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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The K–8 Core Content Standards Alignment Crosswalks were developed as planning and coherence tools to support intentional interdisciplinary alignment across ELA, mathematics, science, social studies, computer science, and Integrated STEM. The crosswalks organize Indiana Academic Standards into shared instructional focus areas and observable student practices that can be supported across disciplines without adding new content or replacing adopted curriculum materials. The session will introduce the structure and purpose of the K–2, 3–5, and 6–8 crosswalks and will engage participants in examining how standards align within a shared instructional focus such as evidence based reasoning, data analysis and interpretation, or communication and discourse. Participants will explore use cases for grade level planning, PLC conversations, walkthrough evidence collection, and interdisciplinary task design. Sample use cases will demonstrate how teachers and teams can apply crosswalks to create cohe

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how K–8 interdisciplinary crosswalks can strengthen instructional coherence by helping teams identify shared practices, align standards across content areas, and support consistent student thinking without adding new requirements.

SPEAKERS:
Eimear Towler

Learn how to write for grants and awards. Whether you've never written a grant, have tried but have never won, or just want to improve your skills as a writer. The presenter has written for numerous grants and awards. To date he's won 30 grants for over $60,000 to expand what he's able to offer for students in his rural school. Additionally, he has made progress on numerous awards (and won some). Furthermore, he will share about his experience as a Fund for Teachers Fellow and share sources for funding and recognition.

TAKEAWAYS:
The presenter is an award winning teacher who has also won 30 grants for over $60,000 for his rural classroom. He'll share his tips and tricks for writing to help you learn how to bring in new materials to improve student learning and for funding to support yourself as a teacher.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Sullenberger

Multilingual learners often need targeted language support in the moment—without interrupting sensemaking or lowering cognitive demand. In this session, participants will explore just-in-time instructional strategies that support multilingual learners during science discussions, investigations, and explanation-building. Attendees will analyze classroom video to identify teacher moves that provide timely language scaffolds while keeping students engaged in authentic science and engineering practices. Participants will leave with concrete strategies they can immediately apply to support student talk, writing, and reasoning in science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use just-in-time language scaffolds to support multilingual learners’ talk, writing, and reasoning while maintaining high cognitive demand and authentic science sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

With 54% of teachers considering leaving the profession due to burnout and lack of support (Arizona Governor’s Office, 2024), strengthening educator capacity requires more than individual coping strategies—it demands system-level approaches. This session shares a practical model used by a statewide science education organization to support teacher well-being through structured reflection, collaboration, and intentional use of time. Participants will explore tools such as wellness scales and mid-year reflection protocols, along with patterns of support aligned to the rhythms of the school year. Framed through both teacher and administrator perspectives, this presentation highlights how small, strategic shifts can improve working conditions, build professional trust, and sustain instructional focus. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools and realistic approaches to leverage existing time and structures to support educator well-being without adding new initiatives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to implement system-level support including reflection tools, structured check-ins, and strategic use of time, that build educator capacity and well-being while improving collaboration and sustainability without adding to workload.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Torres

Build your confidence as an instructional leader by learning how to evaluate science lessons for sensemaking. This session introduces a lesson evaluation tool adapted from the NSTA Sensemaking Tool and grounded in NGSS and inclusive teaching practices. Participants will explore how to identify key elements of high-quality, three-dimensional instruction and gather evidence that supports meaningful, actionable feedback. Experience how structured lesson analysis can reveal patterns across instructional materials and inform targeted instructional support. Leave with practical strategies, tools, and a plan for using lesson evaluation to strengthen sensemaking across classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain practical tools and confidence to evaluate science lessons for sensemaking and provide meaningful, actionable feedback that strengthens instruction across classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

This session focuses on turning classroom insight into meaningful policy influence by treating advocacy as a practical, learnable skill for science educators. Participants will explore a clear framework for engaging at the school, district, and state levels in ways that are professional and sustainable. Drawing on National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) position statements and classroom-based evidence, we’ll focus on advocating for the professional learning and resources needed so standards translate into effective practice—not unfunded mandates. We’ll also examine responsible ways to involve students in advocacy that build civic skills like evidence-based communication and research. Participants leave with adaptable tools and language to support high-quality, inclusive science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Your day-to-day classroom experience is valid evidence—and when you pair it with a clear framework and tools, you can use it to advocate effectively for the resources and support your students actually need.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Keller

Join BSCS as we share and discuss how leadership can support NGSS implementation through planning for professional learning experiences that center the needs of teachers and students through the use of high quality instructional materials. We will discuss how leaders can leverage high quality instructional materials to strengthen the shared vision of the instructional shifts called for by the NGSS. Hear how a state level partnership with multiple LEAs deepened teacher’s knowledge of the NGSS and three dimensional instructional practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using high quality instructional materials as a lever to further NGSS implementation across multiple district/school contexts can support teachers and leaders as they enhance and expand their practice to improve outcomes for their students and learning communities.

SPEAKERS:
Jenine Cotton-Proby

The NSELA Pathway for Leaders is a coherent four-part series designed to build the capacity of science education leaders to facilitate inclusive, participant-focused improvement initiatives that are rooted in systems thinking, guided by the principles of improvement science, and tailored to the unique landscape of science education. Join us at each of the sessions separately, or join them all! The focus of this first session in the Pathway centers on the architecture of improvement and the application of systems thinking. You will explore three transformative leadership practices that can help you take tangible steps towards increasing phenomena-based, 3D science learning in your school or district. We will use a systems lens to analyze a case study and have you apply ideas to your own context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away concrete next steps that can be used by teachers and leaders to build capacity and increase high quality science in classrooms. They will also gain understanding and use of a systems-based framework they can share with their teams.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott, Leslie Stenger, Shannon Wachowski

Discover how real-world research can transform your STEM classroom. This session is designed for middle and high school educators interested in connecting authentic research experiences to meaningful student learning. Learn how the Army STEM Teacher Fellowships support teachers in bringing real-world science and engineering into their instruction. You’ll explore practical ways to turn research experiences into integrated STEM lessons that help students connect core ideas, apply science and engineering practices, and build skills in problem-solving and data analysis. Through classroom-ready examples, you’ll see how teachers translate authentic research into engaging lessons that promote critical thinking, collaboration, and evidence-based reasoning. You’ll leave with adaptable ideas and strategies you can use right away to create more connected, real-world learning experiences that prepare students for future careers and complex challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about Army STEM Teacher Fellowships (RESET). When working alongside Army researchers & Engineers, teachers don’t just gain content knowledge, they bring back real-world context, current practices, & practices, &increased confidence that improves how they teach STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Winnie Boyle

The NGSS and other standards based on the Framework of K-12 Education are quite complicated and often tricky to interpret. What teachers need is an easy-to-use reference guide to the standards, and since its’ release in 2014, the NSTA Quick-Reference Guide (aka The Purple Book) has become a perennial bestseller and an essential reference tool for many educators across the country. A new version of the Quick-Reference Guide was released in 2022, specifically designed to support not only NGSS, but all standards based on the Framework. This session will review the features of the Quick-Reference Guide and show how to use various tools in the guide to unpack the crosscutting concepts. Crosscutting concepts (CCCs) are ideas such as patterns, cause and effect, and systems that are not unique to any one discipline but that cut across several disciplines. By better understanding the CCCs, students are better prepared to make sense of the phenomena they see in the world about them.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to unpack the three dimensions using the tools and resources in the Quick-Reference Guide and will gain insights into the meaning of the crosscutting concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

Over six years, our science department transformed assessment from a traditional grading model to a skills-first competency-based system. Beginning with NGSS-inspired exploration and classroom pilots, we gradually developed shared competencies, common assessment practices, and department-wide expectations that emphasize scientific skills, feedback, and student growth. In this session, participants will explore the evolution of our framework, the challenges and successes of implementation, and the lessons learned from moving from isolated experiments to a fully integrated competency-based program. Through examples of assessments, rubrics, student reflections, and feedback systems, attendees will examine practical strategies for building competency-based assessment in their own classrooms and departments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave with a roadmap for implementing competency-based assessment in science, including competencies, rubrics, feedback systems, student reflection, and lessons learned from six years of implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Grissom

Enacting the NGSS using high-quality instructional materials requires support as teachers take on the corresponding shifts in practice, potentially significant shifts. Sometimes when leading this kind of significant change, you get more than resistance–you get conflict. Dig into Change Management as one critical element curriculum based professional learning to help manage conflict. Whether connecting with us anew or continuing your learning from the Leaders Institute, join BSCS Science Learning to **consider your experiences with leading change, encountering resistance, and managing conflict alongside other leaders,, **consider different sources of conflict and strategies for managing conflict, and **practice one strategy for managing yourself during conflict.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to identify different sources of conflict, consider strategies for managing conflict, and practice a key strategy to manage yourself during conflict.

SPEAKERS:
Jody Bintz

The NSELA Pathway for Leaders is a coherent four-part series designed to build the capacity of science education leaders to facilitate inclusive, participant-focused improvement initiatives that are rooted in systems thinking, guided by the principles of improvement science, and tailored to the unique landscape of science education. Join us at each of the sessions separately, or join them all! The second session in the Pathway examines how leaders intentionally use facilitation structures and collaborative protocols to move groups through differing perspectives toward coherent action. Grounded in participant-centered systems improvement, participants engage in a realistic science education leadership scenario connected to curriculum, instruction, assessment, or implementation challenges. Through team interaction, participants use consensus-building, prioritization, and dialogue strategies to develop a shared decision or action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants engage in structured, team-based decision-making processes. This module emphasizes the intentional selection of facilitation strategies that shape group thinking, surface tensions, and produce coherent outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Joshua Smith

Discover how K–12 teachers, coaches, and leaders can use NSTA’s free instructional coaching tools to strengthen coaching cycles and spark student sensemaking. In this interactive session, explore the full suite of OER resources and try out practical tools you can use right away.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use NSTA’s suite of instructional coaching tools to support instructional coaching cycles in your school/district.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

A key part of learning science is developing language to talk about your ideas. Traditional methods of introducing a science lesson or unit with a vocabulary list and definitions don’t help students develop understanding of science ideas or hold onto the language. In this session, participants will explore instructional strategies for introducing and earning science vocabulary that support understanding for all learners, and especially multilingual learners. Attendees will analyze classroom video to identify teacher moves that embed vocabulary instruction within investigations and discussions. Participants will leave with practical strategies for helping students actively develop and use new science terminology in their sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to embed science vocabulary development within investigations and discussions to strengthen student sensemaking and support all learners, especially multilingual students.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

The Lawrence Hall of Science conducts groundbreaking research and partners with stakeholders to transform science education and prioritize innovative teaching and learning for students worldwide. Connected to this work, The Lawrence Hall of Science is exploring ways to impact and contribute to the grades 9-12 science environment by engaging teachers and leaders directly in the process. In this session, participants will engage with the initial findings from a landscape study related to teachers’ expertise, capacity, and identity. They will contribute their own perspectives about the challenges in high school science, and brainstorm solutions they can apply in their own contexts. This session will support participants in translating research into action, developing shared understanding, and building the relationships and tools needed to lead and implement actions to support Framework-aligned grades 9-12 science pedagogy and instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away findings from a landscape study conducted at the Lawrence Hall of Science, that explored common challenges in grades 9-12 science. They will strategize solutions related to a community effort to support science educators and students, including in their own context.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Wachowski

Do you teach preservice teachers? Learn how NSTA's resources, webinars, and online community can help students become the BEST teachers they can be. Instructors using NSTA 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 students' work. All instructors receive a free digital professional membership, and their students become NSTA members for a year or through graduation, depending on the price point selected by the instructor. Resources include all NSTA-member resources, like lesson plans (sensemaking tasks) and journal articles, and “add-on” resources, such as Interactive E-Books+ Professional and Professional Learning Units (teaching strategies that enrich students’ learning). Bring your computer.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants walk away ready to implement a program through which they “adopt” NSTA as their textbook for a course, allowing their preservice teachers to access a variety of high-quality professional learning resources, including some resources that are not part of NSTA’s regular student membership.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews, Flavio Mendez

Collecting and analyzing data to inform decision-making is an important step in sustaining broad and effective implementation of HQIM and the practices likely to improve each student’s learning. Join BSCS to dig into one district’s efforts to enact and monitor a curriculum implementation plan.

TAKEAWAYS:
One important step in sustainability of teacher and leader practices that are likely to improve the learning of each student is to collect and analyze implementation data to inform decision-making.

SPEAKERS:
Jenine Cotton-Proby

How do leaders move from "talking the talk" to "walking the walk" with science equity? Often, the barrier is a systemic avoidance of uncomfortable conversations regarding race and instructional priorities. Our team will lead this interactive session and introduce the World Café Protocol—a low-prep, high-leverage discussion framework designed to build psychological safety. Participants will examine compelling national data showing that science is the engine of literacy and economic agency, practice facilitating courageous conversations about the "STEM Desert," and leave with three concrete leadership commitments to foster durable change without contributing to burnout.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session with: ● A World Café Facilitator's Guide ● An Equity Data Deck ● 3 Leadership Commitments

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Williams, Tyrone McNichols

The NSELA Pathway for Leaders is a coherent four-part series designed to build the capacity of science education leaders to facilitate inclusive, participant-focused improvement initiatives that are rooted in systems thinking, guided by the principles of improvement science, and tailored to the unique landscape of science education. rooted in systems thinking, guided by the principles of improvement science, and tailored to the unique landscape of science education. Join us at each of the sessions separately, or join them all! The focus of this third session in the Pathway centers on implementation, resource alignment, and strategic action. By applying essential principles of advocacy, you can communicate your messages, align with colleagues’ values, and move your system from awareness of the issues to taking action and making change.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away an advocacy and communication model they can use as they work towards enacting science education reform in their own systems, including a what-why-how communication strategy to deliver messages to colleagues.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott, Leslie Stenger, Shannon Wachowski

Multilingual learners bring diverse strengths, experiences, and language resources to the science classroom. Using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens, this session explores how teachers can make intentional instructional choices to support meaningful participation for multilingual learners and benefit all students. Participants will analyze classroom video to identify how teachers proactively make choices that provide multiple ways for students to access ideas, engage in sensemaking, and communicate their thinking. Participants will leave with classroom-ready strategies for supporting multilingual learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use a UDL-informed approach to design science instruction that leverages multilingual learners’ strengths and provides multiple pathways for all students to engage in sensemaking and communicate their thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Brianna Reilly Oliveira

Instructional and assessment frameworks were developed to support coherent NGSS‑aligned science instruction in Indiana. The instructional frameworks for Grades 4, 6, and Biology organize each performance expectation into disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, evidence expectations, academic vocabulary, and driving questions to guide instruction. The corresponding assessment framework translates the same performance expectation into phenomena, task demands, content limits, and proficiency‑level descriptors to support item design and formative assessment. During the session, participants will examine and use these frameworks to analyze how three‑dimensional sensemaking can be supported in classroom instruction and assessment. Frameworks for additional grade levels will be updated at a later date. The tools presented illustrate an approach that can be applied in any state using NGSS or NGSS‑aligned standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Clear strategies for supporting three‑dimensional instruction will be gained by examining and using science instructional and assessment frameworks for Grades 4, 6, and Biology, demonstrating how NGSS performance expectations can be translated into coherent classroom practice.

SPEAKERS:
Eimear Towler

The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions maps out learning progressions based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The 62 maps in the Atlas organize all of the elements from standards on a particular topic (e.g., modeling, patterns, or definitions of energy) on a single page. The elements from grades K–2 are at the bottom of the page, and those from grades 9–12 are at the top. Arrows connect elements to indicate how ideas in a particular topic build on each other and how elements in different topics connect to one another. Studying the maps in the Atlas and the additional resources in the appendixes can provide educators with new insights about the standards. This session will provide an overview of how to read a map, the other features of the Atlas, and how educators can use this powerful navigational tool to develop and implement curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to read the maps and use other tools in the Atlas to understand and interpret standards and plan instructional sequences as part of their work in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

The NSELA Pathway for Leaders is a coherent four-part series designed to build the capacity of science education leaders to facilitate inclusive, participant-focused improvement initiatives that are rooted in systems thinking, guided by the principles of improvement science, and tailored to the unique landscape of science education. Join us at each of the sessions separately, or join them all! The fourth session engages participants in the strategic use of facilitation structures and evidence-informed reflection processes that support continuous improvement within science education systems. Grounded in leadership and systems improvement, the session examines how leaders engage with structured protocols and facilitation strategies that support meaningful use of data in collaborative settings. Participants examine how leaders present data, frame conversations, and support groups in interpreting evidence to surface insights, develop shared understanding, and inform adaptive decisions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will strategically select and use facilitation structures and evidence-informed reflection processes to support continuous improvement, strengthen shared understanding, and guide collaborative decision-making within leadership teams.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Mulkerrin, Joshua Smith

The Indiana STEM Certified Schools process was redesigned for the 2025–26 school year to strengthen instructional coherence, embed Indiana Integrated STEM Standards, align expectations across science, mathematics, and computer science, and implement a clarified rubric emphasizing data‑driven evaluation. Statewide evidence reviews and school visits conducted through the process indicated strong inquiry‑based instructional culture, increasing cross‑curricular integration, and purposeful incorporation of technology and AI, while also revealing needs in full‑year standards documentation, mathematics alignment, and protocol‑based analysis of student outcome data. End‑of‑school‑year analysis informed minor procedural refinements designed to improve clarity in documentation, expectations for standards mapping, and consistency of evidence submission for the 2026–27 cycle.

TAKEAWAYS:
Clear insights into designing coherent STEM schoolwide systems will be gained by examining how a redesigned STEM Certified Schools process operated in practice and how end‑of‑school‑year findings informed refinements that strengthened clarity, documentation, and implementation.

SPEAKERS:
Eimear Towler

This session will help science educators understand Indiana’s new diploma and how science and STEM intentionally shape student readiness. Attendees will explore how science coursework fits into the statewide vision, the role of STEM in the broader diploma framework, and how students can earn relevant diploma seals. While designed to support strong Indiana representation, the session offers national value by clarifying how policy, pathways, and classroom practice intersect to prepare students for postsecondary success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science educators need a clear, accessible understanding of Indiana’s new diploma and how science and STEM contribute to overall requirements and diploma seals.

SPEAKERS:
Rebekah Frazer

This session will run as a panel of state organizational leaders and other industry leaders. These experts will answer: What challenges are you facing in your state and how are you addressing them? What tools and strategies have you found to be especially useful in supporting educators in your context? How do you support rural schools, educators, and students? How do you collaborate with informal educators, industry partners, and other orgs to provide high quality instruction to students in your region? How have you leveraged local expertise and resources to meet the needs of your educational communities? Have you used a PLC structure to support professional growth for educators in your state and if so, what model have you used and what is working well? In New Mexico, we struggle to meet the needs of our diverse educators from our largest district, Albuquerque with ~70,000 students down to 20 microdistricts with fewer than 200 students each, representing a total of 2,360 students.

TAKEAWAYS:
As we talk with our peers in other states, we realize this is not an uncommon problem. With open communication and collaboration, we can learn from each other to build better systems to support our own educators, and yours. We will see you at the table.

SPEAKERS:
Allison Heneghan, Heather Summers

How do we improve science instruction without asking teachers to take on one more initiative? School District U-46 is building a coherent K–12 science system that strengthens teacher capacity while reducing fragmentation. Serving more than 35,000 students, the district aligned curriculum, assessment, professional learning, coaching, and teacher leadership into a shared system designed to support educators. Participants will examine teacher leadership teams, coaching structures, PLCs, common assessments, and collaborative planning processes that build collective responsibility for improvement. These structures support 3D science teaching, student sensemaking, and equitable access to science learning while reducing instructional overload. Attendees will explore how these systems were implemented across K–8 and are now being extended into grades 9–12. Participants will leave with practical tools and strategies to strengthen educator support systems and sustain high-quality instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Lasting science improvement occurs when schools invest in systems that build teacher capacity, shared leadership, and professional trust, making high-quality instruction easier to deliver rather than adding more to educators' plates.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah McMullen

Come learn about elements of a successful leadership development program that has produced 2 national and 15 state presidents plus dozens of board and committee members in science associations in North Carolina. This session will demonstrate how the program involves participants in learning experiences, guided by the NC state standards and the NGSS Framework, with the goal of producing leaders for the STEM pipeline. It will focus on how the program develops the critical skills needed for success in leadership roles at any level. Participants will engage in a sample learning experience; discuss the skills covered in the program and how they apply to leaders; and understand how the program supports state standards and the NRC Framework, which NC has adopted. The program actively seeks variety among its cohorts to help ensure diversity in future leadership for the STEM pipeline and draws applicants from all individuals interested in improving STEM education. Handouts will be provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain an understanding of the critical skills and format of a successful leadership development program through an overview, participation in a learning experience, discussion, and application of the program elements to the work of successful leaders.

SPEAKERS:
Pat Shane

Discover how one Title I school used a school garden to grow a culture of leadership, collaboration, and innovation. This session shares how a small hydroponic garden grew into a district-recognized model for STEM leadership and practice. What began as a classroom project now unites STEM, culinary arts, and health programs through hands-on, sustainable learning. Attendees will see how this initiative sparked teacher leadership, community partnerships, and cross-curricular innovation while improving student engagement and achievement. The session will highlight strategies for scaling impact, from writing grants and building partnerships to mentoring colleagues and creating programs that connect learning to real-world impact. Participants will receive resources for project planning, leadership reflection, and community outreach. Whether you are starting small or leading districtwide change, you’ll leave inspired and equipped to grow a sustainable, high-impact STEM culture at your school

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how garden-based STEM can serve as a platform for teacher leadership and student empowerment. Leave with tools to build partnerships, sustain growth, and lead meaningful, hands-on programs that transform teaching, learning, and community engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Rebeor