Develop critical thinking and research skills in your science students via debate. Bring the ideas you study into the real world. Hear how I researched and planned a debate to give my students a chance to investigate how communities evaluate environmental concerns.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to structure a science debate in the classroom How to select an appropriate topic How to help students find relevant information for the debate

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Kurson (Collegiate School: New York, NY)

Author Emily Morgan will share ideas for adding “green breaks” to the school day that provide an opportunity for students (and teachers) to get away from their screens and reset and refresh their minds.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Research on the importance of green time 2. Ideas for simple "green breaks" 3. Projects the integrate more extensive green time

SPEAKERS:
Emily Morgan (Picture-Perfect Science: West Chester, OH)

Hear how the Samueli Foundation along with its partners designed and scaled the STEM Learning Ecosystem to now 89 communities around the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
What it takes to build a STEM Ecosystem How to build a STEM Ecosystem The evidence to support the value of a STEM Ecosystem

SPEAKERS:
Veronica Gonzales (Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES): Cleveland, OH)

Hear about a PBL project called Filling the Gap that connects educators with local STEM businesses to develop classroom units around real business issues/problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with: 1. Understanding of a local STEM Ecosystem in western North Carolina 2. Understanding of the Filling the Gap Program 3. Examples of PBL units partnering classroom teachers with local STEM businesses

SPEAKERS:
Carol Moore (STEM West: CLAREMONT, NC), Regina Barrier (North Carolina School of Science and Math - Morganton: Morganton, NC)

Discover Orton-Gillingham strategies and activities for science vocabulary, concepts, and organizational skills that can be used immediately in all grade levels and inclusion classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Vocabulary-based strategies for all levels of students. Language-based differentiation that can be adjusted for STEM classrooms. Orton-Gillingham method can be adapted for all levels of science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Kathryn Wink Gilligan (The Bridge Academy of New Jersey: Lawrence Township, NJ)

Practical exercises convinced these science teachers to use art in their classrooms to improve learning. Leonardo was right: art and science belong together. See how!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how the physical act of drawing can enhance science learning and observation skills. 2. Take away practical exercises that help teach observation skills . 3. Discover how drawing practice can dovetail with the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Sally Bensusen (Visual Science Studio: Lovettsville, VA)

Have a great activity to share? Join in for an overview of how to write for The Science Teacher. Learn tips and tricks for being a published author.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants will learn about the inner workings of the journal. 2. Participants will gain skills in how to write for the journal. 3. Participants will be introduced to what kinds of articles are sought for the journal.

SPEAKERS:
Ann MacKenzie (Miami University: Oxford, OH)

Engage your students in this multidisciplinary application of civics and the scientific process. Implement this real-world problem-solving venue in your school!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to plan and execute co-curricular classes that integrate aspects of criminal justice, forensic science, and crime scene investigation. Expand these experiences for students by encouraging the involvement of other teachers/faculty in your schools. Explore how the implementation of student agency in the classroom can encourage students to grow in their ability to prioritize and chose responsibly, which is a lifelong skill.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Field (WestonHigh School)

Can the popular comic book medium be used to better support students learning chemistry? Science comic books are comic books designed to visually engage readers using sequential art to navigate a narrative that delivers science content. My investigation showed that students who read the comic book had higher gains in chemistry content knowledge than those who read the chemistry text. Given the findings, science comic books will be an effective educational tool.

TAKEAWAYS:
How science comics can benefit my students. How I can use science comics in my classroom. What science comics are there to use and where to find them.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Preece (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY)

Uncertainty and lack of predictability can stimulate the biological mechanisms of stress. Join in for a practical look at the science of stress from the perspectives of neuroscience and behavior. How do we benefit from stress and get harmed by it? How can we and our students regulate stress in the distance learning environment, in a way that promotes health and learning?

TAKEAWAYS:
Social-Emotional Mind and Brain Science Classroom Management

SPEAKERS:
Tim Blesse (Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Denver, CO)

Have your students explore the theories of life’s origins. Guide your students through historical research to memorable experiences of independent experimental design with Proteinoid Production. Student-produced samples will be on display.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will receive instructional materials and learn how to guide students through historical technical research to develop independent labs for Proteinoid Production. Discussions will include ways to implement and manage lab experience and stay sane. Methods of providing quick (and judicious) feedback as well as streamlined collective result sharing will be addressed.

SPEAKERS:
Catherina Sammons (Tates Creek High School: Lexington, KY)

Hear about various NSTA competitions and how they can bring STEM and the NGSS into the classroom, as well as give students and teachers a chance to earn recognition and prizes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about NSTA competitions Learn about how you can use competitions as a resource to implement NGSS and STEM into your curriculum Learn how you and your students can win prizes and recognition

SPEAKERS:
Alexis Mundis (Army Educational Outreach Program: Arlington, VA), Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Matthew Hartman (BrainPOP: Pittsburgh, PA)

Find out how math, writing, and history/geography can come alive in a science classroom when assessing students through the use of claim, evidence, and reasoning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to: - Integrate claim, evidence, reasoning assessment strategies into their lessons - Develop lessons that challenge students to not only strengthen scientific thinking skills but math and writing skills as well - Challenge their students into applying their knowledge to the immediate world around them.

SPEAKERS:
Alexander Eden (Florida International University: Miami, FL)

Experience the Question Formulation Technique: a simple, powerful strategy that can spark curiosity and deepen remote learning by teaching students to ask their own questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants will learn the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) by experiencing it for themselves. They will walk away with a practical strategy they can immediately use in a remote setting to teach students how to ask better scientific questions and drive science inquiries. 2. Participants will explore student work from science classrooms across the country to see how the strategy can be used for a range of instructional purposes. 3. Participants will reflect on their learning, think on how they can implement it in their own setting, and get access to free tools and resources to do so.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Bolduc (Ellington Middle School: Ellington, CT), Katy Connolly (Right Question Institute: Cambridge, MA)

Help your students explore two evolutionary processes: adaption and speciation. Participants will use computer models to examine these processes at various spatial and temporal scales and collect evidence to articulate the impacts of inheritance, mutation, selection, forage, competition, and reproduction on the processes. This session targets NGSS Biology Evolution core ideas at the high school level (HS-LS4).

TAKEAWAYS:
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SPEAKERS:
Lin Xiang (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY)

Faculty and current students will discuss Pitt-Johnstown’s unique approach to their STEM Endorsement Certification, including students’ personal experiences and future teaching goals, and the program’s benefits and implications for  research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in discussion to learn about: • Current focuses on teacher preparation in STEM education • Pennsylvania’s approach to endorsing students via their STEM Endorsement Certificate model and its program design and evaluation competencies • Pitt-Johnstown’s unique approach to the model, through a Q&A with faculty and current students.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Chesney (University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: Johnstown, PA)