2023 Atlanta National Conference

March 22-25, 2023

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Rooms and times subject to change.
17 results
Save up to 50 sessions in your agenda.

Engineering to Empower Students & their Communities Through Understanding Heat Islands

Thursday, March 23 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A


STRAND: Equity and Justice

Show Details

Studying the Heat Island Effect covers multiple standards and content areas, and is an excellent grounding phenomenon to discuss equity and justice in the classroom. Come to this hands-on workshop to run through this experience and learn about a framework to develop empowering engineering projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with a framework for developing engineering projects that integrate social justice, and will also walk through one of our developed projects on the Heat Island Effect.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Berman (Global STEM Challenges Program)

Move Like a Robot

Thursday, March 23 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper


STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

Using robots coded with Python, participants will observe the motion from 5 pre-created codes and create the distance, velocity, and acceleration vs time graphs of these. Then, participants will be taught the simple commands to control the robot, and create a unique program to run. They will have a partner then create the graphs of their motion. Then they will work to create a motion graph scenario and work backwards to write the code that fits that program. This will incorporate different speeds and directions to drive home the concepts of motion graphs, integrating all aspects of STEM into the lesson.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn a new way to integrate STEM into their physics, robotics, or algebra classes using physical computing to create and analyze motion.

SPEAKERS:
Brad Posnanski (Comsewogue High School: Port Jefferson Station, NY)

Quarks and the Nuclear Synthesis Modeling of Protons, Neutrons and the Hydrogen-2 Isotope Using String and Solid Sphere Models

Thursday, March 23 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A


STRAND: No Strand

Show Details

Each Attendee will be given assorted materials to create the up and down quarks and the strong nuclear force to construct protons, neutrons, and the hydrogen-2 Isotope models using both the String Theory and Solid Sphere Models. Hand-outs and examples will be given. Attendees will take their models.

TAKEAWAYS:
This hands-on classroom quark modeling activity was designed for students to use both the String Theory and the Solid Sphere Models for the nuclear synthesis of protons, neutrons, and the hydrogen-2 isotope. As a class, students will create their own criteria for model comparison and probability.

SPEAKERS:
Gary Schiltz (Retired Chemistry Teacher: Naperville, IL)

Phone Physics: Acceleration and Friction

Thursday, March 23 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper


STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

Leveraging the power of smartphone sensors in today’s physics classroom so that all students get experience in experimental science. Class-ready materials provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phone physics increases equitable access to experimental science in the classroom or at home as a flipped lab or distance learning.

SPEAKERS:
Helene McLaughlin (JHU Applied Physics Lab: No City, No State), David Rakestraw (Senior Science Advisor: Livermore, CA), Michael Tobler (Moreau Catholic High School: Hayward, CA)

Making Physics Fun

Thursday, March 23 • 3:40 PM - 4:40 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
(ch)OMMP Materials
This is the link to the Google Drive folder containing the presentation from the conference in addition to the associated lesson and materials.

STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

What does engagement look like in a physics classroom? Movement, noise, and fun! Learn about how you can include all students in your physics classroom. Take home a sample lesson plan on 1-D kinematics and learn more about project-based learning, cross-curricular lessons, and real-world designing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Make physics accessible to all learners by encouraging curiosity, creativity, and promoting equity, inclusion, and engagement through an exploratory instructional strategy.

SPEAKERS:
Tita Anderson Lovell (Paul Duke STEM High School: Norcross, GA)

Sensemaking in the High School Physics Classroom

Thursday, March 23 • 3:40 PM - 4:40 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Sensemaking in the High School Physics Classroom.pdf

STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

Looking to increase engagement and leverage student curiosity? Sensemaking frames the inquiry process from the student’s point of view and puts them in charge of their own learning. Find out how this process can increase your teaching effectiveness and fundamentally change how your students learn.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave with an understanding of sensemaking as a practice, its place in the 3 dimensions of Next Gen Science Standards, and insights gained from experiencing hands-on, minds-on sensemaking of phenomena from the student point of view.

SPEAKERS:
Mariel Kolker (Morristown High School: Morristown, NJ)

Physics Through Flight

Friday, March 24 • 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
National Free Flight Society Homepage
Visit this website to learn more about the National Free Flight Society and find additional resources that can contribute to your students' learning.
PHYSICS THROUGH FLIGHT NSTA Presentation.pptx
Science Olympiad Brochures
This document describes the Science Olympiad program and how various stakeholders might contribute or benefit from the program.
Science Olympiad Homepage
Visit this website to learn more about Science Olympiad, find educational resources, or connect with your State Chapter.

STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

Come learn from the National Free Flight Society (NFFS) and Science Olympiad about how easy it is for to use free flight model aircraft in your classroom to help students master the three dimensions of the NGSS related to Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the art of the possible when it comes to using flight as topic to engage students in their study of forces, free body diagrams, and Newton's Laws.

SPEAKERS:
John Loehr (Science Olympiad: Oakbrook Terrace, IL)

When the Wheels Are Turning, the Students Are Learning!

Friday, March 24 • 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper


STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

If you’re new to coding, then come get up to speed! By combining coding and hands-on activities, you can learn how to "program" a robotic vehicle to perform different challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
By bringing coding and hands-on science learning together, Participants will earn creative ways to use the engineering design process to teach science and use a Rover to explore the relationship between speed, distance, and time.

SPEAKERS:
Karlheinz Haas (Science/Math Instructor, Retired: Tequesta, FL)

STEM Lessons from the International Space Station: Moment of Inertia

Friday, March 24 • 2:40 PM - 3:40 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Moment of Inertia
Educator Notes Learning Objectives • Describe the relationship between mass distribution and ease of rotation for a cylinder, hollow hoop, and sphere. • Calculate moment of inertia and identify the relationship between the calculation and ease of rotation. • Use the moment of inertia equations to determine how each variable effects the ease of rotation for a hollow hoop, solid cylinder, and sphere.
STEMonstrations
STEMonstrations are STEM demonstrations on the space station.
STEMonstrations: Moment of Inertia
In this episode, watch NASA astronauts as they discuss moment of inertia and how mass distribution affects a rotating object. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur demonstrates the effect of altering her moment of inertia while spinning in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station.

STRAND: Curriculum and Assessment

Show Details

This session introduces participants to NASA resources including a closer look at STEMonstrations which are STEM demonstrations filmed in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station and taught by astronauts. Each of these videos includes a corresponding Classroom Connection lesson plan which is ready for educators to immediately implement in their classrooms. This session focuses on the Moment of Inertia STEMonstration where participants watch the Moment of Inertia STEMonstration video and participate in the Moment of Inertia Classroom Connection lab investigation. Participants alter chip cans using household materials to explore how mass distribution affects ease of rotation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will become familiar with STEMonstrations and be able to integrate these videos and corresponding Classroom Connection lesson plans into their classrooms. participants will leave this session with hands-on, ready-to-go STEM lesson plans including student activities and worksheets.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Hooks (Education Project Manager), Lynn Dotson (NASA Office of STEM Engagement-GoH: Kennedy Space Center, FL)

Claim, Evidence and Reasoning in the Science Classroom

Friday, March 24 • 2:40 PM - 3:40 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
CER PowerPoint McDonald and Johnson NSTA Hands on Activity.pptx

STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

Participants will build a balloon powered car; How does mass affect acceleration? OR build a 1st class lever, 2nd class lever, 3rd class; Which lever does not make doing work easier? OR Build a circuit; Which solution conducts electricity? Then do experiment and create a CER poster.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn the CER process.

SPEAKERS:
Aliyah Johnson (Alpharetta High School: Alpharetta, GA), Stephanie McDonald (Teacher: , GA)

Cheap STEM for the Classroom

Friday, March 24 • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Cheap STEM - NSTA 2023 Atlanta .pptx

STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

Explore STEAM with concrete, metal, polymers, and clay. Apply math & design concepts to many real-world examples. Supplies are cheap and students love destructive testing!

TAKEAWAYS:
Affordable labs exploring these properties of material categories and ways to adapt these labs for specific classroom needs while referencing real-world applications and iterative design.

SPEAKERS:
Briana Richardson (Washington High School: Washington Court House, OH)

Promoting Scientific Literacy and Data Fluency with Interactive Simulations (PhET/CODAP)

Saturday, March 25 • 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A


STRAND: Technology and Media

Show Details

One of the core practices of science is the use of measurements with corresponding uncertainties to make claims about an experiment. Join PhET and Concord Consortium as they showcase their work creating the next generation of interactive simulations with a focus on data fluency and measurement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will get a full demonstration of the upcoming open-source simulations from PhET and CODAP, including all links and digital materials. Presenters will also discuss several ideas for mini-activities to teach students about experimental uncertainty and measurement.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Dorsey (The Concord Consortium: Concord, MA), Matthew Blackman (PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO)

Turning Fundamental Particle Science into Hands-on Learning for K-12 Students

Saturday, March 25 • 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Juniper


STRAND: Research to Practice

Show Details

Explore the fundamental nature of particles with hands-on activities and real experiences based on the research of the Sanford Underground Research Facility.

TAKEAWAYS:
Investigating concepts from the micro and macro environments is better when students can investigate the content through hands-on activities and real-world experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Chad Ronish (Science Education Specialist: Lead, SD)

Explaining phenomena from a Matter, Energy, and Forces perspective in OpenSciEd Physics

Saturday, March 25 • 2:40 PM - 3:40 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A


STRAND: Curriculum and Assessment

Show Details

Matter, forces, and energy are three powerful lenses to make sense of phenomena. We will use examples from the forthcoming free and open-source OpenSciEd High School physics course, which also incorporates earth and space science, to show how we can scaffold the development of student thinking using these lenses across the year. Participants will receive an overview of the course and the matter-energy-forces (M-E-F) conceptual framework. Participants will also explore examples of phenomena that students will explain through these different lenses. Examples will include (1) deep mantle convection, (2) vehicle collisions, (3) meteors, (4) microwaves, and ionizing radiation.

TAKEAWAYS:
A framework for reasoning about changes in the matter, energy and forces in a system helps students develop the mechanisms underlying explanations of diverse phenomena including deep mantle convection, vehicle collisions, meteors, microwaves and ionizing radiation.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Buck Bracey (Senior Science Educator and Director of Design for Justice: Colorado Springs, CO), Michael Novak (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Kate Henson (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO)

Phone Physics: 3D Rotational Motion

Saturday, March 25 • 2:40 PM - 3:40 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - International Ballroom C


STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

The gyroscope sensors in smartphones provide an unprecedented measurement capability which enables students to precisely investigate 3D rotational motion. This workshop will introduce teachers to labs which connect foundational physics to real-world applications such as VR and fitness tracking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will conduct multiple hands-on investigations using the gyroscope sensor in smartphones to explore rotational motion. They will directly experience the amazing capabilities of the sensors and will go away prepared to implement the investigations in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
David Rakestraw (Senior Science Advisor: Livermore, CA), Michael Tobler (Moreau Catholic High School: Hayward, CA), Helene McLaughlin (JHU Applied Physics Lab: No City, No State)

Phone Physics: E&M Sampler

Saturday, March 25 • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - International Ballroom C


STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

The magnetometer sensors in smartphones provide students with the ability to precisely investigate the 3D properties of magnetic fields. Workshop participants will conduct investigations which include characterizing Earth’s magnetic field and demonstrating magnetic information storage and readout.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will conduct multiple hands-on investigations using the magnetometer sensor in smartphones to explore magnetic fields. They will directly experience the amazing capabilities of the 3-axis magnetometer sensor and will go away prepared to implement the investigations in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
David Rakestraw (Senior Science Advisor: Livermore, CA), Michael Tobler (Moreau Catholic High School: Hayward, CA), Helene McLaughlin (JHU Applied Physics Lab: No City, No State)

Seeing the Unseen - Phenomenal Activities exploring the EM spectrum and Connections to Astronomy Research

Saturday, March 25 • 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center - Cottonwood A



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Slideshow with all resources

STRAND: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Practice

Show Details

This workshop is hosted by educators from the NASA/SETI Astronomy Activation Ambassadors program showcasing hands-on activities with inexpensive materials that explore the EM Spectrum, construct explanatory and CER models of phenomena, and illustrate real-world applications in space science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take with them hands-on activities and 3D resources that can be used immediately regarding the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared vs. visible light, telescopes, and more! Attendees will participate in learning by doing the activities, with connections to astronomy research highlighted

SPEAKERS:
Laura Solomons (Columbus High School: Columbus, GA), Marcella Linahan (The Westminster Schools: Atlanta, GA), Heather Guiendon (Teacher), Alec Johnson (Morgan County Schools: No City, No State)

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