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)

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)

Address the NGSS chemistry disciplinary core ideas with STEAM! Several mini-units / activities presented, which are Monday doable, environmentally focused, and develop students’ STEM understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. This session is Engineering activity focused, giving teachers several mini-units and activities that focus on the Chemistry related DCI's. 2. Participants will get several strategies to incorporate Art and Technology–related activities into their Science classrooms. 3. Participants will come away with a new appreciation for the "nonmechanical" Engineering strands, such as Chemical, Construction, and Environmental Engineering strands, as well as Material Science.

SPEAKERS:
Julie A. Smith (Lennox Middle School: Lennox, CA)

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)

Scoop up new learning with an ice cream insulation project that serves as a unit anchoring phenomenon, providing students with three-dimensional learning experiences interwoven with the strands of STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
A guide for how to utilize an engineering project as the phenomenon for an NGSS unit . Tips on how to effectively manage students working on engineering group projects. A format for 3-D assessment of an engineering design project

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Davis (American School of Dubai: Dubai, 0)

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)

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)

Model stellar evolution processes using NASA images, plotting H-R diagram transitions, and determining the chemistry and physics of supernovas with NASA STEM image analysis tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Knowledge of the process of how stars form and change over time ending in catastrophic events, providing conditions for the formation of planets. Students will understand that all knowledge of celestial events is determined by analyzing the light from these events. Image analysis software tools allow scientists to gain knowledge of the physical and chemical processes involved to create constantly evolving models of stellar evolution.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young (NASA/NSO/UoL Program Manager: Laughlin, NV)

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)

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)

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)

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)