Practice hands-on strategies for engaging students with scientific notebooks, letters, photos, and drawings, highlighting scientific practices, nature of science, and connections between science and society.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Access to millions of free digitized primary sources the Library of Congress has for K–12 science educators, including Thomas Jefferson’s weather journal, Robert Hooke’s first drawings of cells, photographs from the Dust Bowl, historic newspaper accounts about lead paint and electric cars, and much more!; 2. Multiple hands-on strategies for integrating science-related primary sources in the K–12 classroom to facilitate student engagement, critical thinking, and student-centered construction of knowledge; and 3. An understanding of how primary source analysis can lead to unique insights related to the Nature of Science, such as how scientists and engineers think, practice, and apply scientific principles and discoveries in the real world; how scientific ideas evolve over time; and how science and engineering are related to society.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Apfeldorf (Library of Congress: Washington, DC), Lesley Anderson (Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow: Washington, CA)

This session focuses on the core messages of the book Crosscutting Concepts: Strengthening Science and Engineering Learning, published by NSTA Press in 2021.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The power of crosscutting concepts is most fully realized when they are used in conjunction with science and engineering practices and disciplinary core ideas; 2. Crosscutting concepts serve as lenses on phenomena, supporting all students in question-asking and sensemaking; and 3. Teacher leadership is critical to realizing the power of crosscutting concepts in practice.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Nordine (The University of Iowa: Iowa City, IA), Okhee Lee (New York University: New York, NY)

Connect your school with local colleges and STEM employers using relevant, standards-based, hands-on activities that spark interest in science and STEM careers. Sample activity included.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to identify and reach out to potential community and industry partners; 2. How to build a program or event that meets the needs of all stakeholders; and 3. How to develop authentic learning experiences to impact student perspectives of locally available STEM careers.

SPEAKERS:
Bethany Kenyon (BioNetwork: Greenville, NC)

This session introduces a way to create in-person and remote learning experiences that give all students a chance to learn how to use the DCIs, CCS, and SEPs to make sense of the world around them.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to make in-person and remote learnings experience more meaningful, relevant, and equitable for students; 2. How to give students an opportunity to use their own ideas along with the DCIs, CCs, and SEPs in the service of sensemaking; and 3. How embedded formative assessment during an investigation can be used to examine student sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX)

Learn how to apply for NMLSTA’s Classroom Teacher Awards and Hurd Award. This interactive workshop will provide information and an opportunity to begin an application.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. NMLSTA Classroom Teachers awards provide up to $200 to support science in your classroom and has a quick and easy application. 2. The Hurd Award is for exemplary science teaching performance including leadership in sharing these ideas and a great way to showcase what you are doing in science education. 3. This workshop will cover eligibility, requirements, and timelines along with how to write a successful application, an opportunity to brainstorm ideas and start an application.

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

Build a working solar oven and your students’ empathy for global issues in this inquiry-based lesson on convection, conduction, and radiation with an authentic audience!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Having an authentic, global audience for a STEM inquiry project can be engaging and inclusive for your students and can promote empathy in your classroom; 2. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) can pair wonderfully with STEM lessons to enhance project-based lessons and make them meaningful to students; and 3. Organizations like iEARN (https://www.iearn.org/) partner with teachers to help provide platforms and opportunities for global learning.

SPEAKERS:
Kate York (The University of Texas at Dallas: Richardson, TX), Katherine Donaldson (The University of Texas at Dallas: Richardson, TX)

Come find out how to involve your students in learning how AI and ML can be taught to your students, how it can be used to promote equity in the classroom, and how it can make YOUR teaching job easier! If you can, bring a data set and computer.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. AI and ML can help equitize the science classroom by allowing students to participate in learning; 2. AI and ML can be taught to students in the classroom and is an excellent 21st-century skill for all students; and 3. AI and ML hold the possibility to make the science teacher's job easier.

SPEAKERS:
Holly Amerman (University of Georgia: Athens, GA), Anna Herdliska (Gwinnett County Public Schools: Suwanee, GA)

Learn how using NextGen TIME can help you get the best possible science instructional materials into the hands of teachers prepared to use them.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. NextGen TIME is a suite of tools and processes that support district leaders in: a. preparing to evaluate instructional materials; b. evaluating instructional materials for their quality and design for next generation science; and c. planning for next steps including customization to improve student outcomes and effective implementation in classrooms throughout the district; 2. NextGen TIME is a collaborative, evidence based suite of tools and processes for professional learning that helps teachers and others operationalize the characteristics of high-quality instructional materials designed for next generation science; and 3. Using NextGen TIME represents an investment in curriculum-based professional learning to increase the likelihood that all students and teachers have access to the best possible materials for the local context.

SPEAKERS:
Jody Bintz (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Jenine Cotton-Proby (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO)

In this workshop, participants will experience how NGSS-focused instructional materials can create an equitable classroom that supports all students to design solutions to real-world problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. In the Next Generation Science Standards, problems are defined as “situations somebody wants to change,” which is different from construction or design projects, where the ultimate goal is achieving a design or tinkering; 2. Problems that describe real-world situations grounded in compelling contexts that students care about can create intrinsic motivation for all students to learn science and engineering ideas; and 3. The presence of an authentic and compelling problem in instructional materials is not enough; it also needs to be used in instruction in a way that will effectively support students’ learning and motivation.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Childress Self (NextGenScience: San Francisco, CA)

Can you land on Mars? Join us for a hands-on engineering design challenge that explores shock absorption and air resistance while making connections to careers and real-world experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Understand NGSS engineering practices about design, testing, and developing models and solutions for elementary and middle school students; 2. Learn effective teaching strategies to engage students in engineering practices that promote critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity; and 3. Learn how to motivate students with space exploration, including exciting current events and careers.

SPEAKERS:
Natasha Wilkerson (Texas A&M University: College Station, TX)

Engage in a variety of activities, collect information and resources, and network with middle level leaders from NSTA and NMLSTA. Discover new ideas and materials that you can use next week.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. have networking opportunities with other middle level science educators; 2. discover resources to help them in all aspects of their teaching; and 3. engage in a variety of new activities to use with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Lou Lipscomb (National Middle Level Science Teachers Association: Naperville, IL), Rebecca Kurson (Collegiate School: New York, NY), Wendy Abshire (American Meteorological Society: Washington, DC), Alison Seymour (Science Teacher: Winchester, 0), Bruce Boehne (Zion Lutheran School: Dallas, TX), Marissa Nalley (The Algae Foundation: Midland, TX), Abigail Stimach (American Meteorological Society: Washington, DC), Kylie Wynaker (The Algae Foundation: Midland, TX), Amanda Clapp (The Catamount School: Sylva, NC), Covey Denton (Greenfield School: No City, No State), Katy Garvey (The Source for Learning, Inc.: Reston, VA), Edralin Pagarigan (Golden Ring Middle School: Rosedale, MD), Emily Ong (Girls Who Code: New York, NY)

Focusing on wetlands and the connection to flooding puts STEM in a real-world context that is relatable to students, and virtual reality makes it fun.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. gain experience in developing virtual field trips using free software and a 360-degree camera; 2. experience a virtual field trip focused on ecosystems, participate in activities covering standards related to ecosystems components, and identify ways to incorporate their local context to the virtual environments; and 3. learn about relevant local connections and partnerships that they can leverage to design a more varied student experience unique for their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Nastassia Jones (Southern University and A&M College: Baton Rouge, LA), Nikita LaCour (Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy: Baton Rouge, LA)

Join us as we explore how NSTA’s three-dimensional resources can be utilized to enhance your teaching. Walk away with effective strategies for science teaching and learning and hear from educators as they provide tips for using these resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to use NSTA resources to shift your practice; 2. Leave with strategies to use in your classroom to promote student engagement in science learning; and 3. Hear from classroom teachers about how they are using NSTA Press publications.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Binder (Program Director, STEM Professional Learning: Arlington, VA), Christine Anne Royce (Shippensburg University: Shippensburg, PA)

Democratic STEM Teaching (DST) centers student voice, creating inclusive classrooms where all students can thrive. Explore how human-centered design thinking turns DST principles into practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will: 1. understand the DST principles and describe practical examples of student voice, shared authority, and STEM criticality; 2. develop ideas of how to use DST principles in their own classrooms in order to create a more inclusive classroom; and 3. use the design thinking approach and protocols to identify a focus area in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Houston (STEM Ed Innovators: Saratoga, CA)

Come learn about using community-based phenomena as the basis for long-term STEM projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to intergrade local phenomena into STEM projects; 2. Using eCYBERMISSION in your middle school science classroom; and 3. How to better engage middle school students with local problems.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Hartman (BrainPOP: Pittsburgh, PA)

Discover the power of tiny things to promote equity through real-world problem solving with nano@stanford. Learn the biomimicry connection to water-resistant and other engineered materials being developed in nanotechnology to solve real problems that will promote equity by engaging more students.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn the biomimicry connections to water-resistant and other engineered materials that are being developed in nanotechnology to solve real problems; 2. All STEM disciplines are needed to solve real problems and nanotechnology provides the tools to develop solutions; and 3. Learn the locations of NGSS-focused activities, resources, and virtual experiences for your classroom connected to Nanotechnology Opportunities for free/ paid professional development with the NNCI and nano@stanford.

SPEAKERS:
Daniella Duran (Stanford University: Stanford, CA)

We will investigate the difference between Project-Based Learning, Problem-Based Learning, and Transdisciplinary Learning. Each model incorporates real-world, hands-on experiences aligned to STEAM integration; yet there are distinguishable characteristics that one may be preferred over the other throughout one's teaching philosophy. Join us as we explore the pros and cons of each instructional approach in conjunction to your school's STEAM initiatives!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. take away a greater understanding of the three instructional models and will determine which model (if not all) works best for them; 2. receive supplemental resources (articles/ videos) to assist them in planning for future lessons and/or units using problem-based, project-based, or transdisciplinary learning; and 3. gain understanding of how to build teacher capacity for STEM/STEAM in their schools.

SPEAKERS:
Yolanda White (Clayton County Public Schools: Jonesboro, GA), Rebecca Dorsey (Mundy's Mill Middle School: Jonesboro, GA)

STEM classrooms can be exclusive if teachers do not identify the lack of prior learning opportunities and misconceptions early in the year. Come learn how one teacher uses coding to bridge the gap in her STEM classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. STEM inclusion activities; 2. Coding in the classroom; and 3. STEM project ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA)