Using inquiry-based activities, we will investigate how our lives are connected to the ocean and how we impact it through climate change, pollution, and overfishing.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to introduce phenomena-based activities about climate science to students, including global warming, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, and plastic pollution; 2. Increase ocean awareness and inspire community involvement that leads to changes in the status quo; and 3. Suggest ideas for preparing students as future leaders to think globally about the ocean as it impacts food supplies, jobs, and populations on the move to escape sea level rise and crop failure.

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Newman (Children's Book Author & Speaker: Carmichael, CA)

Discover how to engage students in science using three-dimensional learning with engineering projects and computational thinking. Free access to grades 3–5 lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore real-world phenomena to motivate students and guide learning; 2. Learn practical tips for reaching all three dimensions of the science standards; and 3. Understand how to guide students in conducting online research and analyzing authentic data.

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Pike (CYBER.ORG: Bossier City, LA), Laurie Salvail (CYBER.ORG: Bossier City, LA)

Across the globe, dogs snoop on poop to save endangered species. By studying the stories in scat, students learn mapping, literacy and data interpretation skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The science of scat and the detection dog methodology offer engrossing strategies to engage students with STEM; 2. Scientific fields depend on scientists from diverse backgrounds with diverse skill sets; and 3. Strategies and visuals help students understand, collect, map, and interpret data responsibly.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Montgomery (Science Author: Ardmore, TN)

Learn how to use your existing science kit materials to support your students with NGSS, based on experiences from the Elementary Science Olympiad program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: 1. how to modify "instructional kits" available to them to allow for authentic student inquiry; 2. how to structure instruction to allow for cycles of failure and feedback; and 3. how hands-on science supports implementation of the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
John Loehr (Science Olympiad: Oakbrook Terrace, IL), Shari Haug (Science Olympiad: Oakbrook Terrace, IL)

Let’s make a foldable solar system scroll. Come learn how to apply ratios to create a scale model of the planets based on your height.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. With a properly scaled solar system scroll, participants will identify inner and outer planets and readily SEE why they are named as such; 2. Understanding the concept of rations and fractions, part-to-whole, participants will leave being able to create a proportional solar system in their classroom, on a football field, or across their state; and 3. This activity can be used at any grade level.

SPEAKERS:
Barbie Buckner (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Greenbelt, MD)

Need a simple and creative way to engage students? Create a green screen area in your classroom. This workshop will demonstrate a simple way to make creative videos with a green screen.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to use a chroma key with different apps and programs; 2. Simple video editing techniques; and 3. Using different objects for green screen props.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Crane (Randolph Academy: No City, No State)

This session presents interactive “Cricket Challenges” to engage students in nature-based activities designed to encourage curiosity and to make cross-curricular STEM connections to literature.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Innovative ways to engage readers to use fiction as a springboard to explore their natural world and make text-to-real-world connections; 2. Handouts including instructions for activities such as “An Outdoor Challenge for Every Season," ”Creating a Nature Wonder Hour,” “Nature Scavenger Hunts,” “Creating a Nature Journal from the Point of View of the Main Character in the Book You’re Studying,” and “Bloom Bingo”; and 3. Writing prompts educators can use to encourage students to analyze and explore their natural world.

SPEAKERS:
Jo Watson Hackl (Author: Asheville, NC)

Get ready for STEM and the NGSS by sequencing instruction to promote your students’ long-lasting understanding with a simple yet powerful approach: Explore-Before-Explain.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. participate in two explore-before-explain STEM activities; 2. identify the benefits of guiding students to construct explanations based on personal observations and data analysis; and 3. collaboratively brainstorm ways they can tweak one of their existing STEM activities following the explore-before-explain instructional strategy to meet the vision of the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Fayen (Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden: Dallas, TX), Patrick Brown (Fort Zumwalt School District R-II: O'Fallon, MO)

Historical issues create rich opportunities to utilize Science, Social Studies, and ELA disciplinary skills—through STEM—to increase student engagement and a deep understanding of complex problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Session attendees will learn both pedagogical concepts and history as they work to understand and solve perplexing problems that faced Japanese-Americans interned at Topaz. Using the Topaz Japanese internment camp as the backdrop, session participants will: 1. learn how to pair both fiction and informational texts (including primary source documents); 2. discover ways to integrate NGSS standards, Social Studies, ELA, and STEM through lessons and problem-solving activities; and 3. focus on the 5Es and 3-D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Siebach (Retired Teacher: Cedar Hills, UT), Deborah Draper (Cedar Ridge Elementary School: Cedar Hills, UT)

Humans use water, often in inequitable ways. Our online tools, which include a calculator and NGSS-focused lesson plans, help educators learn how to teach beyond the water cycle.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. understand how we use water and what a water footprint is; 2. understand how water is connected to the global systems that create our food, energy, and consumer goods; and 3. learn about our free virtual tools and content that help them teach students about their water use as a part of their overall environmental impact.

SPEAKERS:
Robin Madel (Grace Communications Foundation: New York, NY), Kai Olson-Sawyer (Grace Communications Foundation: New York, NY)

Roadkill is a phenomena to engage every student. Teachers integrate STEM and English, challenging students to design, build, and sell a wildlife crossing to City Council.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Innovative instructional sequences rooted in an everyday phenomena students care about; 2. Lessons that integrate science skills, critical reading, and meaningful design practices; and 3. Grade-appropriate resources (data, images, texts) for engaging students, regardless of culture or background, with authentic citizens science.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Montgomery (Science Author: Ardmore, TN), Lauren Avant (Richmond Hill Middle School: Richmond Hill, GA), Ann Vitello (Richmond Hill Middle School: Richmond Hill, GA)

Explore how to build studies that put phenomena first and engage students in discovery through initial investigations designed to spark questions and curiosity. Discover how to be responsive to student interests as you decide "where to go from here."

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Transform your approach to planning by putting phenomena first; 2. Find out how to embed content and practices into hands-on learning activities that allow students to discover science ideas; and 3. Learn a simple process to identify "where to go from here" based on students' interests, questions, needs, and your curricular demands.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole VanTassel (iExploreScience LLC: Erie, PA)

Investigate ways to incorporate STEM topics into the hunt for disease. Case studies to MICROBITs help engage students in tracking the transmission of disease.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to: 1. integrate discipline-specific literacy case studies and technology as strategies for engaging students in problem solving around a current topic; 2. construct opportunities to engage in the SEPs around content as they determine who is patient zero; and 3. demonstrate how integrative STEM uses exploration and sensemaking to come together to help solve a world pandemic.

SPEAKERS:
G. Michael Bowen (Mount Saint Vincent University: Halifax, NS), Christine Anne Royce (Shippensburg University: Shippensburg, PA), Susan German (Hallsville Middle School: Hallsville, MO), Beverly DeVore-Wedding (Nebraska Indian Community College: Meeker, CO)

This workshop explores the connection between the NGSS, STEM identity, and project-based learning (PBL) through a series of culturally responsive activities for virtual learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. critically consider their own STEM identity and the STEM identities of their students to inform PBL in online and in-class learning environments; 2. respond to students’ needs and interests to plan PBL that develops their STEM identities; and 3. learn instructional strategies that engage students in PBL and the Scientific and Engineering Practices within the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Alicia Lane (University of the District of Columbia: Washington, DC)

This workshop introduces strategies and digital tools to help students develop high-quality STEM presentations and posters in online and in-class learning environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. embody the role of a student conducting a scientific/engineering investigation leading to a STEM presentation; 2. be able to create a digital STEM visual using presentation applications; and 3. learn instructional strategies that engage students in developing high-quality presentations and Scientific and Engineering Practices within the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Alicia Lane (University of the District of Columbia: Washington, DC)

Interprofessional collaboration is essential for students' success in their selected program and postgraduate life. These types of experiences have been shown to improve students’ interprofessional competences—communication skills, teamwork abilities, ethical practices, and understanding other team members’ roles and responsibilities—as well as their theoretical knowledge and increase student achievement within their discipline. We developed and tested a unique pedagogical idea—interprofessional case learning project (ICLP)—that encompassed a multidisciplinary approach involving chemistry, biology, and public health. The goal was to provide students and faculty with the opportunity to experience interprofessional collaborative practices that would encourage questioning, discredit misconception, connect concepts and make inferences, generate new ideas, and encourage shared decision making.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Promote multidisciplinary approach involving chemistry, biology, and public health; 2. Foster team building and collaboration; and 3. Change misconceptions about a discipline.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Young (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: Boston, MA), Nalini Broadbelt (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: Boston, MA)

Research is relevant as it plays a key role in transitioning from concepts in basic science into practical application. Basic science research drives progress in clinical and pharmaceutically industries. It is therefore essential that our health care students gain exposure in this arena and expand the analytical, collaborative, and technical skills that will enable them to succeed in their future careers. To assist the students, projects are devised around the students' interest in an area of the selected faculty specialty. The projects culminates with the students presenting their findings at a research symposium.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Establish a method that will get the student interested in driving the project; 2. Be clear about the time frame and commitment to project; and 3. Assist in making the research manageable.

SPEAKERS:
Nalini Broadbelt (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: Boston, MA), Michelle Young (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences: Boston, MA)

Explore family engagement events that provide fun, hands-on experiences and an opportunity to teach parents strategies to support their children's academic vocabulary at home.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Engage in both virtual and in-person family engagement events that expand classroom learning that families with members of all ages can participate in; 2. Learn strategies to support linguistically diverse students in the STEMSS (STEM + Social Studies with an emphasis on real-world, cross-curricular learning) classroom; and 3. Develop a plan to integrate these strategies into your family engagement events to help parents learn how to support academic vocabulary at home and to bridge the home-school connections to increase opportunities for language learners.

SPEAKERS:
Margarita Jimenez-Silva (University of California, Davis: Davis, CA), Karen Guerrero (Arizona State University: Tempe, AZ)

The global pandemic forced many educators to pivot to virtual or hybrid learning. In this session, you will learn tips and tricks to keep quality STEM education alive in any setting.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will: 1. see an example of how an in-person, integrated STEM learning experience can be changed to work in a virtual or hybrid setting; 2. be provided with resources to promote inclusive and equitable practices that increase student collaboration and engagement in a virtual, hybrid or face-to-face setting; and 3. leave with an existing STEM unit that can be completed in their own classroom, whether it be virtual, in-person, or hybrid.

SPEAKERS:
Theresa Goltermann (Tabb Middle School: Yorktown, VA), Vonceil Anderson (Baltimore City Public Schools: Baltimore, MD), Laura Drager (Montgomery County Educational Service Center: Dayton, OH), Rebecca Stanley (DoD STEM/RTI International: Durham, NC)