Ticket Price: $65; with conference registration

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The purpose of the session is to present our conceptual approach to developing yearlong NGSS-designed instructional materials that integrate science and language for all students, especially multilingual learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Our conceptual framework integrates science and language for all students, including multilingual learners; 2. Our design process leverages the synergy of NGSS performance expectations, phenomena (with a focus on local phenomena), and students (with a focus on multilingual learners); and 3. instructional materials that promote teacher professional learning.

SPEAKERS:
Okhee Lee (New York University: New York, NY), Gregory Borman (New York City Dept. of Education: New York, NY), Theresa Ocol (New York City Dept. of Education: New York, NY)

Ticket Price: $65; with conference registration

If you have not yet registered for the conference, you may purchase tickets when you register online.

Please note that if you are already registered for the conference and wish to purchase this ticket, click the "add to cart" button above.

High-quality instructional materials (HQIM) designed for next generation science can make a difference in the quality of equitable science teaching and learning throughout the system and for all learners (i.e., for all leaders, teachers, and students). So how can HQIM designed for next generation science help? How can local leaders take a systems approach to the selection, broad and effective implementation, and sustained improvements offered by such materials? What are some practical ways to make this work in our community?

Participants, working in teams or small groups, will consider these questions as they delve into a vignette describing how one large district took on the challenge of implementing high-quality instructional materials at the middle school level and hear from leaders of such efforts. Participants will consider their own context and readiness for such an initiative.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Curriculum implementation for next generation science requires a clear vision shared by a strong partner, funding, a long-term plan for implementation, a robust professional learning program with ongoing support, advocacy and support capacity-building, and a robust kit distribution and/or refurbishment process; and 2. Some aspects of our current system support the changes required to implement high-quality instructional materials designed for next generation science and support new approaches to teaching and learning; others are barriers and present challenges to achieving this vision of science teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jody Bintz (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Susan Gomez Zwiep (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO)

Ticket Price: $65; with conference registration

If you have not yet registered for the conference, you may purchase tickets when you register online.

Please note that if you are already registered for the conference and wish to purchase this ticket, click the "add to cart" button above.

Learn how the NextGen Science Storylines approach is implemented in the OpenSciEd Middle School Science Program. Storylines are coherent from the students’ perspective, in which students see their science work as making progress on questions and problems their classroom has committed to address, rather than simply following directions from textbooks or teachers. Participants will experience key Storylines routines as a learner, reflect on them as an educator, and learn how they embody principles of equitable instructional design. As part of the reflection, participants will have the opportunity to analyze student work and classroom videos. Examples will be drawn from Unit 6.4 “What Causes Earth’s Surface to Change?” and other middle school OpenSciEd units.

TAKEAWAYS:
How the OpenSciEd Storylines Instructional Model: 1. implements phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional science learning that connects to students’ own ideas and questions; 2. supports teacher learning and development; and 3. supports equitable instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Edelson (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Brian Reiser (Learning Sciences, SESP, Northwestern University)

Ticket Price: $65; with conference registration

If you have not yet registered for the conference, you may purchase tickets when you register online.

Please note that if you are already registered for the conference and wish to purchase this ticket, click the "add to cart" button above.

Have you wanted to implement a Project-Based Learning unit in your classroom? Engage in a Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) unit called “Why Do I See So Many Squirrels and I Can’t Find Any Stegosauruses?” All lessons are designed to be adaptive, responsive to student questions and ideas and cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and both enjoyable and intellectually satisfying for the teacher and students.

The multidisciplinary-integrated design supports a high level of student engagement and includes performance-based equity and social emotional learning goals.

ML-PBL integrates English Language Arts, math from the Common Core State Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards and provides embedded supports for Multilingual Learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How Project Based-Learning and the NGSS work together; 2. Strategies for using formative, informal, and summative assessment to guide teaching; and 3. How to use ML-PBL materials to teach grades K–5.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Adah Miller (University of Georgia: Athens, GA), Susan Codere (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University, Retired), Joseph Krajcik (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI)

Feeling overwhelmed by all there is to see and do at an NSTA conference on science education? Join us for an interactive exploration through the conference app and NSTA’s social media. By the end of the session, you will know just how to get the most from your conference experience in addition to building new networks with your science colleagues.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Allan (University of Central Oklahoma: Edmond, OK)

According to the 2018 NSSME Survey, 77% of elementary teacher’s self-report that they feel very well prepared to teach reading/language arts and only 31% rate their preparedness for science at the same level. Furthermore, the description of activities that elementary teachers indicate students participate in show reading about science or engaging in hands-on laboratory activities at just under 50%. Furthermore, students gain a deeper understanding of a text when they make authentic connections. Science investigations that incorporate phenomenon are perfect vehicles for students to make authentic connections. Students who make connections while reading are better able to understand the text they are reading. It is important for students to draw on their prior knowledge and experiences to connect with the text. Students are thinking when they are connecting, which makes them more engaged in the reading experience. The Framework even stresses that “students should be asked to engage in the communication of science, especially regarding the investigations they are conducting…” (p. 76) This session will focus on the expansion of a common strategic reading strategy related to “text to connections”, elementary teachers can support students in constructing understanding and connecting it to their own life.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore and learn how to how to expand a common literacy strategy of “text to” connections when using picture books in the elementary science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Anne Royce (Shippensburg University: Shippensburg, 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)

Sponsoring Company: Simulation Curriculum

Discover more new and interesting facts about plate tectonics, volcanism, Earth materials, geological processes, astronomy, and cosmology using NGSS-focused lesson plans and interactive and thought-provoking exercises and simulations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will come away from the workshop with more knowledge and information about the subject matter, a new understanding of what is available for convenient teaching tools, and a general increase in the level of confidence while teaching the topics of Earth and space science.

SPEAKERS:
Dave Farina (Cosmos Safari LLC: No City, No State)

Sponsoring Company: Center for BioMolecular Modeling

COVID 19: Science to the Rescue! The COVID19 pandemic has created many challenges for educators over the past two years. Amidst all this chaos, there is one positive outcome of this pandemic – it has provided educators in the molecular biosciences with an opportunity to highlight the power of modern biology and the many ways in which this science has been used to provide solutions to the control of this virus. This workshop will tell the story of the COVID19 pandemic from the perspective of the CoV-2 virus, the structure of the spike protein, the molecular mechanism of the infections process and the successful application of an mRNA vaccine to provide protection from infection. Workshop participants will use physical models of the CoV-2 coronavirus – enhanced by Augmented Reality – to explore these topics.

TAKEAWAYS:
The nucleotide sequence of the CoV-2 RNA genome was the first step in vaccine development.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Herman (3D Molecular Designs: Milwaukee, WI)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

How can we boost student success in literacy and fit science into packed schedules? Join us to explore the efficiencies of instruction that incorporate both!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Capitalizing on the overlaps, or convergences between the standards, can support reaching both CCSS-ELA and NGSS goals; 2. Infusing literacy across the instructional day, rather than in siloed subject blocks, can support students in developing essential conceptual background knowledge in science and critical literacy skills; and 3. Having literacy-rich science instructional materials is part of a systematic solution to bring robust science instruction back into the K–5 instructional day.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Kyla Cook (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! Discover simple hands-on ways to explore evolution, adaptation, and behavior with  insects and arthropods. Learn care, handling, and integration of organisms with NGSS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will takeaway firsthand knowledge and skills to select, handle, and successfully keep insects and arthropods in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon (Watauga High School: Boone, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Fisher Science Education and Eisco Scientific

Participants will have the opportunity to build a Rube Goldberg machine and engineer an overly complicated process to accomplish a simple task. Put your engineering and creative skills to the test as you create your own Rube Goldberg machine out of cardboard, tape, rubber bands, a toy car and other everyday items. Attendees will be broken into teams of five and given a set of raw materials. They will then have approximately forty minutes to work as a group to create a complex series of steps to pop a balloon. Attendance will be limited to the first twenty-five people to register. This is a joint workshop presented by Fisher Science Education and Eisco Scientific. This workshop has a maximum capacity of 25 participants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to create a Rube Goldberg lab using excess materials and common laboratory items.

SPEAKERS:
Tom Wright (Thermo Fisher Scientific: Waltham, MA), Tim Montondo (Eisco Scientific LLC: Victor, NY)

Sponsoring Company: Legends of Learning

Attendees will learn how employing game-based learning (GBL) engages and develops all learners. Understand how games empower students, develop critical thinking skills, provide instant feedback (and more) to develop content mastery as well as social-emotional learning. Game-Based Learning: encourages players to take risks without fear of failure, provides instant feedback that takes advantage of the richest teachable moments, creates individualized experiences through student agency, develops 21st century skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, allows students to experience that actions have ramifications, and invites all students to engage, providing expanded opportunities for equitable learning. Attendees will experience examples of each of these benefits, discuss how they could apply to their own classrooms, and will learn about the research that supports them. Attendees will collaborate with each other as they explore and discuss concepts during the session. They will also investigate how to apply game-based learning to creating experiences that address their own learning objectives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Apply game-based learning to make a difference to your students.

SPEAKERS:
Janet Pittock (director: , CA)

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 (University of Massachusetts Amherst: No City, No State)

From A Silent Spring, The Limits to Growth and Population Bomb of the 1960s and 70s to today’s planetary boundary science, overshoot, and creating a safe and just space for humanity, some would say that “the science is in” and that it is pretty gloomy. Additionally, now in the frenetic information age, humans are overwhelmingly aware of the multitude of crises we face as a species. Our collective mental health is tanking. Knowing our predicament is one thing, but knowing what to do about it is another. Education may be one of our most powerful tools. However, delivery, content, and reach are impaired by multiple factors including politics, economics, religion, and the numerous influences affecting everyone’s social construction of knowledge. This presentation will share examples from the fields of environmental, conservation, and humane education and then focus on the potential promise of comprehensive education for ecological justice.

About the Speaker
Sarah M. Bexell is clinical associate professor with the Graduate School of Social Work and Director of Humane Education with the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, both at the University of Denver, Colorado. Sarah is also a faculty member teaching Animal Protection for the Institute for Humane Education at Antioch University New England and senior advisor to the Education Department of the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Pandas, China. She teaches and does research in the areas of ecological justice, humane education, and animal protection.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Bexell (University of Denver: Denver, CO)

As a K-5 English Learner Teacher, I work with all grades, and for the last five years I've been helping students reach NGSS Performance Expectations through inductive, hands-on science lessons. I’m also a Science Methods Professor at North Central College, where I coach pre-service teachers in how to create and teach NGSS-aligned, three-dimensional science lessons. In this session, teachers will experience several hands-on mini-lessons and explore the meaning of inductive learning in science. Teachers will inductively discover how circuits work and engineer solutions for erosion. We’ll also use digital microscopes to explore the needs of plants and the structure and function living things, so please bring a device with a USB port if you can. Throughout the session, I’ll showcase digital portfolio examples from my K-5 students over the last 5 years. Elementary teachers are often intimidated by teaching and assessing the ambitious performance expectations of the NGSS, especially given the limited class time available for science instruction. Incorporating experiential science lessons with reading, writing, and speaking allows cross-curricular connections with ELA. Teachers will see many examples of digital notebooks used with English Learners and special education students for ongoing performance assessment of both Science and ELA standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Inductive, and inclusive hands-on science experiences and the use of digital portfolios lead to deeper learning as well as ELA & Math connections for K-5 students.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Eaton (Cowlishaw Elementary School: Naperville, IL)

To effectively engage audience members, I will balance their readiness to learn, cognitive load, and stimulating activities. Using real-world examples, I will demonstrate the power of STEM in elementary classrooms to grow all learners and provide necessary 21st-century skills. Often STEM is an enrichment offered to high-achiever but struggling learners have even more to gain from STEM including confidence and leadership. I will focus on practical application, but valuable references and data will be included to support my practices. I will begin the session with a survey to identify the needs and perceptions of participants regarding STEM integration. Based on input, I will share research-based strategies, classroom integration examples, or dispel misconceptions. I will include an interactive STEM activity using index cards and paper clips to provide a STEM lesson model and demonstrate the ease of integrating STEM with simple, classroom supplies. Participants will leave the session with a better understanding of the benefits of STEM in K-5 classrooms and feel more comfortable integrating STEM into their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will understand the value of STEM integration beyond the four letters of the acronym, including the benefits of productive struggle of high achievers and how the grit of struggling learners are paramount in the success of STEM challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Neuman (University of Texas at San Antonio: No City, No State)

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

Explore the five social-emotional competencies as defined by CASEL. Research instructional routines that foster these competencies and learn how to incorporate these routines in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
PhD Science® was designed with the research-based understanding that social, emotional, and academic learning are interconnected multidirectionally.

SPEAKERS:
Ranell Blue (Great Minds: Washington, DC), Isaac Stauffer (Great Minds: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Literacy strategies—such as analyzing, discussing, and summarizing—can be utilized while reading science-based articles, authentic science research, journals, and textbooks. The use of these strategies provides a cross-curricular bridge that not only increases understanding but also increases a student's ability to think critically. Our professionally trained STEM coaches know what it takes to effectively integrate literacy and writing into the science content. Using a constructivist approach, participants will experience hands-on learning that will give them a greater understanding of literacy in science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Work in a collaborative group to understand the importance of a constructivist approach.

SPEAKERS:
Jacque Garcia (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Alicia Chiasson (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Cereal City Science

Inspire your students’ sense of curiosity and wonder with Cereal City Science! Gone are the days of students just “learning about science”. With a high quality, K-8 NGSS curriculum, like Cereal City Science, students are doing science as they take on the roles of scientists and engineers to figure things out. Developing models and activity summary boards gives students tools to explain phenomena. The “Let’s Give Them Something to Think About!” workshop begins with the introduction of a phenomenon and discussion on how to facilitate inquiry, Science Talk, and student-led investigations. Participants engage in modeling as a practice-rich tool for figuring out phenomena, use a summary board to document learning - keeping the storyline visible, and experience bringing it all together in the context of a multiple literacy lesson.

TAKEAWAYS:
Developing models is a practice-rich tool for figuring out phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Erwin (Cereal City Science: Battle Creek, MI)

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

Attendees will explore disease modeling through the use of real (virtual) ZOMBIES!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. This session will explore disease-spread modeling using fictional zombies; 2. Attendees will also see how using Hollywood themes combined with actual STEM careers can be a fun way to engage students in learning science and STEM; and 3. Attendees will find out about free science and STEM lessons from Texas Instruments.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens (Retired Science Teacher: Sioux Falls, SD)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

What's so phenomenal about phenomena? Join the Savvas science team for an engaging, hands-on workshop as we explore the purpose of phenomena, the power of using it to drive your instruction, and the way it will support your students as they bring their own life experiences into your classroom. Attendees will leave with purposeful strategies they can replicate in their classrooms immediately.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience 3 different phenomena-based teaching strategies that can be used in your own classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jessi Davis (Savvas Learning Co.: Paramus, NJ)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Participants will examine the structure of phospholipids and how it shapes the function of the cell membrane using multiple representations including hands-on models. Cellular processes like active and passive transport will be explored while demonstrating how these models can amplify traditional biology labs and classroom activities. Participants will explore examples of membranes in action that can be applied to units on genetics and evolution to extend the reach of the models throughout the school year.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students can create and revise models to explore how the structure of phospholipids influences the function of cell membranes.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Parfitt (3D Molecular Designs: Milwaukee, WI)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience a model lesson from OpenSciEd for Middle School and see how the new Carolina Certified Edition makes these high-quality instructional materials even better!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Experience the pedagogy of OpenSciEd through a model lesson; 2. Learn ways to encourage equitable classroom discourse; and 3. Create a Driving Question Board to explore real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

Please join us for this Exclusive Exhibit Hall time today. During this time there are no teacher sessions scheduled and it’s a perfect opportunity to visit the exhibits and discover all the products and services companies and organizations have to offer. Some exhibitors will offer materials for sale throughout the conference.

Birds of a Feather sessions (BoFs) are informal gatherings of like-minded individuals who wish to discuss a certain topic without a pre-planned agenda.

So many data conversations fall flat because of current methods of data collection. What if we could vary the type and frequency we collect and analyze data using google forms and spreadsheets? This would allow us to have more in-depth conversations about what the data is say and how we can use it to move instruction forward. In this session, 5 different tools will be presented to teachers that allows them to collect data in different ways. With these tools, the focus is no longer on the past and why things happened, but focus on the future of what we can do to respond to the data.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will learn about and receive templates for multiple tools using google forms and spreadsheets to realize the vision of a good data conversation

SPEAKERS:
Rocco Williams (Fort Worth ISD: Fort Worth, TX)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Explore several intervention strategies to help struggling students in STEM, moving beyond differentiation and scaffolding. Learn other proven intervention techniques and discover how to modify traditional outreach to connect with students so that they gain greater understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore several intervention strategies to help struggling students in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie Spaeny (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Jacque Garcia (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

Explore how to elicit and leverage students’ connections to the phenomena-based storylines in your science curriculum using strategies designed to deepen conceptual understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Eliciting and leveraging student ideas, when done strategically, can not only promote equity and relevance, but can also support deep science learning; 2. How to use a particular routine to elicit students’ ideas and experiences at the beginning of a unit and how to leverage these ideas at strategic points along the storyline; and 3. Teachers can effectively use phenomena-based storylines from a research-based national curriculum by incorporating their students' funds of knowledge into those storylines.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Kyla Cook (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Kai Osorio (Professional Learning: Berkeley, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Apply creative problem-solving skills and engineering practices to chemistry and physical science challenges with race cars and rockets. Experience how Carolina makes it easy to incorporate STEM into your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will take away hands-on experience in designing, making, and testing balloon race cars and reaction rockets.

SPEAKERS:
Patti Kopkau (Retired Educator: National City, MI)

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Teach electrophoresis from the inside out. The BanditTM STEM Electrophoresis Kit allows students to build a working gel electrophoresis apparatus. After building it, they use their fully functioning system to run an electrophoresis lab. Link the concepts of circuits, electric fields, and charged particles through this essential biotechnology tool as students will make connections across scientific disciplines. With the accompanying high-quality curriculum, you'll perform molecular biology labs on a budget you didn't think was possible!

TAKEAWAYS:
Connect the physical sciences to biotechnology techniques and implement accessible and affordable electrophoresis for all levels, ranging from Mendelian inheritance to molecular genetics.

SPEAKERS:
Bruce Bryan (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)