Discover how birds and participatory science connect kids to nature while providing exciting gateways to authentic science learning for all students. We’ll explore the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s participatory-science projects, share free resources, and go on an eBird walk. Bring your smart device!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participatory-science projects, like eBird, provide an authentic way to meet science standards while building a lifelong passion for science and nature. We’ll discuss strategies for engaging students typically underrepresented in STEM fields.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Schaeffer

Participants will get free teacher-tested support materials for two participatory (citizen) science projects, engage in the projects' monthly activities, and explore how to increase students’ outdoor learning experiences, authentic data collection, and sensemaking in third through sixth grades.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away ready to engage their students in 3D learning opportunities as students make sense of real-world data collected in their own schoolyard involving daily precipitation data and searching for native ladybugs.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Sachs, Danielle Scharen

Join us to consider how engaging in curriculum based professional learning (CBPL) can strengthen the shared vision of the instructional shifts called for by the NGSS. Hear how one district’s CBPL experience deepened teacher’s knowledge of three dimensional phenomena driven teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Curriculum based professional learning experiences can support teachers and leaders to deepen their understanding of the NGSS as they analyze instructional materials.

SPEAKERS:
Jenine Cotton-Proby, Guy Ollison, Nancy Hopkins-Evans

This workshop will provide a foundation for developing positive impressions about nature while building lifelong social and cognitive skills using an interdisciplinary approach correlated to the National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards and Head Start Domains.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn about various topics, activities, and experiences inside and outside the classroom that will engage children's sense of wonder about the natural world and invite them to explore and investigate the world around them.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Russell, Kathleen Mahoney