Do you want to learn how to integrate children’s literature into your elementary science block? This workshop will walk you through some children’s books that not only engage students and help build literacy skills but also provide a foundation for NGSS-focused STEM-related projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. gain an understanding of developing science literacy in their young students through literature; 2. walk away with resources (ideas and activities) to strengthen literacy and science skills; and 3. use children's literature as a way to enhance STEM learning in their classrooms through hands-on activities.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Pearcy (Jefferson Elementary School: Spokane, WA), Jayna Ashlock (Logan Elementary School: Spokane, WA), Kendra Robinson-Harding (Jefferson Elementary School: Spokane, WA)

Attendees will actively engage with innovative, technology-rich tools, learning strategies to teach data collection and analysis, engineering design processes, coding, and robotics, and 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 (Educational and Technology Consultant: Prairie Village, KS)

Come "tinker" with a classic fairy tale and then practice detecting STEM opportunities within any piece of children's literature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. recognize that science is all around us and can be found in any storyline; 2. use tips to hone in on identifying science phenomena or concepts in literature; and 3. develop a draft of a three-dimensional STEM lesson of their own.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Owens (Southern Arkansas University: Magnolia, AR), Angela Stanford (Southern Arkansas University: Magnolia, AR), Allye Wright (Barton Junior High School: El Dorado, AR), Lisa Oden (Southern Arkansas University: Magnolia, AR)

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 (Educational and Technology Consultant: Prairie Village, KS)

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

I will showcase and demonstrate hands-on, low-cost activities using amateur radio, including speaking with astronauts on the ISS, and tracking transmitters that orbit Earth.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. What amateur radio truly is (and isn’t); 2. Ways to use amateur radio in the classroom; and 3. Hands-on activities using radio, regardless of if you have a radio license .

SPEAKERS:
Joanne Michael (Wiseburn Unified School District: El Segundo, CA)

Take the engineering design process to the next level with invention education. Encourage diverse perspectives, teamwork, and empathy…while engaging in NGSS practices!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. What is invention education and how does it relate to science and engineering?; 2. Where can I find resources for teaching invention education?; and 3. Why is invention education more welcoming to girls and other historically excluded populations than typical engineering lessons?

SPEAKERS:
Roxanne Moore (Georgia Institute of Technology: Atlanta, GA)

Writing your own NGSS units? Learn about our articulated writing process that achieves NGSS and English Language Proficiency standards. Applicable to all levels!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. how we unpack PEs and approach writing a unit; 2. how to consider NGSS from a language perspective; and 3. why the investment in time upfront leads to a more effective writing experience and a more coherent experience for students and teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Mayo (Portland Public Schools: Portland, OR), Jennifer Scherzinger (Portland Public Schools: Portland, OR), Geoff Stonecipher (Portland Public Schools: Portland, OR)

Introducing Dream2B, an innovative, integrated curriculum designed to bolster math performance and interest in STEM /information communication technology (ICT) careers.

Note: Laptop/mobile device and head phones/ear pods are necessary to fully engage in this workshop.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Accessible and supportive learning environments are needed to bolster STEM performance and address unique learning abilities; 2. Collaborative challenges embedded in universally designed virtual worlds have the potential to bolster both conceptual knowledge and engagement in relevant STEM workforce skills (aligns with NGSS https://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/3-5-ets1-2-engineering-design); and 3. A proactive curriculum designed with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework addresses diversity in the student population and act as tools teachers can use to ground instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Patterson (University of Central Florida: Orlando, FL), Rohana Swihart (University of Central Florida: Orlando, FL)

Elementary teachers can become comfortable teaching science without "adding to their plate." Our training sessions 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)

Maximize instructional minutes through integration strategies that deeply engage students in science, engineering, and ELA learning.  I'll share links to free resources for all your NGSS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn: 1. how to use science phenomena and driving questions to engage students deeply with English Language Arts strategies and standards (reading, writing, speaking, and listening); 2. where and how English Language Arts fit and function in the arc of science learning; and 3. about free resources that can help them integrate science and ELA in their elementary classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA)

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. -Discuss 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:
Lauren Thompson Allen (D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education: Washington, DC), Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

Come take a dive into STEM/STEAM with a fun selection of children’s literature that inspires young learners to engage as architects, engineers, and makers while they plan, construct, and iterate with a variety craft materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Participants will dive into hands-on learning experiences that illustrate the interactive nature of the Engineering Design Process (EDP) with NGSS Science and Engineering Practices; 2. Teachers will leave with STEM/STEAM prompts (open-ended questions, verbal encouragement) to use with students while they are working on design challenges; and 3. Teachers will deepen their content with cross-curricular connections in a communities theme that pairs children’s literature with real-life communities (Hey, Wall Story of Art & Community, Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood (San Diego, CA), Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood, The Curious Garden (NYC), Kamala and Maya's Big Idea (Oakland, CA) through art, gardens, and playgrounds.

SPEAKERS:
Belle Akers (Convent & Stuart Hall's Schools of the Sacred Heart: San Francisco, CA)

Learn more about FREE curriculum modules from the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention that promote the engagement of all students in science and engineering! Modules were co-developed in partnership with Western Washington University and the Bellingham School District.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn more about: 1. the world-class collection of electrical engineering artifacts, such as Edison's first light bulb and early prototype electrical devices, available to educators (including virtual collections) at the SPARK Museum; 2. abut FREE curriculum modules aligned to the NGSS that engage students in the engineering design process while learning about energy; and 3. ways that engineering can be made relevant to students from diverse backgrounds, interests, and abilities.

SPEAKERS:
Abby Russell (SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention: Bellingham, WA), Paola Sanchez (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA), Bridget Dahlman-Oeth (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA), Dan Savage (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA), Ben Dixon (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA)

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

Explore the processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation using manipulatives that support the NGSS three dimensions, most notably the SEP of developing and using models.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Model the leading and lagging strands of DNA; 2. Understand the semiconservative nature of DNA replication; and 3. Investigate how a change in DNA code can result in a change in the protein produced.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Auld (Sehome High School: Bellingham, WA)

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:
1. Explore research about the positive effects of time in nature on children and adults; 2. Learn how literacy and science can be connected through writing activities; and 3. Receive classroom-ready resources (videos and graphic organizers) to guide your students through a Mentor Text Study.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Stilwell (BIOZONE Corp.: Parker, CO)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Let’s explore several intervention strategies to help struggling students in STEM. Let's move beyond differentiation and scaffolding. Come learn other proven intervention techniques to help students. Let’s modify our traditional outreach to connect with students so that they gain greater understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore several intervention strategies to help struggling students in STEM; 2. Compare differentiation and scaffolding strategies, and learn successful adaptations of each strategy; and 3. Explore effective intervention strategies that are built into the STEMscopes curriculum.

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

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Mitosis, meiosis, chromosome structure, and crossing over will be explored in this hands-on modeling event. Bring your student hat and be ready to engage.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Model chromosome structure and anatomy; 2. Compare and contrast mitosis and meiosis; and 3. Model mechanisms that contribute to genetic variation.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Bowers (Meridian School: Round Rock, TX)

Learn how to integrate STEM and literacy through the use of high-quality STEM-related picture books

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Strategies for integrating STEM and literacy in K–5; 2. Suggested picture books that integrate STEM and literacy; and 3. A STEM lesson you can use right away.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Stilwell (BIOZONE Corp.: Parker, CO)

We’ll explore key stances, strategies, and resources for supporting elementary students to learn about and take collective action in response to authentic socio-ecological challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Young learners are capable of consequential and justice-centered learning about social, political, environmental, and climate issues. Concerns about “developmental appropriateness” can perpetuate dominant forms of science and invisibilize marginalized students’ lived experiences; 2. Science learning should support students in understanding and engaging with local and global challenges through centering the world views, perspectives, and leadership of BIPOC communities; and 3. The use of project-based approaches can allow young learners to develop their voice and leadership capacity as they solve problems that are real and urgent in their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Rae Han (EarthGen: No City, No State), Pranjali Upadhyay (Educational Service District 112: Vancouver, WA)

Link computer science and SEL through computational thinking! Make a classroom procedure integrating CS and SEL through coding and leave with resources for classroom routines.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. A classroom-ready procedure integrating CS and SEL to immediately use with students; 2. An expanded knowledge of coding in Scratch and for those new to the tool, a baseline for its and other similar tools' uses and instructional integration; and 3. A model for coaching students through interpersonal communication using computational thinking concepts in social-emotional situations.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Lark (Kognity: Stockholm, 0), Katherine Livick (Educational Service District 112: Vancouver, WA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Come learn several strategies to help students organize their learning. Transform the old composition notebooks into a useful and engaging tool that incorporates technology and multimedia. Interactive student notebooks use various modalities and left/right–side format, and offer students an electronic portfolio of learning. Join us!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn: 1. several strategies to help students organize their learning; 2. how to adapt old student notebooks into digital interactive portfolios with Slides, Jamboard, Flipgrid, Padlet, and Screencasify; and 3. how to structure notebooks for left side "Output" and right side "Input."

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

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Work through cycles of PCR using foam manipulatives that make the invisible visible. Demonstrate the role of Taq polymerase, primers, and nucleotides as they copy target DNA.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore the chemical mechanism involved in PCR; 2. Model polymerase chain reaction and how flanking primers result in the exponential amplification of a short product; and 3. Use a real-world scientific example of how PCR is used to help solve a crime.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Auld (Sehome High School: Bellingham, WA)

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 start-up 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)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Learn how trouble in a yogurt factory exposed CRISPR biology, paving the way for a groundbreaking biotechnology tool. This session explores virus-cell interactions at the boundary of living and nonliving systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. To update teachers’ knowledge of bacteria-phage interactions; 2. To demonstrate how teachers can connect this new technology to basic concepts of molecular biology they are already teaching; and 3. To connect a basic biological system to technological innovation.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Bowers (Meridian School: Round Rock, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Pitsco Education

The framework of our STEM PBL units includes a meaningful STEM challenge, authentic inquiry, student choice, applied development, and public engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Elements of a STEM PBL unit; 2. Ways to incorporate hands-on STEM learning into an open-ended STEM PBL unit; and 3. Leave with the right tools and confidence to integrate a STEM PBL unit into your learning environment.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Underwood (Pitsco Education: Pittsburg, KS), Mohit Abraham (Pitsco Education: Pittsburg, KS)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

This session introduces CRISPR-Cas9 in the context of DNA, RNA, and protein structure. Functional interactions in the natural system are explained as well as engineered improvements for sequence-specific targeting in the human genome.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. To update teachers’ knowledge of this new gene-editing technology; 2. To demonstrate how teachers can connect this new technology to basic concepts of molecular biology they are already teaching; and 3. To explore the potential and limitations of genome-editing technology applications.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Bowers (Meridian School: Round Rock, TX)

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-approprite 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, which includes the corresponding Next Generation Science Standards for their upper elementary classroom.

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

Learn and understand  how an industry partner and a team of educators collaborated to create activities in helping students design a microgravity space toilet.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to develop a successful problem-based Learning unit incorporating NGSS, Common Core, and CTE; 2. How to infuse 21st-Century soft skills and connections to career pathways into a problem-based learning unit; and 3. Tips on forming strong partnership collaborations.

SPEAKERS:
Barbara Bromley (Hazelwood Elementary School: Lynnwood, WA), Zayd Sarwat (Hazelwood Elementary School: Lynnwood, WA), Alexandra Willwerth (Hazelwood Elementary School: Lynnwood, WA), Makena Nymeyer (Hazelwood Elementary School: Lynnwood, WA), Sylvie Giral Kacmarcik (Civil Air Patrol, Washington Wing: Bothell, WA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Research has shown that the actual doing of science or engineering will pique students’ curiosity, capture their interest, and motivate their continued study. Combining this information with simple shifts in instructional sequencing will help students construct scientific meaning. Are you ready to open your eyes to a whole new world of scientific inquiry!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore the research-based 5E instructional model with adaptations for acceleration and intervention; 2. Learn several techniques to embed hands-on learning experiences in various classroom environments; and 3. Learn how to make simple shifts in your instructional plan and sequence to foster better student understanding of concepts.

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

Through STEM notebooks and the Engineering and Design Process, transform your literacy block to become more engaging and inquiry based.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The steps of the engineering and design process and what each step means and how it looks in the classroom; 2. STEM notebooks and how to use them effectively; and 3. Using STEM notebooks and the EDP during your literacy block and demonstrating how the EDP is cross-curricular.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Spearman (McKissick Academy of Science & Technology: Easley, SC), McKenzie Martin (McKissick Academy of Science & Technology: Easley, SC)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Let's explore membrane transport and signaling support neuron function. This session covers the relationship between structures and the electrical changes during excitation along with strategies to deepen engagement and understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. deepen their understanding of the molecular mechanisms that support neuron activation and signal propagation during an action potential; 2. become familiar with the specific impacts of neurotransmitters on the pre- and post-synaptic neurons; and 3. use foam models to explore approaches to learning that invite deep questioning, such as via making predictions of the consequences of specific mutations in the sodium potassium pump on neuron activity.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Bowers (Meridian School: Round Rock, TX)