We will introduce our NSTA book containing a collection of units and resources to help teachers engage students in three-dimensional learning through model-based inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about four chemistry model-based inquiry units for rigorous and equitable instruction. Developed with secondary science teachers, the session guides three-dimensional learning, anchoring phenomena, modeling, and scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Audrey Baird, Ron Gray

Nonfiction films featuring diverse scientists telling their own stories can do more than promote conceptual understanding. We will screen two short films, Decoding Ancestral Knowledge and CRISPR Apostle, and show preliminary results of their impact on science identity and nature of science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn about the films from the study, how to access them, and the results that suggest they not only support student learning; they can also broaden perspectives on who does science and how science is done.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Behrman

This presentation shows how the UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition employs modular K-12 outreach to engage students from 2nd grade to high school along a few like-activities. Participants take part in our most successful activity, build-a-boat, in both the middle and high school configurations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for engaging students across grade levels to cultivate STEM curiosity while conserving resources through building scalable, modular lesson plans which serve a wide swath of ages with minimal design changes.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Logue

We will share a process for developing middle school science curricula using Two-Eyed Seeing and place-based learning to increase the engagement of Indigenous students. We will sample lessons developed with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, walk through development process, and provide lesson links.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about an approach to developing a culturally relevant STEM curriculum using Two-Eyed Seeing and place-based learning and sample lessons that respectfully include Indigenous knowledges.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Just, KIRTIKA PANWAR, Sarah McDowell

This presentation provides a window into students’ thinking and reasoning as they propose, develop, and test engineering design solutions in small groups. We focus on how students use STEM content knowledge and the design context to make engineering decisions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the different ways students engage in the process of engineering in small groups and how to better support student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Muhammad Purwanto, Gillian Roehrig

A showcase of dynamic spreadsheet chemistry lessons that provide instantaneous, differentiated feedback to students as they learn or practice new content independently or in small groups. This method amplifies confidence for students of all abilities and frees teachers to assist those most in need.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn the power of digital spreadsheet chemistry lessons and learn how to create or edit their own lessons. If they wish, they can sign up to receive already created chemistry lessons for free to trial with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Sean Regan

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 the newly published Wild Wonderings to learn how these books (and the stories of the scientists in them) can illuminate the nature of science.

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

Learn about research-to-practice applications of an arts-based data visualization project designed to enhance students’ ability to creatively represent contextual data.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will view examples of teacher and student products of arts-based data representation projects and consider applications of the research to their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rearden

Explore how our instructional modules address the Plant Awareness Disparity by empowering high school students to connect with their botanical heritage. Our hands-on approach fosters equitable access to STEM learning through place-based exploration of personal, cultural, and community assets.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how our modules promote equity in science education by engaging students in hands-on botanical exploration, fostering deep connections with nature, and aligning with contemporary research and educational standards.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Moore

Potato aquaponics is a method of growing potatoes in a symbiotic system that combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil). Aquaponics reduces the need for various chemical fertilizers and helps to conserve water, making it a promising for urban farming.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn what is needed to be able to successfully grow potatoes in an aquaponics system. They will also, learn about the sustainability and resource efficiency that comes with this type of farming. The information provided will help with optimal growth for the plant.

SPEAKERS:
Emery Breitbarth

Challenges exist in implementing the NGSS and structuring equitable collaboration opportunities in the classroom. Join us to learn from a research study on a NGSS-aligned curriculum development and professional learning project that integrated the use of discipline-specific instructional routines.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will learn key take-aways from a research study on how the use of instructional routines supported NGSS implementation and student sense-making in a high-school level Biology course.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Chatham

Developed by experts in environmental health and K-12 STEM education, this unit for grades 3-5 teaches students how to understand and improve indoor air quality. Students read stories and engage in hands-on activities to explore indoor environments and take action to create healthier spaces.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to engage grades 3-5 students in investigating indoor air quality through storytelling and challenge-based activities. This modular unit empowers students to become active problem-solvers and builds their action competence in creating healthier indoor spaces.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Link, PhD

Participants will be provided with engineering lessons for two 8th grade physical science topics: electromagnetism plus force and motion. The focus is on how the lessons were implemented, student work was assessed, and discussions to improve instruction and student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see video evidence of teacher-student interactions in real time as the engineering lesson was implemented. Additionally, participants will see samples of student work and the feedback teacher candidates provided.

SPEAKERS:
Imelda Razo, Makenzie Wall, Romola Bernard

We will introduce our NSTA book containing a collection of units and resources to help teachers engage students in three-dimensional learning through model-based inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about four biology model-based inquiry units for rigorous and equitable instruction. Developed with secondary science teachers, the session guides three-dimensional learning, anchoring phenomena, modeling, and scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Audrey Baird, Ron Gray

No time for science? Tap into children’s curiosity and wonder to bring joyful, student-led STEM experiences into your classroom. Engage in teacher-play as you design and engineer kinetic balance sculptures and imagine how you can make STEM learning happen daily in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
PreK-2 educators will be provided a framework for integrative STEM learning that fits into their scheduled day, and learn how it easily integrates with existing curriculum. By designing and engineering a kinetic balance sculpture, participants will view STEM from the perspective of PreK-2 children .

SPEAKERS:
Beth Dykstra VanMeeteren

Building a strong foundation in working with data is key to students’ long term science interest and success. However, it can be hard to find ways to best help students make sense of data. We will share a research-backed developmental sequence and grade-leveled rubrics for student data literacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a developmental sequence for developing data literacy for students across grades K-12, with particular focus on how to use it for instructional and assessment development for late elementary school.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Jabot, Kristin Hunter-Thomson

In science, differentiation supports inquiry-based instruction and learning. When the teacher takes students' needs into account, investigations and explorations become more engaging and authentic for students as they explore the natural and designed worlds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with strategies for differentiating instruction by aptitude, outcome, feedback, and resources, including things they can do before, during, and after instruction to meet the needs of each student where they are.

SPEAKERS:
Hilary Kahn, Kelly Gooden

Learn to use some of the standards-based physical activities and "kinesthetic clue" mnemonic devices used at one of New Jersey's top-performing middle schools. See how when you get kids moving, it gets them learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tired of having your students waste time and energy trying to memorize things? Have them “Get Moving!” Kinesthetic activities help make the shift from memorizing to mastery.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Ciuffreda

Participants will conduct a series of hands-on activities on the properties of soil and how they relate to ecosystem health and sustainability. Teachers will also learn about additional professional development opportunities where they can participate in fieldwork with soil scientists in their area.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the session with concrete strategies and resources for teaching soil science concepts as they relate to a number of middle school standards. The activities foster inquiry-based learning and are intended to spark curiosity about the Earth beneath our feet.

SPEAKERS:
Sequoyah McGee, Lauren Brase, Ed Robeck, Lindsay Mossa, Maliya Malik

How do we know which students of our students are figuring things out that they care about? Which students are contributing to knowledge-building in small groups? Join us to learn about a simple approach to using data from exit tickets with research-based strategies to promote more equitable participation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Making formative use of exit ticket data on student experience can help all students experience instruction as more relevant and coherent from the student perspective. The key to improvement is testing research-based strategies for promoting more equitable participation in class.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Campanella, William Penuel

The EarthX team has developed a 5+1 model to integrate earth science in biology, chemistry, and physics curricula. Attention to three-dimensional teaching, phenomena driven units, student-centered learning, and responsive teaching for all students are paramount to this model.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the 5+1 model for Earth science integrated instruction, participants will analyze units and lessons in biology, chemistry, and physics for the presence of key components designed to differentiate instruction for all students with a focus on diverse learners.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Hood, Kevin Garner, Alan Berkowitz, Cassidy Johnson, Edmund Mitzel, Jr., Ph.D., Kyle Gregory, Nina Groseclose

Developed by experts in environmental health and K-12 STEM education, this FREE and turn-key, research-based unit empowers middle school teachers to bring climate science into their classrooms through engaging, hands-on activities and real-world problem-solving challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to use a research-backed climate science unit in their classrooms. They’ll discover practical strategies for engaging students through experiments, case studies, and design challenges, making climate science accessible, interesting, and relevant to middle school learners.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Link, PhD

In today’s diverse classrooms, student engagement and a sense of belonging are essential to academic success. This session explores the value and implementation of high-quality instructional practices that foster both active engagement and a deeper sense of belonging among students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with actionable strategies in collaborative learning, tech integration, and culturally responsive instruction which they can implement immediately to enhance student motivation, class cohesion, and overall academic achievement.

SPEAKERS:
Tanya MacMartin, Ed.D.

This hands-on session is designed to engage elementary science teachers in a model lesson on building and testing ziplines using an engineering design process as advocated by the Next Generation Science Standards. We will also explore the physics, and energy and forces involved in a zipline.

TAKEAWAYS:
The experience within the session will help teachers develop a shared understanding of NGSS in action, 5E model, and engineering design process. Participants will work collaboratively to experience designing and testing ziplines for them to engage their future students in engineering design.

SPEAKERS:
Derek Cox

Cognitive science has identified flexible and often counterintuitive cognitive strategies that boost learning across diverse groups of students . Teachers will learn how to implement these techniques within their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to apply multiple practical, flexible, and research-based cognitive strategies, including retrieving information from memory, distributing practice across time, scaffolding, and mixing together different examples, within their own classrooms to improve student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Tullis

Participants will analyze “example data” of different schools and physics classes, and discuss students' pathways to physics and implicit structural barriers. Come to learn about identifying hidden obstacles to students' success and upcoming professional learning opportunities with STEP UP program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Many factors influence which students take which classes in your school. Reflecting on those influences, examining the make-up of your physics classes, and considering how they may change to better reflect your school at large are the first steps towards improving access to physics for all.

SPEAKERS:
Pooneh Sabouri

We will share how we have helped our students see themselves as engineers. Using picture books that lend themselves to engineering tasks, students build to solve a problem. Then record what they built through drawing and writing. Participants will get to experience this and plan for their classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with plans on how to integrate reading, writing, and science into their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sheri Geitner, Jennifer Mouland

Participants will learn data analysis/collecting techniques to help students young and old learn the relationships between types of data and effective analysis of those types.

TAKEAWAYS:
Concrete hands on examples linking types of data being collected with types of graphical representations to use. These were developed in response to research which demonstrated that students do not have a conceptual foundation to make decisions about which type of graph to use.

SPEAKERS:
Susan German, Michael Bowen

Learn how to use three-dimensional, phenomena-based instruction to expand access to educational experiences that reflect the real world and help students of all backgrounds discover the tools to be scientific thinkers and citizens. Hone your lens for science instruction that changes lives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify how their current science instructional practices meet the demands of the NGSS standards and leave with concrete next steps for strengthening use of phenomena-based practices. Leaders will learn to approach science support with a systemic lens and common teacher actions.

SPEAKERS:
Solona Hollis, Amanda Drenth

This session introduces a storybook-like scaffold that helps elementary students purposefully evaluate connections between lines of evidence and alternative explanations of phenomena to construct a deeper understanding of the topic.

TAKEAWAYS:
The scaffold encourages students to engage in science practices, literacy, and argumentation strategies to communicate basic content knowledge on climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Chantelle Renaud-Grant, Lorraine Ramirez Villarin

This workshop will explore the impact of the NGSS, 13 years after their inception. It will provide an opportunity to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and how they can be improved to meet the needs of all future citizens and not privilege just those who will pursue scientific careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science standards must evolve to meet the needs of young people in a changed society. Current standards overemphasize college and professional career preparedness and do not do enough to address the needs of the majority as citizens and consumers. There are simple things that teachers can do now.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Osborne, Daniel Pimentel, DOUGLAS ALLCHIN, Andrew Zucker

Modeling Instruction has transformed science classrooms, making research-backed practices such as student generation of concepts, multiple representations, and teamwork an integral part of the learning process. Experience a “modeling cycle”: lab investigation, development of a model, and deployment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to describe Modeling Instruction and will know where to go for support in implementing this practice in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Gary Pritts, Amanda Horan

Benefits of Flipped Classroom models to foster Student-Centered Learning in Middle and Upper School Life Sciences courses. Learn about tools, strategies, implementations, and resources to use when creating a course using Flipped Classroom models. Use literacy content and skills as enrichments tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to use a Flipped Classroom model and Literacy tools to foster a more robust Student-Centered learning experience. Attendees will also be able to brainstorm the design of a lesson using flipped classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Fernando Azcona

Do you want to make authentic connections between the science you are teaching and the real-world? This session will focus on helping teachers successfully incorporate service learning into their science teaching by framing instruction around empowering students through civic engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will support teachers to design and implement a successful service project in their science class. Participants will learn about an instructional design framework called evidence-based service, brainstorm curricular entry points, and create a community asset map to identify partners.

SPEAKERS:
Lu Snyder, Diane Fanega, Cole Shamis

Inquiry based lessons aligned with NGSS will be reviewed with a particular emphasis on low cost activities involving rocketry. Supported through a USAF grant experimentation, 5E model and Project Based Learning activities focused around topics launch, descent and reconnaissance are covered.

TAKEAWAYS:
That many rocketry based science concepts (e.g., Laws of Motion) can be taught on a "shoe string" budget.

SPEAKERS:
William Sumrall

Come learn about “language-expansive noticing” - a practice that enables teachers to recognize multilingual students’ brilliant ideas in addition to the various ways these students might draw from linguistic and multimodal resources to develop and communicate their scientific sensemaking!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will understand why developing their practice of language-expansive noticing is critical for ensuring equitable science learning experiences for multilingual students. They will leave with strategies and resources to help them continue to develop and use this practice in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Sage Andersen, María González-Howard

With NE, classroom texts are the context for engineering design problems with characters acting as clients and finding characters’ problems, identifying design constraints and criteria through close reading of the text, and then designing and building physical solutions to selected problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
The session will include an introduction, examples of K-8 student work, how to put students’ ideas are at the forefront as they work on ELA and engineering, and several short Novel Engineering introductory activities in which audience members can participate to give them first-hand experience.

SPEAKERS:
Elissa Milto

Learn how the NGSS integrates physics and ESS through an introduction to four innovative lessons about heliophysics. All activities are based in research on a survey of physics and ESS teacher needs and interests and have been tested in high school and introductory college classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take back lessons to (1) teach about motion graphs with images of coronal mass ejections, (2) relate sunspot cycles to period and frequency, (3) model spectra from the Sun and other stars, and (4) visualize magnetic fields and their relationship to the Sun and planets.

SPEAKERS:
HAVA TURKAKIN, Francesca Viale

Elementary teachers will learn about the role of plausibility in science and a new scaffold for their students' evaluation of the relationship between scientific evidence and explanatory models. This lesson about fossils includes a narrative nonfiction story and an interactive worksheet.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will takeaway that plausibility is a key cognitive construct in science and that elementary students are capable of evaluating these complex relationships.

SPEAKERS:
Timothy Klavon

Come see how you can make a shift to storylines in your classroom where students make sense of phenomena and see how this motivates them to engage in science and engineering practices and learn disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will appreciate how having students make sense of phenomena leads to greater engagement and better understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard

We will explore equitable ways to engage multilingual learners (MLLs) in science and engineering practices. Participants do hands-on activities followed by reflective, pedagogical discussions to amplify their instructional resources for MLLs as they engage in collaborative, scientific sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants leave with explicit instructional strategies for leveraging multilingual learners’ (MLLs) linguistic and cultural assets. These strategies allow more equitable and accessible opportunities for MLLs to engage in collaborative, scientific sensemaking with their peers.

SPEAKERS:
Nico Janik, Karen Lionberger

Do you like seeing the microscopic world? Immerse your senses in food webs by designing them in a collaborative competition using Merge Cubes, an augmented reality (AR) tool. This session highlights how AR usage improves outcomes for underrepresented minority students in elementary settings.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore a STEM PBL hands-on augmented reality food web and identify how the real-world student experience of an augmented reality activity can be used to improve outcomes for underrepresented minority students.

SPEAKERS:
Jarrod Collins

This session describes how Hawaiian knowledge and practices were integrated with NGSS project-based curriculum. Central to the project-based curriculum are contemporary ecological and watershed challenges. Session participants will explore resources and strategies to support sustainable communities,

TAKEAWAYS:
Session participants will takeaway strategies for integrating indigenous practices into science classrooms. Session leads will provide a toolkit of practical strategies and resources that can be used to implement sustainable initiatives in their own communities.

SPEAKERS:
Shawna Nishimoto, Katrina Roseler, Lupita Ruiz-Jones, Christina Chan

Explore an extreme heat based phenomenon with the Understanding Global Change (UGC) framework’s modeling practices. Learn UGC practices and tools to help incorporate an Earth systems perspective into your curriculum and adapt existing resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience the nature and processes of science by constructing explanations about a global change phenomenon with the Understanding Global Change framework and explanatory modeling practices.

SPEAKERS:
Alec Barron

Connect your current science lessons to cutting-edge engineering research and inspire students to pursue careers in STEM. Receive access to K-2 NGSS-aligned resources that immerse students in meaningful hands-on engineering tasks with real-world applications.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to enhance student engagement and promote STEM college and career pathways by connecting classroom learning to current engineering research at URI and UCONN. Leave with access to video and instructional resources aligned to NGSS and connected to the research.

SPEAKERS:
Valerie Maier-Speredelozzi, John Koziatek, Charlene Tuttle, Kelly Houle

Come unpack practical strategies for creating vibrant K12 STEM classrooms that foster student engagement and promote academic risk-taking. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to elevate their teaching pedagogy, inspire creativity, and cultivate a student-centered learning environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about seven essential pedagogical skills of "rockstar" STEM teachers - what they are, why they are so important, and how to learn to do them well. Attendees will receive immediately actionable resources to employ in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Girtain, Carolyn Kielma, Anthony Grisillo, Kristen Record

This session explores how science educators and library specialists can collaborate to embed disciplinary literacy into science classrooms, thus providing opportunities for students to increase and engage with literacy skills as classroom scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, we will provide a definition of disciplinary literacy, explore sample lesson plans with resources offered by library specialists, obtain disciplinary literacy strategies, and emphasize the importance of disciplinary literacy in building literacy skills and closing the equity gap.

SPEAKERS:
Caroline Sanders, Kiana Eaddy

Do you have an innovative idea for improving Science, technology, engineering and math learning in your classroom? Is your idea project based learning with measurable outcomes? What do you need to make learning STEM fun for your students? Engage with teachers who received funding!

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn tangible tips on how to complete their grant application online before the October 1 annual deadline.

SPEAKERS:
Megan Stotz, Ariel Coff, John Anderson, Miz Fischer, Eddie Temistokle

PhET simulations are evidence-based open education resources shown to improve student learning. Engage with PhET’s 170+ simulations, find and evaluate lesson plans against an equity-centered rubric, and curate a collection of your best finds using our newly-redesigned Activities database.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to (1) navigate the newly redesigned PhET Activities database with the capacity to save their favorite lesson plans, (2) evaluate lesson plans for quality and equity, and (3) become a contributor and reviewer for activities.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Blackman

Modeling workshops are structured inquiry approaches to physics teaching that incorporate computers and insights from content and physics education research. Modeling workshop attendees develop skills in scientific discourse, Socratic questioning, and in assessment of student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this session will be introduced to Modeling Instruction via a hands-on activity that is engaging and is representative of a typical modeling paradigm lab.

SPEAKERS:
Lee Burwasser, Jon Anderson

A critical component of any science lesson is the opportunity for students to make sense of their experiences. After a brief hands on lesson, engage in sensemaking yourself and leave with clear strategies to use in your classroom on Monday. Sensemaking norms posters link is included!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn strategies for providing sensemaking discussions through discourse in the elementary science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Lausten

Discover how simple adjustments in activity order can supercharge your students' knowledge construction and seamlessly integrate the NGSS into your teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
Whether you're a novice or a seasoned pro, Instructional Sequence Matters will empower you with both the rationale and tangible, real-world examples to revamp your hands-on teaching methods.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown

Conversations on climate change and sustainability can be challenging. Join state and national leaders on climate change and sustainability education as they share newly published findings and help you plan for navigating these difficult conversations in your own community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with tools and resources to engage productively in conversations and generate strategic communications for their own context. They will rehearse facilitating a difficult conversation with a specific interest-holder from their community and leave practiced and confident.

SPEAKERS:
Lori Henrickson, Shannon Wachowski, Carol ODonnell

Participants will be introduced to dialogic collaborative action research (D-CAR) and explore its methodological underpinnings. They will also engage in DCAR as we discuss “wicked problems” such as recognizing students’ identity and voice, and scientific ones such as climate change.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain an understanding of the nature of action research and what D-CAR is. They will also learn how to engage in D-CAR, and how to convene and facilitate science teacher groups. Participants will learn about wicked problems and how they can be mitigated through D-CAR.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Nation, Katie Laux, Allan Feldman

This session will provide practical tips and templates of how teachers can promote family engagement in the science classroom through student-family interviews on relevant course topics and family project-sharing sessions. Examples are for 9th grade Biology but easily modified for other sciences!

TAKEAWAYS:
Engaging families, even at the secondary science level, is important, possible, and can be simple for both teachers and students with student-family interviewing and family project-sharing strategies incorporated into the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Silvers

Learn how to develop family-friendly STEM events that foster curiosity, collaboration, and lifelong learning. This session will provide practical insights, real-world examples, and actionable tips, tools, and strategies to help you make your family-friendly STEM events successful!

TAKEAWAYS:
Session attendees will come away with a list of must-haves for family STEM engagement. They will participate in STEM activities from past STEM events hosted at the Oakley STEM Center at TN Tech University.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Edwards, Jennifer Meadows, Kelly Moore, Leslie Suters

Explore how zebrafish (Danio rerio), a common pet store fish and key biomedical research model, can spark students’ curiosity in science. Join 32 educators using zebrafish aquariums and their transparent embryos for hands-on experiments, providing diverse learning experiences for ALL students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning how zebrafish and low-budget pet store supplies can be used to engage diverse learners including English learners in multimodal (visual, kinesthetic) real-life science learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Pam Kirkland, Vinita Hajeri

This session discusses utilizing the institution’s LMS to improve students' success in a non-major biology class at a community college. It emphasizes the crucial role of the faculty member in providing a method for the students to assess their personal level of learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the learning management system can improve the entire student learning experience in any course. Each system has a diverse spectrum of tools to help the faculty members and the student population. The question was which tool(s) should be used and how they were applied.

SPEAKERS:
Lance Morris

Learn how DoD scientists & engineers in Philadelphia work with educators and students to translate complex emerging technologies and concepts into classroom projects that make STEM relevant and enticing to all students. You will also learn how to access the vast portfolio of DoD STEM resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
The DoD serves as one of the world's largest incubators of STEM innovation. Learn how to access its vast portfolio of resources and tools, such as lesson plans, classroom projects, internships, scholarships, and fellowships for students and educators.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Stolzer, Tristan Wolfe

Are you looking for ways to make your Introductory/General Education College Science Classes more engaging for students? Join your colleagues as they share how they have put research into practice in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Put research into practice as you experience these engaging, relevant, and real approaches to teaching non-majors.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Haines, Victor Pereira

STEELS notebooking is an approach that allows students to make sense of their learning while developing their scientific thinking and understanding. The method places emphasis on inquiry-based learning, three-dimensional learning, and student engagement in scientific practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about the science and benefits behind notebooking. They will be provided with examples and teaching on setting clear expectations, the structure of notebooking, collaborative uses, formative assessment, reaching diverse learners, and strategies on how to get started.

SPEAKERS:
Natalie Hafer, Karen O'Neill

Brite is an online, interdisciplinary STEM program for girls ages 13-16, centered on collaborative learning and engagement with diverse women STEM role models. Participants will learn strategies and gain access to resources for fostering girls’ STEM identity and building community online.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for fostering girls’ STEM identity and building community online, including curricular resources for developing and facilitating collaborative and independent activities, and guidance on designing and implementing role model experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Abi Olukeye, Kata Lucas

This presentation shares my research on using computer simulations to model concepts in a middle school chemistry unit. Models offer a framework for understanding chemical processes, tested and refined in virtual simulations, helping students engage in iterative learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
A key takeaway from this presentation is that computer simulations, combined with models, enhance middle school students' understanding of chemistry

SPEAKERS:
Jerry Coronado, Cecilia Duenas

The STEM Cultural Online Night project explored how integrating culturally responsive instruction improves STEM affinity and cultural competence among American and Korean teacher candidates through six weeks of international online collaboration, enhancing cultural awareness into STEM education.

TAKEAWAYS:
The session will highlight the benefits of cross-cultural collaboration in developing effective, culturally-aware teaching strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Jiyoon Yoon

A showcase of dynamic spreadsheet chemistry lessons that provide instantaneous, differentiated feedback to students as they learn or practice new content independently or in small groups. This method amplifies confidence for students of all abilities and frees teachers to assist those most in need.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn the power of using free digital spreadsheets in making presentations for new content. The use of this tool makes practicing content and skills helpful, engaging, and memorable. Educators will be able to envision how to use this tool in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sean Regan

Explore the link between targeted vocabulary instruction and improved comprehension in STEM. Through practical examples, attendees will learn one strategy and examine a tool to enhance scientific literacy while maintaining content rigor and concept retention for all learners in their classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how explicit vocabulary instruction enhances comprehension and concept retention in science.

SPEAKERS:
Shana Pyatt-Buckner

Case studies are a great learning tool for postsecondary general education students who may struggle to engage with and understand complex scientific topics. In this presentation, the use of specific case studies in a general education Biology class and the benefits of their use will be discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain a greater understanding of the benefits of case studies in the science classroom. Case study resources and teaching methods, as well as specific examples of case studies related to classroom topics, will also be discussed.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Pritchard

Find out how to modify your current instruction to better communicate the dynamic process of science using an interactive tool from the Understanding Science website. Help students recognize science as a dynamic, exciting, creative, and intensely human endeavor!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the Science Flowchart interactive journaling tool, which allows students to make visible the dynamic process of science and helps them recognize the NGSS SEPs in their own inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Betsy Barent

Elevating students’ academic and social status is directly related to student learning outcomes according to researchers. Shifting status also builds more inclusive learning spaces. This session provides practical teacher moves to shift the status of students in their science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will consider the role of status in their current classroom, how status impacts group work and learning, and how to elevate the status of students. Attendees will gain inclusive, high leverage practices to raise status that can be used immediately with students during group tasks.

SPEAKERS:
Takumi Sato, PhD

Enhance the experience of STEM by fostering hands on experimentation using project-based learning and real-world examples. Join our conversation where we will be generating themes and context to support bilingual instruction and culturally responsive practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to enhance the nuances of STEM PBL within the classroom and discover the challenges of this approach (i.e. ill-defined tasks, cultural integration, contexts and state standards) and design components.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Kipp, Nipah Onkananuwonk

Research in science education shows students assert epistemic agency when teachers cede authority over knowledge, create space for alternate claims, and take up students’ ideas as classroom resources. Drawing on literature, we present a framework for supporting elementary students’ epistemic agency.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers can make space for students to assert their epistemic agency in the science classroom. Doing so can result in positive learning outcomes such as productive dialogue, active student participation, and meaningful learning experiences for students.

SPEAKERS:
Greta Etherton, Daniel Levin

Research shows that students benefit from doodling and sketching in the classroom. Discover how doodle/sketch notes were implemented in regular, inclusion, and special education settings to teach students the importance and value of note-taking practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, we will share the results of an action research project focused on implementing doodle/sketch notes in the Chemistry classroom. Strategies will be shared for modifications and accommodations, as well as how to transition to more independent note taking practices.

SPEAKERS:
Adiba Mirza, Shefali Mehta

Aquaponics (aquaculture + hydroponics) can be an amazing tool to use in the classroom with students. Using aquaponics in the classroom allows students to learn in a more hands-on way and physically see how the life cycle works along with how certain things are essential for life to exist.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how they can create their own aquaponics tank in their classroom for only a small amount of money and how much of an impact it can have on their student's learning. They will also learn how to take care of an aquaponics tank and how their students can assist with caring for it

SPEAKERS:
Emery Breitbarth, Kylie Buchholz

In this session, science educators share steps taken and lessons learned in becoming PhD students and educational researchers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn the steps they can take and some of the potential pathways ahead in starting a PhD journey.

SPEAKERS:
Olivia Bello, Jesse Mechanick

Discover the 4C's framework—Contextualization, Collaboration, Content Focus, and Continuous Improvement—to design impactful PD initiatives. Engage with strategies that enhance educator participation and learn techniques that aid in measuring the effectiveness of your PD session.

TAKEAWAYS:
This poster session will provide strategies for creating measurable outcomes, fostering collaboration, and ensuring professional development leads to meaningful improvements in STEM teaching practices.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Bowen, Ashish Gilbert Bowen

Create real-world classroom connections to research done by YOU the educator. The poster will share how to find RETs (Research Experiences for Teachers), how to differentiate between RETs and COPs, how to participate and how to create lessons, lesson plans and unit plans based on current research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to create engaging classroom connections based-upon RETs (Research Experiences for Teachers).

SPEAKERS:
Eika Johnson

In order to better understand how well existing environmental science education pedagogies and approaches prepare young children to handle the complexity of climate change, this session puts forward critical methods and approaches to teaching environmental science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Environmental education should be grounded in environmental literacy, using multiple perspectives beyond human-centric to understand the interconnections between natural systems and human activities, leading to children developing a sense of ecological citizenship.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Oyewole

Studies have shown that students have not experienced equitable and uniform access to a high school Earth science course. This study explored ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and English language proficiency and their relationship to Earth science access and performance.

TAKEAWAYS:
Earth science performance was positively predicted by the prevalence of Earth science participation in the school. Earth science enrollment also acted as a partial mediator for ethnic minority student enrollment, school level poverty, and the percentage of English language learners.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Schlendorf

There is a critical shortage of professionals in the healthcare industry. This has increased efforts to attract people to the field at many levels, the most significant of which is the middle school years. This presentation focuses on engaging middle-level students in biomedical research.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session provides attendees with in-depth content and engaging pedagogy related to inquiry-based biomedical science. This is conveyed through exemplar classroom-ready, hands-on lessons that align with actual biomedical research and the Next Generation Science standards.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Scribner, Gayle Buck

Developed by experts in environmental health and K-12 STEM education, this FREE and turn-key, research-based unit empowers middle school teachers to bring climate science into their classrooms through engaging, hands-on activities and real-world problem-solving challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to use a research-backed climate science unit in their classrooms. They’ll discover practical strategies for engaging students through experiments, case studies, and design challenges, making climate science accessible, interesting, and relevant to middle school learners.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Link, PhD

Attendees will explore common misconceptions of AI among non-CS learners, discuss how the misconceptions act as barriers to understanding AI's ethical implications and trustworthiness, and offer insights to help students overcome them.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students' conceptions of A include overestimating its capabilities to autonomously solve complex problems, underestimating the rapid pace of AI advancement, and viewing AI as objective.

This session will discuss mathematization as a framework to teach the concept of energy and the use of Model Eliciting Activities (MEAs) to design related learning environments. Attendees will learn about the affordances of the MEAs to provide opportunities to mathematize scientific phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
MEAs allow students to engage in science practices to mathematize scientific phenomena and learn the concept of energy.

SPEAKERS:
Cynthia Lima

Misconceptions about the relationship between race and human health in our science and health institutions fuel, and are fueled by implicit bias. In this workshop, participants will learn to use our critical reading tool FELIX, a systematic approach to evaluating scientific communications for bias.

TAKEAWAYS:
In scientific training, scientific texts and communications are evaluated for technical correctness, novelty, and contribution. Training rarely includes materials on history and ethics of science, or train students to consider how science itself can be biased by the individuals who practice it.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Labadorf, Melisa Osborne Bioinformatics, TJ McKenna

In this session, we will share the transitioning of biology curriculum to field application using project-based learning activity in Introductory and Upper-level classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how project-based learning activity helped to address inequities that prevent timely progress through college and to connect to workforce and transfer opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Noyes, Beena Patel

Research findings from an NSF project that explored K - 8 students’ perceptions of women scientists using a Draw A Woman Scientist Test will be shared. Trends show that girls depict more progressive scientists than boys. Strategies to broaden conceptions of women scientists will be discussed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will discover the trends of K-8 students’ perceptions of women scientists and take away strategies to broaden both boys and girls inclusive views of women in science.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Goldstein, Kelly Houle, Allison Yacko, Sara Sweetman

A former national science fair judge provides insights on how good titles can improve the odds of winning at science fairs. The poster will describe what the parts of a "good" title are and how teachers can help your students create one.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn the components of a good project title (from a research project on science fairs) and how to help their students develop a good title for their own project.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Bowen

This poster illustrates how science teacher educators can prepare elementary teachers to adopt a more holistic, interdisciplinary approach to science instruction that emerges directly from student interests.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees who participate in this poster session will leave with two practical frameworks (W)holistic Science Pedagogy and Youth Participatory Science for planning their instruction. They will engage with examples of the frameworks in action to better understand how to implement them in their class.

SPEAKERS:
Terrance Burgess

Using three damaged natural bone human educational skeletons, this research developed practices for restoring, identifying, and dignifying these valuable educational resources. New curriculum developments focusing on skeleton centered activities have emerged due to their increased functionality.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding the ethical considerations with using donated natural bone human skeletons should lead to their proper care and restoration.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Sathoff, Emelye Josko

Nematode Hunters is a community science project with a remote-delivery format that brings 4th grade classrooms and university researchers together as collaborators on a project to discover new viruses that infect nematodes.

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal of Nematode Hunters is to increase interest in biology and STEM careers. In conjunction with the classroom program, a survey study is being conducted to determine if participation affects science efficacy for 4th grade participants.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Sowa

Play is an essential start of learning STEM in the earliest years from birth and is a cultural transmission as an apprenticeship. This poster explains the play sequence as a cycle and how the stages and skills employed can be recognized and progress monitored.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to identify Holistic STEM (and phonics), monitor progress in the earliest play and know the role of adults and language.

SPEAKERS:
Sue Dale Tunnicliffe

Findings highlight the role of hands-on projects, mentorship, and exposure to diverse role models, in enhancing girls' understanding of STEM and its gender equity implications.

TAKEAWAYS:
The research underscores the role of integrating PBL within informal learning to support UUREM girls' STEM education.

SPEAKERS:
Marc Sager

The alumni group of the NASA/IPAC Teacher Research Project have created standalone lessons to help teachers implement astronomical research. This poster will highlight the resources created for the middle school level and include tips to incorporate in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about incorporating standalone lessons into middle school classes and how to help facilitate astronomical research projects.

SPEAKERS:
Ace Schwarz

Confused about culture-informed pedagogies? Come look beyond the labels to hear how elementary teachers leverage knowledge of their students’ culture to support deep learning, help students feel seen, foster engagement, and create real-world relevance in their science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Poster visitors will get to examine classroom-based examples of culture-informed pedagogies in action and clarify the aims intended outcomes that characterize different approaches.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Hanuscin

Explore an interactive modeling tool that supports students in constructing an initial model to surface their thinking about real-world phenomena. We will then analyze student models to assess their early-stage model development practice to explain a specific phenomenon.

TAKEAWAYS:
Developing models to represent and explain phenomena is a complex skill for students to learn and teachers to facilitate. Over time, student models should become more sophisticated and better aligned with scientific explanations through a process of model revision.

SPEAKERS:
Alex St. Louis, Jaclyn Murray

Struggling to make the case in your community for why science time is important? A new research study shows that a phenomena-driven science curriculum paired with high-quality professional learning had positive effects on ALL students, not only in science but also in math and reading.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the characteristics to look for in HQIM and HQPL that can lead to improved student achievement in science, math, and reading.

SPEAKERS:
Amy D'Amico

Participants will explore evidence from a single case study to understand how noticing theory helps us understand why and how some teachers in high-quality PD align with and take up reform practices, while others struggle to align practice and beliefs with the demands of instructional reforms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will interact with video, artifacts, and strategies from a case study to help them learn why and how developing in-the-moment and reflective professional noticing skills can bring about nuanced instructional shifts.

SPEAKERS:
Linda Preminger

An introductory chemistry course was taught in virtual and hybrid formats, with the lab component being the only difference in course design. A weighted cohort was used to compare student exam and final grades between the two designs. No significant differences were seen.

TAKEAWAYS:
In a propensity score weighted cohort, balanced for sex and race, no statistical difference was observed in student outcomes in an introductory chemistry course between students who took virtual or hybrid courses.

SPEAKERS:
Alex Stephens

This presentation shares my research on using computer simulations to model concepts in a middle school chemistry unit. Models offer a framework for understanding chemical processes, tested and refined in virtual simulations, helping students engage in iterative learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
A key takeaway from this presentation is that computer simulations, combined with models, enhance middle school students' understanding of chemistry

SPEAKERS:
Jerry Coronado, Cecilia Duenas

Explore the link between targeted vocabulary instruction and improved comprehension in science. Through practical examples, attendees will learn effective strategies and tools to enhance scientific literacy while maintaining content rigor and concept retention for all learners in their classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how explicit vocabulary instruction enhances comprehension and concept retention in science; leave with effective strategies and tools to integrate vocabulary teaching into their lessons, ultimately improving student literacy while maintaining rigorous content instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Shana Pyatt-Buckner

In the past century, women have made significant progress in various careers and academic fields in the U.S. However, barriers still exist, especially in STEM. Offering female students a challenging curriculum can help break down these obstacles and encourage greater participation in STEM fields.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway is that attending schools with challenging curricula increases the likelihood of female students pursuing and graduating with STEM degrees, potentially boosting women's participation in STEM careers. However, the strategies differ between elementary and high school students.

SPEAKERS:
Pessy Sloan

The Learning Progression Model is a flexible, equitable assessment strategy to provide descriptive feedback, set goals, evaluate teaching, and report achievement. Attendees leave knowing how they can implement this in their classrooms even in a traditional grades school. For K-College, all courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understand how the Learning Progression Model keeps students engaged and accountable, how learning progressions are used to develop/assess skills and knowledge aligned with NGSS, and how to integrate this approach into the traditional grading system.

SPEAKERS:
Elise Naramore

We explore the need for cross-disciplinary learning progressions in data literacy and data science and the community-driven work underway to create such a framework. Attendees learn how these learning pathways equip learners with data-driven skills and collaborate on the science-specific vision.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding of the critical need for structured learning progressions in data literacy and data science. Practical tools and strategies for integrating learning progressions into educational and training programs. Networking opportunities with peers and field experts to collaborate on solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Wong, Aaron Reedy, Christel Bruno, Katherine Miller

Research Experiences for STEM Educators & Teachers (RESET) is dedicated to improving STEM education across the nation. This presentation is for middle/high school educators who want to experience real-world research & learn about how to translate their experience effectively into the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
First, the audience will leave with information about AEOP programs, specifically RESET. Second, the audience will receive information about how to become involved with the AEOP RESET program.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Suters, Jennifer Meadows, Kelly Moore

Discover how to make engineering accessible for all students. Learn powerful strategies to integrate engineering into your curriculum without taking extra time, making it fun and relevant. Walk away with practical tools to ensure every student can participate in meaningful engineering experiences!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore the Van Andel Insitute's model of engineering design and learn strategies to make engineering more integrated and accessible to students. Teachers will walk away with lesson ideas and resources to bring engineering concepts (aligned with NGSS) into the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Kavanagh, Dawn McCotter

Hands-on exploration of phenomena is key for effective science lessons, but in practice it’s often time-consuming to prep activities, and sometimes students only take away a superficial understanding. But structured visuals are easy to prepare and intuitively engage students in deep, 3D learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Structured visuals are easy to prepare and implement, and they can either replace labs or dramatically enhance them. Structured visuals get students talking and making inferences and connections. This session shows how to find, make, and use them.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Fleenor

Experience the synergy of physics, statistics, and data science using PhET simulations and CODAP. Dive into new interactive tools like Gas Properties, Diffusion, and Projectile Sampling Distributions, while exploring hands-on lesson design. Preview cutting-edge work with Circuit Construction Kit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to design classroom-ready lessons that merge physics, statistics, and data science, using the latest PhET simulations and CODAP tools and physics education research insights. Gain access to innovative strategies that drive analytical thinking and data fluency in students.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Blackman

Help students build science efficacy using digital portfolios, a practice that asks students to collect/reflect on self-selected work and share learning with others. Learn how to create/manage a culture of reflective practice in your classroom using this invaluable tool with existing resources!

TAKEAWAYS:
Self-efficacy in science is promoted when students use metacognition and share advice about meaningful learning experiences with others. Creating digital portfolios is a seamless way to meet this need and provide a platform for giving and receiving feedback and celebrating learning.

SPEAKERS:
Suzanne Zilvetti

This session will help participants explore how they can take tried and true lessons, make them more three-dimensional, and align them with the NGSS>

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with example lessons and strategies for aligning their lessons with the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Garelli, Deanna Taylor, Rebecca Abbott, Jesse Wilcox, Erik Wade

The biggest challenge within science classrooms remains teaching and engaging all students. This presentation recommends tools and practices that facilitate and support the communicative resources diverse students draw on, to actively engage in science discourse and participate in STEM classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Some of our key takeaways include: Reflection in action, reflection on action, facilitation techniques for teachers that promote students discovering phenomena. Students use science practices to collect data, as well as incorporate everyday language to support evidence-based science discourse.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Cost, Akira Harper

Attendees of this 60-minute program will acquire knowledge regarding the traits of students with various impairments, explore effective support mechanisms, and identify techniques to cultivate an inclusive classroom atmosphere, thereby promoting the achievement of all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the NGSS's phenomenon-based, three-dimensional learning framework, which gives students a full, real-world context that makes even the most abstract scientific ideas easy to understand.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Dormann Healey, Alicia Lavelle

Modeling in STEELS allows students to make sense of their learning in a variety of ways. Modeling incorporates all three dimensions of learning and are tools for sense-making of phenomena that helps students improve their understanding over time and identify misconceptions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience various types of modeling: using models to introduce phenomena, initial models, sharing models, refining models. Types of models: physical models, drawings, diagrams, 3D models, simulations, mathematical models, data representations and conceptual models.

SPEAKERS:
Natalie Hafer, Karen O'Neill

In this session, participants will work on hands-on activities and use a storybook to teach about motion and forces using the engineering design model and translanguaging for K-2 levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to teach about motion and forces for K-2 using a storybook, the engineering design process, and translanguaging (English/Spanish).

SPEAKERS:
Hattie Wommack, Romola Bernard

The Atlas is a collection of 62 maps of the practices, core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and performance expectations in NGSS and other Framework-based standards. The maps show how goals in science are meant to build upon each other and relate to each other over a student’s K-12 education.

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 ability to communicate complex STEM content and develop STEM literacy can be hindered by a lack of resources. Through strategic programming and resources, DSEC and its partners are working together to ensure all students and teachers can thrive in STEM classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
During the sessions, participants will explore five essential practices, with related strategies and resources, that educators, camp counselors, and others who support students in STEM can embed within their existing practices in classrooms, outdoor spaces, or wherever learning takes place.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Stanley, Dr. Marquis Mason

This workshop on carbon capture and storage integrates the engineering design process and socio-scientific modeling to take social factors into consideration while explaining complex socio-scientific issues like geoengineering.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session provides teachers with the tools to implement a hands-on climate engineering activity and utilize socio-scientific models in the engineering design process that engage students in real-world, ethical, and culturally relevant climate discussions.

SPEAKERS:
Gayle Buck, Arya Karumanthra

This workshop shares a curriculum that empowers students to become 21st century energy leaders. Participants will engage in a climate action simulation as different stakeholder groups and explore how their decision impact global temperature change, as well as the social impacts of these actions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the climate action simulation to engage their students in understanding climate action from an individual and global perspective.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Mercer-Taylor, Cassandra Lydon, Gillian Roehrig

Learn how educator-researchers relied upon multilingual learners’ assets to deepen all students’ science knowledge and metacognitive skills via formative and self-assessments. You’ll have the opportunity to create a multimodal self-assessment for the students in your classroom to inform instructional changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Researchers and educators will share the results of a research study, including takeaways and strategies for using multilingual students’ assets to promote learning and shape instructional changes that benefit all students in science learning before creating their own multimodal self-assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Hays, Brooke Bentley, Brittany York

This session will introduce the W.H.E.R.E. Model template and demonstrate how to use this tool to help you plan, build and implement your own STEM lessons into your curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will understand how specific strategic guiding questions can help them identify the key components of learning as they build their lesson instruction .

SPEAKERS:
Michael Comer

Whether it is in high school course enrollment, college, or careers, males outnumber females in terms of enrollment and the study of advanced STEM fields, particularly physics, and engineering. This program will review the current research, interventions, and action steps to reverse this trend.

TAKEAWAYS:
Impact of socio-cultural and psycho-social factors leading to gender disproportionality in STEM course enrollment. Also, the sharing of action steps to take designed to increase female student enrollment, particularly for those students with individual Advanced Placement Potential.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Fortunato, Daniel Sierzega, Richard Stec

In this lesson, students will analyze sloth body size variation in the Bocas del Toro Island Region of Panama. (NGSS disciplinary core idea LS3.B Variation of Traits addressed)

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be provided with links and physical materials to teach and assess the lesson

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Conklin- Kearney, Tyler St. Clair

Join us for a presentation on the Hypothesis-Experiment Class (HEC)! Explore the implementation and outcomes of HEC, focusing on a plan about free electrons in metals like coins and cutlery. Engage in hands-on activities that reveal how HEC fosters a love for science and deepens understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how the Hypothesis-Experiment Class fosters students’ joy in learning science and grasping concepts. Our material about free electrons will be distributed to attendees. The material is practical and fun for students in various educational environments.

SPEAKERS:
Mariko Kobayashi, Koji Tsukamoto, Tomoko HASEGAWA, Haruhiko Funahashi, Taro YAMAMOTO

Overlap exists between language describing elements of culturally relevant instruction and the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices. Through observation and research, it has been determined that when the SEPs are implemented with fidelity, this intersection is also evident in a science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn the major elements of culturally responsive teaching and how these strategies can be applied in the science classroom through the implementation of the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Weiss-Dembek

Participants in the Women In Natural Sciences Program develop attributes like confidence, leadership, and self-advocacy. Hear from a WINS participant and her goal to implement a new afterschool program in Philadelphia to expose youth to careers related to climate change and environmental science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Due to her experience in WINS and other opportunities through her studies at Brandeis University, Mazzii Ingram presents a submitted proposal to implement additional and much-needed afterschool programs exposing Philadelphia youth to environmental careers by 2026.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Godfrey

This new version of the Quick-Reference Guide (aka The Purple Book) is a must-have reference tool for working with NGSS and other Framework-based, 3D standards. This session will review the features of the book and show how to use the tools and resources in it to unpack the crosscutting concepts.

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

Learn how CASCIA has leveraged research-based practices and partnerships to design grade 5 and middle school score reports and reporting mechanisms that help educators track, interpret, and communicate students' science learning and that provide strategies for families to support their students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through shared testimony of state and local educators, learn how to use open-source assessments and CASCIA reporting mechanisms that include QR codes and hyperlinks for educators and families with assessment-aligned, student-centered, actionable strategies and resources to improve science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Gall, Bill Herrera, Rhonda True, Charlene Turner

Learn about FieldScope, a community science platform for visualizing environmental data and supporting an understanding of science and inquiry. Join this session if you are an educator excited to use data in your programs, or want to engage communities in participatory science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave with the next steps for planning data explorations in existing or future projects, examples of how to learn with data generated by participatory science projects, particularly in middle and high school settings, and also how to host their own project data.

SPEAKERS:
Jamie Noll

Hands-on exploration of phenomena is key for effective science lessons, but in practice it’s often time-consuming to prep activities, and sometimes students only take away a superficial understanding. But structured visuals are easy to prepare and intuitively engage students in deep, 3D learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Structured visuals are easy to prepare and implement, and they can either replace labs or dramatically enhance them. Structured visuals get students talking and making inferences and connections. This session shows how to find, make, and use them.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Fleenor

Figuring out phenomena engages students in the nature of science through the integration of all three dimensions. Come explore strategies that make explicit the nature of science through figuring out “How did the blue whales get so big?” from an AMNH Curriculum Collection.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the Science Flowchart interactive journaling tool to illuminate the dynamic nature and process of science, and how to apply the tool to any phenomenon or lesson in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Miranda Orellana, Kirsten Smith, Betsy Barent

Elementary teachers will learn about the role of plausibility in science and a new scaffold for their students' evaluation of the relationship between scientific evidence and explanatory models. This lesson about fossils includes a narrative nonfiction story and an interactive worksheet.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will takeaway that plausibility is a key cognitive construct in science and that elementary students are capable of evaluating these complex relationships.

SPEAKERS:
Carla Zembal-Saul

The Women In Natural Sciences Program inspires students to pursue STEM careers and pay it forward. One WINS participant researches the ways that the changing food systems have influenced climate change how this understanding can inform climate literacy in Brazil.

TAKEAWAYS:
OST Programs like the WINS program are critical in providing opportunities not only for career exploration, but also to develop confidence and self advocacy throughout their journey. For WINS participant Asstan Cisse, she aims to improve the quality of science literacy for others!

SPEAKERS:
Kimberly Godfrey

Collaborate with your fellow science teachers to begin moving away from cookbook labs and towards inquiry-driven, discovery-based laboratory investigations. Learn how to pivot your lab activities to create opportunities for students to use evidence-based reasoning to develop understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave this session having transformed one of their preexisting laboratory activities into a student-driven inquiry based investigation.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Gordon

Learn strategies to support all students, including MultiLingual Learners (MLLs), in developing disciplinary-specific language through embedded peer-to-peer discussion routines, informed by research, that promote collaborative sensemaking and language acquisition.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience instructional routines, through an immersive activity, designed to support the development of disciplinary-specific language and collaborative sensemaking in science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Chatham, Dora Kastel

Understanding how scientists study the effects of the Greenland Ice Sheet's flow to understand how climate change is affecting our world today and will in the future. Participants will have tested lessons and activities that were used in mini-research projects in the classroom using STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to complete a study incorporating Biology with Geology and Chemistry activities while exploring how Climate Science is affecting people around the world.

SPEAKERS:
Judith Lucas-Odom

Join a shared venture of learning in early childhood preservice teacher preparation underscoring the importance of cultivating a positive science learning community environment and championing science education through joyful science teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how curiosity, exploration, and reflective practice shape effective teaching methods, fostering joyful science teaching and learning. Stay curious!

SPEAKERS:
Laurel Byrne

In science education, emphasis on mass data collection and quantitative studies can limit focus on the importance of humanity and individuality. This session offers strategies for teachers to weave empathy and equity into their lessons, making science more inclusive and impactful.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, attendees will explore strategies for “humanizing science” by addressing color-blindness in education and embracing cultural diversity in STEM. We'll discuss how different engineering projects can be used to foster empathy and create innovative solutions that benefit humanity.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Lynch

As passionate educators creating science learning products for STEM focused on mental health with apps, Emmy Award winning TV, YouTube videos, games and teacher resources, we share our research and development of the right tools for accessing everyday science for the student's worldview.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understanding the students' world view and what's important to them is fundamental, because what kids say are their stressors aren't always what adults think they are. It is critical to follow-through with pre- post assessment and evaluation.

SPEAKERS:
John Pollock

In this session, we will introduce the Building a Belonging Culture in STEM Classrooms Framework developed by the Philadelphia Regional Institute for STEM Educators (PRISE). Come and explore ways to develop strong science-related identities within your science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will analyze instructional vignettes designed for high school educators working towards more socially just STEM education that facilitates the full participation of marginalized students across the STEM disciplines. They will apply the ideas to their instructional practices.

SPEAKERS:
Greer Richardson, Stacy Olitsky

This session explores how English Language Arts Standards can enhance science education by integrating literacy with scientific inquiry. Participants will learn strategies for blending ELA and science, using formative assessments to foster critical thinking and cross-disciplinary skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
One main takeaway from this session is how integrating English Language Arts Standards with science education can enhance students' ability to analyze, communicate, and think critically about scientific concepts, using formative assessments to support both literacy and scientific practices.

SPEAKERS:
Stacie Jassen, Brittney Denier Cantrell

We share a tool developed by a team of researchers and teachers to engage children in planning and carrying out investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with ideas about how to involve their students in planning investigations in ways that are exciting, manageable, and productive.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Garity, Eve Manz, Annabel Stoler

In today's fast-paced educational landscape, maintaining student engagement is a critical challenge, especially for middle schoolers whose attention spans are often fleeting. This session will explore the transformative power of brain breaks as a way to increase engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this session will be able to learn a variety of brain break strategies that they can easily implement into their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Alyna Raynovich

In this engaging presentation, participants will learn an integrated approach to researching and writing about severe weather and natural disasters. Key strategies include selecting nonfiction texts, creative notetaking, building vocabulary, flash drafting, and developing a student choice product.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will walk away with a tool kit for integrating science and writing, that can be adapted for any grade and topic. Specifically educators will learn how to encourage students to collect vocabulary terms and incorporate them into their writing, through visual note taking.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Fox

This presentation focuses on supporting secondary STEM teachers in inclusive courses. Drawing on original research about teachers’ understandings of and practices with students with learning disabilities, we will share approaches to including students with disabilities in general science courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will present some strategies including Universal Design for Learning to address the primary concerns raised by secondary STEM teachers to effectively create an inclusive and equitable learning environment in spite of limited resources, training, and support.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Daley, Michelle Heckman

This study investigates the impact of integrating curricula on socio-environmental factors into a Creative Engineering Design course. The goal is to analyze student comprehension and applications of these concepts while fostering broader participation in engineering.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engaging students with real-life examples of socio-environmental challenges is not only an innovative approach to teaching Engineering Design but also essential for preparing future engineers to consider broader social and environmental impacts in their work.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Ramos-Chavez

Agrivoltaics community science provides opportunities for students to contribute to regional knowledge while growing food and generating renewable energy. Students on each campus build, care for, investigate, and share results from two garden beds, one with and one without solar panels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how teachers and students in the Sonoran Desert Region are fostering sustainable and just futures by sharing research results comparing garden environmental and plant growth with and without solar panels. Imagine how your students might contribute to regional knowledge on sustainability.

SPEAKERS:
Emmanuel Adeloju, Jamie Rapkiewcz, Michelle Jordan

This paper presents three innovative high school chemistry project designed around green chemistry principles to enhance student engagement and environmental awareness. Lessons include creating biodegradable hydrogels for sustainable farming, exploring molecular gastronomy, and fermentation process.

TAKEAWAYS:
These hands-on activities connect real-world sustainability challenges with chemistry concepts, fostering critical thinking and promoting eco-friendly practices in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
ANA CAMPOS

Let's explore some unique ways equity and social justice show up in our science classrooms. School-wide professional development can help us to have a shared understanding of equity, but we need learning opportunities to develop science-specific equity-focused content and instructional approaches.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how equity and social justice are achieved through science content and instructional approaches.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Stewart, Carla Zembal-Saul

Students pursuing STEM majors often struggle with insufficient skills critical to their academic success and future careers. The study aims to determine whether completion of an AI-powered virtual-human training leads to increased use of SRL strategies among STEM majors, compared to a control group.

TAKEAWAYS:
This study provides compelling evidence that AI-powered virtual-human interventions can support SRL in STEM education, offering a scalable, cost-effective solution that maintains educational quality while reducing the resource burden on both students and instructors.

SPEAKERS:
Danny Glick

Data literacy is a vital science skill. Can art help us build it? We share a research-based approach that combines Earth science content, NOAA data, and techniques from art education that center the skills needed to interpret complex visual information, alongside results of actual classroom impact.

TAKEAWAYS:
Specific results of how and why teaching practices that combine scientific data, science concepts, and arts-based facilitation techniques enable teachers to create an environment of productive struggle, equitable engagement, and improvement in data literacy skills in science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Semmens, Jessica Sickler

Mobile instructional spaces bring STEM to schools' doorsteps and provide unique learning experiences for students and teachers alike. In this presentation, learn about NYC-based mobile lab BioBus, its impact, and how its unique learning environment can inform (and transform) classroom practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be presented with findings from a published research paper about the best practices of operating a successful mobile lab program and how its learning methodologies can be tailored for the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Luz Angelica Velasco Vela, Jared Fox

This presentation will explore case studies, best practices, and practical strategies for implementing PBE in diverse educational settings. It will demonstrate how place-based education fosters interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking, and citizen science.

TAKEAWAYS:
The PBE teaching strategy provides an opportunity for teachers to bring real-world situations into the science classroom, thereby creating a stronger link between science learning, the student, and their place. Eventually, this will increase students' engagement and scientific literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Oyewole

Learn how to support pre-service teachers interrogate, unpack, and understanding the impact of racial bias in STEM education. Leave with instructional resources and strategies intended to support the needs of all learners, particularly those with diverse backgrounds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to distinguish between explicit and implicit racial bias; consider implications for STEM education; and review strategies to mitigate the impact of implicit bias.

SPEAKERS:
Uchenna Emenaha

As a result of The Michigan Guarantee, 4-year institutions in Michigan will likely see an increase in transfer students. Hence, support for vertical transfer students should be enhanced. After studying the vertical transfer pathway at Central Michigan University, we will present our findings.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about enhancing support for vertical transfer students at the 4-year institution. Based on findings from student surveys and faculty interviews at Central Michigan University, we will discuss the perception of vertical transfer students and recommendations for enhancing support post-transfer.

SPEAKERS:
Logan Mueller, Jordan Kobielus