Co-teaching or have lots of mainstreamed SPED students? Pick up some useful strategies and clever tools to help bridge the anxiety gap here!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Co-teaching best practices; 2. Mainstreaming with SPED students made more comprehensible and easier to do; and 3. Online teaching, grading for SPED students and more addressed.

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

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)

The Dallas Arboretum and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD will share the process and results of their collaborative STEM hydroponics program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. explore the development process of the hydroponics collaborative; 2. view sample before-and-after lesson plans as a result of the curriculum redesign; and 3. learn about lessons learned and opportunities for growth, including adjustments due to distance learning.

SPEAKERS:
Dustin Miller (Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden: Dallas, TX), Christy McClain (Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD: Carrollton, TX)

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)

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)

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)

A team of Outstanding Science Trade/ Best STEM Books authors introduces the STEM Tuesday blog, a free resource that celebrates STEM books and connects classrooms via STEM and literacy activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Find out what STEM Tuesday is and how to use it in middle level classrooms; 2. Leave with activities, book lists, resources, and suggestions from STEM Tuesday's FREE website to use in the classroom; and 3. Interact and provide feedback among authors and science teachers on STEM literacy and needed books.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Swanson (Author/Teacher: Jacksonville, FL), Heather Montgomery (Science Author: Ardmore, TN), Patricia Newman (Children's Book Author & Speaker: Carmichael, CA), Nancy Castaldo (Author: Boston, MA)

The goal of this presentation is to share resources and best practices that will aid instructors in developing an innovative cross-curricular STEM instructional setting.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with the following: 1. a list of resources that can be used to implement STEM objectives across all subject areas; 2. specific examples of how to develop a cross-curricular STEM unit based on a literary text; 3. a template to guide them in developing cross-curricular STEM activities; and 4. a cross-curricular unit they will design during the session.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Dunn (NTID Regional STEM Center: Talladega, AL)