How can we inspire young learners to see themselves as future innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders in STEM? This session explores how computer science and STEM can be meaningfully integrated into elementary classrooms in ways that are both engaging and accessible. In our district’s Imagineer Studio, teachers help students build problem-solving, algorithmic thinking, and logical reasoning skills while fostering a classroom culture that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Through hands-on STEM experiences and career-focused investigations, students begin to recognize clear connections between their classroom learning and real-world STEM careers. Participants will gain practical strategies and classroom-tested approaches that make STEM and computer science exciting, relevant, and aspirational, while equipping young learners to envision their own futures in STEM fields.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this session with practical strategies to make STEM and computer science engaging, relevant, and tied to real-world careers, helping students develop skills and envision future opportunities in STEM fields.

SPEAKERS:
Sharon Wiggins, Christopher Bowen

Are grading, data analysis, and material prep consuming your nights and weekends? This hands-on workshop is your first step toward a sustainable teaching career. We will build a personal automation toolkit using simple offline Python scripts. Learn to auto grade quizzes, instantly graph lab data, and generate differentiated worksheets, reclaiming hours each week. Reinvest this precious time into what matters most: enhancing instruction through targeted student interventions, crafting engaging, phenomena-based lessons, and fostering a more dynamic classroom culture that benefits all learners. This session focuses exclusively on educator well-being, providing practical strategies to reduce burnout by automating tedious tasks. Leave with a USB stick containing your new digital assistant and a practical plan to regain time for what matters most. No prior coding experience required.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to use offline Python scripts to automate grading and data tasks, ensuring student privacy while reclaiming time to reduce burnout and reinvest in student instruction. They will leave with a digital toolkit and the confidence to implement these tools or strategies immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Nitindra Chowdary Pavuluri

ARM is a project-based internship focused on the construction and programming of autonomous robotic arms. ARM merges AI with physical robots using Python and an accessible hardware platform. Modules included: Introduction to Robotics, Python Fundamentals & Applications (e.g. Tic-Tac-Toe), Arm Construction, Object Detection, and Autonomous Arm Programming. All components: parts, 3D printing files, construction instructions, programming activities, and lecture slides are available online and can be used as a whole or piecemeal for clubs and classrooms. ARM participants include high school students, college students, and a high school teacher. Pre and Post evaluations found that the immersive internship experience improved important indicators of retention and success such as Sense of Belonging in Computing. TTIC is a philanthropically endowed research institute & university focused on AI and theory. NGSS Alignment: HS-ETS1-1 & HS-ETS1-2; CCC 2,4,& 6; Practices 1,2,3,4 & 6.

TAKEAWAYS:
Robots + AI = Student Engagement. Please steal our ideas. They work!

SPEAKERS:
Michael Rodgers, Randall Landsberg

Learn how OpenSciEd’s new middle school units are intentionally designed to expand access to computer science by integrating it directly into science instruction. This session will introduce an instructional model that addresses longstanding equity gaps in computer science education by embedding programming, computational thinking, and engineering design into phenomenon-based science investigations. Explore how this approach not only deepens science understanding but also inspires students, especially those historically underrepresented in STEM, to pursue advanced computer science courses and careers. We will also explore how computer science serves as the foundation for understanding emerging technologies like generative AI, helping students make sense of the innovations shaping their world. Participants will additionally learn about the career exploration opportunities woven into the units that help students make meaningful connections to their futures in STEM fields.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see how integrating computer science into middle school science builds equitable access to computer science while preparing students with the foundational skills to understand and engage with AI and other emerging technologies.

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Neill

How can a toy chicken spark wonder, ignite curiosity, and anchor deep scientific sensemaking? In this interactive hands-on workshop, participants will experience how every day objects can be transformed into powerful phenomena that hook students in authentic STEM explorations. Aligned with NGSS and guided by the 5E instructional model, we will facilitate an inquiry sequence beginning with a toy chicken that chirps when a circuit is completed. Next, participants will engage in guided exploration, questioning, and sensemaking to uncover which materials conduct electricity, compare similar phenomena, and build conceptual understanding of circuits. The learning cycle concludes with an integrated STEM challenge that connects the science concepts to the children’s book, Lion Lights by Richard Turere, applies computer science through micro:bits and coding, and explores engineering design to solve real world problems using knowledge of electrical circuits.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how everyday phenomena can spark curiosity and support sensemaking using the 5E model. Through hands-on science, literacy, computer science, and engineering activities, attendees gain ready-to-use strategies, resources, and assessments for classroom integration.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Ponder, Amanda Cramer

Are you trying to move beyond computer science and AI as add-ons? How can emerging technologies meaningfully advance science and STEM education without compromising quality instruction? This session explores OpenSciEd’s new middle school science and computer science integrated units, designed to align with state and district STEM priorities while enhancing students’ scientific sensemaking. Participants will examine how computer science is embedded seamlessly within phenomena-based science instruction to strengthen coherence, rigor, and real-world relevance. The session will also showcase implementation supports and planning guidance for schools and districts considering adoption. In addition, attendees will receive updates on a new effort to integrate AI literacy and use into OpenSciEd Biology units in ways that amplify, rather than replace, student thinking. Participants will have opportunities to provide feedback to inform ongoing development and implementation efforts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will understand how computer science and AI can be integrated into high-quality science instructional materials in ways that strengthen scientific sensemaking, align with STEM priorities, and support thoughtful implementation at the school, district, and state levels.

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Neill, Andy Weatherhead

In this workshop you will experience our innovative unit: Self Driving Cars. Incorporate AI, computer science, and a compelling social issue into science and STEM classrooms. During the workshop you will participate in hands-on unit activities as well as review this freely available curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will leave ready to implement our high quality unit with your students engaging student interest and using powerful storylining teaching routines. You will also have authentic student assessments to accompany the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Greg Benedis-Grab

Sponsoring Company: InventiBotz

Attendees will get to try assembling our robots; learning about electronics, robotics, and coding. After putting together the robot, play robot soccer or design a dance!

SPEAKERS:
Larry Boyer

Sponsoring Company: Girls Who Code

This interactive session introduces CodeJam, Girls Who Code’s new coding platform designed to make computer science accessible, approachable, and playful for every student. Participants will experience how CodeJam’s block-based editor, BlockJam, empowers all educators, regardless of coding background, to facilitate meaningful coding experiences through guided exploration and project-based learning. In addition to exploring hands-on coding lessons, participants will get an exclusive look into the intentional ways Girls Who Code builds community and Sisterhood through our approach to coding, creating learning spaces where students support one another, take creative risks, and see themselves as belonging in tech. You’ll walk away from this session with exposure to a free coding platform, ready-to-teach coding activities, and practical strategies to bring coding to every student.

SPEAKERS:
Kibret Yebetit

While generative AI such as ChatGPT has become pervasive, it is not often critically examined in the classroom. Explore three student activities that use AI to investigate the biases, flaws, and ethics of AI. Employ counterfactual/what if thinking and prompt engineering (e.g., images generated from “old man in a church” vs “Asian old man in a church”) to reveal biases in large language models (LLMs). Learn how to critically analyze patterns in videos to assess if they have been produced by AI. Delve into voice cloning technology, and then debate its pros (e.g., preserving the voice of someone with ALS) and cons (e.g., misinformation). NGSS Alignment: HS-ETS1-2 & 3; CCC 1, 2, & 4; Practices 1, 3, 4, 6, & 8.

TAKEAWAYS:
AI is not perfect, and these activities will help your students to think critically about generative AI.

SPEAKERS:
Randall Landsberg

As STEM learning becomes increasingly data-driven, educators need accessible ways to integrate computational thinking into inquiry-based instruction. This session demonstrates how decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms can deepen student understanding of STEM concepts. Participants will explore how real-world STEM phenomena can be reframed as computational problems through examples such as population growth, heat transfer, and flood-risk modeling. Using guided, hands-on activities, educators will outline computational solutions and modify simple starter code to observe how variable changes affect outcomes. Emphasis is placed on creativity, sense-making, and student agency rather than step-by-step labs. Designed for grades 6–12 STEM educators, this session highlights low-barrier tools, beginner-friendly scaffolds, and NGSS-aligned strategies that build confidence in integrating computational thinking into STEM instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how computational thinking and coding can deepen STEM inquiry. This interactive session transforms STEM phenomena into computational challenges that promote creativity, modeling, and problem solving. A laptop is strongly recommended for hands-on activities - no prior coding experience required

SPEAKERS:
Carla Neely, Tiffany Jones

NSTA is bringing forth to publication three special issues around data science in the science classroom. Special issues will be in Science & Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher. With the special issues coming out in January 2026, the editors believe a special session focusing on the trends on data science in the science classroom is warranted. This special session will bring together authors, editors, and teachers to discuss the ways we can move towards rich data science education across the K-12 science learning community.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will support attendees in integrating data science into their science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jonah Firestone

How can education leadership proactively shape the integration of emerging technologies into science learning? This strategic dialogue brings together leaders from NSTA, DS4E, curriculum developers, and master teachers to dissect the challenges and opportunities. We will explore actionable models for integration, discuss the professional development and systemic support needed for scaling, and examine the role of policy. The conversation will move beyond hypotheticals to focus on concrete next steps for districts, states, and professional organizations. Attendees will gain a high-level overview of the landscape and strategic insights to inform decision-making in their own contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain a high-level overview of the landscape and strategic insights to inform decision-making in their own contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Tricia Shelton, Zarek Drozda, Kerri Wingert, Susan Gomez Zwiep

Music and computer science are highly connected. In fact, most of the popular music we hear now has been created with computers. To engage young children (and teachers!) In programming, we have created MFLOW, a web-based computer programming platform that makes it extremely easy to play with sounds and create sound compositions while learning the basics of programming. MFLOW has an associated curriculum created at UCSD, in collaboration with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, and aligned with the Computer Science Standards. It is super engaging and easy to learn by children as young as fourth grade, and by teachers with no previous experience in programming. In this workshop, participants will learn how to code with MFLOW to create sound compositions through chains, loops, and the manipulation of sounds. Additionally, participants will learn how to launch an engineering design challenge with their own students to code sound compositions that represent different emotions for u

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn how to use MFLOW to sound engineer and code your own sound or music composition. Also, you will learn how to engage your students with coding through engineering design challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Alec Barron

Learn more about this game-based method to introduce computational biology concepts in your life science classes. The comic book-style FILTERED puzzle games help students grasp the function of programs used to analyze DNA. Get your FREE teacher account and be ready to save the world!

TAKEAWAYS:
FILTERED: a story-driven digital learning platform for bioinformatics is an online module that introduces students to the biological concepts and logical thinking skills used in the field of bioinformatics and DNA analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Madelene Loftin

Discover how the humble sticky note can transform your science classroom into a hub of curiosity, collaboration, and creativity! In this session, you’ll learn how printing directly on sticky notes opens up endless possibilities for student engagement and sensemaking. From building dynamic driving question boards that spark and sustain inquiry, to designing interactive word walls that evolve with student understanding, sticky notes offer flexible, hands-on ways to make learning visible. Explore strategies for providing personalized feedback, tracking progress with badge systems, organizing class calendars, and more—all with colorful squares of paper that can move, cluster, and adapt to student needs. Walk away with practical ideas, templates, and inspiration to harness the power of sticky notes to empower learners, foster ownership, and make science thinking stick!

TAKEAWAYS:
Unlock the hidden power of sticky notes! Learn how printing on them can transform your science classroom with driving question boards, word walls, feedback, badges, and calendars. Walk away with ready-to-use ideas to boost curiosity, engagement, and student ownership.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Kelly

The purpose of this session is to illustrate how game design can be used to provide a scaffold for differentiation in computer science projects. Participants will see how having students build games like tic-tac-toe or a night at the casino can provide multiple different levels of challenge for students. These games can create authentic opportunities for collaboration between students and peer-led coaching. The simplicity of these games and their innate fun factor will draw students in and provide a clear feedback loop that helps students understand how close they are to completion and foster higher motivation for completion. This session seeks to help attendees foster student success for students at various levels while also providing students with rigor and challenge at all levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use game design as a way to provide differentiation in computer science projects.

SPEAKERS:
Maurice Telesford

Science festival tested engaging activities for the public that use AI itself to reveal the biases, flaws, and benefits of AI. See how counterfactual/what if thinking and prompt engineering (e.g., images generated from “old man in a church” vs “Asian old man in a church”) uncover biases in large language models (LLMs). Play spot the AI by searching for patterns in videos that can expose that they have been produced by AI (getting harder). Experience the strangeness of training AI to clone your own voice. NGSS Alignment: CCC 1, 2, & 4; Practices 1, 3, 4, 6, & 8.

TAKEAWAYS:
AI is not perfect. These activities will help you think critically about generative AI

SPEAKERS:
Randall Landsberg

Biotechnology offers powerful, real-world connections for engaging students in science, engineering, and sustainability, yet many educators are unsure how to introduce it meaningfully across grade levels. This interactive session supports middle and high school teachers (grades 6–12) in integrating foundational and advanced biotechnology concepts through the lens of biofuels and environmental monitoring, while embedding technology and data science into STEM instruction. Participants will explore classroom-ready biotechnology activities focused on biofuel production and carbon cycling using microcontrollers such as Databots and micro:bit platforms equipped with CO₂ and temperature sensors. Teachers will learn how students can collect, analyze, and interpret real-time environmental data to investigate fermentation, biomass conversion, and biofuel efficiency—connecting biological processes to climate science and engineering design. The session emphasizes hands-on learning, cross-curricu

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain practical, classroom-ready strategies for integrating biotechnology, biofuels, and real-time environmental data collection using sensors and microcontrollers to connect biology, engineering, and climate science in engaging, scalable STEM lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Darci Kimball, Amber Struthers

The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review of high impact review studies in STEM education. Systematic review was employed in order to reach this aim. Some inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined by the researchers to select the studies to be included or excluded in this systematic review. The determination of high impact review articles in STEM education was carried out in stages. As a result, 18 review articles were included in this systematic review. The articles were analyzed in terms of their number of authors, countries where the authors are located, publication year, number of studies reviewed, name of journal, SSCI status and topic. In order to ensure the reliability of the study, each article was analyzed by each researcher. The result of the study indicated that the vast majority of the journals in which high impact review articles related to STEM are published are well-established, respected, and have a long publication history.

TAKEAWAYS:
Examining these publications through systematic review and presenting their results will contribute to researchers interested in different disciplines such as science education, engineering education, teacher education and especially STEM education. Also, this study would be of interest to NSTA members.

SPEAKERS:
Yurdagul Bogar

Want to incorporate computational thinking into your high school science curriculum? In this interactive workshop, you’ll dive into DC Models–a research-based curriculum that combines computational modeling and programming with phenomena-driven investigations in biology, chemistry, and physics. Co-written with teachers, this research-backed curriculum supports students to build models, run experiments, and analyze data while exploring real world phenomena through a computational model. You will step into the roles of both teacher and student as you explore engaging, ready-to-use lessons designed to support NGSS 3D learning. Perfect for high school science teachers looking to add computational thinking and scientific modeling to their existing curriculum–no coding experience required!

TAKEAWAYS:
By injecting programming into core science courses, every student can graduate with a vital 21st century skill. DC Models lessons offer a low floor entry to computational modeling with a high ceiling for phenomena exploration. Participants will explore DC Models and leave with ready-to-use lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Margaret Harrison, J. Elisabeth Kasner

How does computer science integration deepen students’ use of engineering design to solve problems related to early warning systems for natural hazards? Discover what is different in a free, upcoming OpenSciEd 6th-grade middle school science + computer science unit on Natural Hazards. Students investigate the causes and solutions related to one natural hazard - Tsunamis and they use this case study to develop ideas for how to detect, warn, and protect people from other natural hazards over the course of the unit. Hear how students engage with micro:bit devices and sensors to collect and analyze data related to earthquakes and Tsunamis, which supports the development of related Physical Science and Earth and Space Science disciplinary core ideas. See examples of how students reprogram their micro:bits to produce different outputs depending on the thresholds and ranges of inputs that are detected from multiple sensors.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students’ investigations into measuring and responding to changes occurring in Earth systems when a natural hazard occurs are enhanced through the use of computing devices, which also allow for the development of computer science and engineering ideas embedded throughout the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Novak, Nicole Vick, Dan Voss

Join us for a dynamic and engaging workshop designed for K-8 educators to explore CYBER.ORG’s newest K–8 AI lessons from Cybersecurity Basics! In this hands-on workshop, participants will experience classroom-ready lessons that empower students to become safe, informed, and critical users of technology, while also developing awareness of how emerging fields like AI impact security. This workshop will showcase CYBER.ORG’s newly released Artificial Intelligence modules within the Cybersecurity Basics curriculum for K–8 educators. Participants will engage in hands-on lessons that introduce students to AI concepts in an age-appropriate and engaging way.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of this session, participants will: • Explore grade-banded AI lessons designed for K–8 learners. • Gain hands-on experience with activities from the AI modules • Discover practical strategies to integrate AI and cybersecurity topics into existing science and STEM instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Hexsel

Curious about how computer science can be woven into science teacher preparation? This session shares the journey of a 17-month initiative that brought computer science, mathematics, and science together to reimagine teacher education. Our team designed and piloted interdisciplinary modules (IntComp Modules) that helped teacher candidates practice high-quality instructional strategies, explore innovative tools, and engage in collaborative reflection with peers and mentors. Along the way, we uncovered insights about preparing future teachers to lead computer science–integrated learning in their classrooms. Attendees will leave with an understanding of the affordances and challenges of designing and implementing IntComp Modules, along with sample lesson plans, practical resources, and inspiration for how interdisciplinary design can expand science teacher preparation—and how teaching itself can be redefined as a collaborative, technology-rich profession.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science teacher educators will explore the benefits and challenges of weaving human-computer interaction modules into science and math instruction, strengthening teacher prep and inspiring innovative STEM teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Cramer

Data science is essential for scientific literacy, yet many teachers wonder how to bring it practically into their classrooms. This hands-on workshop introduces classroom-ready problem sets in R, a free and widely used statistical language. No coding experience is required to participate. Together, we will explore curated datasets connected to natural and social sciences, focusing on inquiry-driven data analysis. Problem sets are short and flexible and also align with best practices such as analyzing data, constructing explanations, and using computational thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain experience working through problem sets, strategies for scaffolding and ordering data skills, and access to a bank of ready-to-use materials.

SPEAKERS:
Alla Baranovsky

Artificial Intelligence is no longer the future, it’s part of our students’ world today. Yet most elementary and middle school students, and educators, know little about how AI actually works or how to think critically about it. In this session, participants will explore how the experience in a university machine learning lab evolved into a free curriculum designed to teach students about AI through hands-on, cross-disciplinary lessons. Using tools like Scratch and Teachable Machine, students engage in coding, probability, data analysis, ethical inquiry, and the engineering design process to develop an understanding on how AI learns and makes decisions. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use lesson examples, classroom-tested strategies, and a deeper understanding of how to help students see themselves as informed creators, not just consumers, of technology.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a practical framework and free classroom resources to help students understand how AI works, explore its ethical implications, and connect it to core STEM and math concepts through inquiry-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Dawn Robertson, Caitlin Smith

How does computer science integration deepen student’s use of engineering design to solve water problems for the local community? Discover what is different in a free, upcoming OpenSciEd 7th grade middle school science + computer science unit on Earth’s Resources & Human Impact. Students investigate case studies of several communities throughout the United States facing water problems such as increased flooding or drought. Hear how students engage with micro:bit devices and sensors to collect and analyze data around water, climate, and atmospheric changes, which supports the development of related Earth and Space Science disciplinary core ideas. The program behind the micro:bit and sensors, MakeCode, is explored and edited as students design devices that can be used as solutions to address water problems and carbon imbalances

TAKEAWAYS:
Students' investigations into changing Earth systems (e.g., temperature, water, atmosphere) are enhanced through the use of computing devices which also allow for the development of computer science and engineering ideas embedded throughout the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Novak, Nicole Vick, Dan Voss