We will explore a COVID-19–based curriculum that provides a direct and compelling way to focus student attention on the most basic processes in biology.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants will examine specific curriculum plans using the COVID-19 virus to illustrate basic principles of cell biology, including biological membrane structure, mRNA function, transcription, translation, replication, and immune response; 2. The emergence of COVID-19 variants will be explored as a case study in natural selection, evolution, and phylogenetic analysis; and 3. The public reaction to pandemic pubic health countermeasures and vaccination will be examined as a case study in scientific literacy and science denial. Participants will discuss ways to use their classrooms to promote student understand of the science behind these public health measures.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Miller (Brown University: Providence, RI)

Learn how to help students create stop-motion animated movies to model the atomic rearrangement that occurs during simple chemical reactions!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: 1. basic techniques for planning and creating stop-motion animated films; 2. how to use this tool to model the atomic rearrangement that occurs during chemical reactions; and 3. how best to teach students how to use stop-motion to create their own animated movie models.

SPEAKERS:
Steven Gaskill (K.O. Knudson Middle School: Las Vegas, NV), Heather Rampton (K.O. Knudson Middle School: Las Vegas, NV)

The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science is a network of more than 150 science teachers. We have presented over 225 teacher workshops in all 50 U.S. states.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES): provides high school biology teachers with paid opportunities to present to middle and high school science teachers who need help teaching evolution in an engaging and effective manner; 2. has several FREE, complete evolution units for science teachers to use in their classrooms, including assessments, active learning lessons, online investigations, and bell-ringer activities, along with dozens of other free resources; and 3. invites educators, biologists, and science authors to give monthly webinars to an international audience of teachers, students, and science enthusiasts.

SPEAKERS:
Sephali Thakkar (Allen ISD: Allen, TX)

Discover Switch Classroom, a free, online, objective curriculum about energy use and nonrenewable and renewable resources centered on AP Environmental Science and NGSS Energy standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore Switch Energy Alliance resources, including Switch Classroom, energy videos, and full-length documentaries. The Switch Classroom curriculum covers six units of comprehensive lessons detailing renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, energy production fundamentals, and how energy decisions are made; 2. Learn how to set up your own class using Switch Classroom, creating a customized energy unit for your students that includes video and your choice of activities that include multiple-choice quizzes, critical-thinking writing and diagramming, and lab and math-based calculation activities; and 3. Increase your students' ability and skills to explain concepts, analyze visual representations, and propose solutions to complex energy decisions in a nonpartisan and objective manner.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Horne (New Market Junior/Senior High School: Newmarket, NH), James Corboy (Long Beach Unified School District: Signal Hill, CA)

Experiment with the “sugar-blocking” tea Gymnema sylvestre and model cellular communication pathways in the tongue and the gut before evaluating possible mechanisms of action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. how to model the physiology of sweet taste perception; 2. how the systems that detect sugar can be disrupted; and 3. how to evaluate three proposed mechanisms of action.

SPEAKERS:
Joan Griswold (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

Make student thinking come to life with notebooks! Increase the rigor of student work—learn new strategies for organizing content and how to use templates for any science class. Take home current NGSS classroom examples to get you started.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The how and why of science notebooks; 2. Engaging ALL students in science; and 3. Templates scaffold student learning for success.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Weibert (Fresno County Office of Education: Fresno, CA)

The present study identified important features of engineering by eliciting experts’ opinions. The features of engineering could help teachers develop disciplinary knowledge for engineering.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The important features of engineering for K–12 engineering education; 2. Learn about engineering design activities; and 3. Learn about what professional engineers think is important about learning engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Ezgi Yesilyurt (Weber State University: Ogden, UT), Hasan Deniz (University of Nevada, Las Vegas: Las Vegas, NV), Erdogan Kaya (George Mason University: Fairfax, VA)

NITARP (NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program) gets teachers involved in authentic astronomical research. Small groups of mostly high school educators work with professional astronomers for an original research project.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. A clear understanding of the application process to apply for a NITARP opportunity; 2. An idea of the research experience of a participant involved in this astronomy experience; and 3. An awareness of the vast astronomy resources (images and astronomy programs) available for free to educators and their students.

SPEAKERS:
John Taylor (Marvin Ridge High School: No City, No State)

Solar system objects are grouped by characteristics. We model how scientists classify solar system objects. What’s a planet, dwarf planet, etc.? Is Pluto a planet?

TAKEAWAYS:
1. We, including scientists, group objects to help us understand and describe the world around us; 2. The way we, including scientists, group things may depend on the manner in which we are studying them, i.e., there may be more than one “correct” answer; and 3. Objects in the Solar System (planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, moons) can be grouped by their properties: rocky surfaces, gaseous atmospheres, orbit around the Sun or a planet, where they are in the Solar System, etc.

SPEAKERS:
Larry Lebofsky (Senior Education Specialist: Tucson, AZ)

Learn about the chemical properties of copper using appropriate technology in this hands-on activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will; 1. learn to research and design an inquiry experiment; 2. use technology to gather and analyze data from the inquiry; and 3. visualize what occurs on the submicroscopic level by employing particulate drawings.

SPEAKERS:
Gregory Dodd (Retired Chemistry Teacher: Pennsboro, WV)

Discussion centers on tools to properly analyze Black students’ scientific work to determine if the misconceptions and misunderstandings are a learning issue or language issue. This workshop focuses on the use of language to reduce the ethnic achievement gap in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Analyzing students’ work from a linguistic lens; 2. Recognizing biases when it comes to student language; and 3. Pushing Black students academically forward without making them feel torn between two language worlds.

SPEAKERS:
Jonte' Lee (Whittier Elementary: Kansas City, KS)

You’ve used blood glucose regulation to teach homeostasis. Extend those lessons with classroom-ready strategies that address how policy and place contribute to type 2 diabetes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will; 1. become familiar with a research-based storyline that disassociates genetics from health outcomes; 2. l Learn that type 2 diabetes is a complex condition that is heavily influenced by environmental factors such as access to resources, personal choice, product marketing, public policy, socioeconomic status, and stress; and 3. learn that environmental factors can both increase and decrease a person’s risk for type 2 diabetes.

SPEAKERS:
Joan Griswold (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

Join us as we explore how specialty crops can be a useful tool in the classroom by improving both instruction and student nutrition.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn: 1. about resources for teaching about botany, plant science, and soil science made available through the specialty crops block grant; 2. how to incorporate NGSS into Free Fruit and Vegetable education program requirements; and 3. how to incorporate NGSS into nutrition science across the curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Cody (Edmunds Central School District: Roscoe, SD)

Explore caloric and nutritional values of NASA's space food. Discover a menu of inquiry activities/resources to integrate into the classroom to satisfy your STEM appetite.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore NASA STEM activities that investigate space food and nutrition for astronauts living on the Space Station; 2. Construct sample space food menus to develop a better understanding of nutrition for human space exploration; and 3. Make connections between math, science, nutrition, and exercise while exploring the impact of living in space and in our gravity-filled environment here on Earth.

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

Despite its central role in the Biology curriculum, evolution remains a topic of contention. We will examine evolutionary science today and the evidence behind it.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants will see examples of how the evolutionary narrative can be incorporated into topics as diverse as ecology, physiology, taxonomy, and cell biology; 2. The evidence usually marshaled in support of evolution is often confined to passive descriptions of the fossil record and well-worn examples of natural selection. We will examine ways that students can use the availability of genomic data to pinpoint the marks of evolutionary change in DNA sequences and patterns of gene organization; and 3. Finally, we will explore and discuss approaches to overcoming student and community resistance to the teaching of evolution by emphasizing the core biological events behind the process and the central role they play in the living world.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Miller (Brown University: Providence, RI)

Choose which of these free resources for equitable science instruction are most relevant to your work. Then read, discuss, and plan!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Science learning is culturally rooted, and strong instruction should take an asset-based approach to young peoples’ ways of thinking and knowing; 2. Developing more inclusive classrooms is a constant process. There are always steps educators can take to support equity, no matter where they are in their journey; and 3. These resources offer tangible next steps educators can take toward equity in their classroom, from identifying meaningful anchor phenomena (stemteachingtools.org/brief/42) to teaching biology in more gender-inclusive ways (stemteachingtools.org/brief/76) to fostering more student talk (stemteachingtools.org/brief/35).

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Abby Rhinehart (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

To address the impacts of the pandemic on K–12 education, Congress has made emergency funds available through the American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. In this session for educators and science leaders at the district and school levels, we will discuss how these federal funds can be leveraged to support science education, students, and
teachers, and review the products and services NSTA has available to address learning loss.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Information on federal funding for pandemic relief for K–12 education; 2. How this federal funding can be used for science education; and 3. NSTA products and services that address learning loss.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Shugart (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Learn what representations and data your students can use to bridge phenomena and mathematics, and how to assess kinematics understanding, as opposed to rote algebra skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Using authentic data from real, open-access journal articles to model motion; 2. Students using multiple representations to shift back and forth from pictures, graphs, and math; and 3. Assessing students' understanding through their performance using real data.

SPEAKERS:
Christopher Moore (University of Nebraska Omaha: Omaha, NE)

Learn about the EdReports’ educator-led review process in science and how you can utilize our resources both in an instructional materials adoption and to grow your own understanding of high-quality instructional materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Build an understanding of the challenges educators face in finding quality materials and how EdReports aims to address those challenges; 2. Learn about EdReports' science review tools for grades K–5 and 6–8, characteristics of alignment to the NGSS and usability, and discuss smart adoption processes; and 3. Hear about opportunities to engage as an EdReports reviewer in upcoming reviews, which includes NGSS training, an extended learning community, and a paid stipend.

SPEAKERS:
Lacey Wieser (EdReports.org: Phoenix, AZ)

Want to create high-quality, NGSS-focused field trip experiences? Come learn how we brought together classroom teachers and informal educators to accomplish this goal with amazing outcomes!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. learn the steps we took to create a collaborative environment for teacher leaders to support informal educators in learning more about NGSS and the EP&Cs; 2. learn the value of bringing the expertise of informal educators and the knowledge of formal educators together in order to create high-quality, NGSS-focused field trip experiences; and 3. be given access to the agendas, handouts, and templates we used in our training/planning sessions.

SPEAKERS:
Lesley Gates (Fresno County Office of Education: Fresno, CA)

Make the conceptual leap from 2D to 3D and make teaching topography, topographic maps, and topographic profiles a concrete, engaging hands-on learning experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Modeling is a key process within the NGSS, participants will walk away with multiple engaging hands-on activities that will allow their students to model and visualize 2D topographic maps and profiles as 3D representations; 2. Using topography that is unique to the community (Mt. Saint Helens for example), participants will be able to understand the environmental and topographic impacts of geological processes; and 3. Making the abstract concrete using simple and inexpensive materials makes the learning accessible and impactful to more diverse learners.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Jones (University of Hawaii-West Oahu: Kaploei, HI)

Join us as we explore how NSTA’s three-dimensional resources can be utilized to enhance your teaching. Walk away with effective strategies for science teaching and learning and hear from educators as they provide tips for using these resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Hear from classroom teachers about how they are using NSTA Press publications; and 2. Leave with top-notch teaching tips and innovative lesson plan ideas that promote imaginative learning and student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Wendy Binder (Program Director, STEM Professional Learning: Arlington, VA)

Participants will learn about how some districts around the country are using an asset approach to post-COVID learning and will collaboratively share ideas with others.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Some districts around the country are focusing on an acceleration rather than a remediation post-COVID approach to learning; 2. An asset approach to learning and learners supports social and emotional well-being; and 3. The NSELA Learning Center provides resources for continued learning about asset versus deficit approaches to learning.

SPEAKERS:
Larry Plank (Hillsborough County Public Schools: Tampa, FL)

Use innovative video-assisted STEM activities, demonstrations, award-winning videos, and behind-the-crash-tests tours to teach the science of car crashes. Free lesson plans included. Visit  Classroom.IIHS.org  for more information.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participant will learn: 1. how to access inquiry-based activities and video-supported experiences integrating STEM concepts with vehicle crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies; 2. how scientists and engineers use technology (crash dummies, crash tests, crash avoidance testing) at a vehicle research center to measure and evaluate vehicle safety systems; and 3. how to incorporate technology-enhanced STEM design challenges (Project Pedestrian Sensors and Egg-Carrying Paper Car Crash) into their curriculum to promote student awareness and understanding of how engineering and technology are used to build safer vehicles.

SPEAKERS:
Griff Jones (University of Florida: No City, No State)

Participants will combine engineering and biology as they work through a free activity from a no-cost introductory curriculum on the emerging field of Synthetic Biology.

TAKEAWAYS:
Looking for free resources and innovative ways to introduce engineering into K–12 classrooms? American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) pre-college division will share them!

SPEAKERS:
Leonardo Morsut (University of Southern California: Los Angeles, CA), Wendy Wooten (Reseda Charter High School: Reseda, CA)

We will introduce a collection of units and resources to help teachers engage students in three-dimensional learning through model-based inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to utilize modeling across entire units of instruction; 2. Ways to anchor student learning in authentic phenomena; and 3. How to use public records to keep track of student ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Ron Gray (Northern Arizona University: Flagstaff, AZ)

Multiple lessons were learned with remote instruction that can be transitioned into the face-to-face classroom and that support blended science instruction. Examples, tools, and strategies provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discuss the lessons learned during remote instruction that have the staying power and should be part of blended instruction; 2. Identify positive instructional strategies that maximize technology and digital tools and determine the best way to transition those tools into the blended classroom; and 3. Engage in example activities where connections between digital tools and strategies for use in student engagement are made.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Anne Royce (Shippensburg University: Shippensburg, PA)

Dissect the differences between flashy engagers and phenomena to identify essential components of effective phenomenon-based teaching. Critically consider phenomena with personal relevance for your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Build a deeper understanding of the differences between “hooks” and phenomena, 2. Consider and identify the benefits of using contextual, locally inspired phenomena to support all students, and 3. Identify potential local phenomena for their own classrooms to support more inclusive learning

SPEAKERS:
Martha Inouye (University of Wyoming: Laramie, WY), Ana Houseal (University of Wyoming: Laramie, WY)

This workshop provides participants with materials to construct a probe that can safely stimulate muscle movements in the arms and hands to build understanding of the nervous system’s interactions with the muscular skeletal systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How the nerves utilize electrochemical energy to create muscle movements; 2. How muscles when stimulated can move limbs; and 3. How to repurpose and utilize a TENS unit to demonstrate interactions of the neural and muscular skeletal systems.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Malone (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs, CO)

Explore how to take advantage of NSTA’s vast resources and pathways, including both asynchronous and synchronous options, to create personalized professional learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover the value of being a School or District NSTA Partner; 2. Explore how to maximize online professional learning for all teachers; and 3. Discover how to utilize NSTA's online learning resources to support in-person professional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Wendy Binder (Program Director, STEM Professional Learning: Arlington, VA)

Sponsoring Company: National Geographic Learning | Cengage

The dawn of the 21st century is a golden age for scientific space exploration. Missions from NASA and a growing set of international and commercial organizations launch space telescopes and send flyby, orbiter, rover, and sample return missions to explore our solar system. Dr. Ehlmann has been part of planetary mission teams since she was an undergraduate student working on the Mars Exploration Rovers. She has since worked on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, the Dawn orbiter mission to the dwarf planet and asteroid Ceres, and is now the principal investigator leading the Lunar Trailblazer mission to map ice on the Moon. She will describe her journey from a child who loved science and science fiction to planetary scientist, telling the story of how objects that were once pinpricks of light in Earth’s sky have become worlds and how discoveries from the journeys of spacecraft can inspire the next generation of explorers.

NSTA wishes to thank National Geographic Learning | Cengage for sponsoring this speaker.

SPEAKERS:
Bethany Ehlmann (California Institute of Technology: Pasadena, CA)

Problem solving? Creativity? Collaboration? Design Challenge? Join in a mini design challenge and develop your own challenge tailored for your class before you leave.

TAKEAWAYS:
Design sprints: 1. support innovation by solving a problem in a quick and creative manner; 2. engage students in 21st-century skills; and 3. incorporate many of the Next Generation Science Standards Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Liz Martinez (Curriculum/Professional Development: Escondido, CA)

Explore NSTA’s NEWProfessional Learning Units. Discover these bite-sized asynchronous professional learning experiences that support student sensemaking to earn credit to submit to your school or district.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover how NSTA can provide asynchronous and bite-sized continuing education credit options (2 hours per PLU); 2. Explore how each PLU contains reflections or tasks connected to the classroom that are submitted to NSTA for review or feedback; and 3. Explore how we can support professional learning for individuals or schools/districts including the flexible options available for Professional Learning Unit topics, and how these fit into our Professional Learning pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Allan (University of Central Oklahoma: Edmond, OK), Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Our students are already impacted by climate change. How can we teach about it in ways that help them all thrive on a damaged planet?

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Justice-centered climate science instruction is possible and needed throughout the grade span, and intersects with a variety of other ecological topics; 2. Our young people are already aware of and experiencing the effects of climate change, and educators are in a unique position to help them better understand and process this new reality; and 3. There are many resources already available to support educators in this work, even if it may sound daunting at first.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Abby Rhinehart (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

Learning science means engaging in DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs. Come explore how to generate authentic prompts that integrate all three dimensions to drive student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Practice creating 3-D prompts that explicitly promote the three dimensions and drive more integrated student learning and assessment; 2. Learn how to adapt your own questions and prompts to better target specific dimensions; and 3. Consider how framing of activities, through questions and prompts, can support specific DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs.

SPEAKERS:
Ana Houseal (University of Wyoming: Laramie, WY), Martha Inouye (University of Wyoming: Laramie, WY), Jessica Stephens (Rock Springs Junior High School: Rock Springs, WY)

Use award-winning videos, paper car crashes, egg drop cushions, and behind-the-crash-tests tours to teach motion and energy concepts. All resources are free at classroom.iihs.org.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how: 1. to access inquiry-based activities and video-supported experiences integrating STEM concepts with vehicle crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies; 2. scientists and engineers use technology (crash dummies, crash tests, crash avoidance testing) at a vehicle research center to measure and evaluate vehicle safety systems; and 3. to incorporate culminating STEM design challenges (Project Pedestrian Sensors and Egg-Carrying Paper Car Crash) into their curriculum to promote student awareness and understanding of how engineering and technology are used to build safer vehicles. Examples of student assessments (formative and summative) are provided.

SPEAKERS:
Griff Jones (University of Florida: No City, No State)

Students bring amazing intellectual resources to make sense of natural phenomena. Come learn how to notice and leverage these resources in your teaching.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Identify equity dimensions of sensemaking through the science and engineering practices; 2. Learn to see different ways students contribute to making sense of phenomena—and connect to science; and 3. Better appreciate that navigating multiple ways of knowing is the basic human condition, not the exception.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Tana Luther (Louisiana Dept. of Education: Baton Rouge, LA)

Come discover a multidisciplinary, open-ended investigation that incorporates absolute and relative dating, anomalies, historical context, volcanoes, solar proton events, energy cycles, Earth systems, terrestrial events, and supernovas.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Students will have a better understanding of the process of constructing knowledge; 2. Students will have to analyze and defend their results; and 3. Sometimes there is no answer key, only possible solutions from constructing and analyzing data from several sources that cross traditional disciplines.

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

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

Join us as we explore how NOAA Teacher at Sea can bring stimulating ocean science content to the classroom through a wide range of technology and media applications.

TAKEAWAYS:
NOAA Teacher at Sea provides numerous cutting-edge strategies to make ocean science accessible to students such as Google Cardboard and various VR applications to utilizing NOAA Teacher at Sea’s rich ocean science resources.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Cody (Edmunds Central School District: Roscoe, SD)

Experience how the discussion diamond protocol can help support students’ argumentation skills and Claim-Evidence-Reasoning writing through peer discourse.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Student discourse can be used to support the development of students’ argumentation skills; 2. The discussion diamond protocol provides students with a structure to build scientific arguments based on evidence and reasoning in collaboration with their peers; and 3. The discussion diamond protocol is a versatile tool that can be adapted for students at different skill levels and in various subjects.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Ciccarello (Beverly Hills High School: Beverly Hills, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

Attendees will explore disease modeling through the use of ZOMBIES!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. This session will explore disease-spread modeling using fictional zombies; 2. Attendees will also see how using Hollywood themes combined with actual STEM careers can be a fun way to engage students in learning science and STEM; and 3. Attendees will find out about free science and STEM lessons from Texas Instruments.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens (Retired Science Teacher: Sioux Falls, SD), Jessica Kohout (Howard County Conservancy: Woodstock, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Stile Education

Redefine your science classroom with Stile technology. Experience how Stile empowers teachers to facilitate student-centered learning environments, all grounded in relevant, real-world science.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Technology in science classrooms should redefine how we teach, not substitute it; 2. Current classrooms require multiple entry points for students to learn; and 3. Teachers can redefine how they plan for, facilitate, and analyze student thinking connected to the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Shawna Jensen (Stile Education: Portland, OR), Julianna Jimenez (Stile Education: Los Angeles, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Bio-Rad Laboratories

A COVID-19 outbreak among restaurant customers has researchers puzzled. It's time for your students to analyze DNA samples by electrophoresis and propose evidence-based explanations.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Walk through a hands-on classroom lab activity to teach about SARS-CoV-2 detection methods; 2. Learn about a case study, based on a publication in 2020, in which researchers analyzed diagnostic data from patrons of a restaurant to learn about how SARS-CoV-2 spreads; and 3. See how students can use classroom lab results to propose evidence-based explanations for how SARS-CoV-2 may have spread in the case study scenario.

SPEAKERS:
Damon Tighe (Bio-Rad Laboratories: Hercules, CA)

Sponsoring Company: MiniOne Systems

Using the MiniOne System, develop an understanding of forensic science and gel electrophoresis while investigating the mystery of who killed Dr. Ward.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how you can use electrophoresis to teach real-world forensic science to students in grades 9–12; 2. See how the MiniOne System has significantly reduced prep work for teachers by allowing students to get hands on with every step of the lab process; and 3. Understand how electrophoresis can be engaging and lead students toward careers in STEM fields.

SPEAKERS:
Callen Hyland (Embi Tec: San Diego, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Software & Technology

Excite your students with hands-on science, whether you’re in the classroom or teaching remotely through collaborative data collection and real-time analysis. Seeing data collected right before their eyes using the Vernier Graphical Analysis™ Pro app gives students the ability to connect abstract concepts to real-world applications. Learn how to use our app to energize your classroom through data sharing, interactive sample experiments with synced data, custom videos, and more.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Educators can create experiments and share the data with students in real time; 2. Seeing data collected right before their eyes gives students the ability to connect abstract concepts to real-world applications; and 3. Graphical Analysis Pro helps students experience three-dimensional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Tallarovic (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR), Elaine Nam (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) is a way for students to explain observed phenomena in a scientific way. This structured approach allows students to use observations and data from an investigation. Students use critical reasoning to connect the claim, evidence, and reasoning together. CER is an acclaimed and highly successful instructional strategy that is changing how students understand concepts and write explanations for phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Understand the benefits of using the CER Framework; 2. Construct and critique a scientific explanation; and 3. Develop appropriate scaffolds for scientific explanation skills.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Shield (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Join us as we use a variety of physical models of DNA student-centered activities to explore the structure and function of this amazing biomolecule.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. practice their understanding of the structure of DNA while transferring their knowledge across different models of DNA; 2. consider how a model-based approach to investigating DNA deepens student understanding and inquiry; and 3. investigate the differences between RNA and DNA while examining models.

SPEAKERS:
Keri Shingleton (Holland Hall: Tulsa, OK)

The NSTA Exhibit Hall is a must-see! NSTA brings you the leading science education companies and organizations to showcase products, services, curricula, and much more. You’ll discover  something new and exciting in the world of science teaching.