NSTA Partnerships provide personalized professional learning experiences for groups of K–12 educators. Find out more about this NSTA opportunity that combines membership with access to resources, online tools, and the national network.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will discover the value of becoming a Partner with NSTA for groups of educators.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

This session will showcase lessons from around the world focusing on the exchange of ideas and networking. Come view a film created using videos from teachers around the globe, and posters while engaging with other teachers looking to network internationally.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will showcase lessons from around the world focusing on the exchange of ideas and networking. Come view a film created using videos from teachers around the globe, and posters while engaging with other teachers looking to network internationally.

SPEAKERS:
Alison Betz Seymour (Science Teacher: Winchester, 0)

Need FREE grant funds for STEAM education, but don't know where to start? This session unpacks how to engineer a grant proposal in 12 steps.

TAKEAWAYS:
From this session, educators will be able to: 1. describe grant types and grant funders; 2. illustrate the 12-step grant writing process; and 3. identify sources of grant funding.

SPEAKERS:
Bejanae Kareem (STEM & Grant Specialist: Jonesboro, GA)

Learn about the many resources available to help plan your viewing of the 2023 annular and 2024 total solar eclipses.

TAKEAWAYS:
In order to see the maximum coverage of the Sun in a solar eclipse, the most important detail is a clear sky and fewer clouds. According to current climate data, the best locations to observe each solar eclipse will be reviewed.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Thomas (Beacon High School: Naples, FL)

Although group projects have been shown to increase learning and cooperation, bullying can sneak into student peer evaluations. Examples and alternatives to ghosting presented.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science classrooms are a great place for group projects to enhance learning, but students may unwittingly be ghosted from their group, ultimately making them seem like they are not a team player. We as teachers must be diligent against bullying/ghosting.

SPEAKERS:
Diane Huelskamp (Wright State University-Lake Campus: Celina, OH)

Have you read great articles in the NSTA journals that changed or added to the ways you and your students do science for the better? You could inspire other educators across the country in the same way by sharing your teaching ideas, activities or lessons as an NSTA journal author!

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to prepare and submit your manuscript for publication in NSTA's journals.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Lindeman (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn (National Science Teaching Association: No City, No State)

Join us for a chance to learn more about  NSTA-administered competitions and awards from NSTA staff and past participants. NSTA-administered competitions include NSTA Teacher Awards, the Army Educational Outreach Program, Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge, and Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competitions. This engaging hour will include discussion and tips on how to engage K–12 students in project-based learning opportunities that are no cost to participate.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Engage with educators that have participated in NSTA-administered competitions and awards; 2. Learn more about opportunities to engage students in project-based learning; and 3. Share best practices and tips to foster inquiry-based learning and showcase ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Explore the NSTA website with us! NSTA provides high-quality digital resources and opportunities—all within a professional community—that support professional learning and classroom instruction. NSTA staff will be available to answer questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become knowledgeable about the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website and will learn how to add them to their library.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Michelle Phillips (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Marshall Escamilla, one of the co-hosts of the freely-available Tumble Science Podcast for Kids, will share some of the basics of creating a podcast with your class. Classroom podcasts are a great way for students to share their learning with the broader community, and can be used both as assessment and communication tools--and it's a lot easier to do than you'd think. Beginning with a brief description of what features make Tumble free and accessible, Marshall will walk educators through all the thing they'll need to consider when creating a podcast. We'll start by asking questions like: -Who is the intended audience for this podcast? -What is the overall topic for it? -How many episodes do we want to create, and how often do we want to release them? Then we'll move on to some of the technical elements. What are the requirements for creating a podcast studio in your classroom? What equipment do you need to buy? What software do students need to have access to? how do you ensure that students can have access to what they need in order to be successful? Finally, we will discuss some of the basic skills teachers will need to ensure student success: knowledge of best audio recording practices, and how to use a few easily-accessible software tools to make students' work sound its best.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this ession will learn the very basics of how to create a classroom podcast from a professional podcaster.

SPEAKERS:
Marshall Escamilla (Tumble Media Production: Greenfield, MA)

Science teaching has evolved. What worked in the 20th century doesn’t work today. Schools are different, students are different, and most importantly, classrooms are different. Instruction is guided by standards, and research drives pedagogy. Teachers entering the profession can’t expect to teach “the way they were taught” and be effective. In this session, we plan to share the basics in research with preservice and new teachers about what makes for effective instruction and how to effectively integrate science across the curriculum. Findings from the Frameworks for K-12 Science Education will be shared, as well as how that research led to the development of 3D instruction. Sensemaking through the lens of social constructivism will guide the session to help our newest colleagues teach using 21st-century pedagogy. Activities will model instructional practice and explain the why for instructional practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
An overview of research-based practices in teaching science for the beginner and resources for research-based instructional practices.

SPEAKERS:
Lorraine Ramirez Villarin (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA), Donna Governor (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA)

Student teaching and the first year of teaching can be unsettling experiences for preservice teachers. They have a million concerns and even more questions! This session brings together a panel of newly graduated seniors and new teachers to talk about their experiences and allow attendees to ask questions. A similar session was included at the Spring Engage conference in 2021 and it was highly attended, leading us to understand the importance of these types of dialogues for preservice teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Preservice teachers can be better prepared to student teach and begin their first jobs from new teachers who have just experienced interning or been through their first year.

SPEAKERS:
Natalie Johnson (Chestatee Academy), Lizz Holtz (Glenn C. Jones Middle School: Buford, GA)

Cognitive science has identified flexible and often counterintuitive cognitive strategies that boost student learning. Teachers will learn how to implement these techniques within their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to apply multiple practical, flexible, and research-based cognitive strategies, including retrieving information from memory, distributing practice across time, scaffolding, and mixing together different examples, within their own classrooms to improve student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Tullis (The University of Arizona: Tucson, AZ)