Students and teachers can learn about STEM in an immersive and risk-friendly environment? A regional student competition was developed to accomplish this feat.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Students will take risks in learning when they are set up for success; 2. Teachers and students can learn together; and 3. Professional Development does not have to be lecture in format.

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Semicek (Montgomery County Intermediate Unit 23: Norristown, PA), Ben DeSantis (Montgomery County Intermediate Unit 23: Norristown, PA)

Design thinking enhances student engagement and performance across the curriculum. Come try the DT process and explore resources to help you get started!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The design thinking process (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test) is used by schools and corporations around the world to solve problems and create products; 2. The design thinking process can be applied in any content area to promote critical thinking and student engagement; and 3. Many free strategies and resources are available to teachers, and implementation can be as simple as routinely having students ask certain questions.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Townsend (Oak Grove Primary School: Prairieville, LA)

Join me as I model integrated STEM activities and explorations—where children explore and manipulate objects, materials, technology-rich manipulatives, and variables—to see the effects of their actions, and to help young children see the interconnectedness of the STEM disciplines. Handouts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: 1. about the myriad examples of STEM that comprise the everyday world of the young child and how to identify, create, and explore many amazing opportunities for observation, exploration, and thinking that surround young children every day; 2. and actively engage in discourse with the presenter about ways of nurturing the young child’s natural curiosity and inquisitive nature regarding STEM in the natural world and technology in their surroundings, and ways to set up hands-on exploration opportunities and ways to nurture the curiosity of young children for STEM studies; and 3. best practices for working with young children in science and STEM studies.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Knoell (Educational and Technology Consultant: Prairie Village, KS)

Kids' technology designer and author Vicky Fang introduces tools, activities, and philosophies to inspire STEM curiosity and confidence in young kids.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Recommendations based on research and experience to spark STEM curiosity in a wider and more diverse range of kids; 2. Introductions to current tools to promote creativity in tech; and 3. Hands-on activities for promoting design thinking, computational thinking, and computer literacy in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Vicky Fang (Product Designer & Author-Illustrator: Los Altos, CA)

Can you think like a bird? That is what these NGSS-focused activities ask of students in an engineering challenge to create shelter for local birds.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Fun, authentic, NGSS-focused activities that promote students' application of science concepts in the engineering design process; 2. Simple strategies to engage students in place-based outdoor learning experiences that are adaptable for in-person instruction, virtual learning, or at-home projects; and 3. Ideas for modifying your existing life science activities to fit the time of year.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Krall (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY), Sagan Goodpaster (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY)

Learn about an innovative teacher PD model employing free youth summer camps to support elementary grade teachers’ authentic understanding of NGSS principles and pedagogy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: 1. about a new practicum-based professional development model that pairs NGSS PD with informal (summer) youth learning; 2. approaches to measure the effectiveness of NGSS teacher professional development; and 3. how district-level PD needs can be addressed through university-district partnerships.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Kennedy (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Emily Mathews (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Jessica Mahon (Burroughs II Elementary School: Chicago, IL)

Are you thinking about incorporating coding and robotics at the elementary level? Come try it yourself and learn about funding, resources, and preparing for success!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Coding and robotics can improve students’ algorithmic and critical thinking, which helps with math and reading as well as creativity, communication, and collaboration; 2. When seeking funding for robotics, start with what is manageable and connect your project with math, science, and ELA standards; and 3. Focus on how students are thinking to get the most out of their experiences with coding and robotics.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Townsend (Oak Grove Primary School: Prairieville, LA)

We discuss a number of considerations for virtual science instruction and highlight how the five practices take shape in an online STEM experience. We further suggest ways by which teachers can maximize an online learning platform for equitable participation.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The Five Practices remind us that discourse and equitable participation in the science classroom require more than discipline-based knowledge or simply providing experiences with phenomena and materials; 2. As teachers prepare to engage students in virtual science experiences, utilizing strategies that promote effective discourse is essential. It is not the teacher alone who creates effective discourse; however, the teacher’s careful construction of explicit guidance for students through discourse strategies while investigating science phenomena is crucial; and 3. Virtual classroom instruction can be designed in ways that enhance motivation, support productive participation, and deliver interactive learning experiences in science.

SPEAKERS:
Cathrine Maiorca (California State University, Long Beach: Long Beach, CA), L. Octavia Tripp (Auburn University: Auburn University, AL), Sahar Alameh (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY), Margaret Mohr-Schroeder (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY), Kristin Cook (Bellarmine University: Louisville, KY)

See how early childhood educators at an urban charter school are revolutionizing their classrooms as makerspaces to promote developmentally appropriate practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how: 1. a makerspace for young children can be intentionally designed to allow for children to experience Seymour Papert's 8 Big Ideas of Contstructionism; 2. the young children can gain experience with the 8 Science and Engineering Practices in a makerspace-inspired Early Childhood Classroom; and 3. to facilitate child-directed learning in a developmentally appropriate manner in an intentionally designed makerspace.

SPEAKERS:
Sabrina Burroughs (Eagle Academy Public Charter School: Washington, DC), Karen Brooks-Bauer (Eagle Academy Public Charter School: Washington, DC)

Come along as a kindergarten class explores the world of nature, experiences the seasons, and engages in STEM activities with Joe the Ginkgo Tree as its guide.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Promote inquiry-based learning through the lens of a schoolyard tree; 2. Learn how to design a yearlong, child-centered STEM project; and 3. Connect students with the natural world both inside the classroom and outdoors with hands-on STEM and art-based activities and experiments.

SPEAKERS:
Amie Petronis Plumley (Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School: Memphis, TN)

This past year has demonstrated the need for diverse tools, resources, and support to teach students in dynamic K–12 learning environments. This session will focus on strategies to integrate project-based learning in diverse learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn strategies to engage students in science and engineering concepts; 2. Obtain tools to foster a learning environment and classroom culture grounded in the habit of reflection and reasoning; and 3. Gain practical resources and tools to apply project-based learning in a diverse K–12 learning environment that you can begin implementing in your classroom this fall.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Learn the basics about Invention Convention. Introduce students to the seven-step invention process and allow them to apply their learning to solve authentic, real-world challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the: 1. value of Invention Education and how it is positioned to be uniquely accessible to students from a variety of backgrounds; 2. seven-step Invention Process and creative ways to implement that process in the classroom; and 3. pathway for recognition available to students who participate in Invention Convention.

SPEAKERS:
Mitchell Hufnagel (The Henry Ford: Dearborn, MI), Janice Warju (The Henry Ford: Dearborn, MI)

Bring the world to your urban classroom with Global Science / Citizen Science. Experts will share their work and provide details on how to actively involve students in real-world science.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Engage with educators who have led their school systems to meet various challenges; 2. Learn from successful programs; and 3. Discuss relevant issues related to urban science educators.

SPEAKERS:
Pat Shane (UNC-Chapel Hill Emerita: , NC), Mary Beth Berrien (Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School: Greenfield, MA), Michelle Ellis (Hunter Huss High School: Gastonia, NC), LeeAnne Jimenez (Wilson Teaching and Learning Academy: Tulsa, OK), Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Susan Meabh Kelly (University of Connecticut: Storrs Mansfield, CT), Brad Rhew (Guilford County Schools: No City, No State)

Deepen inquiry and student engagement in the social context of STEM, through the lens of history! Participants will receive free resources from IEEE REACH, a crosscutting, interdisciplinary program.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Attendees will learn about a free resource program that provides tools to implement learning opportunities that improve both cultural and technological literacy skills by engaging students in the history of technology and the examination of how technology and engineering, throughout time, impact society, culture, politics, and economics, and are in turn impacted by them; 2. The IEEE REACH program provides a new lens from which students may view engineering and technology as relevant to their lives and their future, and enhances skills in problem solving, critical thinking, research, communication and collaboration, and it prepares students to become better-informed citizens of our high-tech society; and 3. Attendees will walk away with standards-aligned, inquiry-designed lesson plans that include formative performance tasks, suggested civic actions, excerpted documents, background information for the teacher, primary sources, hands-on activities, and short classroom videos, which may be implement immediately either in the classroom or remotely.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly McKenna (IEEE History Center: Piscataway, NJ), Michael Geselowitz (IEEE History Center: Piscataway, NJ)

Have you wanted to get involved with NSTA contests, but were unsure how to start? This project incorporates STEM in a virtual or traditional classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Use NSTA contests as a springboard to STEM-based practices; 2. Learn how grants can enrich STEM experiences; and 3. Discover tools to facilitate team-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Carrie Jones (Dillard Drive Magnet Middle School)

The STEP UP series of lessons were developed to empower teachers to inspire young women to pursue physics as a field of study. Come find out how to implement these lessons in your classes and how to get involved in the STEP UP program.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. STEP UP helps teachers find ways to support girls in physics; 2. STEP UP lessons help change how all students perceive physics.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Muise (St. Thomas More Collegiate: Burnaby, BC)

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

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Share your passion and practice by applying for one of eight awards, and a teacher competition; 2. Learn from past Shell awardees, finalists, and judging panel members’ important tips to apply for this award; and 3. Learn how to win a trip to the 2022 NSTA Houston National Conference, March 31–April 3, 2022.

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

Students will see science concepts through the perspectives of characters in novels. Participants will leave with lists of book titles and ready-to-use reflective prompts.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. A list of literature that is categorized by grade level and science topics covered; 2. Examples of how to use literature in the science classroom to promote student engagement and meaning-making; and 3. Ways to connect social justice topics to a science curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Prince (St. John's Prep: Danvers, MA)

The “quantum revolution” is on the horizon. What can we do today—through policies and programming—to ensure quantum computing education is accessible to all students?

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to: 1. explain why quantum computing is an important emerging technology and STEM discipline; 2. identify the barriers to accessible, widespread quantum education and describe actionable strategies to combat them; and 3. discuss ideas to increase diversity in quantum computing, starting at the K–12 level.

SPEAKERS:
Kiera Peltz (The Coding School: Studio City, CA)

As COVID-19 changed learning environments, the rift between curricula and instructional practices widened with detrimental results for students and teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Issues with curriculum leading instructional practices; 2. Need for support and professional development of teachers for conceptual model development in students; and 3. Teachers who were trained in conceptual modeling pedagogical practices were better able to serve students in their classes in new learning environments.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy Ruzycki (University of Florida: Gainesville, FL)