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Assessment tasks for NGSS classrooms are different from the typical tasks that require students to recall what they know. A Framework for K–12 Science Education and the NGSS call for assessment tasks that ask students to use and apply the three dimensions of science proficiency: disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. With three-dimensional tasks, the expectation is that students will use and apply the three dimensions of science proficiency together to make sense of phenomena or solve problems.

In this session, we focus on designing three-dimensional assessment tasks for classroom use with an emphasis on assessment for teaching and learning. A good assessment task should provide actionable information of value to teachers and their students. Importantly, it should provide insight into how students are building toward an NGSS performance expectation.

How can we use performance expectations to construct assessment tasks that can be used during instruction? Participants will learn an approach for designing three-dimensional assessment tasks and explore how to use them formatively in classrooms to help students build toward the performance expectations.

Participants will also be able to preorder our assessment book Creating and Using Instructionally Supportive Assessments in NGSS Classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn: 1. what is meant by three-dimensional assessment; 2. how to design classroom-based assessment tasks aligned with the NGSS; and 3. how to make use of formative assessment tasks to support instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Krajcik (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI), Christopher Harris (WestEd)

Since its release, the NSTA Quick-Reference Guide to the NGSS has become an essential tool for many educators across the country. A new version titled the Quick-Reference Guide to the Three Dimension has been developed to not only support teachers in all states that have standards based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education. This new version of the Quick-Reference Guide still contains the most useful features of the original, including descriptions of the practices and the crosscutting concepts from the Framework of K-12 Science Education and K-12 progressions of the elements of all three dimensions. In addition, the new Quick-Reference Guide contains several new features that should make it even more helpful. For example, every element now has a unique code (based on the codes in the NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions) that makes it much easier to reference a particular element. In addition, there is an entire chapter devoted to the Performance Expectations. Finally, the guide also contains a number of tools for working with standards. This session will outline all of the features of the guide through the process of unpacking the crosscutting concepts to better understand how to make curriculum, instruction, and assessment more three-dimensional.

TAKEAWAYS:
A deeper understanding of the Crosscutting Concepts and how a well-designed reference guide can make it easier to unpack the three dimensions for work in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard (Discovery Education: Silver Spring, MD)

Participants will learn strategies and receive numerous resources that increase students’ scientific literacy. The hands-on approach has participants engaged in the activities, games, and more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. learn new strategies for incorporating scientific literacy into their lessons; and 2. receive numerous activities, templates, games, and other resources to help with doing this. These resources can be used “as is” or modified to allow for differentiation based on the needs of the learners. Strategies and resources will include ones effective with ELL and EC students.

SPEAKERS:
Iris Mudd (Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools: Winston Salem, NC)

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines are a tool that can be used to design learning experiences that meet the needs of all learners (CAST, 2018). Instructional designers and teachers can use these principles to create learning environments that reduce barriers to access for all students, while keeping in mind the learning goals of the lesson. The three guiding principles of UDL are engagement, representation, and action and expression. In this session educators will be provided with examples of these principles in action in sample materials from OpenSciEd and classroom videos. In these examples, participating will identify how the materials have been purposefully designed with multiple avenues for engagement, representation, and action and expression. Additionally, they will identify the built-in supports for teachers to highlight student assets and to address potential barriers to learning for their local student population. Teachers will utilize a tool to help them analyze their own lessons to identify goals, potential barriers, and ways to use the UDL Principles to remove barriers and create flexible paths to learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will utilize a tool to help them analyze their own lessons to identify goals, potential barriers, and ways to use the UDL Principles to remove barriers and create flexible paths to learning.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney (OpenSciEd: San Carlos, CA)

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)

One of the key features of the NGSS and other standards based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education is the idea that a “a progression of knowledge occurs from grade band to grade band that gives students the opportunity to learn more complex material, leading to an overall understanding of science by the end of high school.” (NGSS Appendix A, p. 2) The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions has a set of 62 maps that illustrate the how the elements of the three dimensions build on each other and connect to one another. Each map focuses on a particular topic and shows the progression students are expected to make in that topic from one grade-span to the next. Arrows connecting individual elements on a map indicate that competency in one element is useful in learning to achieve the other element. Educators can use maps to deepen their understanding of the standards to plan or improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment. This session will provide participants guidance on how to read the maps in the Atlas and use this powerful tool to deepen their understanding of elements of the standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
A careful review of the connections between elements of the three dimensions can provide a clearer understanding of science standards and important guidance in planning instructional sequences to support three-dimensional teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard (Discovery Education: Silver Spring, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Anatomy in Clay

In this workshop, attendees will build replicas of human anatomy using clay and a specially designed skeletal model in a classroom setting. Educators will learn how to implement a unique curriculum system which helps students create a kinesthetic map of the human anatomy. They will acquire the knowledge to engage science students with immediate, hands-on learning using a proven method that is nationally recognized to increase student retention and test scores. This workshop will emphasize directional terms, planes, cavities and landmarks on the skeletal model and then build several skeletal muscles. Emphasis will be placed on building the rotator cuff showing their origin and insertion, their movement and discuss exercises to strengthen these muscles.

TAKEAWAYS:
They will acquire the knowledge to engage science students with immediate, hands-on learning using a proven method that is nationally recognized to increase student retention and test scores.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Simonsen (Billings Career Center: Billings, MT)

Come learn about simple, applicable strategies to support your students' executive function skills in the science classroom, with an emphasis on project planning, organization, flexible thinking, and time management.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will identify the educational impact of the 11 main executive functions, as well as learn concrete strategies for supporting their students in both general and special education settings.

SPEAKERS:
Krista Northcutt (New Way Academy: Phoenix, AZ)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

If you're using STEMscopes (or wanna-be), this session is for you. Come see examples of the EXCITING and NEW ASPECTS to the most popular digital science curriculum during this showcase. Discover program enhancements, Google integration, streaming, coding, engineering, and much more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about STEMscopes' various components and programs by experienced users in a hands-on setting.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX), Amanda McGee (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Ashley Mathis (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Bobby Barron (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Jacque Garcia (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Tammy Motley (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

This session is intended to discuss the importance of formative assessment as a tool for guiding students and helping all students to make progress. A variety of formative assessment tools will be explored. Most importantly, the use of individual feedback on formative assessments will be demonstrated and we will discuss how this leads to improved metacognition and critical thinking skills for students. Attendees will see sample student work on formative assessments and accompanying sample teacher feedback. They will practice making comments of there own, in addition to discussing logistical concerns with the practice of individualized feedback.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session is intended to discuss the importance of formative assessment as a tool for guiding students and helping all students to make progress.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Maguire (Virginia Tech: Blacksburg, VA)

As educators shift their teaching practice to align with the Framework for K-12 Science and the NGSS, they face various challenges and barriers. One pressing challenge is how to align their new approach to teaching and learning with existing assessment and grading systems. In this session, we will present provide examples of 3D assessments and associated scoring guidance. Participants will review student work for these sample assessments and identify evidence of understanding. They will collaborate with others in the session and determine how they would give grades based on set criteria. The second part of the session will highlight different approaches to grading based on local grading expectations (e.g., standards-based grading, daily grade requirements, or 100 point-based systems). Participants will leave the session with approaches to assessment and grading that support student sensemaking and honor the diverse resources students bring to the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the session with approaches to assessment and grading that support student sensemaking and honor the diverse resources students bring to the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Delaney (OpenSciEd: San Carlos, CA)

Explore classroom-tested benchmark assessments and scoring guides you can use to assess students’ three-dimensional learning related to middle school performance expectations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn about a comprehensive set of free, summative benchmark 3-D assessments designed to be used in any NGSS-focused middle school classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Maia Binding (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Wendy Jackson (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Help students discover the value of aquatic macroinvertebrates as living indicators of water quality. Determining the biotic index helps students connect the dots between water quality chemistry tests and what is actually living in that body of water. Creates opportunities for mapping skills, observation, reading, art, and math skills. Students can develop their own experiments. Observe aquatic macroinvertebrate specimens, conduct activities, learn classification skills and calculate a biotic index in this hands-on introduction to stream ecology. A totally flexible tool that can be adapted for varying time limits, number of students and grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Help students discover the value of aquatic macroinvertebrates as living indicators of water quality. A totally flexible tool that can be adapted for varying time limits, number of students and grade levels.

SPEAKERS:
Tara Muenz (Stroud Water Research Center: Avondale, PA)

Do the test questions you use adequately reflect your students’ true understanding of science? We’ll share guidelines for writing effective questions that don’t leave any of your students out and will help you determine whether your students are making sense of phenomena they are investigating - do their ideas match science ideas of the NGSS? Using a research-based “citizen science” approach, teachers can volunteer their favorite items and help improve our existing MOSART questions. Crucial item characteristics will be measured and reported, such as difficulty, effectiveness, gender, and racial/ethnic bias. Write new questions or revise ones you already have to address how well students make sense of elements outlined in the NGSS DCIs. The following is a question that is too difficult for middle school students: Matter is made of tiny bits called atoms. What is between the helium atoms in a balloon? a)Tiny particles that bind atoms together. b)A chemical substance that attaches helium atoms together. c)Nothing; the helium atoms touch each other on all sides. d)Nothing, just empty space. e)Air. How would you revise this item? We’ll have “practice” opportunities to look at assessment questions that are difficult or biased and discuss possible revisions with other educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Write assessment questions to address item characteristics of difficulty, effectiveness, gender, and racial/ethnic bias

SPEAKERS:
Cynthia Crockett (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA), Philip Sadler (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA)

In this session, we will look at current research on the purpose and method of formative assessment. We will then pair the research with student work samples to examine different methods of providing meaningful and actionable feedback to encourage student growth. We will also reflect on our assessment practices through the lens of creating equitable classrooms to ensure that all of our students learn at their potential. This session’s formative assessment focus will also extend to designing science storylines with an emphasis on universal design for learning. We will highlight tools that all students can use in order to have access to content. We will examine opportunities for incorporating social-emotional learning in meaningful ways as we strive to encourage all students to think like scientists. We will culminate the session with a discussion on intentionally cultivating student agency. Join this interactive session to elevate how you are using formative assessment to drive student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with practical classroom strategies for elevating the importance of formative assessment and meaningful feedback to foster student inclusive science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Jones (Illinois State University: Normal, IL)

It has been common practice to move around units in science curricula based on teacher licensure, teacher preference, or state standards. However, the shifts in three-dimensional science learning supporting equitable science education emphasize the need for coherence intentionally helping students build the three dimensions, step by step, over time. We will describe a scope and sequence developed for the OpensciEd middle school program where each unit builds on the prior knowledge and experiences of all students to build increasing sophistication in all three dimensions, as they progress from unit to unit and grade to grade. We describe the strategies used to bundle performance expectations in a unit and for constructing progressions that build the elements of disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices (SEPs) coherently across the program. We describe how these instructional materials support teachers and students in connecting with and extending what students have figured out in prior units to build increasing sophistication with ideas and practices across the program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for developing and adapting unit to unit connections that support students in building each of the three dimensions coherently over time.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Reiser (Learning Sciences, SESP, Northwestern University), Michael Novak (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL)

1) Using Micro-Credentialing to Support Teacher Growth
This session features an innovative school/university partnership that utilizes strategic mentoring, high-quality professional development, and stackable competency-based micro-credentialing badges to improve STEM educator preparation.

2) The Importance of Being a Leader in Professional Organizations
Participants will discover ways to get involved in professional organizations, including NSTA and their state chapters, as to avoid the "essence drain" amid the challenges of education today.

3) Giving non-science majors the option to put the “A” in STEAM.
This session discusses how student learning can be assessed in a more equitable manner, allowing students the option to communicate comprehension using non-traditional responses.

SPEAKERS:
Angela McMurry (The Ohio Academy of Science: Dublin, OH), Dewayne Morgan (University System of Maryland: Adelphi, MD), Heather Minges Wols (Columbia College Chicago: Chicago, IL)

The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) provides teachers with free and downloadable resources for an entire unit of instruction, including a variety of assessments.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The units created by the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) contain a variety of assessments, including online games, video questions, data analysis, puzzles, and formal assessments. The formal assessments include student response sheets and rubrics; 2. the TIES units can be easily downloaded for free and are focused on NGSS and state standards for evolution; and 3. the TIES units can be presented to a whole class or in small groups, or can be assigned to individual students. They can be teacher-guided or student-guided.

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

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) is a way for students to explain observed phenomena in a scientific way, allowing students to use observations, data, and critical reasoning. CER is an acclaimed and highly successful instructional strategy that is changing how students understand concepts and write explanations for phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understand the benefits of using the CER Framework.

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Motley (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Ashley Mathis (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Mosa Mack Science

Not all phenomena are created equally. How you kick off your unit sets the tone for the entire unit itself. In this workshop, you’ll learn what sets apart the best phenomena and complete phenomena-based lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to choose, implement and maximize learning around the best science phenomena. You’ll also receive free access to phenomena lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Lissa Johnson (Mosa Mack Science: Fairfield, CT), Lorraine Gueye (Mosa Mack Science: Fairfield, CT)

Arguing from evidence can be an integral part of the knowledge-building work students do as part of any three dimensional science learning, as students make sense of their findings and use them to develop and evaluate competing models and explanations. But how do we help students grow in sophistication in this practice over time? This presentation will provide an overview of the learning progression, tasks, and scaffolding used to help students refine and assess their arguments in the OpenSciEd middle school program, focus is on the support and growth embedded within a 7th grade chemistry unit. Participants will have opportunities to analyze curriculum supports, students’ written work, and video of discussions of students engaged in this practice using classroom artifacts from implementations of the OpenSciEd Bath Bomb unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn what the practice of arguing from evidence can look like in middle school classrooms, tools that can support scaffolding practice, and how teachers can use it to assess where students are at in their sense-making.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Novak (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Brian Reiser (Learning Sciences, SESP, Northwestern University)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Using the data from Part 1 of this session, we will apply our learning to an engineering design challenge and share additional CER tips. You’ll see the connection between lesson design, inquiry-based instruction, and application of learning with ONE activity that requires minimal preparation but elicits lots of participation! Attendance to Part 1 is recommended but not required. Takeaways: Understand the benefits of using the CER Framework as it applies to engineering.

TAKEAWAYS:
Understand the benefits of using the CER Framework as it applies to engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Motley (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Ashley Mathis (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

The Vision set forth by A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards emphasize science as the integration of practices (SEPs), content (DCIs), and big ideas (CCCs). By using all three dimensions, students are able to make sense of phenomena while learning science concepts and processes. However, this way of thinking and learning takes practice and guidance. Teachers play a pivotal role in helping their students to engage with this kind of science learning. Therefore, they must find ways to explicitly integrate and embed all three dimensions in activities, lessons, and assessments. This participatory presentation will explore how teachers can explicitly embed SEPs, DCIs, and CCCs into prompts (questions and guiding statements) to promote more integrated opportunities for student sense-making. By generating prompts that include SEPs, DCIs, and CCCs, teachers can guide students to think in a more three-dimensional way and gain the skills to do so outside of the classroom. Attendees will identify strategies for posing integrated prompts, consider the benefits of multi-dimensional prompts for students, practice asking and improving prompts, and apply these strategies to use in their own classroom context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Creating prompts (questions and guiding statements) that explicitly promote the three dimensions can drive more integrated, equitable student learning

SPEAKERS:
Ana Houseal (University of Wyoming: Laramie, WY), Clare Gunshenan (University of Wyoming: Laramie, WY)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

If you're using STEMscopes (or wanna-be), this session is for you. Come see examples of the EXCITING and NEW ASPECTS to the most popular digital science curriculum during this showcase. Discover program enhancements, Google integration, streaming, coding, engineering, and much more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about STEMscopes' various components and programs by experienced users in a hands-on setting.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX), Amanda McGee (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Ashley Mathis (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Bobby Barron (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Jacque Garcia (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Tammy Motley (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

As veteran biology teachers, we know how challenging it is to create an active learning environment using phenomena & science practices on your own. Pivot Interactives makes active learning throughout the learning cycle easy with a dynamic platform that invites students to explore scientific phenomena freely. Teaching biology while actively & frequently engaging students meaningfully doesn’t have to be just a dream. Come learn about the newest ways Pivot interactives helps you overcome the challenges you face as a biology teacher, so you can create the biology class you’ve always envisioned. Hear from fellow biology teachers about how they transformed their classroom with active learning, scaffolding, personalized feedback, phenomena-based assessments, increased use of science practices, and increased access to phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, biology educators will see the newest ways Pivot Interactives gives them effective, streamlined tools to engage biology students with phenomena & science practices through active learning.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Friberg (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN), Peter Bohacek (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)

“Kids say the darndest things” don’t they - or do they? Either way, it’s really what they believe, whether it’s correct or incorrect. Do you know what ideas your students bring to the classroom and use to shape their ideas about science? How do we accurately assess their ideas against the disciplinary core ideas of the NGSS? We wonder where those ideas come from and why they own them. Our students make sense of science from many places and venues and then use that as a foundation for their learning. However, it may not always be a solid foundation. We can help students develop their science knowledge using phenomena, observation, and robust assessment as well as a through a deeper understanding of the misconceptions they hold. Know the extent of what your students are thinking and why they think it using research-based assessments and the importance of including their ideas in those assessments. Explore students’ ideas and misconceptions (as well as your own!) in the Physical Sciences at various grade levels and know some of what they bring with them before they walk in the door!

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn research-based misconceptions that students hold across grade bands in the physical sciences in order to incorporate those into assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Cynthia Crockett (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA)

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)

Sponsoring Company: Mosa Mack Science

Discover an NGSS resource you can use in class next week. Award-winning phenomena, mysteries, labs, and engineering—all in one teacher-friendly resource. (Common Sense Education Learning Selection 2021)

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience the excitement of Mosa Mack Science, see real student work, and walk away with free interactive lessons for your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Lissa Johnson (Mosa Mack Science: Fairfield, CT), Lorraine Gueye (Mosa Mack Science: Fairfield, CT)

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

As veteran chemistry teachers, we know how challenging it is to create an active learning environment using phenomena & science practices on your own. Pivot Interactives makes active learning throughout the learning cycle easy with a dynamic platform that invites students to explore scientific phenomena freely. Teaching chemistry while actively & frequently engaging students meaningfully doesn’t have to be just a dream. Come learn about the newest ways Pivot interactives helps you overcome the challenges you face as a chemistry teacher, so you can create the chemistry class you’ve always envisioned. Hear from fellow chemistry teachers about how they transformed their classroom with active learning, scaffolding, personalized feedback, phenomena-based assessments, increased use of science practices, and increased access to phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, chemistry educators will see the newest ways Pivot Interactives gives them effective, streamlined tools to engage chemistry students with phenomena & science practices through active learning.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Bohacek (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)

In this panel discussion, we will discuss the ways that audio content like podcasts can be used in the classroom to increase student engagement. This discussion between several leaders in the field of audio education will share some of the ways that teachers can and should use audio content to enhance science learning at all grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to include audio in their lesson plans in ways that are effective, engaging, and inclusive.

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

The Brick Masters virtual summer camp was designed to create challenge-based lessons to teach STEAM concepts and the eight science and engineering practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees of this program will be able to: 1. develop a virtual experiential STEAM learning experience for youth; and 2. identify, explain, and use knowledge and skills of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics to create a successful program.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Thames (UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade: Hialeah, FL)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

If you're using STEMscopes (or wanna-be), this session is for you. Come see examples of the EXCITING and NEW ASPECTS to the most popular digital science curriculum during this showcase. Discover program enhancements, Google integration, streaming, coding, engineering, and much more.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about STEMscopes' various components and programs by experienced users in a hands-on setting.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kenneth Heydrick (: Houston, TX), Amanda McGee (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Ashley Mathis (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Bobby Barron (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Jacque Garcia (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Tammy Motley (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

1) Multidimensional Assessment Tasks and a Virtual Learning Community for Elementary Science Teachers
Learn about two free online resources: NGSS-focused assessment tasks for Grades 3—5 and a website to help teachers use those assessments in their classes.

2) Invasive Species Science + CS: An Intentionally Inclusive Module
Learn about an integrated science and computer science module that uses inclusive instructional strategies to address the needs of all students.

SPEAKERS:
Liz Lehman (American Medical Association: Chicago, IL), Brian Gane (University of Kansas: No City, No State), Sania Zaidi (Education Development Center, Inc.: Waltham, MA)

1) Let's Wrap it Up: A post-test learning strategy
When returned tests end up crumpled in lockers, important learning opportunities are lost. Help build metacognitive awareness, identify trends, and reward students’ grit using assessment "wrappers."

2) RAM (Rubric for Assessing Modeling)
How do you assess a model?  I developed a rubric to assess my middle school models for their pre,mid-point, and post assessment.

3) 3 Effective Discourse Strategies for Creating Inclusive Science Classrooms
This presentation supports teachers’ knowledge and understanding of  instructional strategies to help facilitate students’ academic discourse and support inclusive science and STEM classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Smith (Harpeth Hall School), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

Expectations on deeper learning and more rigor in our curriculums have led to increased demands on our students. As we collectively shifted from paper to digital, our access to tools improved but has our instruction kept pace? How do we prevent our curriculum from becoming simply a digital pencil with disconnected simulations and activities that fail to embrace high-quality scientific practices? In this session, we will examine how digital science journals can be used as a means for evidence collection and reflection on student learning. Together, we will focus on how students collect and analyze evidence in a variety of meaningful ways. Examples of primary sources will showcase how students can observe and categorize similarities to help answer a driving question. We will also examine best practices around using simulations to drive student inquiry. An emphasis on exploring data, from organization to manipulation will also be highlighted. Finally, we will showcase how AR and VR can be effectively used in the classroom to allow students to think and act like real scientists along with open-sourced 3D prints. Join me for an engaging session!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to design educational opportunities focused on evidence collection and reflection to provide scientific arguments and explanations to a phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Mike Jones (Illinois State University: Normal, IL)

The free NASA STEM lesson plans introduce the practice of computational thinking and include elements of a real NASA mission. NASA’s Artemis program will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, the year of the agency's last Apollo moon landing. This Educator Guide provides four standards-aligned activities to help students learn about NASA's Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the Moon and beyond. In this session, we will design and build a crew module model that will secure two 2-cm astronaut figures during a drop test. The PowerPoint will be available to all participants. The PowerPoint will include the videos and activities including the tips and pointers. Session Outline: 5 min - Welcome and Introduction to NASA Artemis Mission 10 min- STEM Engagement strategies and culturally relevant teaching 10 min- Introducing the Engineering Design Challenge 20 min- Teams Design a Crew Vehicle 10 min- Testing the Crew Vehicle 5 min- Reviewing the Resources and Q and A https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/np-2020-02-2805-hq.pdf

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA provides free educational resources that include educator guides with standards-aligned activities to help students use computational thinking while including elements of real NASA missions.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Kohler (NASA Glenn Research Center: Cleveland, OH)

The Illinois Science Assessment is written by Illinois science teachers for Illinois science students. Learn more about the format of this test and how you can model test clusters in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Illinois Science Teachers will gain insight into how to better prepare students for the ISA by learning how to create clusters for use in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Carol Baker (NGSS: Orland Park, IL), Harvey Henson (Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Carbondale, IL), ANGELA BOX (Southern Illinois University Carbondale: CARTERVILLE, IL)