Discover how to implement the three-dimensional learning into any science curriculum all while engaging learners to become phenomenal!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How DCIs, CCCs, and SEPs all relate to a phenomena; 2. Data collection to investigate phenomena; and 3. What three-dimensional assessment looks like in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA), Jessica Kohout (Howard County Conservancy: Woodstock, MD)

Educators who specialize in the teaching of students with dyslexia describe vocabulary modifications, schema development, kinesthetic activities, and methods to modify science content for students with language-based learning differences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to: 1. craft well written vocabulary definitions; 2. use kinesthetic activities to help students gain understanding of vocabulary and complex science concepts; and 3. create a structured word wall that supports students.

SPEAKERS:
Clinton Kittrell (The Summit School: Edgewater, MD), Christine Zito (Miller School of Albemarle: Charlottesville, VA)

Teachers can engage in a three-dimensional lab-driven approach to answer the driving question, Why does hail fall some times, but not at other times?

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to kick off a weather unit with an engaging phenomena; and 2. Hands-on activities for students investigating weather phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Campbell (UTeachTech at Louisiana Tech University: Ruston, LA)

Participants will review performance task components and will utilize a task screener tool to evaluate a performance task.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. what a performance task is; 2. key components of a performance task; and 3. how to evaluate a performance task.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Torres (Arizona Science Teachers Association: Tucson, AZ), Sarah Sleasman (Arizona Dept. of Education: Phoenix, AZ), Meg Gebert (Arizona Science Teachers Association: Tucson, AZ), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

Implement a three-dimensional middle school unit covering nervous system, chemical reactions, and engineering design! Session targets teachers, coaches, and supervisors from novice to advanced. To contact us, please fill out the form here.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore an NGSS-designed 3-D middle school integrated unit about instant ice packs; 2. Experience activities designed to model how to implement strategies for integrating 3-D learning; and 3. Reflect on how teachers can facilitate and motivate students to drive instruction .

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Bank (Kentucky Avenue School: Pittsburgh, PA), Arlene Friend (Von Tobel Middle School: Las Vegas, NV)

Explore classroom-tested benchmark assessments and scoring guides designed to assess students’ three-dimensional learning related to middle school performance expectations for life, physical, and Earth science.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to: 1. identify all three dimensions in an assessment item; 2. score for three dimensions in one assessment; and 3. adapt assessment items for classroom use based on their students/classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Maia Binding (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Engage in argument-driven scaffolds for Earth and environmental science topics to critically evaluate connections between evidence and alternative scientific explanations using model-evidence link (MEL) diagrams.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn what a MEL diagram is; 2. Practice using a MEL diagram to promote evaluation; and 3. Learn how to access the suite of MEL materials.

SPEAKERS:
Timothy Klavon (Black Hills State University: Spearfish, SD), Janelle Bailey (Temple University: Philadelphia, PA), Doug Lombardi (University of Maryland: College Park, MD)

Learn how to leverage community resources and infuse criticality into your science curriculum. Presenters will engage attendees in standards-focused activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to: 1. embed justice-oriented practices into their classroom teaching; and 2. create transformative curricula and innovative professional learning experiences to develop highly effective science teachers and teacher leaders.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Pena (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA), Natalie King (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA), Christine Thomas (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA), Desmond Lee (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA), Vanessa Grady (Rex Mill Middle School: Rex, GA), Nicholas Collins (Langston Hughes High School: Fairburn, GA)

Learn to dissect a leaf pack and identify macroinvertebrates to infer water quality. Engaging hands-on activity for all grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover how to use this student- or teacher-driven investigation to learn about your local watershed; 2. Learn to identify macroinvertebrates and discover what they can tell you about water quality; and 3. Learn how data can be entered in a global database as part of a citizen science project.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Brown (Northland Preparatory Academy: Flagstaff, AZ), Carrie Jenkins (Sinagua Middle School: Flagstaff, AZ)

Live webcams provide easy access to wildlife around the world…without leaving the classroom. Find out how these webcams can help students better understand animal behavior.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. define ethology and ethograms and provide at least two real-world examples; 2. demonstrate how to develop grade-level appropriate ethograms and use these tools to study animal behavior in the classroom; and 3. identify at least two free webcams that can be used to address grade level–specific DCIs related to ecology and/or adaptations.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Proctor (Arizona Game and Fish Department: Phoenix, AZ)

Introduce students to ways we use energy—exploring thermal energy transfer, electricity, lighting, and more! Learn great investigation activities for both the home and school!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to use energy management tools to measure energy use in the school and at home; 2. Describe efficiency and conservation, and categorize an energy-saving measure as either efficiency or conservation; and 3. Teach students how to measure and calculate which devices use more electricity than others and which cost more than others.

SPEAKERS:
Tyler Cvitkovic (The NEED Project: Manassas, VA)

Experience Braincandy—a free, web-based platform designed to stimulate evidence-based argumentation. Braincandy supports a safe, anonymous space to argue positions, engage in consensus, and critique ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn how to implement Braincandy in their classrooms; 2. learn how the anonymity creates a low-risk environment to foster student argumentation; and 3. understand the effective use of digital tools to support learning.

SPEAKERS:
April Holton (Arizona State University: Tempe, AZ), Bryan Henderson (ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College: Phoenix, AZ)

Use each stage of the Engineering Design Process to complete a challenge of building and drop testing a satellite while making connections to NASA missions.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. We can use the engineering design process in our everyday life to solve problems and make improvements; 2. NASA Engineers must ask a question, imagine a solution, plan a design, create that model, experiment and test that model, then take time to improve the original—all steps that are crucial to mission success from Moon to Mars and beyond!; and 3. While this activity will focus on teaching the engineering design process using the process skills of measuring, calculating, designing, and evaluating, the "boring part" of ask, imagine, plan will be focused on to emphasize deeper learning as a thought process prior to simply "building stuff."

SPEAKERS:
Barbie Buckner (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Greenbelt, MD)

Participants will review performance task components and will utilize a task screener tool to evaluate a performance task.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. what a performance task is; 2. key components of a performance task; and 3. how to evaluate a performance task.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Torres (Arizona Science Teachers Association: Tucson, AZ), Sarah Sleasman (Arizona Dept. of Education: Phoenix, AZ), Meg Gebert (Arizona Science Teachers Association: Tucson, AZ), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

We use fairy tales to pass societal values and norms to the next generation. Why not use (tweaked) fairy tales to support students in using NGSS science and engineering practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will get, and learn how to use: 1. versions of fairy tales that illustrate the SEP; 2. activities that support use of these fairy tales; and 3. protocols and strategies to support productive student reading and talking in your science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Rob Wallace (NSTA: Kenner, LA)

Come learn about the transformations that support three-dimensional learning. Participants will engage with a hands-on experience and have time to analyze in order to develop an understanding of what is needed to transform learning in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Authentic sense-making of phenomena or problems can be achieved through shifting heavy lifting of constructing understanding to students; 2. encouraging and listening for diverse student ideas that can be critiqued using evidence supports all students’ pathways toward understanding; and 3. using specific talk moves that change the pattern of conversation from IRE (Initiate, Respond, Evaluate) to Reasoning is needed for all to be engaged in sense-making.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Moorhead (PLI, LLC: Mesa, AZ)

Explore how human activities have affected marine ecosystems, including the Gulf Coast, since the Industrial Revolution. Engage in hands-on simulations, interactive stories, and demonstrations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn ways to incorporate hands-on activities related to marine ecosystems around the NGSS Middle School topic of Human Impacts; 2. acquire ideas and techniques for helping students deepen their understanding of the connections between population trends, land use, natural resource use, and environmental impacts through simulations, interactive stories, and labs; and 3. be able to identify how the presented hands-on activities meet the NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science and Engineering Practices; and how the activities can be used to reach all kinds of learners.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Torres (INFINITY Science Center: Pearlington, MS)

Leverage how people learn from data to teach data skills alongside content with these beginning strategies to build students literacy in science, math, and technology.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. A framework for thinking about how people learn from data and what are the steps along the progression from being a novice to expert user of data to do science, math, and use technology; 2. Strategies and resources to use in our teaching in any unit to better set students up for success as they build their mastery of data skills to become more data and science literate; and 3. a suite of tips and tricks to integrate into our current curricula across different disciplines that enhance how students work with data to learn their science and math content as well as critical evaluate claims in the world.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC: No City, No State)

We will share unique and interactive assessments that go beyond multiple choice tests. These options offer learners a variety of ways to demonstrate their mastery of content. Varied assessment options will be explored, including alternative testing questions, interactive assessments, concept maps, and projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Attendees will learn about alternate ways of assessing student learning that allows all learners the ability to demonstrate mastery of content; 2. Alternate mid-term and final exam options will be shared; and 3. Attendees will learn how to create valid assessments for English Learners.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Matson (Thomas Worthington High School: Columbus, OH), Kimberly Thesing (Thomas Worthington High School: Columbus, OH)

Experience distance-learning strategies in the context of a middle school Daily Do lesson that create opportunities for equitable participation in science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Gain distance-learning strategies that provide opportunities for ALL students to participate in science learning and contribute to learning of their peers; 2. Learn how to leverage digital tools students may already be familiar with for distance learning; and 3. Identify key features of a phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional ("sensemaking") lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Kate Soriano (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Explore the critical role that creativity plays in addressing essential skills required for ALL students and their future success.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Why creativity must be a critical component of effective planning; 2. How creativity impacts student success; and 3. How to provide continuous and effective creative opportunities for students.

SPEAKERS:
Cathi Cox-Boniol (Region 8 LaSTEM Director: Ruston, LA), Missy Wooley (Louisiana Tech University: No City, No State)

Participants will learn ideas and strategies for engaging MLs in science as they relate to the Principles of Equitable Engagement for Multilingual Learners in Three-Dimensional Science developed through the Making Science Multilingual initiative that is a collaboration between NSTA and the WIDA Consortium.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Examine a set of principles co-developed by NSTA and WIDA, and discuss how these apply in classrooms to benefit multilingual learners; 2. explore ways to help a linguistically diverse group of students engage together in sensemaking in 3-D science; and 3. explore ways to make science instruction more equitable and include more cultural and linguistic assets.

SPEAKERS:
David Crowther (University of Nevada, Reno: Reno, NV), Rita MacDonald (Wisconsin Center for Education Research: Madison, WI)

Keeping the Earth big and blue requires getting students out into the schoolyard. Discover how to put in gardens or an outdoor classroom and how to support the learning through crosscutting concepts with journals and children’s literature.

TAKEAWAYS:
1.Teachers will experience through photographs, stories, and activities how to engage all students in connecting sustaining Earth to the local schoolyard and their backyards; 2. Teachers gather resources for lessons, units, and a wide selction of chidlren's literature, going home equipped to address crosscutting concepts effectively; and 3. Hands-on activities and anecdotes of the presenter's expereinces will give teachers inspiration to help children find connections to nature at home and at school.

SPEAKERS:
Steve Rich (Science Author/Consultant: Atlanta, GA)

Experience distance-learning strategies in the context of a middle school Daily Do lesson that create opportunities for equitable participation in science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Gain distance-learning strategies that provide opportunities for ALL students to participate in science learning and contribute to learning of their peers; 2. Learn how to leverage digital tools students may already be familiar with for distance learning; and 3. Identify key features of a phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional ("sensemaking") lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Soriano (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Explore an authentic problem-based learning lesson that covers land pollution, water pollution or air pollution. This lesson promotes engineering design, problem-solving, scientific inquiry, and literacy. This lesson highlights a 3-D learning experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
The attendees will learn: 1. What is Project and Problem-Based Learning? 2. How human actions around the world are influencing our natural resources? 3. How to use everyday, low budget supplies to model solutions for various forms of pollution?

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Lyle (Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School: Baton Rouge, LA), Alison Baker (Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School: Baton Rouge, LA), Brittany Hinyard (Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School: Baton Rouge, LA)