Don’t have time to build a project-based learning (PBL) science unit from the ground up? Learn how to adapt high-quality open educational resources (OER) for your students and community. This session is designed for science educators interested in working with PBL science OERs to increase student engagement and deepen learning. Learn three principles that guide adaptation. 1) Make It Authentic: revise projects to connect with local issues and phenomena that matter to students. 2) Center Students’ Identities and Interests: adapt PBL experiences to affirm students’ backgrounds and increase relevance. 3) Localize to the Community: embed projects in local histories, resources, and cultures so learning feels meaningful and connected. We’ll share how teachers in Guam adapted K-8 PBL science OER units to center students’ cultures and geographies in a unique Pacific island context. Participants will apply lessons learned from Guam and explore strategies for adapting for their own students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Informed by the experiences of educators on Guam, attendees will learn to apply tools and strategies for adapting free project-based learning science curriculum to increase authenticity, center students’ identities, and localize to their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Nachtigal, Alexandra Goodell

Sponsoring Company: Kiddom

What does it take to make sense-making of phenomena through investigating the center of science instruction, not just in theory, but in daily practice? Join Dr. Mike Flanagan and explore how intentional curriculum design, when paired with powerful learning intelligence technology (LIT), can transform instruction and empower all learners. Featuring actionable strategies, this session will leave you inspired and equipped to design learning experiences that are coherent and genuinely engaging.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how thoughtful curriculum design and digital tools work together to support sense-making in science instruction, with practical strategies they can apply immediately to create more coherent, equitable, and engaging learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Flanagan

Join this session to explore how my former students with special education experiences are using GenAI to dismantle barriers and expand learning opportunities in their daily lives. Drawing on case studies from my research and Engeström’s concept of expansive learning, I will highlight how collaborative engagement with GenAI fosters agency, supports expansive learning, and opens new possibilities. Examining why youth use GenAI also helps identify changes and innovations needed in learning environments. I will share moments when a participant’s use of ChatGPT raised questions about potential misuse and prompted reflection on how I designed the study. Join to explore the power of co-design with GenAI for expansive learning and accessibility, and gain practical strategies for engaging students as active, ethical participants in shaping their learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the power of discussing and collaborating with youth on GenAI use, using these conversations to inform improvements, foster ethical decision-making, and create more inclusive, responsive learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero

Sponsoring Company: RAYN Growing Systems

Hydroponics gives students a living laboratory where science, literacy, and agriculture come alive. In this hands-on workshop, educators will explore NGSS-aligned investigations using a cheap plastic cup experiment to teach plant growth, environmental science, CTE, and STEM. Participants will experience a phenomena-based lab that models real agricultural research—how pH affects plant development—using simple and cheap materials that work in any school setting. We will demonstrate student-friendly data collection strategies, cross-curricular literacy connections, and ways to integrate STEM and sustainability. Educators will leave with ready-to-use lessons, assessment rubrics, and digital student data tables that build scientific thinking and support National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes. Whether teaching PreK–5, middle school, or high school, attendees will learn how to transform food systems learning into powerful experiential education while helping students explore career pathways

SPEAKERS:
Bryce Corning

Step into the shoes of your students and experience the power of puzzles firsthand! In this interactive session, participants will begin with a mini escape room challenge—working together to unlock a mystery box using science clues and critical thinking. Then, we’ll break down how to design and implement your own classroom escape experiences to deepen engagement, collaboration, and content mastery. From low-prep paper puzzles to more immersive breakouts, you’ll leave with practical strategies, templates, and inspiration to make any middle or high school science lesson feel like an adventure.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn strategies for using escape rooms and puzzles to transform science learning—boosting engagement, collaboration, and critical thinking while making your classroom an unforgettable experience.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Yi, Kim Bathker

STEM teachers are under constant pressure to balance innovation in the classroom with heavy workloads. This session bridges AI in Education and Teacher Well-Being in STEM by highlighting practical, time-saving uses of artificial intelligence that directly support teaching and learning. Participants will explore freely available AI tools and clever strategies for applying them to everyday tasks such as generating lab rubrics, scaffolding assignments, and personalizing feedback. By streamlining routine work, these approaches free time for meaningful instruction and student engagement, with the added benefit of reducing stress and restoring balance for educators. The session emphasizes responsible and equitable use, ensuring AI integration supports all learners without adding complexity to the teacher’s role. Attendees will leave with a set of vetted tools, ready-to-use examples, and a personal action plan to strengthen STEM teaching while making professional life more manageable.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how freely available AI tools can lighten the STEM teacher workload while boosting student equity and engagement. Participants will leave with strategies that enhance student learning while helping STEM teachers focus on high-impact instruction and reclaim energy for what matters most.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Link, PhD

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

ShakeAlert, the U.S. Earthquake Early Warning system, offers a powerful way to connect wave science, engineering, and public safety in the classroom. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how ShakeAlert uses P- and S-waves, seismic networks, and GPS to provide alerts, and how these concepts align with NGSS standards (HS-PS4-5, HS-ETS1-3) and the crosscutting concept of systems. Teachers will engage with tools such as USGS Earthquake Hazards, IRIS Seismic Monitor, and jAmaSeis to analyze real earthquake data just as seismologists do. Participants will also experience in-class demonstrations, simulations, and models that make wave behavior tangible. Attendees will draft place-based lesson plans that integrate local seismic data and emphasize equity by considering how early warning technologies reach diverse communities. They will leave with templates, curated resources, and strategies for connecting science to personal protective action and public safety.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use ShakeAlert and real-time seismic data to create place-based, NGSS-aligned lessons on waves, engineering solutions, personal protective action, and public safety—leaving with classroom-ready templates, resources, and equity-focused strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Pyle, Ariel Raymond

NAMs—including organs on a chip, 3D cell cultures, and computational models—are rapidly advancing scientific research and testing while reducing reliance on animal experimentation. These breakthroughs promise not only more relevant, human-based results, but also foreshadow the tools and technology that today’s students may encounter in higher education and future STEM careers. This roundtable will bring together experts in experimental methods, classroom teaching, and humane education, to discuss how NAMs are reshaping science and how K-12 educators can begin preparing students now. Participants are invited to consider how familiarity with NAMs may promote science literacy, college preparation and career-readiness, and discuss how these technologies could filter into classroom science practice. The session is intended for secondary teachers, curriculum developers, STEM coordinators, and any educators who are interested in humane, innovative teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of NAMs, exploring potential connections to disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts, as well as practices to equip students with the competencies needed to thrive in a science landscape that is moving beyond animal use.

SPEAKERS:
Regina Terlau-Benford

Every lab comes with risk, and when there is a significant injury, the average settlement in the US exceeds $ 4 million. However, with the right tools, teachers can make every activity safer, smarter, and more engaging. In this interactive session, explore how VERA AI, a teacher-centered safety system, supports lesson planning, lab prep, and classroom management through real-time risk analysis and safer material substitutions. Using real K–12 scenarios, participants will experience how AI “safety wrappers” transform everyday lab routines into proactive safety checks that build student awareness and confidence. Learn how to integrate these AI tools to save time, strengthen compliance, and foster a shared culture of safety in science and makerspace learning. Walk away with free access to VERA AI and ready-to-use strategies for your next lab day.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to utilize free VERA AI tools to proactively identify lab risks, make safer substitutions, and save planning time—enabling them to focus more on meaningful, hands-on learning and feel confident teaching students in a safe learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Edward Cohen

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Explore interactive, narrative-driven digital labs that can be used independently or alongside hands-on biotech activities. This session highlights classroom use cases that engage students with genetics laboratory topics, including sickle cell disease, the central dogma, and others.

SPEAKERS:
Katy Martin

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Get ready for a session that’s bright, squishy, and full of “aha!” moments! Using colorful Play-Doh, LEDs, and batteries, participants will explore Switch Classroom’s Intro to Electricity lesson and bring foundational circuit concepts to life. You’ll investigate conductivity, resistance, open and closed circuits, and series versus parallel designs through playful, hands-on exploration. Designed for elementary through high school classrooms, this adaptable lab makes abstract electrical concepts tangible while supporting NGSS science and engineering practices. Optional extensions allow the challenge to be simplified for younger learners or expanded for grades 9–12. Leave with free Switch Classroom resources, classroom-ready strategies, and the confidence to spark curiosity—and light up learning—in any classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Swets

This poster will share information from an NSF-funded teacher professional development program focused on "Two Eyed Seeing"-- the braiding together of Western and Indigenous science in a place-based curriculum focused on exploring marine habitats. In the Ocean Tech unit, students learn how First Nations harvested dentallium shells, which were used as currency, from 60 feet beneath the ocean surface. They also learn how local tribes are engineering clam gardens to restore local habitat health and nourish communities. Engineering and technology are integrated through students designing and building a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) that they can use to answer questions about their local marine environments and engage in stewardship projects based on what they learn. We will showcase real examples of Western and Indigenous scientists collaborating, and how ROVs are being used in scientific work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Poster visitors will learn how in-service and pre-service teachers adapted and implemented the Ocean Tech unit to incorporate students' own culture and funds of knowledge while introducing them to ways Western and Indigenous scientists are working together to address environmental problems.

SPEAKERS:
Debi Hanuscin

This poster highlights how generative AI can support educators in developing high-quality instructional units using the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework. UbD emphasizes beginning with the end in mind—identifying desired results, determining acceptable evidence, and then planning learning experiences. Generative AI tools offer powerful support at each stage, from brainstorming enduring understandings and essential questions, to drafting performance assessments, to creating differentiated instructional activities. The poster presents a step-by-step example of how AI was used to co-develop a science unit aligned with NGSS standards, demonstrating the “before, during, and after” stages of the design process. Supportive visuals illustrate the UbD framework alongside AI outputs, showing both the opportunities and teacher decision points where professional judgment remains essential. Attendees will gain practical resources, including prompts for effective AI use, examples of UbD-aligne

TAKEAWAYS:
Promotes Reflective Practice – Using AI encourages teachers to critically evaluate and refine outputs, deepening their own understanding of UbD principles.

SPEAKERS:
Katrina Roseler

This poster showcases how you can transform your Canvas courses into inclusive, dynamic, and enriching learning experiences for all students. Swing by to tap into essential strategies, tools, and best practices to foster inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility through your school's Canvas site!

TAKEAWAYS:
Visitors will learn how to implement tools like Canvas Groups for collaborative learning, media opportunities with Canvas Studio, and using Canvas to showcase student understanding while harnessing student strengths!

SPEAKERS:
Tanya MacMartin, Ed.D.

In today’s classroom, adding STEM and 3D printing can transform learning by giving students hands-on experiences that bring their ideas to life. Along the way, they build critical thinking and problem-solving skills while practicing collaboration, creativity, and innovation. These tools provide real-world applications of learning and prepare students with the skills needed for future careers. By engaging in design and creation, students also develop adaptability and resilience, using technology as a bridge to master the essential skills of the 21st century. . Come ready learn practical strategies, see student-driven projects, and gain resources to bring hands-on, problem based creative learning into your classroom. Learn how to integrate this into all subject areas to bring STEM to life.

TAKEAWAYS:
Whether you're new to 3D printing or want to expand its use, this session will provide ideas, resources, and confidence to integrate 3D technology into your classroom. Learn how to use free software to bring science and engineering concepts to life, engaging students in real world projects.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Woodard, Nicole Hucks, Alicia Yewcic

Attendees will use data collection technologies such as software, probeware, and calculators to collect, graph, and analyze data. Attendees will then use veritcal whiteboarding to discuss and share the data collected through gallery walks. Topics will include, density, velocity and acceleration, temperature, solubility and conductivity, and force.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ideas and inspiration on how to get a more student centered data collection and analysis discussion with students with authentic data that is collected by the students.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Coker

How can we empower students to explore, understand, and protect ecosystems? This interactive session highlights how 5th grade students combined hands-on fieldwork with AI tools such as image recognition, sound classification, and digital modeling, to investigate habitats, track species, and model environmental changes. The case study features Florida’s Everglades, coral reefs, and red tide–impacted waters, but the strategies and activities can be applied anywhere. Participants will experience a hands-on design sprint, ideate AI-powered solutions, prototype projects, and share insights. Educators will leave with adaptable classroom-ready projects, make-and-take activities, and strategies for integrating AI, digital inquiry, and design thinking to inspire environmental stewardship.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a replicable framework for student-led conservation projects, practical strategies for integrating AI and design thinking, and adaptable classroom activities that combine fieldwork, digital inquiry, and hands-on environmental problem-solving.

SPEAKERS:
Vicki Spitalnick, Traci Phillips

Sponsoring Company: Kiddom

What does it take to make sense-making of phenomena through investigating the center of science instruction, not just in theory, but in daily practice? Join Dr. Mike Flanagan and explore how intentional curriculum design, when paired with powerful learning intelligence technology (LIT), can transform instruction and empower all learners. Featuring actionable strategies, this session will leave you inspired and equipped to design learning experiences that are coherent and genuinely engaging.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how thoughtful curriculum design and digital tools work together to support sense-making in science instruction, with practical strategies they can apply immediately to create more coherent, equitable, and engaging learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Flanagan

"When developing skills in-game and an understanding of science concepts are one and the same - digital games can make learning dynamic, fun and accessible." Join Smithsonian Science Education Center’s Digital Team as we dive deeper into bringing scientific phenomena to life using game-based learning. In this discussion, we will be covering topics such as how our team uses storytelling and narratives to help contextualize complex scientific concepts, how games make certain scientific phenomena accessible, how games can be designed for all users, and how they can help support students with different learning styles. We are excited to share our skills, free learning resources, and enthusiasm with you all, so please join us in expanding learning through games.

TAKEAWAYS:
Digital Games are suited for and should be designed for play-based learning Storytelling and narratives help contextualize complex science concepts Games and sims can give access to scientific phenomena that can be too far away, too big, too small, or too inaccessible for any other reason

SPEAKERS:
Brian Mandell

This session demonstrates sensemaking in action by integrating all four pillars: phenomena (observable oxygen changes during breath holding), science practices (authentic data collection and analysis with pulse oximeters and Python), student ideas (predictions about body system responses), and core disciplinary ideas (cellular respiration and homeostasis). Participants will experience a complete research-validated lesson where students collect their own physiological data, use Google Colab for visualization, and connect personal observations to ATP production and cellular processes. The lesson includes real-world biomedical applications through a hydrocephalus case study featuring VP shunts with Doppler sensors. Successfully implemented with 36 diverse high school students, this approach makes abstract molecular concepts tangible and personally relevant. Participants will leave with ready-to-use materials, including a 5E lesson plan, pre-written Python code, and samples of student work

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain practical, research-backed strategies to make cellular respiration tangible and relevant through authentic data collection, technology integration, and real-world biomedical connections.

SPEAKERS:
Demvia Maslian

Are you wanting to learn some fun and engaging physics activities in-line with the NGSS Standards? This session will give you a lesson to bring back to school and use or share with your colleagues. In our session we will be looking at balanced and unbalanced forces, calculating speed and motion graphs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience physics fun for 6-8 Science as they apply to the NGSS MS-PS3-1 standards. We will use hot wheels to collect data to calculate speed and create motion graphs using hands-on technology.

SPEAKERS:
Becky Walker, Amy Rush

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Experience firsthand how PASCO has integrated our award-winning sensors and technology into OpenSciEd investigations. See how students engage in real-time data collection and analysis, while teachers save valuable preparation time using PASCO's One-Way Mirror Model. Discover how the PASCO Portal® streamlines and organizes the entire OpenSciEd curriculum, simplifying planning and instructions while providing additional supports such as on-demand professional learning and more. Whether you're interested in starting a pilot or moving toward full implementation, PASCO has you covered.

SPEAKERS:
Heidi Brennan

This presentation will introduce educators to classroom ready resources that connect STEM concepts to real world ocean mapping technology and visualization tools to highlight the process of mapping the ocean and the extent that the seafloor has been mapped.

TAKEAWAYS:
Visualization tools that they can load in their classrooms to investigate the worlds seafloor.

SPEAKERS:
Tara Hicks Johnson

Elevate your science teaching with LabXchange, a free online STEMM platform housed at Harvard University! Come to explore free, interactive lab simulations for middle school science on topics such as photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and using a light microscope. See how these inquiry-based simulations help students predict, analyze, and reflect, giving them real-time hints and feedback. Stop by to learn how to use the LabXchange platform and meet the LabXchange team to better understand how you can bring these resources to your classroom, school, or learning space!

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how LabXchange’s free interactive lab simulations can make science learning accessible and engaging to enhance your middle school classroom experience, no matter your budget, time, or experience.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Sjoblom

Want to help your students explore anatomy through a lens of compassion? Let Animalearn introduce you to amazing new teaching tools that can help turn your science lab into an inclusive learning space that benefits students, animals + the environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Middle level science teachers will learn about the latest technology that they can use to replace animal dissection labs.

SPEAKERS:
Alisa Brooks, Nicole Green

As AI tools become more accessible to students, science educators face the challenge of guiding responsible and meaningful use. This session will explore how to create classroom AI guidelines that protect academic integrity while enhancing inquiry, lab investigations, and scientific writing. Participants will engage in collaborative activities to evaluate case studies, identify risks and opportunities, and design guidelines tailored to their own teaching contexts. Educators will leave prepared to introduce AI responsibly, ensuring it supports—not replaces—student learning in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to design classroom-ready AI guidelines that ensure responsible, ethical, and effective use of AI in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Stefany Palomba

In this session, we will model close reading lessons using both a document camera (traditional method) and a computer (technology integration) to demonstrate intentional annotation in science texts and assessments. Participants will engage in simulated classroom experiences, gaining a clear understanding of what effective text analysis with purposeful annotation looks and sounds like, as well as how to facilitate it. Short, manageable science passages will be used to ensure active participation and meaningful discussion. We’ll begin by exploring traditional annotation techniques using the document camera, then transition to digital tools—showing how uploaded texts can be annotated to support 21st-century learners. This hands-on approach will equip participants with practical strategies for blending traditional and modern methods to enhance comprehension and critical thinking in the science disciplines.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session empowers teachers to use intentional annotation (AI) to guide students in navigating grade-level science texts. AI, Please! boosts close reading and comprehension by combining purposeful annotation with practical classroom strategies to elevate science literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Yolanda Williams

Data-rich instruction is central to modern science learning—but for many schools, integrating larger datasets and data tools into lessons remains challenging. This session supports science educators, instructional coaches, and district leaders who are helping teachers build data fluency within existing curricula. Drawing on insights from projects funded by NSF and NASA, we'll uncover common roadblocks to bringing real data into classrooms and explore practical tools, datasets, and instructional strategies that promote equity-centered data access. Participants will examine professional learning approaches, scaffolds, and leadership moves that make data experiences meaningful, sustainable, and aligned with evolving STEM goals. Walk away ready to use data as a bridge for authentic collaboration across disciplines—building shared ownership of student learning and strengthening a culture of inquiry across classrooms and systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leaders will leave with a framework and strategies to support teachers in weaving authentic data use into science instruction—building coherence, confidence, and capacity for data-rich teaching across grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Salisbury, Karen Lionberger

This session will introduce and compare various open generative chatbots, as well as several that are explicitly geared towards supporting educators. We will discuss ways these can help teachers plan cohesive lessons and assessments that promote critical thinking and student-centered instruction, empowering learners and the community. We will also address pitfalls and challenges when using AI that can impact students' STEM voices, identities, and concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will equip teachers to thoughtfully integrate generative AI chatbots into science teaching in ways that strengthen critical thinking and community-centered learning, while recognizing and mitigating the challenges AI may introduce to students’ STEM identities and understandings.

SPEAKERS:
Christa Jackson

Come discover how free, NSF-funded tools for data exploration and AI from The Concord Consortium can enhance your NGSS teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science and Engineering Practices. Take away free tips and resources that you can use immediately to bring NGSS to life in your classroom! This hands-on session will demonstrate how teachers can enhance existing lessons using free, open source software for data exploration and science investigation developed by The Concord Consortium over a decade of NSF funding. With a particular emphasis on use of the Science and Engineering Practices, examples and hands-on interaction will engage participants in exploring data, integrating AI tools, and using models and simulations for powerful NGSS-aligned teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will demonstrate a wide variety of materials using free software and platforms developed by The Concord Consortium over a decade of NSF funding. Participants will explore research-based models and simulations, data exploration tools, and AI-powered learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

This interactive workshop supports teachers of grades 3–5 in designing interdisciplinary science experiences related to earthquakes for a variety of learners. Participants explore NGSS 4-PS4-1 by modeling P- and S-seismic waves with a long spring, then analyze seismograms from a recent earthquake to see how waves travel at different speeds and affect matter differently. Building on this, students investigate the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System as one way to reduce the impacts of earthquakes. Then, to address 4-ESS3-2, they investigate their own preparedness ideas so they can compare multiple solutions to keep themselves and their communities safer. The workshop also provides strategies for integrating reading, storytelling, health, and other science standards like 5-ESS2-1 by modeling tsunamis to illustrate interactions among Earth’s spheres. Educators will leave equipped to bring authentic, place-based interdisciplinary, place-based science learning to their students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn to guide students in participatory science by modeling seismic waves, analyzing real earthquake data, exploring ShakeAlert and other preparedness solutions, and connecting science with reading, health, and Earth systems standards through interdisciplinary, place-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Katrina Arras

Scientific modeling is central to NGSS, yet teachers often struggle to provide timely feedback on student-created models. This interactive workshop introduces ScienceSketch, a free, AI-powered tool developed by NC State and WestEd that supports real-time feedback on hand-drawn science models. Participants will explore how the tool evaluates student models against NGSS-aligned rubrics, delivers targeted feedback, and promotes revisions that deepen learning. Through hands-on experience, participants will create models, receive AI feedback, and compare their evaluations with student work and the system’s analysis. The session also invites educators to contribute insights on usability, classroom integration, and future enhancements. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for incorporating AI-supported modeling by ScienceSketch into elementary science instruction to boost student engagement and conceptual understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how AI-powered tools like ScienceSketch can provide real-time, individualized feedback on elementary school student-drawn science models—making scientific modeling more practical, engaging, and instructionally powerful in NGSS-aligned classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Wong, Mingyu Feng

This session will give participants a Birdseye view of how to use PhET SIMS in their science and math classroom to enhance conceptualization of concepts. We will go from just using worksheets with PhET to using PhET to have whole class discussion, create clicker questions and engage students in explorations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to implement PHet into their classroom using various strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Cecelia Gillam

This session, designed for teachers, curriculum leaders, science fair coordinators, and STEM administrators, explores the practical and ethical integration of artificial intelligence in science education. Participants will discover how AI is transforming classroom instruction, science fair, curriculum design, and student engagement through real-world case studies and hands-on resources. The session highlights building AI literacy for educators, developing responsible and inclusive implementation guidelines, and reimagining science pedagogy and science fair with AI-powered tools. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies and an “AI-ready” toolkit to ensure all students benefit from innovative, ethical, and engaging science learning in the age of artificial intelligence.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain practical frameworks and tools to design and implement effective classroom or district AI policies, including clear guidance for science fairs.​

SPEAKERS:
Kurtz Miller

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

Discover the power of NSTA Resource Collections – curated "bundles" designed to organize your digital library with resources from NSTA and beyond. This hands-on workshop guides you through creating your own collection, a vital tool for saving time when searching for topic-specific materials. Learn how to effectively share these collections with your school or district colleagues, or make them public to benefit the wider NSTA community. Leave ready to build and leverage collections to streamline your resource management.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave knowing how to create NSTA Resource Collections, add NSTA and external materials, and manage sharing options. They will grasp the benefits of organizing, including time savings and collaboration, and gain practical skills to build and share curated resource bundles.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez, Jaclyn Murray

This session explores discussion prompts that invite youth to co-design more ethical and equitable GenAI policies and practices with their teachers or school leaders. I share research with former students from my special education classroom, whose discussions highlight how they use GenAI, set boundaries, and engage in reflective practices. Their engagement with these prompts reveals and strengthens their capacity as ethical decision-makers, challenging the notion that young adults with disabilities are passive users of potentially harmful technologies. Join to explore strategies for initiating conversations that support developing policies and practices in partnership with your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see examples of how neurodiverse youth navigate GenAI use, set boundaries, and make ethical choices, demonstrating the value of engaging students in shaping equitable and responsible AI practices.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how scientists and engineers ask questions, analyze data, and solve problems. To prepare students for this future, teachers must develop AI literacy—understanding how to integrate AI tools ethically, inclusively, and meaningfully into instruction. This interactive workshop builds teacher confidence and competence in using AI by demonstrating how to enhance NGSS-aligned, three-dimensional learning. Participants will explore AI tools to support key Science and Engineering Practices. Throughout the workshop, we will include equity and inclusion strategies (UDL, scaffolding, multiple representation, student voice and choice) for English Learners and students with disabilities. Educators will explore student work samples that integrate AI and then participate in the design of a short, NGSS-aligned lesson.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop AI Literacy by exploring classroom applications and supports to make science learning accessible for all students, including English Learners and students with disabilities.

SPEAKERS:
Ortavia Manning-Dixon, Leilani O'Dell

Experience how LabXchange’s interactive lab simulations can elevate middle school teaching and learning. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to navigate the LabXchange platform, exploring a variety of virtual lab simulations such as photosynthesis, osmosis, cellular respiration, and using a light microscope. LabXchange simulations encompass the scientific method—from predictions and protocol, to analysis and reflection—all while providing real-time hints and feedback for students. Discover how inquiry-based virtual labs can foster a deeper understanding of science topics, strengthen curiosity, and develop critical skills in a no-cost, safe online environment. Participants will leave with ready-to-use educator resources and new strategies for facilitating science learning in both in-person and virtual settings. Note: Participants should bring a device with Wi-Fi capabilities to actively participate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how LabXchange’s free interactive lab simulations can make science learning accessible and engaging to enhance your middle school classroom experience, no matter your budget, time, or experience.

SPEAKERS:
Paul Schwein, Angela Campbell

With the quickly expanding interest in and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education, we believe it is vital to explore fundamental questions about when, how, and even if it should be used in education. Initiatives and products focused on educational applications of AI are outpacing the discussion of responsible and ethical approaches to doing so. This concerns us. The session will offer principled and evidence-based analysis of the implications of AI for teaching, lesson planning, tracking and supporting student progress, assessment, and educational monitoring. Together, we will learn about AI and how to think with and against its use in education in specific ways. Productive approaches for framing the use of AI with students will be shared. We invite you to join us for this important and urgent discussion of AI in education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about uses of AI in science education along with ways to think about ethical dimensions and the evidence base for specific pedagogical uses. We will explore possibilities, tensions, trade-offs, uncertainties, and strategies of resistance in this quickly shifting landscape.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Philip Bell

Rubin Observatory is a major public US observatory funded by the NSF and the DOE. Educational materials are freely available to all under a Creative Commons license. “Exploding Stars” is an interactive, classroom-ready, online lesson that uses real data. Designed to support the NGSS, it includes an investigative phenomenon, teacher guide, presentation slides, videos, and a variety of three-dimensional assessments and scoring guides. The investigation encourages student sensemaking as they progress from their initial ideas by integrating science practices and ideas such as analyzing data and using models and mathematical relationships to discover how supernovae can be used to measure distances in space. During the workshop we will explore the phenomenon and investigation, role-playing both teacher and student perspectives. Active learning strategies for formative and summative assessment will include think-pair-share, using a Driving Question Board, and whiteboarding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to implement the Exploding Stars investigation and phenomenon designed to support sensemaking and 3D learning, and explore formative and summative assessment strategies that support inclusive techniques for building student data literacy skills.

SPEAKERS:
Ardis Herrold

The Molecule Maker Lab Institute (MMLI) is combining revolutionizing chemistry education by replacing the “structure-first” approach with a dynamic, AI-driven "function-first" model. Today, most students struggle to master chemistry and few pursue it beyond high school. MMLI changes that. Using block-based chemistry and AI-powered molecular synthesis, students learn to solve real-world problems with molecules rather than memorize disconnected facts. With hands-on activities—like exploring the color spectrum, AI-chemical interactions, and organic photovoltaic cells—students experience chemistry as creativity, not rote learning. MMLI democratizes access to molecular literacy, giving every student the tools to imagine, design, and create molecules for drug discovery, energy capture, and more. This session will share curriculum examples, pilot data from high schools, and strategies for empowering the next generation of molecular innovators.

TAKEAWAYS:
To equip high school students with “molecular literacy" by combining block-based chemistry, AI, and "function-first" thinking, transforming chemistry from structural memorization into creative problem-solving for real-world challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Wolf

Come discover how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all three dimensions of the NGSS to your earth and environmental science teaching, with a special emphasis on earthquakes, wildfires, and natural hazards. Take away free tips and resources and get access to free curriculum materials you can use immediately to bring NGSS to life in your classroom! This session will demonstrate a wide variety of materials using free simulations and resources developed by The Concord Consortium over decades of NSF funding. Participants will explore free, open source interactive earth and environmental models and learn how they can be used to enhance use of three-dimensional learning in the classroom, with a particular emphasis on use of the Science Practices. Examples and hands-on interaction will engage participants in using models and simulations for powerful NGSS-aligned teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will demonstrate a wide variety of materials using free software developed by The Concord Consortium over a decade of NSF funding. Participants will explore authentic Earth science models and simulations including wildfires, earthquakes, and natural hazards and receive free curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

Participants will use live data & R programming (free, open access, non-commercial software for graphing & calculations) to predict eruption frequencies of Old Faithful geyser (NGSS Standards HS-ESS2-3 & HS-ESS2-6; Developing & Using Models & HS-ESS2-2; Analyzing & Interpreting Data). R is easy to learn & aids in visualizing data collected in the science classroom, as well as the integration of science-across-math efforts. This lesson supports a wide range of learners (demonstrated by 10 years teaching science in both brick/mortar Title 1 & on-line schools, raising science test scores above the state average) including multilingual, neurodiverse, students with disabilities & students who face barriers to access or engagement in science learning (e.g. multilingual students of migrant workers who attend school on-line) & is grounded in Science/STEM for all. Participants are advised to bring a laptop with R pre-installed (https://www.r-project.org/ has versions for all operating systems).

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover what a useful tool R programming can be for visualizing & managing live data in the classroom, from graphing to performing calculations, enhancing the integration of science-across-math. Participants will be able to teach their students to use R for data visualization & analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Washburn, Brian Dennis

As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become embedded in educational practice, science teacher preparation must move beyond surface-level awareness toward intentional and critical engagement. This session introduces strategies for teaching preservice science teachers how to use prompt engineering to generate effective, discipline-specific outputs; how to examine the ethical implications of AI in teaching and learning; and how to apply advanced AI techniques that extend beyond simple text generation. Emphasis will be placed on designing assignments that purposefully incorporate AI to deepen content knowledge, foster reflective practice, and develop critical AI literacy. Participants will explore examples of assignments, discuss best practices, and consider how to prepare future science teachers to navigate both the opportunities and challenges of AI in education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Purposefully engaging preservice teachers with AI as a critical thought partner, while embedding advanced strategies into assignments, cultivates the skills and critical literacy necessary for them to integrate AI responsibly and effectively in their future science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Crystal Cook, Wesam Salem, Logan Caldwell

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) website has a wealth of ocean resources but was previously difficult to search and use. We cataloged the content based on alignment with NGSS and Ocean Literacy Principles as well as topic and type of media and created a searchable database. This “Ocean Learning Hub” is now a searchable database that provides easy and fast access to the content as well as a bookmarking system so you can collate your resources for future reference. We will walk you through this updated website as well as provide an overview and demonstration of one of our available lesson plans developed with a WHOI researcher that explores ocean currents and specifically “underwater waterfalls”, i.e., overflows in the North Atlantic. I will share editable slides that include a quiz, instructions for a hands-on experiment, and two videos. The slides are annotated with teacher notes to help with narration, background information, and conduction of the experiment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to navigate the new standards based, educator-friendly WHOI Ocean Learning Hub website, gain ocean resources to use in their classroom and for outreach use, and all ages will understand the ocean’s role in our planet’s future.

SPEAKERS:
Grace Simpkins

“Stellar Safari” is a free classroom-ready lesson. Designed to support the NGSS, it includes a phenomenon, teacher guide, and three-dimensional formative and summative assessments. The workshop begins with a data-based phenomenon activity, in which participants will engage in sensemaking as they wonder what causes differences in stars, such as brightness and temperature. During the investigation, students compare data of main sequence stars like the Sun to discover how stellar properties are related and are the result of a star’s mass and fusion rate. Finally, they experiment with stellar models used by astronomers to determine star distances and age. During the workshop we role-play both teacher and student perspectives. Active learning strategies for formative and summative assessment will include think-pair-share, using a Driving Question Board, and whiteboarding. Rubin Observatory is a major public US observatory. All educational materials and services are freely available to all.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to implement the Stellar Safari online investigation and phenomenon designed to support sensemaking and 3D learning, and explore formative and summative assessment strategies that support inclusive techniques for building student data literacy skills.

SPEAKERS:
Ardis Herrold

Are you overwhelmed by lesson planning, grading, and trying to meet every student’s needs? You're not alone—and AI may be the support system you didn’t know you needed. In this hands-on workshop, discover how artificial intelligence tools can lighten your workload, enhance student engagement, and help you reclaim your time and energy. Learn how educators are using AI to automate routine tasks, personalize instruction, and reduce burnout—all without sacrificing rigor or creativity. Explore real classroom examples, test-drive AI tools like ChatGPT, Eduaide, Curipod, and Brisk Teaching to walk away with a ready-to-use toolkit and an actionable plan tailored to your classroom or school. Whether you're AI-curious or already experimenting, this session will equip you with practical strategies to teach smarter—not harder. Let AI take care of the busywork so you can focus on what matters most: inspiring the next generation of scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a clear, personalized plan for using AI tools to reduce their daily workload—freeing up time and energy to focus on impactful teaching rather than administrative tasks.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Mulligan

Participants will explore a fourth grade design thinking project that uses Makey Makey boards and Scratch to introduce students to controller design through hands on making and iteration. Students begin by sketching and comparing multiple controller ideas before building, focusing on ergonomics, reliability, and usability rather than rushing into electronics. Cardboard prototyping is used to test and refine designs before adding circuitry, helping students understand the value of planning and revision. As the project progresses, students extend their learning by improving controllers for specific games, adding additional inputs, or designing assistive controllers for those with accessibility needs. The session will highlight classroom strategies for scaffolding engineering concepts, managing open ended projects, and supporting creativity while maintaining clear design constraints. Attendees will leave with practical structures, reflection tools, and extension ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to structure an elementary engineering project that emphasizes iteration, user centered design, and accessibility while using Makey Makey and Scratch to connect physical design with the user experience.

SPEAKERS:
Collin Doruff

This presentation empowers science educators to integrate Artificial Intelligence for authentic inquiry in their classrooms. It demonstrates how various AI tools—including template-driven (e.g., MagicSchool.ai, Curipod), open-ended (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Gemini), and hybrid options (e.g., Notebook LM, Brisk Teaching)—can be utilized to align with and enhance Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). Attendees will explore tailored prompts for both teachers and students, designed to maximize AI's potential in areas like generating testable questions, developing models, planning investigations, analyzing data, and constructing explanations. Practical strategies will be shared to help teachers apply AI tools to their lesson planning, and make complex science concepts more accessible and engaging for all learners

TAKEAWAYS:
This session is fundamentally a "how-to" guide for science educators, offering practical, actionable strategies and demonstrations for integrating diverse AI tools into their classrooms. It moves beyond theoretical concepts to provide concrete examples and tools that attendees can immediately apply.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Suters, Jennifer Meadows, Kelly Moore, Andrea Henrie

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

Tired of teaching in silos? This interactive session shows how AI tools and EduProtocols can transform planning into dynamic, cross-curricular learning. Participants will co-create a live science + social studies unit using Curriculum Genie, experiencing how AI accelerates design while keeping standards at the center. Along the way, we’ll embed EduProtocols that spark collaboration and engagement, and close with a Snorkl demo to model instant AI-powered formative feedback. Grounded in backward design, UDL, and cognitive apprenticeship, this session blends innovation with strong pedagogy. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework to break down silos, save planning time, and foster student agency—equipping learners to be effective communicators, tactful collaborators, and lifelong learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with a replicable process for co-creating standards-aligned, cross-curricular units using AI. See how EduProtocols scaffold engagement and how Snorkl delivers instant feedback—giving you practical, ready-to-use strategies to boost student agency and break content silos.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Miramontes

Looking for an engaging way to teach the types of waves and their characteristics? This interactive session will equip you with hands-on investigations, simulations, and tech-based tools to compare amplitude, frequency, and wavelength in transverse and longitudinal waves, including the electromagnetic spectrum. You’ll receive ready-to-use activities and adaptable content to fit your specific grade level. Come ready to learn, participate, and walk away with practical, classroom-ready strategies to excite your students!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience physics fun for 6-8 Science as they apply to the NGSS standards. Participants will use slinkies to visually view the components of waves, as well as use hands-on technology to see a graphical model of the types of waves.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Rush, Becky Walker

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

Explore how Invention Education (IE) and the Engineering Design Process (EDP) can be used in the classroom to engage students in hands-on, real-world problem solving while building creativity, collaboration, and essential 21st-century skills. Participants will work through a real-world problem utilizing the Engineering Design Process to invent and create a solution.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience how IE and EDP can empower students to become confident problem-solvers and innovative thinkers prepared for a rapidly changing world. Educators will leave with practical/transferrable strategies for implementing invention in invention-based learning in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Tom Jenkins, Erika Levrault, Kim Alvin De Lara

The Global Ocean Biogeochemical Array (https://www.go-bgc.org/) provides researchers and educators access to over 400 floats that are profiling the water column from 2000 meters to the surface collecting biogeochemical data (pH, oxygen, temperature, nitrate, CO2, fluorescence, Chl, and salinity). Educators also have the option to adopt a float (https://www.go-bgc.org/outreach/adopt-a-float) providing a sense of ownership and pride in the float and the data being gathered. Tutorials and lesson plans are available on the website but this presentation will demonstrate and enable educators to see how easy it is to access the data. Lesson plans are linked with both the Ocean Literacy Principles and the Next Generation Science Standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how to utilize real data being gathered by scientific instruments around the world. Hands-on investigation will empower educators with the ability to locate and analyze biogeochemical data and correlate it to biological and physical oceanography.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Magnusson, George Matsumoto

n this presentation, you will learn how our students engaged in purposeful collaboration to effectively integrate outdoor learning into the science classroom. The presenters will discuss key design challenges and strategies for transitioning learning environments beyond the traditional classroom setting. Facilitators will showcase diverse approaches that provide students with authentic opportunities to explore and engage with nature. The session will cover practical methods for establishing outdoor gardens, implementing documentation and journaling practices, and enhancing data collection techniques. Attendees will discover how to leverage technology to enrich and bring student learning to life in outdoor settings. Together, we will explore meaningful technological tools—including Micro:bits, podcasting, and iPads—that inspire and deepen outdoor scientific inquiry and creativity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the presentation equipped with practical tools and design principles to create outdoor classrooms that not only enhance scientific inquiry through real-world data collection but also support holistic student development.

SPEAKERS:
Jesse Wren, Paula Eschbach

Join us to explore how AI can help you complete a variety of tasks in prepwork. We will examine various AI tools and their ability to brainstorm ideas, plan lessons, create slideshows, write practice problems, and generate images. For the first thirty (30) minutes, participants will be given a foundation in AI and examples of prepwork tasks they can complete. For the second half of this session, we will break into groups and evaluate these AI tools in terms of how effectively they can complete prepwork. Participants must have a device that can access the internet to participate in this session.

TAKEAWAYS:
Artificial intelligence can assist teachers in a variety of prepwork tasks, including: brainstorming ideas, planning lessons, creating slideshows, writing practice problems, and generating images.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Krajeski

Sponsoring Company: RAYN Growing Systems

Hydroponics gives students a living laboratory where science, literacy, and agriculture come alive. In this hands-on workshop, educators will explore NGSS-aligned investigations using a cheap plastic cup experiment to teach plant growth, environmental science, CTE, and STEM. Participants will experience a phenomena-based lab that models real agricultural research—how pH affects plant development—using simple and cheap materials that work in any school setting. We will demonstrate student-friendly data collection strategies, cross-curricular literacy connections, and ways to integrate STEM and sustainability. Educators will leave with ready-to-use lessons, assessment rubrics, and digital student data tables that build scientific thinking and support National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes. Whether teaching PreK–5, middle school, or high school, attendees will learn how to transform food systems learning into powerful experiential education while helping students explore career pathways

SPEAKERS:
Bryce Corning

This workshop introduces teachers to ways AI tools can be integrated to support both teachers’ OpenSciEd instructional planning and students’ practices of science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) through hands-on activities and Generative AI (GenAI) tools. - Responsible and ethical use of GenAI: Emphasize that teachers make smart choices about when to use GenAI. The use of GenAI should enhance the quality and efficiency of teaching but cause no harm to interactions within classrooms. - Support teachers’ SEPs planning in an OpenSciEd unit: Introduce prompt engineering strategies for the preparation and implementation of an OpenSciEd unit. Engage teachers in creating and sharing their prompts for a sample OpenSciEd unit. - Integrate and support students’ use of AI for SEPs: Introduce GenAgents by the National GENIUS Center for supporting SEPs. Try one of the GenAgents as students and discuss how an AI-assisted SEPs activity can be integrated into the sample OpenSciEd unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave the workshop empowered with practical strategies to responsibly integrate Generative AI into OpenSciEd units—enhancing their planning of SEPs and facilitating meaningful, student-centered AI-supported learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Ai-Chu Ding, Lehong Shi, Arne Bewersdorff

Come discover how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all three dimensions of the NGSS to your physics, physical science and chemistry teaching, with a special emphasis on the Science Practices and AI integration. Bring a device to this interactive session and take away free tips and resources that you can use immediately to bring NGSS to life in your classroom! This session will demonstrate a wide variety of materials using free simulation software for data exploration and science investigation developed by The Concord Consortium across decades of NSF funding. Participants will explore molecular models, biology models, earth science models, data exploration tools and more, and learn how they can be used to enhance use of three-dimensional learning in the classroom. Examples and hands-on interaction will engage participants in using models and simulations for powerful NGSS-aligned teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will demonstrate a wide variety of free simulation software developed by The Concord Consortium over a decade of NSF funding. Participants will explore molecular models, authentic biological simulations, physics interactives, and integrated data exploration opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey

Sponsoring Company: Switch Classroom

Get ready for a session that’s bright, squishy, and full of “aha!” moments! Using colorful Play-Doh, LEDs, and batteries, participants will explore Switch Classroom’s Intro to Electricity lesson and bring foundational circuit concepts to life. You’ll investigate conductivity, resistance, open and closed circuits, and series versus parallel designs through playful, hands-on exploration. Designed for elementary through high school classrooms, this adaptable lab makes abstract electrical concepts tangible while supporting NGSS science and engineering practices. Optional extensions allow the challenge to be simplified for younger learners or expanded for grades 9–12. Leave with free Switch Classroom resources, classroom-ready strategies, and the confidence to spark curiosity—and light up learning—in any classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Swets

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the educational landscape. While AI can feel like a burden to traditional teaching, it offers powerful opportunities when harnessed well. Teachers face the dual challenge of using AI to enhance their practice while simultaneously preparing students to use AI responsibly and effectively. This session explores both sides of the equation. Drawing from classroom experience and current national guidelines, participants will examine the benefits and pitfalls of AI in education. Attendees will gain practical AI strategies for lesson planning, standards alignment, and identifying misconceptions, plus tools that ease teaching burdens and equip students with AI literacy and ethical use strategies. The session will include classroom examples, forward-looking policy insights, and collaborative brainstorming, leaving attendees with ready-to-implement strategies that position AI as both a teaching partner and a student learning tool.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how AI can move beyond burden by streamlining teacher tasks like lesson planning, grading, and standards alignment, while also providing strategies to prepare students for responsible, ethical, and practical AI use.

SPEAKERS:
Kenji Nomura

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

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

Sponsoring Company: Animalearn

Let Animalearn introduce you to innovative dissection resources that will encourage you to revamp your current science lab. In this session you will get the opportunity to try out amazing new teaching tools (both hands-on models and AR/VR tech) that can help turn your science lab into an inclusive learning space that benefits ALL student learners, animals, and the environment. Attendees will dissect the Kind Frog (the latest realistic dissectible frog model) and simulated owl pellets! Teachers will also get to explore dissection experiences using AR/VR technology, i.e. Merge Cube, Victory XR and Curio XR with a Meta Quest headset. BONUS: Lots of giveaways!

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Green

Facilitate sensemaking and increase content relevance with safety and sustainability problems! Join us as we present (1) Xplorlabs, a free online platform from UL Research Institutes that explores modern-day science phenomena through a safety science lens; and (2) Action-Oriented Pedagogies (AOP; Weinberg et al., 2024), an instructional framework that pairs coursework with community impact, providing meaningful contexts for all students to transform their ideas and learnings into action. During this session, you will engage with Xplorlabs resources from a student perspective, then discuss how they can be combined with AOP to support student use of science and engineering knowledge and practices to address real-world problems. This conversation will be supported by exemplary work from real teachers who position youth as changemakers in their local communities. When you leave, you’ll be ready to support your own students’ action towards safer and more sustainable futures!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will discover resources to support students’ application of knowledge and use of science and engineering skills, as well as ways to leverage Action-Oriented Pedagogies for student action that extends learning beyond the classroom and addresses local safety and sustainability challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Catherine Robinson, Elliot Hall, Ruben Carroll, Sarah Suloff

Through hands-on investigations and activities developed by NOAA Ocean Exploration, participants will experience how students can think and work like ocean scientists. Educators will engage in lessons that use mapping technology, water column investigations, and underwater robotics to gather and analyze data, revealing the patterns scientists use to locate hydrothermal vents. These classroom-ready experiences show how students, no matter where they live, can explore the ocean and contribute to understanding new habitats and species. The session will also highlight a recent real-world example from researchers and educators at the University of Delaware and collaborators aboard the R/V Atlantis, who captured the first-ever observations of an underwater volcanic eruption in progress.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn how modern technology helps students explore the ocean from wherever they live. Hands-on investigations model the work ocean scientists and explorers use every day to gather new data and find new habitats and species.

SPEAKERS:
David Christopher, Tami Lunsford

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

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

The world is changing at the speed of light. With AI, drones, and robotics becoming everyday realities, what does the future hold for our students? Will they have the skills they need to be ready for what awaits? How can our science classrooms integrate college and career readiness that makes science not only more relevant and fun, but TRULY prepares students for post-secondary success? This session will dive into a dynamic, innovative, and proven pathway for integrating 21st-century skills and vocational readiness into your science classrooms. The time is NOW.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Marshall

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Experience firsthand how PASCO has integrated our award-winning sensors and technology into OpenSciEd Investigations. See how students engage in real-time data collection and analysis using our Wireless CO2 Sensor to investigate decomposition as it relates to Zombie Fires. Discover how the PASCO Portal® streamlines and organizes the entire OpenSciEd curriculum saving teachers valuable time simplifying planning and instruction while providing additional supports such as on-demand learning and more. Whether you're looking to start a pilot or moving towards full implementation, PASCO has you covered.

SPEAKERS:
Heidi Brennan

Discover Rubin Observatory’s free, classroom-ready astronomy investigations, built to support NGSS and spark curiosity with authentic data. Each begins with a phenomenon and guides students through interactive tools, scaffolded questions, and active learning strategies that strengthen sensemaking. Formative and summative assessments with scoring guides support classroom use. Additional resources—such as Rubin Voices Trading Cards that highlight diverse STEM careers, animated videos, interactive tours, and activities ranging from galaxy counting to Rubin Bingo—bring astronomy to life. Teachers can also access free professional development, classroom support, and an education mailing list for ongoing updates.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore Rubin Observatory’s free classroom-ready astronomy investigations and STEM activities, all designed to support the NGSS. Discover how to access professional development, teacher support, and additional resources like videos, games, data-based image tours, and trading cards.

SPEAKERS:
Ardis Herrold

Too often banned as distractions, cell phones can be reimagined as powerful science tools for equity and engagement. Grounded in my white paper Reimagining Public School Education: Embracing Innovation for the Future, this workshop explores global models showing how structured integration of mobile devices boosts collaboration, real-time feedback, and personalized learning. Through polling, simulations, and role-play, participants will experience strategies for turning student phones into curriculum-aligned instruments—even without advanced infrastructure. Attendees will leave with blueprints to address privacy, policy, and access while reframing the device in every student’s pocket as a lab of the 21st century.

TAKEAWAYS:
Cell phones, when structured and intentional, shift from distraction to powerful science tools—supporting equity, personalization, and engagement while preparing students for a tech-driven future.

SPEAKERS:
Marvin Reid

Grading is one of the most time-consuming tasks we face, often leading to teacher burnout and limited time or capacity to provide meaningful feedback. Regardless of the Learning Management System (LMS) that you use, instructors have access to a variety of built-in tools designed to make grading more efficient--without sacrificing quality. This poster presentation will showcase practical, efficient, research-informed strategies for leveraging tools in LMS platforms such as Canvas to streamline the grading process while maintaining the quality of feedback students receive.

TAKEAWAYS:
Viewers will learn about grading tools such as embedded rubrics, comment libraries, annotation tools, and video feedback to balance grading efficiency with personalized, student-centered feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Tanya MacMartin, Ed.D.

This poster highlights a strategy for integrating generative AI tools into teacher preparation programs to strengthen candidates’ reflective practice. Teacher candidates use AI to evaluate their own professional reflections from a math and science teaching conference, aligning with standards such as inTASC Standards, AAQEP, MCEE, and ISTE. The lesson provides candidates with structured opportunities to analyze AI feedback, consider personal strengths and biases, and set actionable goals for growth. Attendees will gain strategies to implement AI-supported reflection in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Practical strategies for integrating AI into teacher preparation.

SPEAKERS:
Katrina Roseler

We developed an augmented reality (AR) app called Project STEMinAR for teaching physical science content, including Thermodynamics, Rotational Motion, Optics, Force/Motion, Newton’s Laws, Lenses, and Electromagnetics. In these interactive simulations, students manipulate variables and see how different representations of that concept are affected in real time. The free app and a printout cube are needed to use the simulations. Free curricular materials are also available. The simulations are aligned with introductory undergraduate physics courses, high school physics, the Florida Standards for physical science, and NGSS Science and Engineering Practices 1 and 2. We are currently implementing the simulations in undergraduate physics labs to explore the effects on student learning gains, engagement, and interest in physics. We will demonstrate the simulations, share curricula, and discuss findings from implementation. This work is supported by an NSF IUSE grant (Project #2121273).

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use the free Project STEMinAR physics simulations and curricular materials in both lecture and lab settings. Resources will be provided that can be implemented in classrooms immediately.

SPEAKERS:
David Rosengrant, KELLY NAVAS, Rachel Cacace

Can your students outsmart artificial intelligence? In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore an engaging classroom activity where students train an AI image-recognition model to identify four major tissue types: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous. After training, students test the model with unknown samples and compare its accuracy to their own. Along the way, participants will discover how this activity strengthens student understanding of tissue structure and function while also introducing critical conversations about the role of AI in science, data quality, and human vs. machine learning. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use materials, strategies for integrating AI tools like Google Teachable Machine into NGSS-aligned instruction, and ideas for extending the activity into other science disciplines and grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a ready-to-use, NGSS-aligned classroom activity that demonstrates how to integrate AI tools into science instruction—engaging students in comparing human and machine learning while building content knowledge and transferable skills that extend across disciplines and grad

SPEAKERS:
Katelyn Christensen

Discover the transformative power of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to elevate STEM learning in your classroom! This session highlights hands-on projects that enhance engagement while building students’ communication, collaboration, problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and critical thinking skills. By integrating UAS career exploration and real-world applications, educators can create meaningful experiences that connect classroom learning to the world around them. Participants will explore diverse drone applications, from environmental science and agriculture to emergency response and infrastructure inspection, showcasing how UAS technology can be used across multiple fields. Students will gain not only technical proficiency but also essential skills for future STEM careers. Join us to explore innovative strategies for incorporating UAS into your curriculum and inspire students to envision themselves in exciting careers in aviation, engineering, and beyond.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore drone-based STEM projects and leave with ready-to-use lessons, resources, and strategies for your classroom. Gain tools to engage students in problem-solving, teamwork, and career-connected learning in aviation and STEM fields.

SPEAKERS:
Jesse Steiner, Christina Davis

As AI tools become more accessible in classrooms, educators face a challenge: how to use them to enhance teaching without disrupting the sensemaking that drives authentic learning. This session explores how teachers can leverage AI for efficiency, creativity, and feedback while keeping student thinking central. Participants will examine examples and strategies for using AI in planning, instruction, and assessment that position it as a partner—not a replacement—for human reasoning. Leave with practical tools to support student inquiry and ownership of ideas in an AI-rich world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to make intentional choices about when and how to use AI—employing it to improve clarity, efficiency, or thinking—while avoiding uses that undermine authentic connections and student sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney

How can educators use AI to help multilingual learners engage more fully in science and engineering practices like constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence? Building on Part 1, this session introduces an interactive AI bot that provides targeted scaffolds for language and reasoning in science tasks. Participants will explore how AI can translate assignments, offer real-time feedback, and support students in using evidence to communicate scientific ideas. Through a hands-on investigation, attendees will experience how tools like adaptive prompts can lower language barriers while enhancing sensemaking. Leave with ready-to-use examples, AI prompts, and classroom applications that make the practices of science accessible, equitable, and authentic for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience strategies for designing phenomenon-based science lessons where multilingual learners thrive. Learn how AI can scaffold language, personalize tasks, and support equitable access to three-dimensional sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Drenth

In an effort to promote explanations of science phenomena in science classes, California State University Northridge holds an annual contest to see who can record the best explanation. The ExplanaJam contest is held at the end of the school year where teachers run a video contest in their class and submit the top videos to the university for judging. The contest provides a low stakes positive forum that reinforces best practices for constructing explanations and helps connect students to a larger community of science learners. For the last five years we have reviewed hundreds of videos and picked winner at different grade levels and awarded special prizes. We will discuss the advantages of this approach and recommendation for how people can run their own contest.

TAKEAWAYS:
The ExplanaJam contest provides prizes for explaining science that reinforces best practices and provides outstanding examples of what students can do.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Foley

Growing up following the advent of smartphones and social media, Generations Z and Alpha have experienced declines in mental and emotional health relative to previous generations. In an effort to combat this trend, there are innovative, computationally driven methods for measuring and fostering social connection among groups of students. This presentation will illustrate the design, features, and practical applications of such approaches. Further, attendees will learn strategies to implement these methods within classrooms and school communities to foster healthier, better-connected learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how innovative, data-driven approaches can measure and strengthen social connection among students, helping educators foster healthier, more connected learning environments for Generations Z and Alpha.

SPEAKERS:
Linh Ho, Johnathan Chittuluru, Daniel Pena

How do we create STEM learning spaces where all students see themselves as capable and belonging? This interactive workshop models hands-on strategies rooted in culturally relevant pedagogy to help educators disrupt stereotypes and expand representation in their classrooms. Participants will engage in activities such as identity reflection through journaling, analyzing and redesigning representation in science and technology, and coding creative projects that link computational thinking with storytelling. These activities are framed around Social Identity Theory and the principle that students’ sense of belonging is strengthened when they see their identities reflected in STEM spaces. While the session draws inspiration from a study on girls in gaming, the strategies are designed to be broadly adaptable for diverse learners and classroom contexts. Educators will leave with practical tools, adaptable activity templates, and a framework for integrating representation and identity work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn adaptable, culturally relevant STEM teaching strategies that integrate identity reflection, representation, and creative hands-on activities to increase students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy.

SPEAKERS:
Kiy Benton

As digital tools and AI rapidly transform STEM education, multilingual learners face unique challenges that go beyond language barriers – Digital Culture Shock. In this session, participants will explore how the intersection of technology, artificial intelligence, and language learning impacts STEM classrooms. We will examine the stages of digital culture shock and highlight practical approaches for turning digital shifts into opportunities for engagement and innovation. Attendees will gain strategies to integrate AI and digital tools intentionally to scaffold academic language, build STEM literacy, and empower multilingual learners to thrive in today’s STEM classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Multilingual learners face digital culture shock in STEM with new technologies, AI tools, and language demands. Participants will explore strategies to support STEM access, language development and empowerment to thrive in digital classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Maria Cieslak

Tired of spending hours grading or scrambling to provide accommodations for diverse learners? This session will show you how to make technology work for you. Discover self-grading spreadsheets that give instant feedback, interactive Google Docs for collaborative learning, and digital features that make modifications and accommodations simple to implement. These tools save time, increase efficiency, and ensure all students get the support they need—without adding to your workload. Walk away with ready-to-use templates, classroom-tested tips, and strategies that can be applied in any content area to boost productivity and student success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to use practical tech tools—like self-grading spreadsheets, interactive Google Docs, and built-in supports—to save time, streamline grading, and easily provide accommodations and modifications for all learners across any content area.

SPEAKERS:
Kyla Glasser

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

Experience “AI in Action” as you learn how artificial intelligence can transform science teaching and learning. This interactive session aligns with NGSS and the Framework for K–12 Science Education, showing how AI supports sense making, differentiation, and equity in real classrooms. Educators will explore AI tools that streamline lesson planning, generate inclusive activities for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, and design formative and summative assessments aligned to standards. Hands-on demonstrations will highlight culturally relevant examples, ensuring the experiences, backgrounds, and interests of all learners are incorporated. Teachers will save grading time through AI-assisted rubrics and feedback tools. Participants will analyze classroom artifacts, apply sample prompts, and leave with ready-to-use templates that make AI a trusted instructional partner, helping teachers reclaim time while still engaging every learner in meaningful science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to harness AI to streamline planning, grading, and differentiation, creating NGSS-aligned, equitable, and engaging science experiences that save time, elevate rigor, and empower every learner to thrive in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Glenroy Foster, Nicole Marcellin

What happens when a classroom becomes a stage for sensemaking? In this session, participants will discover how a student-led TEDx conference can serve as a powerful vehicle for integrating phenomena, science and engineering practices, student ideas, and science ideas into daily instruction. Attendees will learn practical strategies for guiding students as they identify real-world phenomena, design questions, and conduct research that bridges STEM and humanities. Students then transform their findings into authentic TEDx talks, blending science literacy, engineering design, and communication skills. This approach highlights how educators can cultivate curiosity, amplify student voices, and connect learning to the broader community. From scaffolding research and refining arguments to integrating media production and presentation, this session offers a replicable framework for engaging students in authentic, idea-driven science learning that deepens understanding and builds confidence.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies for using student-led TEDx talks to integrate the four pillars of sensemaking (phenomena, practices, student ideas, and science ideas) into classroom practice, empowering learners to research, reason, and present authentic, real-world solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Robinson, Katie Musick, Jesse Wren

Differentiating instruction in science can feel overwhelming—but AI can serve as a thought partner to help educators design engaging, student-centered experiences. In this interactive session, participants will explore practical ways AI can support lesson planning, scaffolding, and content creation for diverse learners. Through live demonstrations and collaborative activities, attendees will see how AI tools can generate differentiated lab tasks, reading passages, and assessments while preserving rigor and scientific accuracy. Educators will leave with strategies to harness AI for equity, engagement, and deeper learning in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use AI as a thought partner to design differentiated, engaging science instruction that meets the needs of diverse learners.

SPEAKERS:
Stefany Palomba

High school science teachers commonly give failing grades. While the failure might stem from a variety of causes including struggling with the material, disengagement, or frequent absences, high school leaders are tasked with assisting students who fail science courses required for high school graduation to remediate the course credit. A common way leaders do so is through enrolling the student in online credit recovery, most likely an asynchronous platform that students engage with to earn lost course credit. However, research finds online credit recovery is particularly in conflict with the NSTA position on a strong high school program for high school students, with science credit recovery students having lower performance compared to other subjects. We will explore why science courses are particularly challenging to remediate with credit recovery and ways leaders should structure credit recovery for students failing science for quality 21st century science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students who fail science courses need remediation that is engaging and applicable. We spotlight the work of leaders in providing these opportunities to students and highlight the importance of science teacher agency even if students are enrolled in digital learning through asynchronous courses.

SPEAKERS:
Hector Moya

Presenters from a researcher-practitioner partnership will describe a regional citizen science network of K-12 researchers from 30 Sonoran Desert schools. Students on each campus build, plant, collect and analyze data about garden micro-environments and plant growth under two conditions: one with and one without solar panels. Students and teachers build relationships across campuses and with other stakeholders to generate regional knowledge while creating value for their local communities. Students share their data and lab reports through a virtual platform and during online and in-person conferences. Attendees will explore strategies for using CODAP to perform data moves, conduct analysis, generate visualizations, and make sense of data on a large student-produced dataset from one of the participating schools. Attendees will reflect on various ways to couple data moves with digital literacy skills to support students in place-based science inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover how K–12 teachers and students build data science literacy while promoting sustainability through solar-powered school gardens. Using CODAP, a free web-based analysis tool, attendees will perform data moves on student-generated datasets drawn from solar-enhanced garden projects.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Jordan, Brianne Loya, Carlos Meza-Torres

Discover how to seamlessly integrate literacy skills in data science and artificial intelligence into your science curriculum using LabXchange, Harvard’s free digital learning platform. This workshop introduces participants to interactive modules and engaging activities that build essential data skills through real-world scientific contexts. Explore how LabXchange supports student inquiry, visualization, and analysis, while demystifying data concepts relevant to science. Learn strategies to foster students’ critical thinking and ethical reasoning around data and AI—all without requiring coding experience. Participants will gain access to adaptable resources and leave prepared to empower diverse learners for the data-driven future of science. Note: Participants should bring a device with Wi-Fi capabilities to actively participate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use LabXchange’s free resources to integrate data and AI literacy into your science teaching, equipping students with essential skills for understanding and exploring real-world scientific data.

SPEAKERS:
Paul Schwein, Angela Campbell

How do we take the mystery out of abstract ideas for our kids? It’s elementary my dear, models are the answer! We will give you tools that will enable your kids to master the curriculum. We solve the mysteries so you can go back and use these ideas!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with resources and lesson ideas that they can implement the next day they are in class. Not only will they have access to the resources shown, but they will also be able to get ideas where these resources can fit into their current curriculum for the year.

SPEAKERS:
Krystal Poloka

What makes a makerspace more than just a room full of tools? This session draws on new research with makerspace educators to explore the goals, purposes, and teaching practices that shape makerspace learning environments across K–16 classrooms. By centering the voices of educators, this study explores how intentional design of makerspaces can foster equity, inclusion, and engagement for historically underrepresented groups in STEM, including girls, women, and individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We’ll unpack themes from the study and highlight what works, what challenges remain, and what purposeful implementation of maker education can look like. Whether you are just getting started or looking to deepen your understanding of maker education, this session will equip you with insights and resources to help you design a makerspace.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about the goals, purpose, teaching practices, and implementation of makerspace learning environments across K-16 classrooms based off of recent data from makerspace educators. Walkaway with a toolkit to help you launch a makerspace and engage your learners in maker education.

SPEAKERS:
Olivia Bello

Lithium-ion batteries power nearly every device in schools—laptops, tablets, cordless tools, smartphones, AirPods, smart watches, drones, and more. But when they fail, they can spark fires, explosions, and toxic exposures. Learn practical, research-based strategies for storage, charging, disposal, and staff training to keep your students and schools safe.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to minimize the risks caused by Li-ion powered devices and how to address them when they do arise, all aligned with Safety, Systems, and Science in Practice

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Doyle

This session explores an 11-day Global Intensive Experience (GIE): Exploring STEM Education in Germany, to investigate and experience firsthand the use of renewable energy sources in Germany - one of the most energy efficient countries in the world. Our journey takes us to three cities (Heidelberg, Freiberg, Frankfurt) and one rural village (Freiamt). Along the way, we visit schools, museums, homes, farms, businesses, forests, and district centers - all with a strong focus on renewable energy, including solar, biofuel, wind, and hydro installations. Students’ final assignment is a Passion Project inspired by their experiences in one of these unique places. In this session, we share learning resources and students' projects. We describe ways they transferred their lived experiences back to their STEM career contexts, including elementary and secondary education, special education, engineering, museum learning, and more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about and receive materials related to helping undergraduate students from diverse colleges learn about energy transition science and engineering. They will also learn strategies for supporting students to translate their experiences to career-related passion projects.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Jordan

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, but could it also stand for Assisting and Innovating? This presentation will explore how educators can use Chat GPT, Magic School, School AI and other forms of AI to enhance our lessons, speed up the planning process, and introduce students to new ideas and technology. We will also discuss how to create boundaries in the classroom so that students and teachers use AI appropriately and safely.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with at least 3 new ideas for how to use AI, 1 lesson plan created by AI and a protocol for guiding students to use AI appropriately in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Juliana Brassfield

Wondering how to integrate AI into STEM classrooms without sacrificing inquiry? This session introduces CLUE (Collaborative Learning User Environment), a free platform that uses AI to support, not shortcut, deep reasoning and collaboration. Attendees will experience how CLUE’s multimodal AI strategies scaffold open-ended inquiry, foster metacognitive reflection, and enhance NGSS Crosscutting Practices. Real classroom examples from ecology, earth science, math modeling, programming, and biology will show how open, NSF-funded curricula can be paired with AI to promote broader, contextual thinking. Teachers will leave with concrete strategies for weaving AI into any STEM class, tools to engage students in reflecting on and critiquing AI, and resources to try CLUE immediately in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a clear understanding of how AI can enhance—not undermine—inquiry learning, classroom-ready strategies and examples of AI use in STEM, and access to free tools and curricula they can adopt right away.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Bondaryk

Our project studied the implementation of an online, standards-aligned, game-based learning platform across various classroom contexts. The platform contains both 1) assignments comprising of games, videos, and assessments, and 2) an immersive educational world where students engage with science content. Fifth grade teachers and their students used the platform for six weeks in early 2025. Teachers were observed to demonstrate little to no integration of the platform into their existing curriculum. Most frequently, teachers simply transitioned students into using the platform without providing an introduction beforehand or a debrief afterwards to explicitly connect the platform’s content with their class curriculum. Teachers may be best supported to make those connections through teaching guides that provide recommendations for classroom integration of the platform in tandem with district pacing guides, and PL that explains these guides and details specific classroom strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
At the session, attendees will learn about the game-based learning platform and how teachers used the platform in class to try to strengthen student understanding of state standards. Participants will be facilitated to discuss challenges and opportunities with classroom integration of EdTech.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Childress Self, Katy Nilsen

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

Scientific literacy grows when students investigate what they can touch, measure, and improve. In this session, we pair AI with phenomenon-based, community-rooted inquiry so teens study local air, water, heat, biodiversity, or food systems—then connect patterns to national and global challenges. You’ll see how QFT launches student questions; how simple field data and public datasets flow into AI-supported analysis (ChatGPT + spreadsheets/Colab/Geo tools); and how evidence becomes clear explanations, models, and claims. We’ll share prompts, templates, and equity guardrails that reduce doom-scroll anxiety: by acting locally, students build agency, hope, and civic pathways (policy briefs, data letters, community talks). Strong math and ELA integrations throughout: data modeling, argument from evidence, and technical writing. Leave with a reproducible workflow you can run next week.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use AI to amplify community-based, phenomenon-driven science that builds scientific literacy and civic agency: launch QFT, gather local data, analyze with AI, connect to global issues, and communicate evidence—while reducing helplessness via actionable, math/ELA-integrated workflows.

SPEAKERS:
Kyle Boyd, Kevin OToole

Multilingualism is a superpower, but language barriers in the classroom can limit students’ participation even when the lesson is well-designed. So, how can teachers leverage new technology to help multilingual learners actively make sense of phenomena, share their ideas, and see themselves as scientists? This interactive session will help educators reimagine classroom practice through the lens of inclusion and sensemaking, examining how AI tools can scaffold language development, help teachers personalize materials, and surface student thinking. Participants will engage in a phenomenon-based investigation that connects students’ linguistic and cultural assets to science ideas and practices, modeling how they can deepen access to three-dimensional learning. Leave with strategies and AI-supported tools that make science more accessible, authentic, and engaging for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience strategies for designing phenomenon-based science lessons where multilingual learners thrive. Learn how AI can scaffold language, personalize tasks, and support access to three-dimensional sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Drenth

From self-driving cars to smart assistants, AI is reshaping the way we live, work, and learn, and it’s opening new frontiers for STEM education. The Department of War (DoW) is leading efforts to advance AI innovation and literacy, creating opportunities for students to explore real-world STEM careers and technologies that shape our nation’s future. In this interactive session, participants will explore creative ways to use AI to inspire and engage STEM students. Together, participants will examine how AI can serve as both a tool for teaching and a topic for inquiry, helping students think critically about technology’s role in society. Participants will discover DoW STEM career pathways related to AI, explore classroom-ready AI tools that make STEM concepts come alive, and experiment with sample AI prompts to spark student curiosity and problem-solving. Participants will leave with practical strategies and classroom applications to empower students to become thoughtful creators, not just consumers, of emerging technologies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how AI can inspire STEM learning, serve as a tool and topic for inquiry, and connect students to DoD STEM career pathways, while gaining practical strategies to help students think critically and become creators of emerging technologies.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Marquis Mason, Nicole Mills

This session will discuss the outcomes of a research project that focuses on integrating the use of VR labs to enhance and develop the curriculum for the Chemistry classroom. Our motivation thrived on minimizing safety concerns related to the handling of lab equipment, open flames or chemicals; providing equitable learning experience for students with different backgrounds and academic levels; accessing more challenging chemistry topics and providing students with meaningful connections between the curriculum and the real-world. In the first year of the project teachers focused on curriculum development, learning how to effectively use VR technology, writing grants to purchase the VR sets, and finding the most appropriate software to be used. The second year, the team worked with the implementation of VR technology along with the curriculum already developed. The data with our results will be presented with the goal of spreading the implementation of this approach on other STEM courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will observe some of the most popular VR Labs for the Chemistry classroom as well as samples of the lessons used with the students. Participants will also have the opportunity to experiment with the VR sets to have a glance of what students experienced when performing this type of labs.

SPEAKERS:
Ileana Bermudez Luna

Participants will explore how to support students in writing like scientists using Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER). Designed for educators ready to integrate data analysis and promote scientific writing, this session emphasizes helping students make clear claims, back them with evidence, and explain their reasoning. Educators will engage with phenomena, three-dimensional learning, focusing on SEP: engaging in argument from evidence. Participants will leave with practical strategies, including sentence frames, scaffolds, classroom activities, and digital tools using Google Forms and Autocrat to collect, organize, and provide feedback on CERs. Attendees will gain methods to make science writing engaging, accessible, and meaningful for all learners, while helping students build confidence as they observe, reason, and communicate like scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical CER tools: Including note-taking strategies, sentence frames, a rubric, and activities to support all learners. Plus guidance on using Google Forms and AutoCrat to streamline student work collection, provide feedback, to enhance CER lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Alejandra Worozaken

Attendees will explore a pilot study on the impact of immersive, simulation-based instruction on cultural competency development among first-year construction science students at a major university. Attendees will be introduced to the steps in the initial research, development and testing of the AI-driven avatar model which was conducted in the summer of 2025 and implemented in Fall 2025. Attendees will learn how the model scaffolds student engagement with interactive role-play with a culturally representative avatar. The avatar simulates real-world communication and management scenarios in domestic and international projects with diverse multicultural workforce environments that focus on safety, productivity, and inclusiveness in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Attendees will explore how the pre- and post-assessment research data, that includes a control group, revealed measurable improvements in students’ cultural awareness and interpersonal skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how engaging in an AI-driven avatar simulation can elevate construction science education by enhancing students’ communication and cultural skills to prepare them for leadership in diverse multicultural projects in the AEC industry through experiential learning.

SPEAKERS:
John Montalvo

Mapping helps students make sense of the world by connecting observations, data, and explanations to explore how and why systems change. Through creating and analyzing maps, students interpret evidence, identify patterns, and build conceptual models that reveal understanding. These experiences enable teachers to evaluate how students utilize evidence to construct explanations and apply concepts. Participants will examine artifacts from a middle school Earth science class that show how mapping makes learning visible and explore digital mapping platforms that promote inquiry, analysis, and communication. While valuable in Earth and environmental science, these tools can be applied across subjects to help students explore relationships, analyze data, and draw conclusions. Mapping aligns with NGSS practices, providing educators with adaptable strategies and tools to help all learners make sense of complex, data-rich phenomena in authentic and meaningful ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how mapping brings science to life by turning data into stories students can see, question, and explain. They’ll leave with hands-on strategies, classroom examples, and ways to use maps as engaging tools for inquiry, exploration, and assessment across disciplines.

SPEAKERS:
Lara Kossiakoff

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the educational landscape—streamlining workflows, personalizing learning, and supporting student engagement. Yet, along with its benefits come complex questions of data privacy, ethical use, and responsible integration. This session equips educators with the knowledge and tools to responsibly navigate AI in their teaching practice. Participants will explore how AI systems are designed and improved, the importance and value of data privacy agreements, and highlight practical strategies for leveraging AI to reduce classroom workloads. Finally, the session will prepare educators to guide students in responsible AI use, encouraging critical thinking, academic integrity, and ethical awareness. By balancing innovation with responsibility, educators can harness AI’s potential while safeguarding privacy and modeling ethical digital citizenship.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify how AI can be used to craft engaging, differentiated lessons and how to guide students through ethical and effective use of AI in learning.

SPEAKERS:
Tanya MacMartin, Ed.D.

Introduce your students to key connections between science and civics using primary sources from high-quality, trusted organizations like PBS, Library of Congress and the National Archives. Attendees will examine news articles, photographs and political cartoons from the past to the present on topics including the polio vaccine, Space Race, ocean pollution, aviation and medicine. We will then discuss the role that civic participation has played in the work of the scientists, inventors, and advocates involved in these historic events. We will share specific primary-source based lessons and tools that science teachers can use to connect their lessons to civic education. We will conclude by sharing specific examples of students who have demonstrated strong civic participation through their work in science class.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn meaningful connections between science and civic education using specific examples from U.S. history.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Osborn, Victoria Pasquantonio

STEM teaching can be both inspiring and overwhelming, with constant planning and accountability leaving little emotional space for educators. This session reframes student autonomy as a pathway to teacher well-being. When students take greater ownership of inquiry, research, and design, teachers shift from directing every step to facilitating meaningful learning. The result: students are more engaged, and teachers reclaim time, energy, and joy. Grounded in NGSS Science and Engineering Practices and equity-centered pedagogy, this session will highlight classroom-tested strategies such as jigsaw research, student-led engineering design, and reflection logs that make autonomy sustainable. Participants will analyze student work, explore practical tools, and identify ways to incorporate autonomy without sacrificing rigor. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use strategies that both empower students and reduce teacher stress, helping educators rediscover balance, enthusiasm, and well-being.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how fostering student autonomy in STEM classrooms reduces teacher stress and workload. By shifting responsibility to students through inquiry, design, and collaboration, educators can reclaim time, protect well-being, and sustain joy in teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Tatianna Munro

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

Preparing the next generation of STEM innovators begins with the educators who shape early student engagement. The Undersea Naval Innovation through Teacher Education (UNITE) integrates emerging naval technologies into K–8 classrooms through pre-service teacher education. UNITE targets elementary education majors, increasing future educator awareness of STEM careers with naval applications. The program includes professional development that exposes elementary education majors to hands-on naval science and technology classroom instruction, veteran educators, and naval research. Anchored by a partnership between the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island’s Guiding Education in Math and Science Network (GEMS-Net), this initiative empowers pre-service teachers to integrate engineering and undersea science concepts into elementary and middle school classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into how this approach balances the technical depth of naval research with the pedagogical needs of pre-service teachers. Presenters will highlight lessons learned in program design, hands-on classroom visits, and teacher leadership development.

SPEAKERS:
Charlene Tuttle, Elizabeth DeLoreto, Rachele Limberakis

As AI tools rapidly enter science classrooms, educators are placed in a unique situation: learn to adapt quickly to this exponentially evolving technology and consider its cybersecurity risks. This session focuses on the latter, highlighting the cybersecurity challenges associated with adopting AI in K-12 science education. Participants will explore real-world scenarios of data privacy, bias, and security threats, and discuss how to build student and teacher awareness of these risks. Attendees will leave with strategies and resources to promote responsible, safe, and equitable AI use in science teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
Begin the development of an action plan for balancing the benefits of AI utilization with responsible and safe classroom practices.

SPEAKERS:
Anthony Stawiery

Participants will explore classroom-ready tools such as Google NotebookLM, Google Quick Draw, Khan Academy Khanmingo and the NGSS Phenomenon Generator in ChatGPT, among others. These tools can be used to spark inquiry, generate new phenomena, or add engaging twists to lessons teachers already know and love. The focus will be on easy integration: how to “spice up” what you already teach without needing to overhaul your curriculum. Teachers will also gain strategies for modeling responsible and ethical use of AI, helping students learn not just how to use AI, but how to use it wisely. They will also gain a clear vision for how AI can help students explore science and engineering concepts more deeply while preparing them for the future. Join us to see how AI in action can energize your classroom and empower your students to think, create, and explore like never before. This session can be used for any grade level or experience level.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of the session, teachers will walk away with ready-to-use ideas for incorporating AI into their STEM lessons, along with the confidence to step into the “unknown” of AI using practical and supportive strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Woodard, Nicole Hucks, Alicia Yewcic

Forensics is more than just murder! This session introduces forensics teachers to using scams, frauds, forgeries, and social media investigations as interdisciplinary tools for teaching forensic science. Participants won’t just analyze evidence—they’ll explore the behavioral science of deception, learning what drives fraudsters to manipulate trust, exploit systems, and build false identities. Through case studies from art forgeries to crypto scams, teachers will uncover patterns of deception while engaging in hands-on activities blending document analysis, digital investigation, psychological profiling, and media literacy. During the session, teachers will create their own playful, simulated scam to step into a fraudster’s mindset—then use that experience to design a classroom activity that empowers students to recognize, analyze, and resist misinformation and fraud in the real world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with a modern, hands-on approach to teaching forensic science through today’s scams, forgeries, and social media deception, plus a classroom-ready activity that builds critical thinking, media literacy, and fraud detection skills.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Hirsch

How can you apply the discoveries and lessons of the Human Genome Project to your classroom? Learn how to read sample over-the-counter DNA health reports. Learn how to analyze the magnitude, position, and frequency of traits, carrier status, and tendency toward diseases. Learn the nuance between “tendency toward” a disease or condition and “diagnosis of.” Find out what the Human Genome Project discovered about specific genetically linked traits and diseases. Analyze what the tests can tell you and what can they not tell you. Take worksheets and sample results back to your classroom to bring this topic to life.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore the Human Genome Project through a lens of DNA health reports. Take worksheets and sample results back to your classroom to bring this topic to life.

SPEAKERS:
Kelli Bergheimer

This interactive workshop invites science educators to explore how artificial intelligence can enhance teaching, learning, and inquiry in the classroom. Participants will engage in hands-on activities using AI tools for data analysis, modeling, and simulation, while also critically considering ethical and practical implications. The session will highlight classroom-ready applications that support student investigation, personalize learning, and extend scientific practices. Educators will leave with practical strategies, curated resources, and ideas for integrating AI into lessons aligned with NGSS, equipping them to prepare students for a future where AI and science are deeply interconnected.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies and ready-to-use AI tools that enhance student inquiry, support NGSS-aligned practices, and prepare learners to critically and creatively engage with science in an AI-driven world.

SPEAKERS:
Tammie Schrader

AI can enhance learning or undermine critical thinking - the difference is implementation. Explore this paradox through STEM scenarios. Learn when to encourage, restrict, or scaffold AI use while building critical AI literacy. Move beyond binary thinking to actionable strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with a decision framework for AI use, ready-to-use guidelines for students, strategies to teach critical AI literacy, and confidence to navigate the complexities. You'll have practical answers to your toughest AI questions and an action plan for Monday morning.

SPEAKERS:
Priscilla Lumbreras, Lisa Blank

FREE multimedia tools showing how technology has and can help to feed our communities. A short and easy tie-in to a genetics unit, these materials highlight how today’s farmers and scientists might feed more people in challenging growing conditions. Includes a beautiful interactive highlighting genetic technology solutions in crops, an engaging classroom activity using comics to explore agriculture trade-offs, and a fun crop-growing simulation!

TAKEAWAYS:
Gene editing, transgenic technology and traditional breeding are applications of genetic knowledge that offer solutions for growing crops in challenging conditions. There are tradeoffs involved with each method, yet they offer hopeful solutions to address challenges to human health.

SPEAKERS:
Jen Taylor

Step into a classroom where students don’t just learn—they lead. This session explores Agency-Based Learning, a shift from compliance to curiosity that empowers learners as thinkers, creators, and partners. Through hands-on activities, you’ll co-create lessons, experience inquiry-driven EduProtocols, and explore tools like Snorkl and Learning Genie that amplify feedback and student voice. Discover how to move from “clicking” to critical thinking while aligning with the Portrait of a Graduate and building lifelong learning skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk away with practical strategies to shift from teacher-led to student-driven learning, using inquiry, co-creation, and tools like EduProtocols, Snorkl, and Learning Genie to amplify student voice, agency, and authentic critical thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Miramontes

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming society and education at an unprecedented pace. As educators introduce AI concepts into their classrooms, it becomes increasingly vital for students to possess robust critical thinking skills and a solid understanding of the theory of knowledge. This interactive session explores why critical thinking must serve as the foundational skill set for any effective AI education program. Participants will engage with real-world examples and classroom-ready strategies, demonstrating how critical thinking and epistemology enable students to thoughtfully interact with AI technologies, evaluate ethical considerations, and discern biases.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of why critical thinking and epistemological frameworks are essential precursors to meaningful AI education.

SPEAKERS:
Helene McLaughlin

You will learn how to build a horizontal system for a marble run using inexpensive materials. The marble should be able to travel smoothly down a track, moving through different turns, ramps, and added features, all while keeping continuous motion. You begin by placing the marble at the designated starting point and releasing it. The goal is for the marble to complete the track and trigger a switch at the end, which will turn on an LED light. This is an exciting way to explore fundamental physics concepts such as potential and kinetic energy, gravity, friction and electronics.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this activity, you will learn how to construct a horizontal system, including what materials are needed and how to collect or purchase them. You will receive a complete list of materials along with vendor information, as well as a handout that explains the activity and outlines the key physics co

SPEAKERS:
Aulikki Pekkala-Flagan

This interactive workshop will guide participants in designing a custom GPT chatbot to support innovative science teaching and learning. Using generative AI tools, participants will learn how to craft clear instructions that enable the chatbot to generate culturally relevant, standards-aligned activities for multicultural learners. Drawing on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Ambitious Science Teaching, the session emphasizes how AI can be leveraged to sustain equity and efficiency in science education. Participants will experiment with developing a framework, creating prompts, test outputs, and refining their chatbot designs to ensure lessons highlight desired outcomes. In collaboration, participants will leave with practical strategies for integrating AI responsibly into their teaching while maintaining their role as the expert in the classroom. This session offers an approach to blending technology and pedagogy in ways that support all learners and doers in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this workshop, participants will build a custom chatbot to generate standards-based, locally relevant, and multicultural learning activities. Further, participants will explore how AI customization can lead to higher accuracy and efficiency when designing science lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Leena McLean, Joy Barnes-Johnson, Demetrice Smith-Mutegi, Sharon Delesbore

3D printing provides a cost-effective means to produce hands-on models and enable students to engage with scientific phenomena and concepts that are often abstract and difficult to understand. This session will provide an introduction to 3D printing with recommendations for how to affordably begin printing models. Participants will walk away with over a dozen ready-to-print designs for exploring phenomena across secondary science. Teachers looking for hands-on models of phenomena for which models may not yet exist also now have the ability to develop, print, and share new designs using free online programs. A lesson using an original set of models designed to facilitate understanding of the movement of electrons during photosynthesis will be presented, along with an overview of how the free web app TinkerCAD was used to produce this new design.

TAKEAWAYS:
Come learn how to 3D print hands-on models of natural phenomena, find new models to provide to your students, and learn about designs and lessons that are freely available online. Learn how teachers and students can also easily produce their own original 3D printable designs!

SPEAKERS:
Corey Kapolka