Without out a doubt the recent pandemic has demonstrated that, the efforts in the science classroom towards scientific literacy are more relevant than ever. In this session participants will learn simple effective visual literacy tools and strategies that make learning science visible to all students, supporting diversity and reinforcing scientific literacy skills that help students make sense of the world. The strategies and tools used in this presentation will highlight the need to incorporate visual literacy as current brain research shows that around 60% of information we process every day comes in visual form. Sometimes chunking content to smaller learning bites can lower the understanding of concepts and ideas, especially if these concepts are abstract in nature; learning how to maximize the use of visuals both student and teacher made supports deeper understanding not just on a particular concept but of how they are connected making sense of the world. These strategies support cultural competency as they support learner diversity while working on scientific literacy skills such as use of evidence/data, pose questions, find answers. By having a common visual as point of reference along with strategy and tools not only closes the gap on background knowledge and makes accessible to all students but also helps student and teachers have meaningful discourse highlighting students strengths to solve real world problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session participants will learn simple effective visual literacy tools and strategies that make learning science visible to all students, supporting diversity and reinforcing scientific literacy skills that help students make sense of the world.

SPEAKERS:
Marjorie Miles Dozier (Polk County Public Schools: Bartow, FL)

Participants will use a graphic organizer to record their thinking as I describe a unit I taught in which students in grades 9-12 explored issues related to artificial intelligence. Students crafted op-Eds advocating for what we should do in our community about emerging technologies like driverless cars and facial recognition. As I describe the unit, I will highlight how I (1) kicked off the unit with a phenomenon that raised questions about convenience, safety, security, equity, and justice; (2) layered on texts and encouraged students to grapple with multiple perspectives on AI-related issues; (3) used routines and mentor texts to support students in crafting claims and connecting evidence to their claims; and (4) engaged students in processes of revision. Then, participants will work in self-selected groups to explore science/technology/society text sets on topics like lab grown meat and space debris. As they explore the text set, they will engage with a classroom routine to develop a compelling, debatable, defensible, and nuanced claim. Participants will share what they discovered as they explored the text set and wrote claims in their group and will reflect on how these text sets and routines might become part of their classroom practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about freely available text sets and classroom routines developed by teachers for supporting civically engaged argument writing about science and technology issues in society.

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

Science literacy is essential to be informed and engaged citizens in the 21st century. Data are what we use to do science. Thus, reading and making sense of real-world data are fundamental skills to being scientifically literate and a fun way to engage learners with science. However, how do we incorporate data into K-8 science without feeling overburdened with yet another thing to teach? By integrating it into what we are already doing! Join us to explore the connections between data, science, and literacy. We will experience research-based strategies and freely available resources for integrating phenomenon-based and local data into our science instruction to promote science literacy. We will participate in activities ourselves and reflect on approaches for how to bring these into our classrooms. The goal is to increase our data toolkit of strategies and resources to increase science literacy and relevance for students. Participants will leave more empowered to integrate data into their science content in purposeful ways to better helps students do and communicate science. Working with and learning from data fosters critical thinking skills, lifelong interests in science, and facilitates learners’ literacy skills. Let’s set our students up for success now and in the future!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify how data literacy is a critical aspect of science literacy in the 21st century and how to leverage existing strategies to authentically integrate data into K-8 science instruction to teach their science content and increase literacy simultaneously.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC: No City, No State)

Trade books are often used to support science instruction, and are an effective way to connect ideas about how science works to classroom science experiences. In this workshop, we will share a rubric for evaluating trade books for science read-alouds and discuss how the tool can be used to inform instruction (e.g., developing discussion questions). The rubric focuses on four concepts related to humanizing science, and aligned with views of nature of science in the Next Generation Science Standards: Science is done by diverse people, Scientists interpret empirical evidence to support their claims, Scientists use a variety of methods, and Scientists are creative at all stages of their investigations. These four concepts support students’ understanding of how science works, laying the foundation for being an effective consumer of science. Additionally, these four concepts present a more accurate representation of scientists, in contrast with many long-standing stereotypes about scientists. Attendees will have the opportunity to use the rubric to analyze elementary-level science trade books and develop a plan for implementing the read-alouds in class. We will conclude by examining how teachers can layer selected trade books effectively into their existing science curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn why representing science as a human activity is important for students’ understanding of how science works, and will learn how to select and plan for read-alouds of books that humanize science into their existing science curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Jeanne Brunner (University of Massachusetts Amherst: Amherst, MA), Kathleen Mahoney (Doctoral Student)

Hexagonal Thinking ensures the learning environment features a high degree of student engagement by providing a framework for academic discussion where all students participate. Participants will collaborate with colleagues to experience Hexagonal Thinking using science and math content vocabulary and visuals that will then be used to synthesize information into a piece of critical writing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a strategy for making thinking, learning and content connections visible in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Yates (Aledo ISD: Aledo, TX), Miranda Rosenhoover (Aledo ISD: Aledo, TX)

Water: It’s constantly in use all around us, but did you know that you can recycle water just like paper or plastic? Droughts and water scarcity are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon, and it is estimated that nearly 6 billion people will suffer from clean water scarcity by 2050. Yet, every year, Americans throw 11 trillion gallons of reusable water, also known as grey water, down the drain. In this series of lessons, students will learn about where their water comes from, the human water cycle, the three types of water and the connection between droughts and climate change. These lessons will also tie into the broader themes of sustainability and climate science and incorporate hands-on STEM activities and career connections. The lessons are primarily for elementary students but can be adapted for older audiences. They will be free for all teachers to use in their classrooms and are developed by Shreya Ramachandran, founder of The Grey Water Project in concert with educators. Join us for the presentation to learn more about grey water, why teaching about grey water and water conservation is important and how you can bring this to your classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
Session participants will learn about grey water reuse and water recycling and how they can be effective drought solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Shreya Ramachandran (Stanford University: Stanford, CA)

Using real-world phenomena asks students to puzzle out answers to problems that occur in their day-to-day lives. It encourages students to enter into sensemaking using their own prior knowledge and tools. One of the best tools to make sense of a phenomenon is math. Learn from CCSS Math and NGSS specialists about using mathematical thinking to promote scientific literacy. This session includes a focus on student agency, sensemaking, and supporting connections between the STEM classroom and real-world phenomena. The presenters will map CCSS Mathematics and NGSS connections while providing strategies for increasing agency and sensemaking in the classroom. Questions we will consider include: How do we support all students in becoming mathematical thinkers? How do we promote agency by providing students with authentic, engaging opportunities to collect, analyze, and interpret real-world data? How can phenomena and questioning techniques support mathematical thinking?  Come explore new possibilities of what high-quality sensemaking with math can look like for all learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take away strategies to integrate mathematical thinking into student sensemaking about scientific phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Alanna Mertens (DePaul University STEM Center: Chicago, IL)

NEED’s Science of Energy stations provide a hands-on approach to experimenting with objects used in student’s daily lives while incorporating scientific processing skills such as making observations, measuring, recording results, compare and contrast, categorize, make predictions, analyze and graph results, and draw conclusions. Workshop participants will rotate through six stations just as their students would in the classroom or OST Program, to learn about the different forms of energy and energy transformations using objects such as a toy car, apple, yo-yo, compass, bouncy ball, glow stick, etc. Using the same materials, the station guides can be easily differentiated for elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels. Each station includes a "What's Happening" article that provides additional informational text on the energy transformation that took place at the station and ties to more real-life examples for further visualization and understanding. The station guides have been correlated to each state’s individual science and math standards, as well as effectively support Next Generation Science Standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Workshop participants will engage in hands-on experiments just as their students would, using items we encounter in our daily lives that demonstrate energy forms and their transformations and applications to real-life examples for further visualization and understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Cori Nelson (The NEED Project: Manassas, VA), Sharon Bird (The NEED Project: Manassas, VA)

From cartoon strips to mini documentaries, students can create digital works that show their science understanding. Having an all in one tool like the iPad allows students to show growth in their understanding with exciting, creative projects. Capturing videos, sounds and photos begins the student journey in learning. This session will begin with the why and move into the how. Sharing free apps for creation, the presenter will demonstrate the power of student creation. We will also highlight the various ways to assess and publish these student projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this session with ready to go ideas for digital creation using iPad in the science classroom. Student samples from an 8th grade science classroom will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Leah LaCrosse (McCormick Junior High School: Huron, OH)

This session focuses on improved outcomes for students’ written science explanations when including data description prompts and instructional facilitation to adapt the CER framework.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about the importance of a preliminary step of incorporating data descriptions when utilizing the CER framework to guide students’ written explanations and reasoning of data visualization.

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Drewes (Rider University: Lawrenceville, NJ)

In this session, the presenter will showcase previously created student learning journals that were built with Google sites. Participants and presenter will brainstorm the possible categories and connections that are possible in student learning journals. Finally, attendees will be walked through a building process in which they create a sample student learning journal in google sites. Various tools in Google sites will be highlighted as well as ways to publish, share, and assess student learning growth.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this session with an understanding of how to set up and implement student learning journals using Google sites.

SPEAKERS:
Leah LaCrosse (McCormick Junior High School: Huron, OH)

Participants will begin in the role of a student as the instructor models how picture books are often used ineffectively in the sequence of a 5Es lesson. This will be followed by a presentation of when and how different types of picture books are most effectively integrated into an NGSS-aligned lesson plan. Participants will play a game to apply what they have just learned by identifying where within a lesson specific picture book examples (both fiction and nonfiction) would be most effectively integrated. Next, participants will be introduced to picture book questioning “cheat sheets” for each of the seven crosscutting concepts. These sheets are filled with question examples and stems for each of the CCC. The instructor will model how to use these “cheat sheets” to prepare for and conduct a read aloud that emphasizes a specific CCC. Then, participants will be invited to choose a picture book from one of over 100 3-5 NGSS-aligned books found throughout the room in seven CCC “stations” and to use the “cheat sheet” to prepare for their own read aloud. Participants will then “Pair and Share” a portion of their read alouds. Finally, the instructor will briefly discuss how to use CCC graphic organizers (a link to organizers will be shared) to encourage students to independently identify CCCs in picture books. The session will wrap up with a final Q&A. Note: Specific examples of picture books that promote diversity will be discussed as well as the importance of representation in children’s literature. Methodologies demonstrated are based on research by Dr. Yen Verhoeven of Qi Learning (used with permission) and the text “Sharing Books Talking Science” by Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through instructor modeling and active participation, participants will learn when they should (and shouldn't!) include picture books in their 3-5NGSS lesson plans well as how to use picture books to explore each of the seven crosscutting concepts with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Starr (STEM Specialist: Clinton, IA)

Get your students talking in ways that increase student understanding and literacy in science! Come learn about why academic dialogue is so important. Explore current and effective strategies to encourage and improve academic dialogue in the science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will understand why academic dialogue is important to scientific literacy and explore ways to encourage and improve academic dialogue in the science classroom through the use of current and effective strategies resulting in higher student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Erica Baker (North Washington School: Frankfort, KY)

In this session, attendees will extend their understanding of learning design for the NGSS specifically focused on developing scientific literacy in the elementary grades. Participants will learn about selecting instructional phenomena and/or problems that can effectively anchor student learning experiences and create authentic needs for students to engage deeply with other content areas to make sense of phenomena and design solutions to problems, thus supporting meaningful integration of science with other STEM and content areas. Attendees will explore ways to design for elementary learning that meets at the intersection of three-dimensional standards, phenomena/problem driven learning, sensemaking, and integration. Participants will also be connected to a variety of Open Education Resources (OERs) and other freely available resources that support integrated elementary learning design.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how anchoring learning in phenomena and problems and leveraging integrated content as sensemaking resources for students supports scientific literacy development in grades K-5.

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

Participants will begin in the role of a student as the instructor models how picture books are often used ineffectively in the sequence of a 5Es lesson. This will be followed by a presentation of when and how different types of picture books are most effectively integrated into an NGSS-aligned lesson plan. Participants will play a game to apply what they have just learned by identifying where within a lesson specific picture book examples (both fiction and nonfiction) would be most effectively integrated. Next, participants will be introduced to picture book questioning “cheat sheets” for each of the seven crosscutting concepts. These sheets are filled with question examples and stems for each of the CCC. The instructor will model how to use these “cheat sheets” to prepare for and conduct a read aloud that emphasizes a specific CCC. Then, participants will be invited to choose a picture book from one of over 100 K-2 NGSS-aligned books found throughout the room in seven CCC “stations” and to use the “cheat sheet” to prepare for their own read aloud. Participants will then “Pair and Share” a portion of their read alouds. Finally, the instructor will briefly discuss how to use CCC graphic organizers (a link to organizers will be shared) to encourage students to independently identify CCCs in picture books. The session will wrap up with a final Q&A. Note: Specific examples of picture books that promote diversity will be discussed as well as the importance of representation in children’s literature. Methodologies demonstrated are based on research by Dr. Yen Verhoeven of Qi Learning (used with permission) and the text “Sharing Books Talking Science” by Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through instructor modeling and active participation, participants will learn when they should (and shouldn't!) include picture books in their NGSS lesson plans well as how to use picture books to explore each of the seven crosscutting concepts with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Starr (STEM Specialist: Clinton, IA)

Participants will begin by playing a game in which they discover the research regarding the impact of effective science instruction in elementary school on students’ future STEM career choices. Research on the importance of diversity and representation in children’s literature will also be included. Next, participants will be introduced to a picture book questioning “cheat sheet” for the science and engineering practices. This sheet is filled with question examples and stems for each of the S&EPs. The instructor will model how to use this “cheat sheet” to prepare for and conduct a read aloud that emphasizes specific S&EPs. Then, participants will be invited to choose a picture book from one of over 100 K-5 NGSS STEM Career focused picture books found throughout the room in six grade level “stations” that have been aligned to NGSS performance expectations. Participants will be asked to use the “cheat sheet” to prepare for their own read aloud. Participants will then “Pair and Share” a portion of their read alouds. Finally, the instructor will briefly discuss how to use S&EP graphic organizers (a link to organizers will be shared) to encourage students to independently identify S&EPs in picture books. The session will wrap up with a final Q&A.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through instructor modeling and active participation, participants will learn how to develop read aloud questions that effectively highlight the science and engineering practices in texts that feature STEM Careers.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Starr (STEM Specialist: Clinton, IA)

Unfortunately, the Las Vegas slogan “What Happens Here Stays Here” applies all too well to science classrooms. Science learning that takes place in the classroom often stays in the classroom and fails to transform students’ perceiving and experiencing of the world. This gap between school learning and everyday experience is one of the key barriers to developing active scientific literacy. This workshop on the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science (TTES) model will help teachers address this problem by enacting transformative teaching. The TTES model is a research-based pedagogy for fostering transformative experiences; that is, experiences in which students use science content to enrich and expand their everyday lives. The workshop will train teachers in the application of three core design principles: (a) artistic selection and crafting of content, (b) experiential apprenticeship, and (c) doing and undergoing. The workshop will be conducted by one of the pioneers and lead researchers of transformative experience theory. It will include authentic classroom vignettes illustrating the design principles in action, application templates and guidelines, and exercises that will help participants master the design principles. The workshop is appropriate for science educators at all levels as the design principles are adaptable to all ages.

TAKEAWAYS:
Workshop participants will receive hands-on training in research-based strategies effective at fostering transformative experiences; that is, experiences in which students use their in-school learning to enrich and expand their everyday, out-of-school lives.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Pugh (University of Northern Colorado: Greeley, CO)

Research shows many benefits of a maker-centered learning environment, however many teachers do not consider their classroom “maker classrooms” In this hands-on workshop, participants will see many different categories of making in an early years class, which allows participants to begin to reframe their view of their own classes. Through hands-on activities, participants experience a range of maker-centered learning activities which showcases how these activities can be used to develop problem solving and sensemaking for students, with built in modifications support MLL and students with special rights. Literacy development and formative assessments are also continuous threads in maker-centered learning as students learn and use language in the making process. Through observation and discussion of maker-made artifacts, and the processes leading to these artifacts, teachers can assess student understanding Furthermore, with many maker-centered activities, family and community connections are strengthened as students observe their own community, ask questions, and involve others outside of school in their making activities. Conference activities will be limited to portable, lightweight materials, with discussions and examples of different materials in action

TAKEAWAYS:
1) Discover new making opportunities to support sensemaking in your class while developing student skills in communication, collaboration as well as identifying and solving problems 2) Identify ways of integrating maker centered opportunities in your class planning, with specific attention to the early years 3) Observe different ways of bringing family’s funds of knowledge into a maker centered classroom

SPEAKERS:
Anne Lowry (Aleph Academy: Reno, NV)