Online investigations with digitized specimens offer broad opportunities for teachers to engage their students in authentic scientific research. EPIC Bioscience investigations are free, online, NGSS-aligned research investigations that guide students to participate in science practices: asking a question, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting findings, and communicating to others. Investigations use specimens from natural history collections in entomology, vertebrate zoology, mycology, and botany to provide fully-supported, online investigations centered on real phenomena and aligned to NGSS MSLS2-1 through NGSS MSLS2-4. These investigations offer key opportunities to enhance scientific literacy through effective sensemaking with student-collected data on compelling specimens. This session focuses on two key goals to help teachers support sensemaking during phenomena-based student investigations: (1) Identifying and remediating common student errors and confusion during data collection and analysis. (2) Practicing effective instructional strategies focused on enhancing students’ scientific reasoning and data interpretation. This session will involve hands-on experiences with student activities, as well as interactive discussion of classroom examples and evidence.

TAKEAWAYS:
Identify common student errors and sources of confusion during data collection, analysis, and interpretation and deploy strategies designed to enhance student sensemaking from data.

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

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)

Empathic engineering design can help develop students’ cultural competence as well as inform the design of more useful innovations for people with limb differences.

TAKEAWAYS:
School-based activities that are oriented toward improving community members’ lives can simultaneously support the development of students’ cultural competence and integrated STEM literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Meabh Kelly (University of Connecticut: Storrs Mansfield, CT), Brittany Klimowicz (NYC iSchool: New York, NY)