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: Lab-Aids, Inc.

Through an online simulation, participants will develop a model for an ecosystem and then introduce a new species to explain how this new component in the system affects the flow of energy and cycling of matter throughout the ecosystem. Learn about Lab-Aids’ new Remote Learning Activities and discover ideas for implementing hands-on curricula into an online platform. The activity provides an opportunity to assess student work related to MS-LS2-3.

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 develop a model of a food web to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter throughout an ecosystem; and 3. Relate core science concepts to the issue of introduced species and their effects on ecosystems.

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

Sponsoring Company: HHMI

Explore an example of a storyline that encompasses evolution, genetics, and protein folding using the relationship between sickle cell disease and malaria as the anchoring phenomenon. A variety of instructional strategies will be demonstrated using activities from HHMI BioInteractive that are research based, free, and classroom ready.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. HHMI activities can be bundled together to allow students to make sense of the evolutionary connection between sickle cell and malaria; 2. Storyline Viewer can be used to plan and organize lessons; and 3. A variety of strategies to engage participants as they explore the anchoring phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Colvard (Retired Educator: Nottingham, NH), Kathy Van Hoeck (Retired Educator: Marion, IA)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Tap into your students' curiosity about COVID-19 to teach key biology concepts in context. In this session, see hands-on classroom activities that use the same laboratory techniques as those used for COVID-19 detection. Walk through a real-world scenario where students determine how COVID-19 spreads at a restaurant.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn about new activities to teach ELISA and gel electrophoresis in the context of the science of COVID-19; and 2. walk through a real-world problem-solving case study about the spread of COVID-19 in a restaurant.

SPEAKERS:
Damon Tighe (Bio-Rad Laboratories: Hercules, CA)

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: 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: 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: HHMI

Tell the story of Island Biogeography through authentic data sets. Use free HHMI BioInteractive resources to discover how island area and isolation affect immigration, extinction, and species richness. Graph relationships to identify patterns that lead to a broader understanding of conservation biology.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Building graphs from real data sets; 2. How a model can be applied to specific biodiversity conservation efforts; and 3. Integrating Disciplinary Core Ideas related to “Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems” with the science practices of developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, and engaging in argument from evidence.

SPEAKERS:
Ryan Reardon (Shades Valley High School: Irondale, AL), Amy Fassler (Marshfield High School: Marshfield, WI)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Now your students can do real and safe CRISPR gene editing in your classroom using Bio-Rad’s Out of the Blue CRISPR Kit. See how to use PCR to confirm the genotype of Out of the Blue–edited bacteria using Bio-Rad's Out of the Blue Genotyping Extension.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn about the mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas gene editing; 2. see how students can do safe and real CRISPR gene editing in the classroom; and 3. learn how PCR can be used to verify genotype following CRISPR gene editing.

SPEAKERS:
Leigh Brown (Bio-Rad Laboratories: Hercules, CA)

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: Pivot Interactives

Come learn how Pivot Interactives helps students learn science concepts and lab skills using our online learning platform. Interactive video allows student 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: TCI

Experience three-dimensional learning with TCI through immersion in a Bring Science Alive! investigation. Examine how to rivet students with science and engineering practices and apply crosscutting concepts for deeper understanding in a bird hunting moths simulation.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Attendees will learn how to engage students with phenomenon-based storylines that provide real-world problems for students to connect their learning with their own experiences; 2. through the session immersion and hands-on investigations, they will see how each TCI's Bring Science Alive! lesson incorporates three-dimensional learning in the elementary classroom; and 3. attendees will walk away knowing how to use the TCI's digital platform to bring science alive in the distance and blended learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Moorman (TCI: Mountain View, CA), Dawn Smith (TCI: Murray, KY)

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: 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: HHMI

Students like videos and they like stories. Learn how to create a video case study to engage your students using Understanding by Design principles and free HHMI BioInteractive Resources. Participants are encouraged to bring laptops/tablets.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to develop a video case study, which can then be used in a flipped or traditional classroom; 2. How Understanding by Design principles drive the direction of the case study; and 3. How to increase engagement using interrupted videos.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Lucci (Retired Educator: Morrisville, PA), Sherry Annee (Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School: Indianapolis, IN)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

Use algae beads to study both photosynthesis and cellular respiration in AP and general biology courses. Extend this lab to study the effects of light intensity, light color, temperature, and other organisms. See how algae beads and other laboratory activities can be adapted for remote or socially distanced classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. See how algae beads are an extremely flexible and portable system to teach both photosynthesis and cellular respiration in AP or general biology courses; and 2. get instructions for how to adapt laboratory activities to remote or socially distanced classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Leigh Brown (Bio-Rad Laboratories: Hercules, CA)

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)