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)

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)

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 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)

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)

We present the EQuIPD coaching model used in establishing collaborations between teachers and coaches in a professional development to improve teaching practices and student outcome.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The attendees will learn how coaching can foster collaborations among teachers and coaches to effect improvement in teaching practices. 2. The attendees will reflect on their practices by engaging with a facilitative coaching method by EQuIPD experts. 3. The attendees will learn the critical features of the EQuIPD facilitative coaching model.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy Ruzycki (University of Florida: Gainesville, FL)

How does toxic ammonia from fish waste end up serving as a nitrogen source for plants? Attend this informative session to learn about aquaponics.

TAKEAWAYS:
How the nitrogen cycle influences both plant and fish health. How to use a modular design philosophy to allow students to innovate and create an aquaponics system in the classroom. How to incorporate Virginia's Trout in the Classroom program into your aquaponics system.

SPEAKERS:
Eric March (Browne Academy: Alexandria, VA), Kristen Oberhofer (Browne Academy: Alexandria, VA)

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

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)

Explore innovative approaches to incorporating vocabulary and text in the science classroom using strategies encouraging reflection, critical thinking, communication, and consistent connection to content.

TAKEAWAYS:
1) Immediately applicable, engaging activities that can be used at any grade level 2)How to help students connect what they are doing in science to themselves, their world or the world around them 3) How to create a space in your classroom for weekly vocabulary in order to ensure all students have the same base of information for classroom discussions, activities and content instruction

SPEAKERS:
Kate Price (Moore Square Magnet Middle School: Raleigh, NC), Kim Patterson (West Pine Middle School: West End, NC)

Share our Vermont middle school journey implementing project-based learning and the “ best of times, worst of times" in units involving podcasts, student science videos, and design challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
What are the key design elements for technology-rich project based learning units? How can a project drive student learning and still keep content learning targets in the center? Is it possible video production, podcasting or engineering design challenges might enhance students’ proficiency based learning in my classroom - and if so, how?

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

Experience three different digital design challenges using branching scenarios that provide student choice and data sets. Each challenge is presented on a different digital platform.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants will engage in a digital design challenge to test efficiency of wind turbine blades. 2. Participants will engage in a digital design challenge to test the strength of electromagnets. 3. Participants will engage in a digital design challenge to test the greenhouse effect in an area of a specific land surface (polar region, water, desert).

SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Brooks (CREC: No City, No State), Rebecca Tonkinson (eesmarts: Hartford, CT), Sharyon Holness (eesmarts: No City, No State)