learner input using performance data. The system enables continuous instructional feedback loops grounded in student work. Designed for privacy-sensitive and low-bandwidth environments, the platform operates entirely offline to ensure equitable access while reducing teacher workload and improving feedback consistency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn an offline AI workflow for K-12 science education that supports NGSS-aligned instruction through assignment generation, auto-grading, and adaptive tutoring, enabling data-informed feedback, reduced teacher workload, and equitable implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Nitindra Chowdary Pavuluri

University instructors using NSTA resources, designed for 3-dimensional teaching and learning, in lieu of a textbook (or as a supplement to a textbook) have students who create a library of resources, grow their professional network, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge. Instructors get a class landing page to manage their course, a private forum for asynchronous discussions, and an instructor's dashboard to monitor their students' work on the NSTA website. All instructors receive a free NSTA membership, and their students become NSTA members for a year or through graduation. In this session, various instructors share how they integrate NSTA resources in their courses. Come and listen to their stories and ask questions. Find out the benefits of this program so you too begin using NSTA resources with your preservice teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants meet & ask questions of instructors who are using NSTA resources, webinars, & tools in courses for preservice teachers. Participants will learn how to integrate NSTA resources in their courses. They will also learn about the benefits of the program and how it can be easily implemented.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews, Flavio Mendez

Much like the game of football, science teachers need to get their students across the goal line of learning important science concepts with little time to spare. As a science teacher in a busy school environment, the task of reaching all learners is difficult when faced with a diverse student population with various strengths, weaknesses, and diverse backgrounds. To ensure that teachers maximize equity and inclusion of ALL students, low-prep and high-impact lesson strategies are an important component of helping students make sense of the natural world around them, participate in classroom discussions, and ultimately express their understanding of science concepts. This presentation will discuss some key strategies, set in the context of a high school geoscience class, which allow teachers to use and adapt easily based on student needs. An example lesson will be provided to participants, as well as access to the strategies to try out in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
The presentation will include an example lesson demonstrating how low-prep, high-impact strategies can be integrated into a geoscience lesson with diverse learners. Teachers will receive access to the instructional tools and resources, which can be adapted based on the needs of their students.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Covil

Great ag-based science lessons already exist! But do they align with your standards...? NASELI (Nebraska Agricultural Science Education Leadership Initiative) developed a simple cover sheet model that helps teachers localize existing agricultural curriculum to fit both state science standards and NGSS's three-dimensional learning framework. In this session, you'll see how NASELI teacher leaders create localized guides to connect agricultural phenomena, such as corn genetics and water management, to disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. The result: ready-to-use lessons grounded in local agriculture and aligned to the standards you already teach. Walk away with a replicable model you can use to adapt agriculture curriculum in your own classroom or region, plus access to a free, growing repository of localized and aligned agriculture guides and curriculum on OER Commons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use NASELI's localization model to utilize existing ag-based science curriculum and connect it to your state standards and NGSS's three-dimensional learning framework.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Jones

This presentation explores the integration of three-dimensional thinking into science curriculum and assessment, emphasizing a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and practices. Attendees will discover practical strategies to design curricula that foster critical thinking, inquiry, and real-world application. The session will also highlight effective assessment techniques aligned with three-dimensional learning, ensuring that student evaluations reflect their conceptual knowledge, scientific practices, and crosscutting concepts. Ideal for educators seeking to enhance science instruction and improve student engagement, this presentation offers insights to transform traditional teaching approaches into dynamic, interconnected learning experiences that prepare students for future scientific challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to effectively incorporate three-dimensional thinking into science curriculum and assessments, enhancing student engagement and understanding by connecting core concepts, scientific practices, and crosscutting themes for deeper, real-world learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Treshana Weise

Educators will explore NGSS-aligned interactive, ready-to-use, digital lessons that support sensemaking. Learn how media-rich lessons can engage students in science and engineering content through a variety of self-paced formats including image hotspots, drawing, or drag-and-drop to involve students in organizing ideas, analyzing data, and building evidence-based explanations. Designed in manageable segments with embedded supports, the lessons promote reasoning, analysis, and discourse, with access for diverse learners. Teachers can flexibly implement interactive lessons within existing units—whole class, group, or independent work—without extra planning. Classroom examples, teacher tips, and student deliverables will be included in this session to help educators integrate these strategies, make student thinking visible, boost engagement, and engage students in meaningful science practices by connecting content to their lives and society.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to use and assign a set of free, NGSS-aligned interactive lessons on PBS LearningMedia, that support student sensemaking and discourse while leveraging embedded formative assessments to check for understanding and reduce planning time.

SPEAKERS:
Stefana Dunn

What if students could inhabit the perspective of a threatened monarch butterfly or painted dog, then use that empathy to drive real conservation action? In this session, we share how sixth graders in Wheeling, IL combined MagicSchool AI, ESRI crowdsourced mapping, and the HomeStories storytelling platform to research endangered local wildlife, write compelling stories blending science and heart, and present solutions to actual community decision-makers. Students published their wildlife stories on a global map, connecting classrooms across Illinois, Iowa, and Botswana. We will share curriculum, student examples, technology tools, and lessons learned from this interdisciplinary model integrating science, language arts, and civic engagement. Leave with a replicable framework for transforming students into empathetic scientists and community advocates who fall in love with local nature and fight for its survival.

TAKEAWAYS:
When students write from the perspective of endangered wildlife, combining scientific research with empathy, they become powerful conservation advocates who take real civic action in their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Burke, Tracy Crowley

This session focuses on the trilogy of NSTA Press books on the Three Dimensions and is led by NSTA’s former in-house expert on science standards who recruited the lead authors of all three books. Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices provides a play-by-play understanding of the practices. Disciplinary Core Ideas: Reshaping Teaching and Learning provides an in depth perspective on the disciplinary core ideas. Crosscutting Concepts: Strengthening Science and Engineering Learning is designed to help educators grasp the foundational issues that undergird crosscutting concepts. These books are written in clear, nontechnical language. Many of the authors contributed to the development of the Framework and NGSS. The authors also share a wealth of real-world examples drawn from their own classroom experiences to show what’s different about three-dimensional teaching and learning at all grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn techniques to use these three books to help educators have a deep understanding of practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts to foster better student learning in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

AI and instructional technologies are everywhere, but how do we use them to strengthen science learning without adding complexity? This session presents a classroom-tested framework that integrates AI, data tools, and Project-Based Learning (PBL) to build career-connected, three-dimensional science experiences. Grounded in Beyond the Algorithm: Reimagining STEAM and Project-Based Learning for a Human-Centered AI Future and the Tapas Approach to PBL, participants will explore how to use technology to enhance -not replace- student thinking while streamlining planning, feedback, and assessment. Through real classroom examples, educators will examine how students take on authentic roles (engineers, data analysts) while using simulations, data tools, and AI-supported workflows. Attendees will leave with practical tools, templates, and strategies that connect science learning to real-world careers while saving time and improving instructional decision-making.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use AI, data tools, and PBL to design career-connected science experiences that build transferable skills, improve feedback and decision-making, and remain feasible within everyday classroom constraints.

SPEAKERS:
Tara Koehler, John Sammon

How can students use technology to investigate weather and climate systems while learning the science behind them? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, data analysis, and modeling into a middle school science unit on Weather and Climate. Step into the role of students as you investigate hailstorms, severe weather, and unusual climate patterns using digital sensors and simulations to collect and analyze atmospheric data. See how students use coding and computational tools to model how sunlight, gravity, air movement, and water interactions drive weather and climate systems. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build and revise models, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, data analysis, and modeling to unlock the “black box” of technology while investigating weather and climate systems through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

Under the philosophy of "We Do Science," The Citizen Science Lab (TCSL) positions students not as consumers of science content, but as practicing scientists. In this hands-on workshop, participants will do the same, designing and prototyping their own microbial fuel cells (MFCs), devices that use living microorganisms to generate electricity from organic matter. TCSL's ICE-T Project requires young scientists to simultaneously engage microbial metabolism, electrochemistry, circuit design, biosensor data collection, and computational modeling as a single integrated experience. Students author their own prototypes, propose hypotheses, iterate, and present findings of authentic research inside a community nonprofit. Educators will experience the ICE-T model firsthand, leaving with a replicable framework for bringing genuine cross-disciplinary research into their own classrooms regardless of budget, building, or zip code.

TAKEAWAYS:
A replicable framework for designing cross-disciplinary STEM programs that treat science as a unified practice. Strategies for building science identity in youth who have historically been excluded from science culture, including how space, story, and community change who feels like a scientist.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Andre Samuel

How do you create a robotics competition that engages hundreds of elementary students while supporting STEM learning across an entire school district? This session shares a practical framework for designing, launching, and sustaining a district-wide elementary robotics competition. Participants will explore strategies for securing stakeholder support, developing equitable participation opportunities, creating age-appropriate challenges, training teachers, managing logistics, and measuring impact.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with planning tools, implementation timelines, sample competition structures, and lessons learned that can be adapted to districts of any size.

SPEAKERS:
Kiera Elledge

This session introduces educators to the process of identifying agricultural phenomena and connecting them to NGSS science concepts and emphasizes how to make science instruction more relevant by integrating agriculture as a lens for exploration and inquiry. Participants will engage in hands-on activities including an agriculture phenomena sort, a game designed to evaluate and align examples of agricultural phenomena with the NGSS three dimensions and science standards. Teachers will brainstorm local phenomena and leave with tools like a phenomena checklist and a ready-to-use list of agricultural phenomena that can be used across disciplines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers leave with tools to identify and incorporate agricultural phenomena that are observable, puzzling, and connected to NGSS three dimensions.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Wedger, Angela Gulotta

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool can help educators be critical consumers of instructional materials and create/revise lessons that reflect the shifts required by new standards (sensemaking). Gain experience using the tool and facilitating criteria-based consensus conversations with your colleagues!

TAKEAWAYS:
Use the NSTA Sensemaking Tool to evaluate instructional materials (lessons) and provide feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews

How do we transform standard instructional materials into powerful showcases of three-dimensional learning without increasing teacher workload? This workshop aligns with the Three-Dimensional Teaching, Curriculum, and Assessment strand, demonstrating how to adapt OpenSciEd and ClassCrunchLabs units into authentic transfer tasks. Participants step into the student hat to experience a mini design challenge modeled after Shark Tank and ExploraVision formats. We connect to NGSS goals like MS-PS2 magnetic fields and engineering design. To ensure Science for All, we provide multiple equity examples, including accessible scaffolding templates for diverse learners and inclusive team structures. Shifting to the teacher hat, participants will analyze student-facing pitch templates and use a provided crosswalk tool. You will map these formative and summative assessment strategies directly to your local Portrait of a Graduate competencies, leaving with classroom-ready diagnostic rubrics.

TAKEAWAYS:
Stop rewriting curriculum from scratch. Transform OpenSciEd or ClassCrunchLabs units into thrilling Shark Tank or ExploraVision style transfer tasks. Gain inclusive strategies to make three-dimensional thinking visible and incorporate your school's Portrait of a Graduate durable skills.

SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Boucher-Lavigne

Tornado Alley is shifting - can your students explain why? Step into the role of a learner and tackle this real-world phenomenon by analyzing data, spotting patterns, and building an evidence-based explanation. Then switch to a teacher lens to uncover what three-dimensional learning actually looks like in practice and how to assess it. You’ll dig into student responses, identify evidence of real thinking, and turn traditional questions into meaningful 3D assessment tasks. Walk away with ready-to-use strategies, templates, and tools that make student thinking visible, without adding to your workload.

TAKEAWAYS:
Design and use three-dimensional assessments that turn real-world phenomena into opportunities to make student thinking visible, revealing what students truly understand, not just what they can recall.

SPEAKERS:
Shelby Irvin

The process of science is driven by questions. While it’s easy to ask a general question, crafting an investigable question requires deeper thinking and intentionality. Doing so within the constraints of an existing dataset creates an additional challenge. This session, co-facilitated by the NSTA professional learning team and Tuva, will highlight strategies for helping students clarify what data they have to work with, determine the types of questions that can and cannot be answered with a given dataset, and frame six different types of questions about data.

TAKEAWAYS:
The types of questions you can ask depend on the data you have. Participants will learn how to guide students in identifying the structure and limits of the local datasets they encounter and in framing investigable questions that unlock the potential of data.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

What happens when young learners are invited to notice first and explain later? This session challenges PK–2 educators to reimagine science instruction by stepping outside—literally—and embracing a phenomena-based, inquiry-driven approach that nurtures curiosity, sensemaking, and a lasting connection to the natural world. Through practical examples, we’ll share strategies for lesson design, integrating STEM and literacy, and using themes like birds or trees to build connections. Learn how to overcome barriers, use available space and resources, and embrace “messy” science without needing all the answers. Leave with simple, adaptable ideas, increased confidence, and a clear message: meaningful science learning can happen anywhere—starting just outside your door.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to use curiosity and everyday outdoor spaces to drive phenomenon-based, inquiry science. You’ll gain practical, easy-to-apply strategies, integrate STEM and literacy, build confidence, and leave thinking, “I can do this.”

SPEAKERS:
Joel Eichenauer, Susan Gnagy

Join us for an engaging workshop that brings cutting-edge particle physics into your classroom. Explore how scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN tackle fundamental questions about the universe—and how their discoveries connect to high school science. Through hands-on activities from the NSF-supported QuarkNet program, you'll experience ways to integrate real data, current research, and core physics concepts into your curriculum, all aligned with national science standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with examples of standards-based classroom activities that link cutting-edge physics research to core concepts taught in high school physics and physical science.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Cecire, Shane Wood

Learning in Places supports all elementary learners, their families, communities, and educators in creating relationships with the outdoors. Join us to learn more about how to effectively engage learners in identifying important phenomenon in their place, creating Should We questions, answering them through inquiry experiences students design, and designing models that help support developing understanding. Ultimately, Learning in Places advances change making and decision making as durable skills but through the lens of science exploration, transdisciplinary learning, and explanation of relationships with phenomenon. We will explore a storyline and some of the critical pieces of this amazing education resource.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will explore Learning in Places and learn more about how transdisciplinary explorations by elementary students elevate decision making and change making in their community.

SPEAKERS:
Jordan Sherry-Wagner, Mary Starr

Interactive notebooks are powerful tools that physically relate activities to concepts which supports student construction of the lesson arc. Use of dynamic manipulatives, particularly with structured inquiry, provides more opportunities for illustrating relationships and making deep connections than static artifacts. Integrating these components in a notebook provides permanent scaffolds for content and support for continuing review and engagement with the material. Ready-to-use templates and examples, suitable for courses ranging from physical science through chemistry I and AP Chemistry will be shared. Attendees will be encouraged to make and take a variety of examples, ranging from stand alone activities to notebook-ready page layouts. All materials were created by and have been published on Chemical Education Xchange by the presenter, and are freely available for download. Student-made interactive notebook examples will also be available for review and discussion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience several mini-lessons from the student perspective using interactive notebook pages and manipulatives to explore the impact of these artifacts on the classroom experience. Participants will then be able to self-select stations to make and take manipulatives.

SPEAKERS:
Nora Walsh

What if you could turn any lesson into a science-rich experience? In this interactive session, explore how to layer meaningful STEM connections into the curriculum you already teach—without rewriting your plans. Discover simple strategies to deepen understanding, spark curiosity, and boost student engagement across subjects. Hear about some out-of-the box ways to plan and connect with grade level partners to maximize the minimum minutes together. Science educator or classroom teachers benefit from the interactive session. Make it easy, make it effective and make it fun for you and your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn ways to infuse science into existing curriculum areas, if applicable. If they are science educators, they can learn how to think about new ways to enrich their lessons and to add a dash of STEM to their already rich lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Maureen Lee

Discover how mathematics becomes a powerful tool for science sensemaking in elementary classrooms through the lens of OpenSciEd Elementary units. In this session, participants will experience how elementary-age learners engage with mathematics and computational thinking and data—measurements, observations, sketches, photos, and recordings—to make sense of real-world phenomena featured in OpenSciEd investigations. We’ll explore how children notice and describe variability, create visual displays to organize their ideas, and analyze and interpret patterns to answer questions and spark new inquiries. Through an immersive experience grounded in OpenSciEd materials, participants will experience how integrating mathematics, computational thinking, and data science practices into elementary science instruction deepens reasoning, supports a range of learners, and empowers children to think critically about the data they encounter every day.

TAKEAWAYS:
OpenSciEd K-5 units create rich opportunities to use math as a tool for sensemaking by exploring variability, creating data displays, and analyzing and interpreting patterns—strengthening students' mathematics, computational thinking, and data literacy while supporting grade-level standards.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Belcastro

Early career science teachers face challenges such as learning to manage classrooms, enacting instruction aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and implementing effective strategies for diverse learners. These challenges can impact a teacher’s well-being and lead to teacher burnout. One approach that can be used to mitigate the effects of teacher burnout is self-care. In this session, we will share teachers’ voices from our three-year longitudinal study on early career science teachers’ well-being and self-care practices in high-need schools. Our data indicate individual self-care practices alongside collaborative approaches that build capacity to support teachers’ well-being and retention. We will share these research-based strategies, examples, and self-care planning tools. These strategies are important because teachers need to take care of their own well-being in order to provide effective science instruction, as suggested by the NGSS, for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about research-based self-care strategies for teachers, and how individuals and organizations can foster supportive environments for teacher self-care and well-being. Attendees will participate in self-care reflections and will leave with self-care planning tools and goals.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Borgerding, Ella Yonai, Shannon Navy

This closing session will provide an opportunity to reflect on Indiana-relevant conference sessions and to consider next steps for strengthening science instruction. Attendees will examine themes that emerged across sessions connected to science, computer science, AI, and STEM. Participants will be invited to consider how the Indiana Department of Education can continue to support classroom teachers, school leaders, and districts in implementing high quality science instruction. The session will focus on actionable feedback, statewide needs, and future directions for improving coherence and alignment in science education. Educators from all states are welcome to participate in this reflection, as the process for gathering input and identifying supportive structures is applicable to any state or district context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will reflect on Indiana relevant conference sessions and provide input on how IDOE can continue to support improvements in science instruction across the state.

SPEAKERS:
Eimear Towler

How can we safeguard future scientists against automation bias, cognitive offloading, and scientific slop? The SIFT (Stop-Investigate-Find-Trace) framework is a learner-focused procedural approach for assessing the contributions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a partner in the context of inquiry science. Phase 1 emphasizes literacy as students develop a method for critically evaluating their own use of AI, a model’s reliability, and the viability of the output. In Phase 2, they broaden their critical lens to assess output in regards to its validity within the field: Is it accurate? Does it align with current scientific consensus? What might it be overlooking or excluding?

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to scaffold AI-enhanced lesson plans with an active learning process that develops a student’s habit of a routine critical evaluation of collaborative AI in the context of accuracy, usefulness, and suitability.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Yost

This session highlights practical, classroom-ready strategies for strengthening three-dimensional sensemaking in high school science courses, with an intentional focus on courses with heavy content standards (e.g. honors and AP classes). Participants will engage with coherent lesson sequences that intentionally integrate DCI's, SEP's and CCC's through anchoring phenomena and the use of student voice. Concrete examples of instructional routines, assessment tasks and student work samples will demonstrate how to make student thinking visible and actionable. Emphasis will be placed on designing and using assessments that capture evidence of reasoning, model development and evidence-based explanation, while informing real-time instructional decisions. Attendees will explore adaptable templates, scoring tools, and planning protocols aligned to typical classroom constraints, ensuring feasibility without increasing workload.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore instructional shifts that can be implemented immediately in your high school classroom. Participants will leave with small, practical adjustments to lesson planning that allow student voice to drive instruction while still addressing rigorous, content-heavy standards.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Bulman

This interactive session explores how hands-on, project-based STEM experiences increase student engagement, academic achievement, and workforce readiness for learners of all backgrounds. Participants will discover proven strategies for creating robust STEM learning environments that expose students to real-world STEM applications, inspire curiosity, engage learners through experiential activities, and empower them to pursue STEM pathways and careers. Drawing from STEM NOLA’s nationally recognized Cradle-to-Career Model, which has impacted more than 250,000 students across the United States and internationally, attendees will learn how vertical mentorship, industry partnerships, workforce development initiatives, and community-centered programming create sustainable pathways . The session includes practical examples, scalable models, and take-home resources that educators, administrators, and community leaders can use to expand STEM access, participation, and long-term success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain actionable strategies and a scalable Cradle-to-Career framework that leverages hands-on STEM learning, vertical mentorship, and workforce development partnerships to increase engagement, build confidence, and create pathways to STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

This hands-on session will showcase engaging low-prep activities from Project WET, Project WILD and Project Learning Tree that are correlated with NGSS and have a STEM and Career Connection. Participants will leave with 3 data collection activities that model earth systems and ecological community interactions. These activities can be adapted for use in grades 6-12 classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
This hands-on session will showcase engaging low-prep activities from Project WET, Project WILD and Project Learning Tree that are correlated with NGSS and have a STEM and Career Connection. Participants will leave with 3 data collection activities that model earth systems and ecological community

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Poindexter

Scientific sensemaking requires students to question claims, evaluate evidence, revise ideas, and defend decisions. In this interactive session, participants will explore how AI can be positioned as a reasoning partner within SEP-based classroom routines. Rather than treating AI as an answer source, educators will consider how structured routines can prompt students to analyze information, test claims against evidence, identify gaps in reasoning, revise ideas, and explain their decisions. Participants will examine adaptable routine structures and consider how they could support purposeful AI use, productive struggle, and evidence-based discussion in their own science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to facilitate SEP-based classroom routines that position AI as a reasoning partner while keeping students responsible for evidence, critique, revision, and sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Velma Itamura

Attendees will be shown various strategies and platforms for utilizing AI in the science classroom. Participants will be able to discuss strategies to address common misconceptions connected with AI use. Attendees will be shown ways AI can be used to create meaningful, critical-thinking, hands-on activities for science students. Educators will also be shown the positive and negative aspects of AI use by teachers and students. The AI policies that some school systems are adopting will also be discussed in this workshop.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will address the misconception that teachers might believe that AI is only useful for text-based tasks (essays/reports) and cannot contribute to the hands-on, experimental nature of a science lab.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Stracener

Have you read great articles in the NSTA journals that changed or added to the ways you and your students do science for the better? You could inspire other educators across the country in the same way by sharing your teaching ideas, activities, or lessons as an NSTA journal author!

TAKEAWAYS:
Instructions and tips on how to prepare and submit your manuscript for publication in NSTA's journals.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Lindeman

When students have access to AI, a polished final product may not provide enough evidence of what they understand. This interactive session helps educators use the Science and Engineering Practices to identify what student reasoning should look like and how it can be assessed. Participants will explore how different types of student work, discussion, revision, and explanation can provide evidence of reasoning when tasks are designed around the Science and Engineering Practices. The session focuses on designing assessment approaches that value evidence use, critique, revision, explanation, argumentation, and decision-making in science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the Science and Engineering Practices to identify and assess evidence of student thinking, critique, revision, and reasoning defense in AI-resilient science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Velma Itamura

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

Generative AI makes it easier for students to produce polished science responses without necessarily showing deep understanding. This session presents a research-informed approach for using conceptual modeling to make student thinking visible by revealing how learners represent components, relationships, processes, and change. Drawing on empirical work with undergraduate engineering students and broader research on systems thinking and modeling, the session shows how conceptual representations can expose gaps that fluent written answers may hide. Rather than using AI mainly to generate content, the session explores how AI-informed prompts can support questioning, reflection, revision, and formative assessment. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for prompts, feedback, and assessment that can be adapted for science settings in secondary, postsecondary, and teacher education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how conceptual modeling and AI-informed prompts can help reveal and support real student understanding, not just polished AI-assisted answers.

SPEAKERS:
Roee Peretz

Discover a powerful, replicable model for community partnership (local and national), student leadership and vertical alignment in STEM education. This session details the creation and execution of a STEM Ambassador Program where high school students partner with an elementary school to teach 4th graders the Design Thinking Process. We will provide a practical blueprint covering essential components: high school student selection and training, curriculum development, securing materials and funding, and managing the necessary time commitment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with actionable strategies for building a thriving community partnership as well as cross-grade partnership and experience a hands-on, simulated 4th-grade lesson to see the curriculum in action! Learn how to transform your high school students into effective, inspiring STEM educators.

SPEAKERS:
Melinda Clark, Lauren Allman

How can students design technologies that measure and reduce damage from collisions while learning the science behind contact forces? In this interactive session, experience how OpenSciEd + Computer Science integrates coding, sensors, and engineering design into a middle school science unit on Contact Forces. Step into the role of students as you investigate why some collisions cause damage while others do not, using sensor systems to collect and analyze force data. See how students design and program technologies that measure forces and help minimize damage from collisions. Discover how coding helps students unlock the “black box” of technology, seeing how it works as they build it, while deepening science understanding. Ideal for current OpenSciEd users and those new to the curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience how students use coding, sensors, and engineering design to unlock the “black box” of technology while designing solutions to measure and reduce damage from collisions through phenomenon-based science learning

SPEAKERS:
Kristy Lathrop

Discover the power of NSTA Collections – curated "bundles" designed to organize your NSTA Library with resources from NSTA and beyond. This hands-on workshop guides you through creating your own collection, a vital tool for saving time when searching for topic-specific materials. Learn how to effectively share these collections with your colleagues or make them public to benefit the wider NSTA community. Leave ready to build and leverage collections to streamline your resource management.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave knowing how to create NSTA Collections, add NSTA and external resources, and manage sharing options. They will grasp the benefits of organizing, including time savings and collaboration, and gain practical skills to build and share curated resource lists.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez

Science data analysis relies on mathematical and statistical reasoning that develops across grade levels. Co-facilitated by the NSTA Professional Learning Team and Tuva, this workshop explores how NGSS Science and Engineering Practices connect with grade-level math standards to support student data analysis and interpretation. Participants will analyze authentic science datasets to identify grade-level mathematical, statistical, and data skills. They will examine how these math standards and science practices align and discover how to leverage math learning to strengthen science sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify grade-level data and statistical reasoning skills and examine how they support student use of the Science and Engineering Practices. Teachers will leave with strategies for connecting mathematics learning to data-rich science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jocelyn Foran, Brianna Reilly Oliveira

This presentation will explore how Formative Instructional Practices (FIP) can transform classroom instruction. FIP is a research-based approach that emphasizes continuous feedback, student involvement, and clear learning goals to improve academic achievement. The goal of this session is to equip educators with practical strategies to implement FIP effectively, helping students take ownership of their learning while enabling teachers to make informed instructional decisions. FIPs are not new, but when used consistently, they can be a game-changer in classrooms. This presentation will begin by reviewing the core principles of FIP, including the importance of setting clear learning targets, using descriptive feedback, involving students in the learning process, and adjusting instruction based on evidence of student understanding. Participants will reflect on their current practices and identify opportunities to integrate FIP more deeply into their teaching routines.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session delivers formative instructional practices (FIPs) that are easy to implement, but will make a big difference. Participants will walk away with a cache of strategies that elevate student learning and engagement without adding extra work to their plates.

SPEAKERS:
Mesa Davis

We grew up with encyclopedias. Our students grew up on Google. Now AI is here and the digital divide is widening every day we wait. This is not a debate about whether to use it. It is a conversation about whether our students can afford for us to keep stalling. This workshop skips the hype and gets to work. You will open your actual state standards, identify a vertically aligned strand, and build one real standards-aligned artifact using AI before you leave this room. Grounded in NGSS Science and Engineering Practice 8, obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, AI literacy is science literacy. Then you will consider what honest, responsible student use looks like, grounded in a classroom-tested model where Title I students were quizzed, challenged, and guided without ever getting an answer handed to them. Real concerns get named. Policy gets addressed. In April 2025, a federal executive order directed schools to advance AI education for every student.

TAKEAWAYS:
One self-built artifact tied to your own state standards, a plain-language guide for locating your district AI policy, and a framework for teaching students to use AI as a thinking tool, not a shortcut, before they need it.

SPEAKERS:
Jacqueline Cormier

For more than 50 years, the National Inventors Hall of Fame has celebrated inventors while advancing creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. At the heart of this work is Invention Education, which builds STEM interest and confidence alongside essential life skills. During this interactive session, participants will explore how Invention Education drives a student-centered approach through real-world problem solving, hands-on exploration, and exposure to innovative role models. They will also examine how triangulating data—from third-party evaluations to program observations—accelerates continuous improvement and impact. Participants will take the driver’s seat to build momentum and design their own high-impact roadmap for empowering STEM experiences through Invention Education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will get in the fast lane as they explore how Invention Education uses real-world problem solving, hands-on STEM learning, and data insights to empower students and drive meaningful, measurable impact.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Mills

Driving Question: How do environmental conditions influence plant growth? This hands-on workshop demonstrates how to use plant processes to investigate how environmental conditions influence plant growth through a three-dimensional model aligned to NGSS (e.g., HS-LS1-5). Participants will engage in a classroom-ready activity manipulating variables such as light and temperature, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting a sample dataset to construct evidence-based explanations using a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework to determine the cause and effect relationship between environmental factors and plant growth. The session emphasizes coherence across curriculum, instruction, and assessment by aligning learning goals, inquiry-based investigation, and CER assessment to make student thinking visible. Attendees will explore how disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts support sensemaking. Strategies for diverse learners, including s

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to implement a coherent, three-dimensional lesson using plant investigations and CER to support student sensemaking and explain how environmental conditions influence plant growth.

SPEAKERS:
Macon Beck