Take your students beyond your classroom walls through virtual speakers and field trips with those on the front lines of science, exploration, and conservation.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover the benefits of bringing exciting scientists, explorers, and conservationists live into your classroom through virtual guest speakers and field trips; 2. Explore how easy it is to do with exciting resources like Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, Explorer Classroom, Google, and more; and 3. What to do before, during, and afterwards so your students get the most from these experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Grabowski (Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants: Elora, ON)

Use each stage of the Engineering Design Process to complete a team challenge of building and launching a satellite while making connections to NASA missions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about and use the engineering design process to build and perform a drop test of a satellite using NASA’s BEST activities. Educators will learn how to integrate the process skills of measuring, calculating, designing and evaluating while teaching the engineering design process. Make real-life connections to how NASA engineers use the engineering design process and work as teams to accomplish their mission goals.

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

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:
A clear understanding of the application process to apply for a NITARP opportunity. An idea of the research experience of a participant involved in this astronomy experience. 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)

Did you realize that elders used inquiry, a multidisciplinary project-based approach, hands-on learning, and innovation? Incorporating these ideas will improve your classroom for ALL students.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. All teachers can adapt their teaching methods to match those of our elders. 2. The sequence and methods that were used by our elders insured that students were active learners. 3. The elders not only had students build a foundation of knowledge, but also they accomplished this by using inquiry, exploring phenomena, implementing a hands-on approach, and concluding with an innovative extension.

SPEAKERS:
Joel Truesdell (Kamehameha Schools Hawaii Campus: Keaau, HI)

Leverage the power of smartphone sensors in today’s physics classroom so that all students get experience in experimental science. Class-ready materials provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phone physics increases equitable access to experimental science in the classroom or at home as a flipped lab or distance learning. Phone sensors match or improve upon precision and accuracy of classic physics equipment. Phone physics has a low floor/high ceiling and is appropriate for all levels.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Tobler (Moreau Catholic High School: Hayward, CA)

Join this workshop and participate in a hands-on activity to help students overcome common chemical equilibrium misconceptions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. take part in a hands-on inquiry activity with a chemical equilibrium having a large K value; 2. learn ways to overcome student misconceptions about equilibrium; and 3. learn to use appropriate technology to facilitate data collection and analysis for an inquiry lab.

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

Learn how Next Time You See books can connect students with nature and inspire them to write their own books about natural objects and phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
• Explore research about the positive effects of time in nature on children and adults • Learn how literacy and science can be connected through writing activities • Receive classroom-ready resources (videos and graphic organizers) to guide your students through a Mentor Text Study

SPEAKERS:
Debra Sawyer-Moulton (NSTA Sales Rep for DC, DE, MD, PA, VVA, WV: Charlestown, MD)

Experience hands-on Science and ELA investigations with the FoodPrints Curriculum’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching nine major food and garden education themes.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Engage in hands-on investigation from three different elementary lessons: Edible Plant Parts, Seed Dispersal, and the Garden Ecosystem for grades 1–3 that can be used in the classroom and in outdoor learning using literacy-based approaches aligned to Common Core ELA and hands-on science investigations aligned to NGSS; 2. Learn methods for teaching and assessing vocabulary using live worms, engage students in discourse as they sort real food to classify edible plant parts, create seed packets using nonfiction text features while addressing speaking and listening standards, using student discourse, real-world and authentic vocabulary and incorporating read alouds to support instruction and learning methods for authentic assessment with each investigation; and 3. Explore the FoodPrints Curriculum’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching elementary science lessons with garden and food education themes and gain free access to our lessons and resources for preK—5.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Ramsey (FRESHFARM FoodPrints: Washington, DC), Susan Bandler (FRESHFARM FoodPrints: Washington, DC)

Unpack executive functioning and best practices for increasing students with learning challenges' efficacy in Project Based Learning. We'll discuss workshop barriers and pitfalls you've experienced.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Unpack executive functioning for students with learning challenges in science education. 2. Identify the best practices, tools and strategies, to help students manage Project Based Learning (PBL) in Science. 3. Model the continuum of more hand-holding to less when facilitating PBL in science education for both primary and secondary students.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Chambers (The Siena School: Silver Spring, MD)

We are awash in assessment data, but often it’s overwhelming to make sense of it. Come learn tips and strategies for wrangling data.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore new ways to organize data collection and raw data to aid in exploring the data for stories after it is collected; 2. Acquire skills in tying questions, data types, and data visualizations to enhance your ability to make sense of the assessment data; and 3. Identify next steps to better utilize and leverage your assessment data to help you measure students’ success and know what steps to consider next.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC)

Practice hands-on strategies for engaging students with scientific notebooks, letters, photos, and drawings; and highlighting scientific practices, nature of science, and connections between science and society.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Access to millions of free, digitized primary sources the Library of Congress has for K-12 science educators, such as: Thomas Jefferson’s weather journal, Robert Hooke’s first drawings of cells, photographs from the Dust Bowl, historic newspaper accounts about lead paint and electric cars, and much more! 2. Multiple hands-on strategies for integrating science-related primary sources in the K-12 classroom, to facilitate student engagement, critical thinking and student-centered construction of knowledge. 3. An understanding of how primary source analysis can lead to unique insights related to the Nature of Science, such as: how scientists and engineers think, practice, and apply scientific principles and discoveries in the real world; how scientific ideas evolve over time; and how science and engineering are related to society.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Apfeldorf (Library of Congress: Washington, DC)

Fulbright's DAST program is seeking U.S. teachers for two- to six-week projects all over the globe. Come hear from 2020 Uzbekistan Fellow Allan Miller and learn how you can apply.

TAKEAWAYS:
What is the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teacher Short Term Program for US Teachers and how can a teacher apply? An understanding of the presenters experience in Uzbekistan in Jan / Feb 2020 training the first cohort of STEM teacher trainers at the Samarqand Institute for Teacher Education An overview of the 3 Dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards, which served as the foundational learning for grounding the Uzbek Teacher Trainers in an understanding of "What is STEM?"

SPEAKERS:
Allan Miller (Champlain Valley School District: Shelburne, VT)

Discover 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)

Early positive experiences in STEM are critical for future student success. Come explore research and resources for increasing STEM practices, student discourse, and family engagement! Bring your laptop for hands-on engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. STEM activities for young learners; 2. Resources for STEM discourse; and 3. Family engagement strategies for math explorations.

SPEAKERS:
Tanaga Rodgers (D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education: Washington, DC), Lauren Thompson Allen (D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education: Washington, DC)

Explore how students can change metal properties through alloying, heat-treating, and cold-work. Classroom activities enhance understanding of both atomic structure and real-world engineering relevance.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Labs for students to deepen understanding of metal properties; 2. Real-world applications for atomic-level changes; and 3. Engineering challenges for students to apply knowledge.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson (Washington High School: Washington Court House, OH), Scott Spohler (Global Impact STEM Academy: Springfield, OH)

Engage with Research Quest, free, online, NGSS-focused, phenomenon-based investigations that use authentic museum objects and research to build students' literacy, critical-thinking, collaboration, and communication skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will: 1. experience an exemplar set of free resources that successfully integrate NGSS and ELA standards to provide students with meaningful, self-directed learning; 2. recognize that providing students with opportunities to research phenomenon-based problems professional scientists devote their careers to using the collections and data they build new knowledge from can empower students to better understand the enterprise of science, the natural world, and the natural history of our world—while building their literacy and critical-thinking skills; and 3. understand that creating opportunities to make critical thinking visible is an essential scaffold necessary to support student efficacy with problem-finding and problem-solving.

SPEAKERS:
Madlyn Larson (Natural History Museum of Utah: Salt Lake City, UT)

This presentation will review the PBL strategy and how it is being used to enhance students’ learning, in-class and virtually, in relation to epidemiology.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Current research supports that project-based learning increases scientific efficacy and an explanation of project-based learning will be included. 2. Science is a collaborative endeavor and educators must teach students how to collaborate; both face-to-face and virtually. 3. Epidemiology is a field of study where many types of scientists must collaborate to solve public health problems and this field is accessible to middle and high school students.

SPEAKERS:
Emilie Tekely (Dauphin County Technical School: Harrisburg, PA)

Explore climate science and justice intersections in teaching and learning through practical examples and resources for classroom engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate science justice Learning activities and resources to build capacity within the educational systems to engage in this much needed work, and specifically to foster inquiry and civic practices for both educators and students. Resources to help educational leaders navigate the implementation of such learning across varied educational systems and community contexts

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (University of Washington), Michael Heinz (New Jersey Dept. of Education: Trenton, NJ)

Explore ways to integrate science and ELA with picture books to help students master science concepts, while at the same time enforcing literacy standards!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Using picture books will help bring the science to life while enforcing ELA National and State Standards; 2. Inquiry can be embedded and implemented with the use of interactive picture books; and 3. You can use any picture book to engage and help students practice crosscutting concepts and engineering skills.

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

Grades K–8 teachers—please join us for this hands-on workshop using biomimicry to design a system to land payloads safely to the surface of Mars.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. integrate data using pocketlab sensors; 2. learn about modifications to this lesson that can help increase equity for all learners; and 3. see examples of formative assessments that can be used to assess student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Pitts (Oakdale School: Edmond, OK), Sheryl McCarthy (The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori: Cincinnati, OH)

This workshop focuses on how high-quality instructional materials designed for the NGSS provide for language skills to be developed by all students, including emerging multilingual students, by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
(1) By engaging with content first before learning science-specific vocabulary, students of varying language proficiencies are provided with an opportunity to express their ideas using the language they have. (2) Implementing meaningful student discourse in the science classroom can shift the focus on science and engineering practices and away from academic vocabulary. (3) Strategies that support emerging multilingual learners actually support all learners in developing proficiency in the science and engineering practices.

SPEAKERS:
Neelo Soltanzadeh (WestEd: San Francisco, CA)

Reading should not be limited to English courses. Leave with strategies on how to motivate students to explore science through scientific novels. Review three years of qualitative data on how novels increased  literacy, scientific fluency, scientific connectivity, and college preparation in a marine biology course.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will: 1. learn how to use articles to make their content more applicable to the lives of their students; 2. receive strategies on how to get students to read more scientific articles; and 3. receive resources on selecting grade-appropriate scientific articles.

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

Join us for a hands-on FoodPrints lesson that explores the Three Sisters Garden to teach teamwork, SEL practices, cooperation, groups discussion, and more!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Engage in a hands-on engineering investigation to design and build a Three Sisters Garden model and learn the Native American legend of the Three Sisters Garden as participants work in groups to explore the themes of teamwork, cooperation, and empathy as it relates to their investigation and the legend. 2. Participants will practice strategies to engage students in discourse and develop habits for discussion and collaboration through a series of hands on investigations, as well as explore tools for assessing through discourse. 3. Explore the FoodPrints Curriculum’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching elementary science lessons with garden and food education themes, and gain free access to our lessons and resources for Pre-K through 5th grade.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Ramsey (FRESHFARM FoodPrints: Washington, DC), Susan Bandler (FRESHFARM FoodPrints: Washington, DC)

This session provides ideas for engaging students in Science, Math, and Literacy while addressing learning loss and school culture.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ideas on how to address leaning loss through fun and engagement. Integration of Science, Math, Literacy, and local studies Building a school culture based on positivity and love

SPEAKERS:
LaCosta Hodges (Oakvale Elementary School: Oakvale, WV), Racine Stefancic (Oakvale Elementary School: Oakvale, WV), Summer Thomas (Oakvale Elementary School: Oakvale, WV)

Discover ideas, curricula, and lessons/activities from the Space Station Explorers Program. They inspire curiosity, develop skills, and promote learning in scientific, mathematical, life science, and Earth science spheres by engaging students with the International Space Station.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to access the ideas, curriculum, and lessons/activities of the Space Station Explorers Program How the program integrates appropriately and easily into the classroom (physically or virtually) as well as activities for learning at home. How to become a Space Station Explorer Ambassador

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Pore (Bishop O'Connell High School: Arlington, VA)

Attendees will actively engage with innovative, technology-rich tools and learning strategies to teach data collection and analysis, engineering design processes, coding, and robotics. Come learn 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)

This session will highlight the impact of the Japanese Lesson Study model on increasing self-efficacy and teacher collective efficacy through low-cost sustained professional learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Examine a case study that highlights how one school district addressed its immediate need to embed integrated STEM education by using the Japanese Lesson Study as its professional development framework. Learn about solutions to address barriers to effective professional development. Participants will examine their current school context to develop action steps to increase self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in relation to elementary, integrated STEM education.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Avitabile (Interboro School District: Prospect Park, PA)

EPIC Bioscience are free, online investigations for NGSS middle school life science. Students collect and analyze data from digitized museum specimens to develop evidence-based arguments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Online science investigations can engage students in real-world issues, promote accurate data collection, and facilitate critical thinking and reflection. Digitized museum specimens increase student motivation during data collection and support understanding of data findings. Online data collection can facilitate accurate data collection and reduce barriers related to specimen access.

SPEAKERS:
Madlyn Larson (Natural History Museum of Utah: Salt Lake City, UT)

Orchestrate whole-class and independent inquiries that integrate science, social studies, technology, and literacy using phenomena, investigations, historical primary sources, picture books, and driving question boards.

TAKEAWAYS:
(1) Participants will learn strategies for using driving question boards to support student agency and manage multidisciplinary student inquiries that connect to an anchoring phenomenon. (2) Participants will learn how to layer texts like picture books and primary sources to support student writing and inquiries in science and social studies. (3) Participants will learn strategies for supporting student writing across the disciplines of science and social studies with the help of digital tools.

SPEAKERS:
John Smith (Chester A Arthur School: Philadelphia, PA)

Participants will learn about the successful and varied informal and formal science partnerships developed by members of the NSELA leadership community.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Successful partnerships between formal and informal science institutions increase student and community engagement in STEM education; 2. Success stories include STEM ecosystems; and 3. The NSELA Learning Center provides resources and support for ongoing learning about formal and informal science partnerships.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Weatherhead (National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA): Downingtown, PA)

Join me for 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:
Students will have a better understanding of the process of constructing knowledge. Students will have to analyze and defend their results. 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)

Connect the human impact of trash pollution to engineering design. Get your students thinking critically and creatively as they collaborate in real-world problem-solving.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Connecting the human impact of single-use plastics and their effect on aquatic ecosystems; 2. Exposing students to basic coding and engineering design in an NGSS-focused content classroom; and 3. Developing a project that enhances STEM skills in students such as collaboration, curiosity, and creative problem-solving.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout (Educational Consultant: Ellicott City, MD), Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA)

This session models how to teach Environmental Justice and how to assess student learning. Participants design and test a landfill liner.

TAKEAWAYS:
1-Attendees will learn how to describe Environmental Justice as an environmental ethical principle. 2-Attendees will learn how to design an Environmental Justice lesson, incorporating multiple learning styles. 3-Attendees will learn how to assess student learning of Environmental Justice.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Spike (Clean Air Partners)

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), Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Learn how to utilize the technology you’ve come to love in innovative ways not discussed by their accompanying user guide for both instructional and noninstructional purposes.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Technological platforms can be used creatively to do more than what each platform is marketed for 2. Technology is beneficial for both instructional and non-instructional practices 3. Technology is a powerful tool for educators whether students are in person or virtual

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Allessio (Robbinsville High School: Robbinsville, NJ)

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. Emphasis will be placed 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)

Learn about the launch lab where s chemistry professor and preservice STEM teachers engaged high schoolers in a summer program filled with experiences centered on aviation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn about collaboration between preservice and inservice teachers and university STEM content experts in designing and facilitating lab experiences for high school students to engage in hands on inquiry; 2. learn about the planning process that maximized the collaboration between different stakeholders at the college, community college, high school, and district levels to ensure student participants could access, engage with, and learn effectively about the aviation concepts and related math and engineering skills; and 3. experience a truncated version of the launch lab and learn about what the students experienced and the reflections of the educators.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Cuddapah (Hood College: Frederick, MD), Chris Stromberg (Hood College: Frederick, MD)