Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

See how Colorado schools are using phenomena to drive K–2 science instruction. We'll dive into a PhD Science® module to discover how phenomenon-driven instruction anchors student learning. Participants will hear from a piloting Colorado district and leave with access to the free K–2 OER materials.

SPEAKERS:
Madeline Cronk, Rebecca Rolater

What will be describe in this session is are community science events that can be organized with themes that use natural phenomena or NGSS standards, practices, and outcomes that a school would like to promote. We will also share how we form these partnerships with local schools and museums.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to update these events to go beyond the traditional Family Science Events that are superficial. One main takeaway are example indepth activities and resources that can be used with families and students at local schools and museums. We share information about resources.

SPEAKERS:
Morgan Glann, Eli Vincent, Lauren Rupe, Jim McDonald, Emma Patrus

This session is a panel discussion about an innovative partnership. Panelists include teachers and district staff from the innovation zone within a highly diverse urban school district, and preservice teachers and faculty from a teacher preparation scholarship program at an urban commuter university.

TAKEAWAYS:
This interactive session will serve as an exchange about ideas for both preservice and inservice professional learning that is focused on closing STEM opportunity gaps. Session attendees will have ample time to interact with panelists.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Perez, Mahexabel Garcia Nunez, Janelle Johnson

Connecting Classrooms and Colleges showcases how to cultivate successful partnerships between the K-12 setting and higher education to improve science education for all level learners, from kindergarten to graduate school and beyond.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how educators can find opportunities to cultivate partnerships with colleges that benefit all that seek to learn and improve science education. A decade-long partnership between the University of Georgia Genetics Department and a middle school teacher will be featured.

SPEAKERS:
Audrey Hughes

Through scientific ocean drilling, we have made countless discoveries about Earth’s history, climate change, and the origin of life, but we often forget the people who make it all possible. TALES FROM THE DEEP partners with StoryCorps to humanize complex science through the stories of those at sea.

TAKEAWAYS:
Free multimedia classroom resources, including audio narratives from the people involved in scientific ocean drilling and associated activities and worksheets, allow students to interact with the people who participate in complex science and engage in sensemaking about geoscience concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Maya Pincus

Members of NSTA’s Urban Advisory Panel share ideas about leveraging community partnerships to obtain resources, curriculum, and learning activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Simple, easy, and inexpensive methods for urban teachers to create an NGSS-aligned science curriculum or lesson, even in a district without extra resources or outdoor space. We can help you partner with local museums, universities, historical societies, and other community sources.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Jackson, Latanya Brandon, Adrine Williams, Brad Rhew, Rebecca Kurson, Selene Verhofstad

How can we combine soft skills with science? Learn how to incorporate 21st century career and post-secondary options into your science content lessons!

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover more ways to expose your students to the REAL WORLD relevance of science after graduation.

SPEAKERS:
Aliyah Johnson

This project shows how informal science spaces provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to build their knowledge in STEM disciplines, develop their STEM teaching skills, and take on leadership roles. A set of best practices will be shared with specific examples and lessons learned.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the affordances of partnerships between university programs and informal science spaces through a model of engagement consisting of: distributed expertise, agency, learning and growth, transformational leadership, community engagement, creating change-makers, and longevity.

SPEAKERS:
Carmen Vanderhoof

This session presents a replicable model used by a university professor, school system leaders, and industry leaders to blur the lines of STEM learning into informal spaces enabling students from marginalized populations to see themselves (STEM identity) as future STEM participants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using a replicable and intentional model of collaboration can positively impact STEM identities of educators and youth, while also creating a K-12 pipeline into the STEM industry.

SPEAKERS:
Taylor Lamon, Melisa Fowler

Explore Science Near Me, a free STEM database connecting you to citizen science, museum, festival, afterschool, and maker programs to bring back to your classroom! Those with their own events to share can discover new resources, partners, and connect with the public for additional promotion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through engagement in a hands-on citizen science project featured on Science Near Me, attendees will contribute to real scientific research while also discovering relevant STEM content, experts, field trips, and potential partnership opportunities to enrich their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Brenda Britsch, Karen Peterson

Embark on a journey of empowering students through invention and intellectual property with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Our poster presentation invites you to explore the vast landscape of educational resources, dynamic professional development, and EquIP HQ.

TAKEAWAYS:
Elevate your expertise in how invention education engages students in real-world problem-solving and is a transdisciplinary approach to learning, meeting NGSS crosscutting concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Lanman, Kathy Hoppe

In partnership with PD providers and scientists, we developed a "Data Literacy Using LTER Data" workshop series in which 9 teachers participated prior to a multi-week field research experience. A post-workshop survey showed 92% of teachers expected to integrate knowledge and practices they learned.

TAKEAWAYS:
Building partnerships to develop data literacy and research skills can influence teachers' abilities to use authentic data in their teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Morrison

Getting up to speed on the new standards and related NGSS is a challenge. The solution we have been implementing is to see how different professionals with different skill sets see information from a variety of lenses. This approach produced fun activities, while developing social emotional skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster will give attendees the tools to create a dynamic team to execute a sustainable project. It will specify ways individuals can use data to assess the community’s needs and to plan meaningful activities that are engaging and fun. It will highlight how we can pay attention to new standards.

SPEAKERS:
Vicky Condello, Michelle Memoli, Aimee Ferguson

Learn how to become a member of a collaborative effort between NMLSTA and NSTA to support early-career, middle-level science teachers with access to resources and networking opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Early-career, middle-level science teachers will become aware of opportunities to connect in a nationwide professional learning community supported by resources and networking.

SPEAKERS:
Loris Chen

Learn about the National Middle Level Science Teachers Association and what we offer to our members.

TAKEAWAYS:
NMLSTA is the only national organization dedicated to the support of middle-level educators—grades five through nine.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Schoeffler, Mary Lou Lipscomb

The New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Dona Ana Community College (DACC) Noyce team collaborated to develop science and math bachelors degree programs that embed a minor in secondary education, along with an associates in STEM Education, to recruit STEM teachers for the teaching field.

TAKEAWAYS:
The team utilized the Noyce Capacity Building grant to prepare for a full proposal for the Noyce Track 1 Scholarship Program. Challenges and solutions will be presented to aid others in considering a Noyce proposal.

SPEAKERS:
Tracey Gorham Blanco

New teachers struggle with classroom management, a work-life balance, and a lack of support. In contrast, teachers benefited from professional and emotional support, improved their communication skills through teaching, and felt a sense of purpose in their teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
New teachers benefit from their own parental support and/or mentor support.

SPEAKERS:
Donald Selway

NASA’s Astrophysics UoL network of partnerships provide STEM educators programs ranging from exoplanet searches to image analysis of supernovas and galaxies, to implement programs specific to individual audiences, and provides a wide variety of supporting webinars, tutorials, activities, and investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA’s UoL team connects the public and learners to data, discoveries, and experts from NASA’s Astrophysics missions. The team of scientists, engineers, and educators have direct connections to these missions, and provide a range of projects and interactive activities for any educational setting.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young