Sponsoring Company: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is introducing a collection of immersive underwater experiences to bring these exceptional places to viewers everywhere. Join us on a virtual tour of our underwater parks. Learn what national marine sanctuaries are and dive below the surface to virtually interact with sanctuary sea life.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Take a visual tour of America's national marine sanctuaries and learn more about the conservation of these underwater parks; 2. Immerse and explore these underwater treasures through free virtual reality dives and 360 degree underwater photos; and 3. Walk through at least one NGSS-focused lesson plan for grades 6–8 that complements the underwater VR dives.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Fackler (NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries: Santa Barbara, CA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes

Engage in strategies to help your ELL population make sense of science concepts and apply their science knowledge to real-world applications. In this session, we will explore a variety of strategies for differentiating instruction so that ELLs within the classroom can build their ability to communicate science concepts effectively.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn strategies to support English Learners; 2. Participate in activities that help scaffold reading and writing for ELs; and 3. Learn how to differentiation ideas

SPEAKERS:
Veronica Burnett (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Teachers will engage in three examples of hands-on investigations, digital investigations, and digital teacher demonstrations from the Carolina 3D® kit lines for biology, chemistry, and Earth and space science. These activities illustrate how in-class hands-on laboratory investigations have been modified by Carolina for use in socially distanced classrooms and remote learning settings.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The modification of a face-to-face investigation to a digital investigation with data collection; 2. How to use live specimen in a remote, digital investigation; and 3. Examples of formative assessment appropriate for remote learning.

SPEAKERS:
Crystal Risko (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC), DeeDee Whitaker (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

In this hands-on interactive workshop, participants will learn how to utilize physical chromosome and DNA models to explore and compare the processes of mitosis and meiosis with students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to: 1. use models to teach the organization and structure of DNA; 2. use models to compare mitosis and meiosis; and 3. connect DNA structure to phenotypic expression when teaching genetics.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Chou (Longmont High School: Longmont, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

Come learn how Pivot Interactives helps students learn chemistry concepts and lab skills using our online learning platform. Interactive video allows students to make their own measurements from libraries of thousands of high-resolution videos and interactive measurement tools. Customizable instructions, fast grading tools, and LMS integration make life easier for teachers too!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how Pivot Interactives allows students to start with phenomena and guides them to use their own measurements and observations to build and apply models; 2. see from the student perspective how Pivot Interactives enables online labs; and 3. explore the content library, grading tools, and LMS integration.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Bohacek (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)

Sponsoring Company: NSTA, Shell Teacher Awards and Competitions

Do you impact your school and community with STEM? If you teach K–12, come learn how to apply to win one of eight Shell-supported awards through this teacher competition.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to apply for a Shell-sponsored award or competition; 2. begin your application or nomination of a Shell-sponsored program and receive a prize; and 3. collaborate with past winners and judges to learn how to strengthen your application.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Upton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Ruth Ruud (Cleveland State University: Cleveland, OH)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

How do we support students to gather a variety of evidence in order to deepen their understanding of phenomena? Join program authors from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science to experience how a multimodal approach allows students to grapple with phenomena and real-world problems like scientists do. We will unpack structures from the K–8 Amplify Science curriculum and consider how a deep understanding of NGSS can support you in making principled pedagogical decisions.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Gain a deeper understanding of the role that different sources of evidence play in phenomenon-based teaching and learning; 2. experience an exemplar of how students figuring out investigative phenomena can support their increasing understanding of more complex anchor phenomena; and 3. reflect on how students engage in all three dimensions of NGSS as they gather evidence and grapple with real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Stenger (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Sponsoring Company: ExploreLearning

Create more “ah-ha!” moments with ExploreLearning Gizmos virtual labs and simulations. Highly interactive and visual, they are as fun as they are effective. Students learn by doing (just like real scientists) as they use Gizmos to explore, discover, and apply new concepts in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Technology can bring real-world experiences to students; 2. using simulations and animations in science makes science relative; and 3. even if students don't have access to lab materials they can still preform labs.

SPEAKERS:
Thom O'Brien (ExploreLearning: Charlottesville, VA)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Software & Technology

To help ensure students continue to learn key scientific concepts during this precarious time, Vernier has put together over 300 free experiments with sample data files covering many subjects that you can distribute to students. Your students can analyze real data and answer questions based on their results.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Access a free collection of experiments with sample data that you can distribute to your students at home; 2. students will use the experiment data we've collected to perform their own analysis; and 3. your students will use the sample data to demonstrate understanding of scientific concepts by using built-in tools to analyze results, answer questions, and form conclusions as they follow experiment instructions.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes

Time is something that all teachers wish they had more of! Especially in elementary school, it can be difficult to find time to teach science the way that it should be taught. In this session, our experienced STEM coaches will assist teachers in identifying and creating practical, high-impact strategies for teaching science—especially when time and materials are limited. Expect to engage in hands-on learning designed around the understanding that time is often a constraint. Graphic organizers and easy-to-use formative assessments will be introduced and utilized throughout the session.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Identify essential components for science lessons; 2. Leverage opportunities for cross-curricular connections; and 3. Engage in easy-to-use formative assessments to guide instructional time

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX), Kristen Wheat (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, MS)

Sponsoring Company: Twig Education

Learn effective strategies that can be employed immediately to increase student engagement in your fully virtual or hybrid distance learning classroom, leading to better student learning outcomes. In addition, you will discover how to foolproof your online classroom to spend more time teaching and less time being tech support.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of the session, teachers will be able to implement three virtual assignment strategies to increase student engagement: 1. create micro-lessons for 100% student focus and attention; 2. evaluate (or create) and assign video-based science coaching; and 3. deploy and facilitate virtual labs that excite, engage, and get students doing science.

SPEAKERS:
Mary McGibbons-Craft (Imagine Learning | Twig Education: Santa Cruz, CA), Kimberly Mueller (Imagine Learning | Twig Education: Santa Cruz, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids, Inc.

Through an online simulation, participants will interpret skeletal and embryological images to identify patterns of similarities and differences across species that look very different as mature animals. Students identify patterns of similarities throughout developmental time to infer evolutionary relationships not obvious in the mature animals. Learn about Lab-Aids’ new Remote Learning Activities and discover ideas for implementing hands-on curricula into an online platform. This activity provides an opportunity to assess student work related to MS-LS4-3.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn about Lab-Aids' new Remote Learning activities while discovering how to implement hands-on curricula into an online platform; 2. Utilize a digital simulation to sort and compare skeletal and embryological images; and 3. Analyze and interpret embryological images to identify patterns to infer evolutionary relationships.

SPEAKERS:
Cindy Lilly (Ocean Bay Middle School: Myrtle Beach, SC)

Sponsoring Company: MSOE Center for BioMolecular Modeling

The discovery of a CRISPR-based adaptive immune system in bacteria has already revolutionized the molecular biosciences. We will explore this new science using physical models…and suggest a way to connect this topic to what you already teach.  Isn’t it time we started to fix our genomes?

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how: 1. CRISPR Cas9 is similar to and different than a restriction enzyme; 2. CRISPR functions as an adaptive immune system in bacteria; and 3. CRIPSR technology can be used to detect coronavirus.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman (3D Molecular Designs: Milwaukee, WI)

Sponsoring Company: MatterHackers, Inc.

Learn how to lead students through engaging learning experiences such as the make:able challenge in order to improve learner outcomes and deepen student agency. They will be able to use empathy, STEM skills, and their own interests to improve the lives of others through assistive technology and 3D printing.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn about the make:able challenge and how you can implement it at your school; 2. use resources from the Build a Better Book project to facilitate design challenges for people with visual impairments based on student interest; and 3. gain strategies to help promote student independence, growth, and reflection.

SPEAKERS:
Mara Hitner (MatterHackers, Inc.: Lake Forest, CA), Steven Jones (Swanson Middle School: Arlington, VA)

Sponsoring Company: AEOP

Come learn about the eCYBERMISSION competition. It's a web-based STEM competition for students in grade 6–9 where they learn the value of teamwork and make discoveries to help their community, all while competing for monetary prizes!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to engage students in problem solving; 2. challenging puzzles to take back to the classroom; and 3. information about how eCYBERMISSION gives students a chance to explore and solve problems using science and engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Hartman (BrainPOP: Pittsburgh, PA)

Sponsoring Company: FOSS–Delta Education, School Specialty

Make the most of your instructional time by increasing student engagement and agency with an emphasis on sensemaking and science-centered language development. Using a FOSS lesson, we will demonstrate strategies developed to activate prior knowledge, collect and analyze collected data, construct explanations, and engage in argumentation during remote learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn three instructional strategies to increase engagement; 2. experience a physical science investigation as a learner; 3. determine learning expectation to build student success; and 4. learn about new FOSS resources.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Velez (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Erica Beck Spencer (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Joanna Totino (California Science Project: Berkeley, CA), Brian Campbell (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Software & Technology

Vernier’s new Graphical Analysis™ Pro has features designed to make it easier to engage students in data collection and analysis in a virtual or hybrid environment. The ability to sync video and data together and to broadcast data to students in real time over the internet are game-changing capabilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Share live experiment data in real time; 2. get access to dozens of sample experiments that come with data collected from real experiments; and 3. customize an experiment by importing your own video into the Graphical Analysis data file.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes

Explore how popular educational technology tools can enhance your science curriculum for guided and independent remote learning. This session will provide participants with easy-to-implement strategies to create meaningful experiences that empower your students with 21st-century skills needed to succeed in a virtual learning environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Help streamline the planning process; 2. Identify what is essential for each platform; and 3. Experience what those experiences look like.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX), Ashley Mathis (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Michele Cozza (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Through a series of videos and physical models of coronavirus proteins we will explore the molecular mechanism of virus infection, and how a vaccine will produce antibodies that will neutralize the coronavirus spike protein. We will also preview a student modeling program focused on the development of therapeutic nanobodies.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Coronavirus in an enveloped virus with spike proteins on its surface; 2. the spike protein plays a critical role in the infection process; and 3. several different strategies are being taken to create a vaccine to inactivate the virus.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman (3D Molecular Designs: Milwaukee, WI)

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

Come learn how Pivot Interactives helps students learn physics concepts and lab skills using our online learning platform. Interactive video allows students to make their own measurements from libraries of thousands of high-resolution videos and interactive measurement tools. Customizable instructions, fast grading tools, and LMS integration make life easier for teachers too!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how Pivot Interactives allows students to start with phenomena and guides them to use their own measurements and observations to build and apply models; 2. see from the student perspective how Pivot Interactives enables online labs; and 3. explore the content library, grading tools, and LMS integration.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Bohacek (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)