2021 Portland Area Conference

October 28-30, 2021

Grade Level


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Pathway/Course

FILTERS APPLIED:6 - 8, Hands-On Workshop, STEM

 

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

Online Investigations: Using Digitized Specimens for Engaged Science Learning

Thursday, October 28 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Oregon Convention Center - D139/140


STRAND: Innovating the Future of Education: Technology and Science Education

Show Details

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:
1. Online science investigations can be evaluated by assessing key features to engage students in real-world issues, motivate accurate data collection, and facilitate critical thinking and reflection; 2. Digitized museum specimens can be used to increase student engagement during data collection and support their understanding of data patterns; and 3. Using online data collection can enhance opportunities for authentic science investigations by reducing barriers related to specimen access.

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

Phenomenon-Based, Literacy-Rich Learning Using Digitized Museum Objects

Thursday, October 28 • 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Oregon Convention Center - D139/140


STRAND: Literacy/Science Connections in the Classroom

Show Details

Engage with Research Quest, free, online, NGSS-focused, phenomenon-based investigations using 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 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)

Escaping the Mundane Classroom

Thursday, October 28 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Oregon Convention Center - D136


Show Details

Throw away your worksheets and turn your classroom into a collaborative, engaging escape room.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. You will discover how to turn existing lessons into engaging escape rooms; 2. Receive dozens of hands-on puzzles to use in any escape room; and 3. Hear how your students can start to create standard-based escape rooms for you.

SPEAKERS:
Carissa Brazeal (Without Walls EDU: No City, No State)

Using Authentic Data to Make Meaningful Connections

Thursday, October 28 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Oregon Convention Center - A106



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Slide Deck
Slide deck in PowerPoint format for the Authentic Data Session

STRAND: Successful Collaborations Between Informal and Formal Educators

Show Details

Join museum educators and classroom teachers to learn how data collection and analysis can help students make meaningful connections with content and with each other.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. how to create a unit of study around authentic data collection and analysis; 2. data collection and analysis can connect teachers (or students) who can't connect in person; and 3. about tools for data collection and analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Baldioli (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Washington, DC), Kate Kogge (AFOSR: No City, No State), Michelle Rahn (Will Rogers Junior High School: Claremore, OK)

STEMify Your Daily Do's

Friday, October 29 • 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Oregon Convention Center - A106


Show Details

Join us to strengthen STEM in your classroom by STEMifying a Daily Do lesson plan.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Sensemaking in your classroom using NSTA Daily Do's; 2. How Daily Do's and other lessons can be modified to include more STEM; and 3. How to design for equity in STEM/Science classrooms.

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

Design a Limb

Friday, October 29 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Oregon Convention Center - D136



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Build - A - Limb A hands-On Engineering Approach to Teaching Homologous Structures.pptx

STRAND: Sharing Authentic Assessment Strategies

Show Details

Teach homologous structures by having students design and build limbs and compare them with other students’ creations.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to: 1. design a hands-on activity to illustrate homologous structures; 2. design an engineering activity for students to design and build limbs, like arms, wings, and flippers; and 3. use these limbs to begin a discussion about homologous structures and common ancestors.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Rockow (Leslie Middle School: Salem, OR)

ASEE Session: Journey to Mars: Build a Mars Rover Using NASA's Beginning Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Curriculum

Friday, October 29 • 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Oregon Convention Center - D139/140



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
BEST Rover Activity.pdf
Design a Lunar Buggy Activity
moonrover_worksheet.pdf
Additional Hands on Activity

Show Details

Use the Engineering Design Process to build and test a Mars Rover that will carry equipment and astronauts while learning about current NASA missions.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn about the Engineering Design Process; 2. Gain in-depth knowledge of NASA's BEST Curriculum; and 3. Attendees will design, build, and test a Mars rover.

SPEAKERS:
Vemitra White (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center: Huntsville, AL), Jamel Alexander (Missile and Space Intelligence Center: Huntsville, AL)

How to Teach Science/Climate Science Using Game-Based Learning

Friday, October 29 • 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Oregon Convention Center - D136


Show Details

Bring your creativity and learn how to implement game-based learning in your science classroom. We will explore using hands-on techniques to make science fun.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. create a science-based game to use in their classroom; 2. develop an understanding of game-based learning; and 3. embed game-based learning in their current content/curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Tammie Schrader (Level Up Education: No City, No State)

CSSS-Sponsored Session: Justice-Centered Climate Science Learning

Friday, October 29 • 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Oregon Convention Center - E142/143



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Climate Justice Presentation by OSPI, EarthGen UW
Climate change is happening; however, mitigation, impacts of, and resilience to such change are not equal across all contexts. The idea of climate justice, the movement to define and address these differential impacts through specific policies and actions, is an area of great interest to youth and of increasing social importance to include in k-12 education. However, navigating the complex scientific, social and political terrain of teaching climate change through a justice lens is challenging.
Keeping Climate Science Learning and Instruction Focused on Creating Solutions
STEM Teaching Tool professional resource
STEM Teaching Tools Collection
Collection of NSF-funded professional learning resources for equitable NGSS / 3D instruction

Show Details

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

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore learning activities and resources to build capacity to teach justice-oriented climate science; 2. Learn how to foster inquiry and civic practices for both educators and students; and 3. Share resources to help educational leaders navigate the implementation of climate justice learning.

SPEAKERS:
Ellen Ebert (OSPI), Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Meredith Lohr (EarthGen: Seattle, WA)

NSTA’s Sensemaking Ecosystem

Saturday, October 30 • 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Oregon Convention Center - A106


Show Details

Join us to learn what sensemaking is and how to use research-based resources to engage students in making sense of the world around them.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Develop an understanding of what sensemaking is and how it can help build classrooms where students are able to make sense of the world around them; 2. Using a Daily Do, explore the four critical attributes of sensemaking: Phenomena; Science and Engineering Practices; Student Ideas; and Science Ideas; and 3. See what Professional Learning Units are and how they can help bring sensemaking to your classroom.

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

Computer Science  in the Middle School Science Classroom

Saturday, October 30 • 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Oregon Convention Center - E146


Show Details

This session will integrate programming/coding as a tool for use in a science classroom. Participants will use various tools, such as Scratch, to implement programming in their already designed science classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn how to integrate computer science into their science classroom; 2. experience resources they can use in their classrooms; and 3. develop a lesson using computer science in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Tammie Schrader (Level Up Education: No City, No State)

Science Literacy Through Science Fiction: A Creative Mini Unit

Saturday, October 30 • 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Oregon Convention Center - A107-109



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
SciLit through SciFi

STRAND: Literacy/Science Connections in the Classroom

Show Details

Draw students into science literacy through a science fiction project! We will cover the history of sci-fi, a PBL unit, and resources for your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Science literacy is learned through formal and informal science learning; 2. Science fiction has historical value, current implications, and future applications ; and 3. Literary arts are made richer through scientific application.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Lark (Kognity: Stockholm, 0)

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