2021 Los Angeles Area Conference

December 9-11, 2021

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Rooms and times subject to change.
12 results
Save up to 50 sessions in your agenda.

Connecting NGSS to Student Interests and the Science That Surrounds Us in Real Life

Thursday, December 9 • 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 408A


Show Details

Learn how to create engaging lessons, connecting to student interests and to the science and natural phenomena that surround us. Pick up strategies to engage K–6 students in explorations, helping them recognize and understand real-world science while creating a lifelong love of science. Handouts!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: 1. innovative strategies to help children identify, explore, and understand a variety of interesting, real-life science that surrounds them in their everyday world; 2. how to design lessons that emphasize exploration, and give students the opportunity to test variables and analyze their effects; and 3. effective questioning strategies to engage students and increase the depth of student thinking, also helping to make student thinking visible; and to help teachers use effective questioning strategies to help students clarify and articulate their understanding of essential science phenomena and concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Knoell (self: Shawnee Mission, KS)

ASEE Session: Coding in an Elementary School

Thursday, December 9 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 405



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Coding in an Elementary School.pdf
https://bit.ly/3DEc0Oy

Show Details

Let's teach students, teachers, and families how to code. Learn how to promote creativity, problem solving, higher-order thinking, and digital literacy in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will: 1. learn to incorporate unplugged activities; 2. gain skills to integrate coding into their classroom using multiple platforms; and learn how to involve families during Hour of Code Event.

SPEAKERS:
Gabriela Arroyo (Santa Monica Boulevard Community Charter School: Los Angeles, CA), Jennifer Nishimoto (Santa Monica Boulevard Community Charter School: Los Angeles, CA)

Develop Engaged, Future-Ready Science Learners

Thursday, December 9 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 408B


Show Details

Attendees will actively engage with innovative, technology-rich tools while learning strategies to teach data collection and analysis, engineering design processes, coding, and robotics. Discover engaging ways to apply coding to make devices “work,” adding rigor and complexity as learners gain skills and understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to: 1. design accessible, equitable hands-on learning experiences, in which ALL students actively participate and engage with innovative technology tools, helping students learn essential science concepts, engineering processes, and learn how to collaborate with peers to increase understanding; 2. teach authentic data collection and analysis, so that students can learn how to explore and test variables and measure and analyze their effects; and 3. use programmable technology tools and devices as effective teaching tools, helping students learn how to input code to achieve a desirable outcome, and how to analyze, diagnose, and correct the code when the device doesn’t perform as intended.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Knoell (self: Shawnee Mission, KS)

Bridging the Gap: Using Teacher Leaders to Support Informal Educators

Thursday, December 9 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 504


STRAND: Successful Collaborations Between Informal and Formal Educators

Show Details

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)

Welcome to the Inquiry Zone!

Friday, December 10 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 506


Show Details

Elementary teachers can become comfortable teaching science without "adding to their plate." Our strategies have led to a natural approach to cross-curricular instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. an approach to decrease the load or stress for elementary teachers to help them feel more comfortable implementing inquiry; 2. how literacy is foundational to a robust cross-curricular science inquiry approach; and 3. an approach to help students "think like a scientist."

SPEAKERS:
Douglas Hunnings (Elkhart Community Schools: Elkhart, IN), John Taylor (Marvin Ridge High School: No City, No State)

Local Phenomenon-Based Projects

Friday, December 10 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 406B


Show Details

Sponsoring Company: AEOP

Come learn about using community-based phenomena as the basis for long-term STEM projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to intergrade local phenomena into STEM projects; 2. Using eCYBERMISSION in your middle school science classroom; and 3. How to better engage middle school students with local problems.

SPEAKERS:
Sue Whitsett (Retired: Arlington, VA)

Teaching Science Standards Through Coding

Friday, December 10 • 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 502B



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
CYBER.ORG
Check out the amazing work and free resources from CYBER.ORG!
Power Point File
Register for Free Content
CYBER.ORG is grant funded through the Department of Homeland Security and provides free resources and professional development to teachers in the United States.

Show Details

Learn how to reach the three-dimensional science standards in your classroom through hands-on coding with the BBC micro:bit and free online Microsoft MakeCode simulator.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. gain personal hands-on experience using a BBC micro:bit to teach the Next Generation Science Standards; 2. learn how to teach problem solving through coding at an age-appropriate level with tips and pointers from presenters who each have over 10 years' experience in the elementary classroom; and 3. walk away with a free sample lesson from CYBER.ORG that includes the corresponding Next Generation Science Standards for the upper elementary classroom.

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

Rewriting the Story: Developing a More Inclusive STEM Classroom

Friday, December 10 • 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 153A/B


Show Details

Sponsoring Company: EiE | Museum of Science, Boston

Explore classroom facilitation strategies that engage all learners in high-quality STEM experiences and hear from educators who are implementing these strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn strategies to eliminate barriers and engage all students; 2. Identify discussion supports that foster effective collaboration and communication; and 3. Explore the benefits of implementing STEM curricula designed for diverse classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Lorri Coates (Museum of Science, Boston: Boston, MA)

Beyond Labz: Realistic Virtual Labs That Bridge the Gap Between Real Labs and Scientific Inquiry

Friday, December 10 • 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 407


Show Details

Sponsoring Company: Beyond Labz

Built on a platform developed over 20 years, Beyond Labz creates an open-ended environment providing students the opportunity to experiment, practice, fail, discover, and learn.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Beyond Labz simplifies and reduces the cost and expertise needed to provide crucial laboratory experiences and practice for secondary and higher ed students; 2. Attendees will learn how the labs are used for pre- and post-lab experiences, credit recovery and lab make-up, student engagement in class, and meeting NGSS standards; and 3. Basic onboarding and startup instructions will be provided for drop-in solutions, and instructions for using some of the more sophisticated features will also be described.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Woodfield (Brigham Young University: Provo, UT)

Using Environmental Solutions as a Lens for Teaching Science and Engineering

Saturday, December 11 • 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 406B


Show Details

Sponsoring Company: Green Ninja

The workshop will introduce and provide examples for a project-based framework that integrates climate science topics and themes with all the science disciplines, including engineering and computer science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. get the opportunity to reflect on the framework and model presented and share their own experience with other participants; 2. get the opportunity to develop a storyline and sequence of lessons that blend together multiple science NGSS standards using a project-based approach; and 3. get to review and discuss the work of other colleagues during the session.

SPEAKERS:
Eugene Cordero (Green Ninja: Mountain View, CA)

Inclusive Science Assessments: Supporting and Designing Equitable Formative Assessments to Build on Learners’ Interests and Knowledge

Saturday, December 11 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 408B


STRAND: Developing More Inclusive Classrooms

Show Details

Learn how to integrate the cultural resources your students bring to class with your science teaching and learning. Come explore equity-based cultural formative assessments.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Resources for instructional leaders and educators to support and create meaningful connections between classroom science concepts and the application of those ideas in everyday situations; 2. Discussion of the implementation of these tools and resources in dynamic school environments; and 3. The strategies presented in this workshop can be used with any curricula, at any grade level, and in all subjects of science and engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (University of Washington)

Come Explore NGSS Design

Saturday, December 11 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Los Angeles Convention Center - 511



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
_Design a Planet LA 2021(Earth Systems).pdf

STRAND: Integrating Multiple Learning Experiences and Connecting to Move Forward

Show Details

See what NGSS looks like in the classroom by building a water filter and learning about the hydrosphere and atmosphere.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Lesson design using 5E + T ; 2. Resources, tools, and apps; and 3. Engineering a water filter that you take back to school.

SPEAKERS:
Maddalena Stodart (Mitchell Community School: Canyon Country, CA), Annette Licata (Tracy Elementary School: Baldwin Park, CA)

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