The 5E is effective for learning most concepts, but not for processes. Other models may need to be included within the 5E.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Clearly understand the various instructional models and the best practice for their uses; 2. The learning objective must be clearly identified as a concept of a process to correctly identify the best practice and instructional model; and 3. Use other best practices such as moving instruction from the known to the unknown or concrete to pictorial to abstract or limiting objectives within a 5E.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra West (Texas State University: San Marcos, TX)

The Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science provides teachers with an entire unit of instruction that includes a variety of assessments, free and available for download.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The units created by the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES) can be presented to a whole class, small groups, or can be assigned to individual students. They are teacher-guided or student-guided. 2. The TIES units can be easily downloaded for free and meet or exceed the evolution standards of every U.S. State. 3. The TIES units contain a variety of assessments, including online games, video questions, data analysis, puzzles, and formal assessments. They include a student response sheet, rubric, and formal assessments.

SPEAKERS:
Alison Seymour (Winchester College: No City, No State)

Learn how to create opportunities for students to succeed at their own level as they develop proficiency in both SEPs and DCIs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how: 1. creating leveled practice can benefit all students; 2. to create practice at multiple levels for all learners; and 3. to create interventions for students who are struggling and extensions for students who have already demonstrated mastery for a topic or skill.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren LaSota (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Kellie Dean (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

Daily Do sensemaking lessons are designed to engage students in authentic, relevant science learning. Join us to explore how these phenomenon-driven lessons motivate students to engage in science and engineering practices to make sense of science ideas (disciplinary core ideas) they need to explain how or why the phenomenon occurs. Gain experience with the critical attributes of sensemaking exemplified in Daily Do lessons you can use to shift your own lessons. Learn strategies to implement sensemaking lessons in both face-to-face and virtual settings.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore how phenomenon-driven lessons motivate students to engage in science and engineering practices to make sense of science ideas; 2. Understand the critical attributes of sensemaking; and 3. Discuss strategies for implementing Daily Do lessons in face-to-face and virtual settings.

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Kate Soriano (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Want to teach climate literacy but don’t know where to start? NOAA offers lesson plans, videos, data, webinars, and more to inform and inspire students.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. What is climate literacy and how to improve it; 2. How to discuss climate and climate controversies in the classroom; and 3. What climate education resources are available from NOAA.

SPEAKERS:
Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD), Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD), Frank Niepold (NOAA Climate Program Office: Silver Spring, MD)

Computer-based simulations can make learning chemistry fun in classrooms that may not have funding for expensive labs, but which ones should you choose?

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn about computer-based simulations and characteristics that students enjoy most; 2. explore ways to adapt the research study presented to their own classrooms; and 3. explore virtual learning games as an opportunity for students to engage with chemistry information in order to demonstrate their ability to use, think about, interpret, and communicate their understanding of chemistry.

SPEAKERS:
Nastassia Jones (Southern University and A&M College: Baton Rouge, LA), Sunitha Shyamala (Tara High School: Baton Rouge, LA)

Using algae as the vehicle for innovation, this FREE STEM kit and curriculum will have your students asking big questions as they grow algae in the classroom and dive deeper into its vast potential.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn all things algae—from the basic living requirements to how algae will help solve pressing global issues; 2. Walk through the entire Algae Academy curriculum to better understand the supplies provided, day-to-day activities, and teacher resources available to support teacher instruction; and 3. Learn how to cultivate your own algae culture!

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Nalley (The Algae Foundation: Midland, TX)

Join us as we explore how NOAA Teacher at Sea can bring stimulating ocean science content to the classroom through a wide range of technology and media applications.

TAKEAWAYS:
NOAA Teacher at Sea provides numerous cutting-edge strategies to make ocean science accessible to students such as Google Cardboard and various VR applications to utilizing NOAA Teacher at Sea’s rich ocean science resources.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Cody (Edmunds Central School District: Roscoe, SD)

What kinds of talk, tasks, and tools do students need in order to fully engage in meaningful forms of science learning? Join us as we share a statewide virtual book study that allowed AMBITIOUS Iowa science teachers to connect, collaborate, and refine their practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. focus on teaching practices relating to planning for engagement with big science ideas, eliciting students’ ideas, and supporting ongoing changes in student thinking; 2. learn how to set up opportunities for collaboration both online and with a local coach and peers; and 3. learn about the application of the learning related to a classroom action research option.

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Askeland-Nagle (Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency: Bettendorf, IA), Beverly Berns (Keystone Area Education Agency: Elkader, IA), Hope Garton Brown (Eagle Grove Community School District: No City, No State), Christopher Soldat (Grant Wood Area Education Agency: Cedar Rapids, IA)

Discover how to use physical education to help teach interdependence of the circulatory and respiratory systems through Argument Driven Inquiry. Three-dimensional teaching meets cross-curricular planning.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to: 1. collaborate with your PE teachers to conduct a scientific investigation; 2. teach students about data collection and analysis; and 3. help students realize the interactions of body systems and how they relate to physical exercise.

SPEAKERS:
Lincoln Clark (Spain Park High School: Birmingham, AL)

We will present the efforts of 11 secondary schools and partners at Stanford University to create authentic Drosophila-based research experiences, and how you can too!

TAKEAWAYS:
Through Stan-X, middle school and high school students learn science through authentic, open-ended, publishable research; 2. Coordination between schools, both public and private, across the world can enhance scientific learning and research opportunities for your students, while also building a supportive network for teachers interested in providing these opportunities to students; and 3. Instructing teachers in the "process" to develop student-based classroom research is the crucial step in providing meaningful experiences in research-based classes.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Lantz (The Lawrenceville School: Lawrenceville, NJ)

Language learning occurs in content-rich and discourse-rich classrooms. Learn how to use interactive word walls to support listening, speaking, reading, and writing about academic language.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to: 1. organize science concepts and academic vocabulary to scaffold listening, speaking, reading, and writing about science; 2. identify vocabulary that has multiple meanings and may present comprehension challenges for multilingual learners; and 3. bridge academic language acquisition theory to classroom practice.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Jackson (Texas State University: San Marcos, TX)

Discourse is an important part of science learning. In this session, we will engage in talk moves from the teacher and student perspective.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. distinguish between everyday conversation and academic discourse; 2. apply the goals of productive discourse through talk moves; and 3. consider classroom environment layout and routines that support a community of learners.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Martin-Hiner (Keystone Area Education Agency: Elkader, IA), Beverly Berns (Keystone Area Education Agency: Elkader, IA)

Astrobiology Learning Progressions support the creation of units that are relevant and motivating through the lens of the search for life in the universe.

TAKEAWAYS:
K–12 teachers, curriculum directors, and other science communicators will take away from this session: 1. what is the scientific search for life in the universe—Astrobiology, how it is interdisciplinary, and how it can be combined within STEM, ELA, art, engineering, and more; 2. how they can use the excitement and motivating topics in Astrobiology to leverage learning in a variety of science concepts throughout the NGSS; and 3. the know-how to navigate and use the Astrobiology Learning Progressions ( https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/education/alp/ )to find information, context, and resources to create their units and lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Dani Leach (Lakewood High School: Arlington, WA)

Space Station Explorers offers many activities to reach and teach the next generation—from growing tomato seeds that flew in space to launching experiments to the ISS.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Every educator can incorporate the highly engaging topic of space into their curriculum; 2. Most of our programs are completely free and standards aligned; and 3. We provide myriad opportunities to get involved, attend professional development, and equip educators to inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Christman (ISS National Laboratory: Melbourne, FL), Courtney Black (ISS National Laboratory: Melbourne, FL), Samantha Thorstensen (ISS National Laboratory: Melbourne, FL)

The presentation provides findings and teaching strategies used in secondary science to foster students understating of controversial topics related to race and human diversity.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to facilitate classroom discourse to guide students to support their claims with evidence and facts; 2. Have specific actions steps to make science lessons more culturally relevant to students; and 3. Understand how to present controversial topics in the science classroom while maintaining a safe learning space for all students.

SPEAKERS:
Uchenna Emenaha (The University of Texas at San Antonio: No City, No State)

Daily Do sensemaking lessons are designed to engage students in authentic, relevant science learning. Join us to explore how these phenomenon-driven lessons motivate students to engage in science and engineering practices to make sense of science ideas (disciplinary core ideas) they need to explain how or why the phenomenon occurs. Learn strategies for implementing Daily Do lessons  in both face-to-face and virtual settings. If you are a K–5 teacher, we have Daily Do sensemaking lessons for you!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore how phenomenon-driven lessons motivate students to engage in science and engineering practices to make sense of science ideas; 2. Understand the critical attributes of sensemaking; and 3. Discuss strategies for implementing Daily Do lessons in face-to-face and virtual settings.

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Kate Soriano (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

We will share how we use learning targets based on the NGSS science practices to develop assessments that are accessible to learners of all abilities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. understand how to develop assessments that are accessible to all learners; 2. distinguish between formative and summative assessments and see examples of effective ways to apply each; and 3. understand how to use assessments to fine-tune teaching practice.

SPEAKERS:
David Frangiosa (Pascack Valley Regional High School District: Montvale, NJ), Elise Naramore (Pascack Hills High School: Montvale, NJ)

You made the learning three dimensional in your classroom; now it's time to do the same for your grading.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Ways to help students focus on learning more than gradesl 2, Systems of efficient grading that make meaningful feedback possible; and 3. Tips to have students participate in telling their learning story.

SPEAKERS:
Johanna Brown (Washington State OSPI)

Lead the PBL charge from the science classroom with simple changes to your 5E lesson/unit plans that drive the question, provide instruction, and build interdisciplinary integration.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Changing a 3-D learning claim to a guiding question; 2. Structuring Explore in research and the first phases of the EDP; and 3. Creating an interdisciplinary project in Elaborate that acts as an Evaluation.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Williams McGee (Metro Nashville Public Schools: Nashville, TN)

Help bridge representation gaps by giving students the opportunity to see themselves and their cultures reflected in STEM. We'll share standards-aligned stories from history to incorporate into your lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. gain a better sense of why inclusive representation matters; 2. consider how STEM is a human achievement that has been contributed to by people of all nationalities, orientations, and colors; and 3. learn about historic figures that are not taught in traditional settings to get them started in creating a more inclusive, diverse picture of STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Busch (The University of Alabama at Birmingham: Birimingham, AL)

Learn how to read the 62 maps of practices, core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and performance expectations in The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions and use them and other features of this powerful navigational tool to develop and implement curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Construct an explanation for why it is important to consider learning progressions when planning curriculum, instruction, and assessment; 2. Analyze the elements of the three dimensions on a map to interpret the relationships it conveys; and 3. Obtain and evaluate information about the elements of the three dimensions in order to plan and carry out the development of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

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

Many of our students come to us experiencing trauma so it is imperative we help them become scientifically literate using healing-care strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. see how healing-care strategies assist students in experiencing chronic trauma in the science classroom; 2. gain strategies for helping engage these students in activities focusing on scientific literacy with an emphasis on media literacy; and 3. be given strategies for both formative and summative assessments that align with the NRC Framework and NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Ann MacKenzie (Miami University: Oxford, OH)

Explore the NSTA website with us! NSTA provides high-quality digital resources and opportunities—all within a professional community—that supports professional learning and classroom instruction. NSTA gift cards will be raffled!

TAKEAWAYS:
1) Become versed about the plethora of digital resources available on NSTA’s website. 2) Learn about NSTA’s virtual learning opportunities for educators of science. 3) Grow your network of like-minded individuals.

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

This shark-themed lesson for secondary school science is used to promote inquiry and scientific literacy in the classroom through hands-on experiments, simulations, and data collection.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Applying real science techniques to activities in the informal or formal classroom setting; 2. Promoting scientific literacy through inquiry-based activities, reflective thinking, and connections to diverse shark scientists; and 3. Bridging science with other subjects such as history and math in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Savanna Finley (Science Teacher: Sarasota, FL)

Creative writing assignments can better reach students with differing learning styles. The incorporation of creative writing exercises into introductory chemistry courses and their effects on student performance will be described.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Creative writing is an effective way to cement understanding of chemistry concepts; 2. Engaging in creative writing leads to better exam performance; and 3. Creative writing exercises increase critical-thinking skills.

SPEAKERS:
Donald Carpenetti (Craven Community College: New Bern, NC)

Students create their own "pets" using genotypes to express phenotypes. They then "breed" their pets with other pets to produce offspring guided by Punnett squares. Finally, random environmental factors determine which of the offspring survive to breed again.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. A sure fire method for students to learn the difference between genotype and phenotype. 2. A genetics project that is adaptable to various grade levels and time constraints. 3. The applications of genetics to evolution and selective advantage.

SPEAKERS:
Bruce Boehne (Zion Lutheran School: Dallas, TX)

Hear about various NSTA competitions and how they can bring STEM and the NGSS into the classroom, as well as give students and teachers a chance to earn recognition and prizes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn: 1. about NSTA competitions; 2. how NSTA competitions help integrate STEM and NGSS in the classroom; and 3. how students and teachers can win recognition and prizes.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Matthew Hartman (BrainPOP: Pittsburgh, PA)

This program aims to dramatically increase the exposure to and consumption of locally produced honey by developing a network of apiaries and supporting curriculum for preK–12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about: 1. how educational apiaries can be used in an education setting; 2. the benefits of implementing curriculum related to honey production; and 3. strategies to engage migrant students in STEM education.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Cody (Edmunds Central School District: Roscoe, SD)

This session will allow participants to develop an understanding of three-dimensional assessments. Participants will engage in activities to support discussion around how and why three-dimensional assessment tasks (used formatively and/or summatively) and instructional tasks share many similarities. Participants will also gain experience evaluating student learning across the three dimensions.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Gain a stronger understanding of three-dimensional assessments; 2. Discuss similarities between three-dimensional assessment tasks and three-dimensional instructional tasks; and 3. Experience evaluating student learning across the three dimensions.

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Bremen, GA), Kate Soriano (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Learn how to access and explore NOAA’s data-rich resources, lesson plans, and visualization tools to build data literacy and proficiency in scientific data analysis.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. What types of data are available from NOAA; 2. How to find and use NOAA data in your classroom; and 3. How students can be involved in data collection.

SPEAKERS:
Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD), Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD)

Come see the professional learning model being utilized across Iowa to scale the use of free high-quality instructional materials (OpenSciEd) across the state for middle school publicly released units as well as furthering unit design with supports for the high school field test. These materials support the science learning of emerging multilingual students and incorporate the Universal Design for Learning guidelines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. review the instructional routines highlighted across all OpenSciEd units and other high-quality OER curricula; 2. examine the professional learning model used to support the implementation of high-quality instructional materials across the state of Iowa; and 3. consider how the tools, processes, and instructional model shared could be applied to their local context.

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Askeland-Nagle (Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency: Bettendorf, IA), Jason Martin-Hiner (Keystone Area Education Agency: Elkader, IA), Hope Garton Brown (Eagle Grove Community School District: No City, No State), Beverly Berns (Keystone Area Education Agency: Elkader, IA)

The presenters will report success from implementing weekly graded coloring assignments in Anatomy and Physiology I.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Coloring positively influenced student performance on the laboratory mid-term and final; and 2. Students reported increased relaxation and motivation by regularly coloring.

SPEAKERS:
Cheston Saunders (Southeastern Community College: Whiteville, NC)

Discover several strategies for developing well-written multiple-choice questions that can assess higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Multiple-choice exams can assess higher-order cognitive skills and increase student learning gains; 2. Developing these types of multiple-choice questions is easier than you might think; and 3. Our higher-order multiple-choice questions are practically "Google proof,” making them ideal for online exams.

SPEAKERS:
Tarren Shaw (The University of Oklahoma: Norman, OK), Donald French (Oklahoma State University: Stillwater, OK)

Curricula can support all students in reaching today’s standards, including NGSS. Attend to learn about critical curriculum features and how to improve/advocate for quality materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Understanding the importance of high-quality materials for supporting students and teachers; 2. Understanding the features and the opportunity for feedback and input; and 3. Ability to utilize the features for improving development and selection of curriculum materials.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Childress Self (NextGenScience: San Francisco, CA), Sam Shaw (EdReports.org)

Get ready for the NGSS with ways to sequence instruction that promote long-lasting understanding for your students by using a simple yet powerful approach: Explore-Before-Explain.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Why sequence matters—a concise review of cognitive science and science education research explains why the order in which you structure your lessons is so critical; 2. What you need to do—an overview of important planning considerations covers becoming an “explore-before-explain” teacher and designing POE (Predict, Observe, Explain) and 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) instructional models; and 3. How you do it—ready-to-teach lessons that use an explore-before-explain sequence to provide experience that meet the Next Generation Science Standards and make interdisciplinary connections to the Common Core State Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown (Fort Zumwalt School District R-II: O'Fallon, MO)

Start building or join Jeff Wheatcraft, 2019 Texas Teacher of the Year, in design challenges that push students to be engaged and included!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. What is a design challenge and how are ones you develop different from those developed by major science organizations?; 2. How you can make STEM, specifically design challenges, engaging and inclusive while still covering standards; and 3. How to start and finish a design challenge that maximizes engagement!

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Wheatcraft (Alamo Heights Junior School: San Antonio, TX)

Explore the role of scientific vocabulary in an NGSS classroom and take away innovative strategies for incorporating vocabulary instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will: 1. learn how to make scientific vocabulary meaningful to students; 2. engage in learning innovative strategies for developing vocabulary usage and knowledge; and 3. learn how to use instruction to drive the learning of vocabulary.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Watrous (Dag Hammarskjold Middle School: No City, No State)

Through engaging case studies, attendees will gain an understanding of what is in our indoor air, including emissions from emerging sources and their health impacts, as well as mitigation strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Identify the potential unintended consequences of emerging technologies on indoor air quality; 2. Understand what is in our air, including emissions from emerging sources and their health impacts; and 3. Provide engaging case study examples and strategies for how to successfully deploy safer solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Holley Henderson (Chemical Insights Research Institute: Marietta, GA), Melanie Share (Chemical Insights Research Institute: Marietta, GA)

Learn how to join NASA’s first online community of practice for STEM educators (CONNECTS) and gain access to NASA content, resources, educator community, exclusive events, and NASA experts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. receive a foam rocket activity they can implement in their classrooms using simple materials; 2. learn about the vast resources offered by NASA’s new online community of practice for STEM educators, CONNECTS; and 3. learn how they can join CONNECTS.

SPEAKERS:
Cindy Hasselbring (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: Greenbelt, MD)

Reading proficiency is tied to academic success. Teaching various reading and testing strategies can help students overcome their challenges with comprehension and vocabulary acquisition.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to use reading strategies to help all students develop ways to navigate grade level challenging text. How creating a classroom culture can cultivate an environment conducive for welcoming and increasing literacy in the classroom. How to use testing strategies in science to help students navigate and become accustomed to scenario style questions.

SPEAKERS:
Leslie White-Keuchler (The School District of Philadelphia: Philadelphia, PA)

Gorilla conservation in Uganda is an exciting topic that teachers can use to engage students in life science concepts and real-world, interdisciplinary problem-solving.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The rich biology of the boundary of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda) can be used to electrify concepts in a middle school life science curriculum; 2. Using real-world case studies of current global challenges demonstrates to students that science can be used to both understand and solve relevant societal problems; and 3. Highlighting and representing the leadership of African scientists in the classroom helps inspire students of African descent…in the USA, Africa, and beyond.

SPEAKERS:
Emily De Moor (Science Educator/Curriculum Writer: Boston, MA)

Explore NSTA’s new Professional Learning Units. Discover these bite-sized asynchronous professional learning experiences that support student sensemaking to earn credit to submit to your school or district.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover how NSTA can provide asynchronous and bite-sized continuing education credit options (2 hours per PLU); 2. Explore how each PLU contains reflections or tasks connected to the classroom that are submitted to NSTA for review or feedback; and 3. Explore how we can support professional learning for individuals or schools/districts, including the flexible options available for Professional Learning Unit topics, and how these fit into our Professional Learning pathways.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Soriano (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Storytelling highlights student cultural wealth. Students create story videos that connect their pandemic experiences with evidence from their analysis of racial inequities in COVID-19 cases.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. see how to scaffold assignments from data analysis to digital story creation; 2. create their own mini digital story about their pandemic experience; and 3. learn how to demonstrate that arguing from statistical evidence can provide an "academic grounding" for discussion of systemic racism.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Benjamin (Bunker Hill Community College: Charlestown, MA)

Discover accessible three-dimensional–aligned instruction and instructional strategies that are beneficial for diverse student groups, including English learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover the successes and challenges in a three-dimensional science classroom; 2. Instructional strategies to integrate the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts that are beneficial for all students; and 3. Strategies that can immediately be implemented into a three-dimensional learning experience.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Salak (Bryan Middle School: Omaha, NE)

The session will describe the need and deliberate actions taken within the Scientific Research Saturdays program to involve under-resourced students to develop STEM projects and participate in the regional science and engineering fair.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Under-resourced students are disadvantaged by not having mentors to assist them in developing research that will benefit them in competing in national and international science fairs, winning scholarships to universities and programs, and strengthening their confidence and passion for STEM fields; 2. Mentoring is an effective strategy to support under-resourced high school students. However, access to mentors, particularly where geographic and time barriers are concerned, and reduced cost must be considered; and 3. The onus to establish equity in education continues to be on educators.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Todd (Miami-Dade Virtual School: Miami, FL)

Let's stop the guessing game as to what we expect from our students. The Depth and Complexity Icons do just that. Come find out!

TAKEAWAYS:
1. By using the Depth and Complexity Icons, the teacher immediately knows what type of feedback to give students (formative assessment); 2. Once this becomes part of the teacher's instructional practice, the students will begin to know exactly what is expected of them from the teacher; and 3. Teachers must first become familiar and comfortable with this before we can expect the students to become comfortable and successful.

SPEAKERS:
Allen Wilson (Education Service Center, Region 20: San Antonio, TX)

Let's explore student and teacher outcomes from inquiry-based laboratory instruction of scientific literacy and writing in a private high school setting.

TAKEAWAYS:
Effectiveness of: 1. professional development on teacher efficacy for writing instruction in science; 2. inquiry-based laboratory instruction on student writing performance in science; and 3. inquiry-based laboratory instruction on student perceptions of writing ability and scientific literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Ross Lyons (Ensworth High School Campus: Nashville, TN)

Do you impact your school and community with STEM? If you teach K–12, come learn how to apply to win up to $15K through this teacher competition.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Learn how to apply for the Shell-sponsored teacher competition; 2. Begin your application or nomination of a Shell-sponsored program and receive a prize; and 3. Collaborate with past winners and judges to learn how to strengthen your application.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Upton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Ruth Ruud (Cleveland State University: Cleveland, OH)

Science current events journals bring real science into the classroom. Use the news to teach science content, media literacy, and analytical thinking, and to reinforce language arts.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to integrate media literacy in the science classroom; 2. Tools for differentiated instruction in science literacy; and 3. Integration of NGSS in a science literacy project.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Weissman (The Ramaz School: New York, NY)

Native plant gardens are an important part of keeping pollinators. Creating these spaces give students an opportunity to truly use their science knowledge. During our session, participants will be learning about how to plan for a native plant garden. Participants will also learn how to align the standards both for middle school and for high school to the NGSS standards. We will take a look at how teachers can incorporate authentic tasks such as citizen science into your classroom. By having several options for citizen science students are able to be a part of a scientific community. Participants will find resources and options of how to set up their space and how to incorporate art, engineering, history, and math into their space. Participants will also gain knowledge of how to reach out for community support as well.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. How to set up a native plant garden; 2. How to tie in NGSS standards; and 3. How to tie in STEM concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Jackie Scott (Mann Magnet Middle School: Little Rock, AR)