This session will describe an NSF grant in progress to increase high school awareness of geoscience through field trips and activities. This grant was written by geoscience and education faculty. We will share some activities along with what we learned from the pre- and post- assessments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will participate in hands-on activities that have been prepared by geoscience faculty at Missouri S&T. The teacher ed. faculty at Missouri S&T will share ideas on how to implement and assess these. Student learning is enhanced when students are engaged in hands-on, field based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Meek (Professor: Rolla, MO), Michelle Schwartze (Missouri S&T: Rolla, MO)

Explore the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) a freshwater fish at the forefront of biomedical research and easily maintained in a classroom aquarium, to spark ALL students’ curiosity and scientific engagement with real-life science experiences through multiple-learning modalities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning how zebrafish and low-budget pet store supplies can be used to engage diverse learners in multimodal (visual, kinesthetic) real-life science learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Vinita Hajeri (The University of Texas at Dallas: Richardson, TX)

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TAKEAWAYS:
STEM isn't an add on at the EC level. It is a natural way of discovering the world around. It is also a path to equity when it is embedded in literary and real-world experience.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Ruud (Cleveland State University: Cleveland, OH), Juliana Texley (Lesley University: Cambridge, MA)

Who belongs in marine sciences? Why does it matter? Join the NMEA Equity & Belonging committee for an interactive session which aims to advance dialogue on social equity & justice in these spaces. This session is for educators who are passionate about integrating marine concepts in their practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
The personal and professional narratives shared by the presenters will highlight tools and strategies to shift the power dynamics in your science classroom. A curated collection of resources to support more just and equitable science teaching practices will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Rae Quadara (The University of Southern Mississippi Marine Education Center: No City, No State), Janice Williams (Pinnacle Education Services /NMEA /COLC: No City, No State)

In this session we will engage participants in thinking about how they can create stronger connections to current climate change research through placed-based learning experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendee's will be able to share the benefits of place-based teaching and learning with peers and colleagues, and serve as an advocate for field experiences within the school community.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Shoer (Senior Program Manager, Education & Engagement), Elisabeth Colby (Director of Visitor Experience and Engagement Programs: Boston, MA), Holly Rosa (Boston Public Schools: Boston, MA)

Construct deeper student understanding of Earth science topics. We will engage in argument-driven scaffolds for Earth and environmental science topics to critically evaluate connections between evidence and alternative scientific explanations using model-evidence link (MEL) diagrams.

TAKEAWAYS:
An introduction to instructional scaffolds designed to assist learners as they evaluate the plausibility of evidence connected to models and the research base that supports using these scaffolds & access to instructional materials.

SPEAKERS:
Lorraine Ramirez Villarin (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA), Donna Governor (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA)

Come learn some fun hands on activities that you can use in your classroom and/or lab that don't cost an arm and a leg! We will focus on activities for Chemistry, Environmental Science, Forensic Science, and Physical Science. Everything from student made projects to instructor demos!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees with leave with Low Cost Hands-On Activities.

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Knowles (Teacher), Rachel Kakesh (Bowdon High School: Bowdon, GA)

Designed by award-winning science educator, author, and Michigan Teacher of the Year Gary Abud, Jr. in partnership with PBS, this session will focus on instructional strategies, high impact core teaching practices, and amazing learning resources about the Great Lakes from Detroit Public Television's award-winning show Great Lakes Now. In this session, you'll learn how to help your students explore the Great Lakes like never before and engage in productive discussions, engineering challenges, and intriguing investigations that they'll never forget. From fatbergs to watersheds to invasive species, biodiversity, climate change, and much more, you'll see how the Great Lakes makes for a GREAT way to teach myriad science concepts and engage students in the science and engineering practices of the NGSS no matter where they are learning, because the blended learning activities can go with you anywhere!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to explore the Great Lakes with your students while incorporating multimedia, cognitive science, and student discourse.

SPEAKERS:
SANDRA SVOBODA (Program Director, Great Lakes Now: , MI), Gary Abud Jr (Nourish the Future - Education Projects, LLC: Columbus, OH)

Get hands-on with sensor technology to uncover meteorological phenomena and discover how these tools can help make connections to weather and climate literacy for students in upper elementary-high school classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
There are affordable sensor technologies available to help turn students of all ages into data-collecting scientists and meteorologists.

SPEAKERS:
Harris Muhlstein (University of North Carolina Wilmington: Wilmington, NC)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Water is the single most valuable resource essential for life on Earth, yet is subject to increasing scarcity, pollutants, and overuse. The Tapwater Tour curriculum make the real-world connection between the phenomena explored in the lesson and actual hands-on laboratory activities.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans (Kent County High School: Worton, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

In this workshop, participants are introduced to a 5th grade module on Earth Systems to uncover a new process for developing models in science and see how the communication of ideas through models and sketches increases opportunities for student engagement.

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Learn how collecting carbon exchange data from plant leaves can help you correct students’ most common misconceptions about respiration and photosynthesis.

Did you know the ocean is a major influence on weather and climate? Apply Ocean Literacy - an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean - in your learning environment! Explore the Ocean Literacy Framework, including alignment of ocean science concepts with NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
You can't be science literate without being ocean literate. While terrestrial examples dominate NGSS, Ocean Literacy is essential to understanding many DCIs, but the connection may not be obvious. Other DCIs do not mention the ocean but cannot be fully understood without the ocean component.

SPEAKERS:
David Christopher (Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service: Lewes, DE)

Want to make phenomena come alive for your students? Well use live animals for your phenomena! In this session, Samuel Pruitt will show how to use the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) teaching strategy and an array of live reptiles as phenomena to teach biology and environmental science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) and live animals in biology and environmental science phenomena can provide critical to learning and can be motivational to students. This session will blend the CER teaching strategy with the interest that comes from using live reptiles in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Samuel Pruitt (Biology/Environmental Science Teacher: , GA)

We will present activities developed for high-need urban schools (elementary and middle school focus) that lead to weather, ecology, life cycles, and water quality classroom discussions and ask attendees to challenge us to match activities to their needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
No matter what a school’s environment, urban or rural, students can be engaged in Earth systems study to prepare them to be stewards of the Earth.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Feit (Research Scientist - Project Manager: Boston, MA), Peter Garik (Boston University: Boston, MA)

Engaging environmental activities for students will develop awareness and action while providing teachers with a sense of purpose to combat burnout. These activities were developed and tested by teachers during multiple workshops that were conducted at the University of Georgia Marine Institute.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will come away with 20+ environmental activities that can be adapted for almost all life and environmental science for grades 3-12

SPEAKERS:
Shaina Otterpohl (5th Grade Science: , TN)

Research suggests that a more diverse geoscience workforce that reflects our nation's demographics can better equip us to effectively meet our country’s future energy needs. Such a workforce can be cultivated by implementing key strategies for recruiting and educating future diverse STEM leaders.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will discuss successful strategies to foster increased engagement of underrepresented groups in geoscience and related careers.

SPEAKERS:
Ashanti Johnson (STEM Human Resource Development: , OK)

Soils are vital to sustaining life. What makes this natural resource so special? Join us for an active session that digs into numerous soil science concepts and vetted teaching resources connected to the geosciences, biology, chemistry, and physics.

TAKEAWAYS:
Soils are the foundation upon which life exists on Earth. The life that teems below ground supports the life above ground. Understanding the ecosystem services provided by soils requires cross-disciplinary thinking and reveals how vital soils are to our existence.

SPEAKERS:
Missy Holzer (Chatham High School: Chatham, LA)

Let’s look at air quality at your location with data gathered by Purple Air sensors. Contribute to the study of aerosols in the US. Bring computer/electronic device.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to access air quality data from citizen scientist sensors and satellite data and analyze air quality in your local area.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin Czajkowski (The University of Toledo: Toledo, OH), Jessica Taylor (NASA Langley Research Center: Hampton, VA), Sara Mierzwiak (The University of Toledo: Toledo, OH), Janet Struble (The University of Toledo: Toledo, OH)

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Modeling Ocean Acidification: A Hands-On Approach

This session will focus on sharing instructional modules that have been developed to facilitate relationships between herbaria and high school students to highlight the importance of plants and preserving botanical specimens.

TAKEAWAYS:
Many times, plants are overlooked and considered less significant than animals. This is known as Plant Awareness Disparity. Participants in this session will learn about free instructional modules that will help high school students connect with plants through exploring their own botanical history

SPEAKERS:
Rachel May (Graduate Student), Kelly Moore (Tennessee Tech: Cookeville, TN)

Learn about free STEM educational resources including virtual reality, themed resource collections and lesson plans to increase ocean and climate literacy with your students.

TAKEAWAYS:
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries offers lessons, videos and activities that can be used in K-12 classrooms to teach students about the ocean and Great Lakes with engaging real life examples of our nation's underwater parks.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Hajduk (NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries: Monterey, CA)

Students will gain a deeper knowledge about sustainable energy generation / conservation and architectural ecology through hands-on, collaborative labs, which use on-campus student-built green roof models, a green roof section on our middle school, and ground-level on-campus solar panels.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn how to identify a key sustainable energy or ecological practice that fits your school culture. We'll show you how to design labs and select equipment that will engage the students in learning about sustainability. You'll identify learning objectives and assessments.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Ward (Science Teacher: Wallingford, PA)

Simple, easy, and inexpensive methods for starting an indoor school garden, even with limited space or no windows

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will give teachers pratical ideas about how to grow plants in a classroom setting

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Kurson (Collegiate School: New York, NY)

Equity-mindedness and meaningful inclusion is achieved with identification and belonging in the biology curriculum. This NSF-funded research project uses the lived experiences and narratives of Black heritage and Gullah-Geechee African Americans to facilitate the learning of biology concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about the connection between identification and belonging and equitable classroom practices and science content. The research literature is used to describe how the emergent themes from the free curriculum resources shared brings equity into the biology lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Catherine Quinlan (Howard University)

Explore how to use the air sensors to demonstrate the dangers of vaping to students. Participants will see how to measure air quality around the mist expelled out of vapers in a closed system testing system, made from simple materials, in which non-nicotine vape juice is expelled.

TAKEAWAYS:
Air quality, measured in several areas such as particulate matter and AQI, can be used to show that the ingredients in vaping reduce air quality for not only the vaper, but people around them. Students will also learn how to read and analyze graphical data.

SPEAKERS:
Courtney Behrle (BioNetwork: Greenville, NC)

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:
How to improve climate literacy and discuss climate and climate change in your classroom with free resources from NOAA.

SPEAKERS:
Frank Niepold (NOAA Climate Program Office: Silver Spring, MD)

Experience an anchoring phenomenon lesson designed to engage students in a local climate impact. Reflect on how local community problems can be leveraged to engage students in understanding large-scale, shared global issues, like climate change, to increase relevance and agency for youth.

TAKEAWAYS:
Anchoring student learning in local phenomena and problems can tap into students’ interest and perceived relevance of science learning to their life and community. A storyline based on local problems also position students to for meaningful activities for future learning and taking action now.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Mohan (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Audrey Mohan (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Enya Granados (Life Science Teacher: , GA)

Play a new free online science game - Wake: Tales from the Aqualab. Take on ocean-based ecosystem missions, and engage in experimentation, modeling, and argumentation around middle school life sciences content. Use a submarine to explore a kelp forest! Travel to the arctic to find a missing whale!

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn ways to implement Wake in your classroom - including associated curriculum and supplemental materials. The full game can cover 10+ classes, with over 35 jobs of increasing complexity, and a fun story. Learn about our research on game-based supports for student learning of science practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Scianna (University of Wisconsin Madison)

Sponsoring Company: Nourish the Future

Become a leader in exploring solutions with students on issues affecting sustainability, climate, environment, and food production. Test solutions to real-world problems facing food production today with 4 inquiry-based lessons in biotechnology, water/soil quality, renewable fuels and biodiversity.

In the session, I will present information about how to make your own videos using PowerPoint, Canvas Studio, or EdPuzzle. In addition, I will discuss how you can use either embedded quiz questions or open-note quizzes in class to assess students' completion of the outside of class learning prior to participating in the in-class extension activities. I will show some of the videos that I have made and share how making this shift has improved my students' scores on the End of Course tests and AP Biology exam. I will also share an open-source paper from Harvard that shows how active learning improves student performance even though students express a preference for passive learning (lecture).

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to make their own videos or use existing videos to present the basic content to their students, leaving class time for the hands-on and group activities that achieve deeper understanding of the content.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Dyer (Science Teacher: Canton, GA)

Put 3D Science Learning in context by utilizing the resources from the International Wolf Center. Invite students into the mysterious world of the charismatic wolf and wolf packs using research-based info, activities, and live wolf cams while addressing NextGen SEPs, CCCs, and LS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Put life science standards in the context of an apex predator: the wolf. Get curriculum maps with resources from the International Wolf Center to immerse students in pup development, predator/prey relationships, pack communications, hierarchy and territory, and wolf behavior, biology, and ecology.

SPEAKERS:
KIMBERLY LOOMIS (Kennesaw State University: Kennesaw, GA)

COVID, Monkeypox, and influenza didn’t appear out of nowhere. They were spawned by dynamic ecological and coevolutionary relationships between hosts and pathogens. These diseases demonstrate the value of evolutionary and ecological concepts in medical practice, public health, and students’ lives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Viruses, especially those that have alternate animal hosts, evolve in complex and unpredictable ways, interacting with all members of their infectious ecosystem in ways that constantly challenge medicine and public health.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine (Science Writer and Producer: Concord, MA)

Educators are tasked with preparing students to engage in a world with an increasingly changing climate. Join us to see how climate science is connected to multiple K-12 content areas and view OER planning guides that support content teachers to anchor learning around climate literacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away planning tools and resources for connecting climate science to non-science K-12 content areas and receive guidance for working with non-science peers to anchor instruction around the idea that humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts.

SPEAKERS:
Lori Henrickson (Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA)

Engage with My NASA Data lessons as a model student to make sense of weather and climate phenomena while discovering the strengths and limitations of a conceptual model used to describe the complex energy transfer in our Earth system.

TAKEAWAYS:
Develop a better understanding of Earth’s energy budget by connecting weather and climate phenomena to a conceptual model developed by NASA from satellite-based observations. This is an example of how students may evaluate a model to engage in data literacy and employ systems thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Rizzi (NASA Langley Research Center/ADNET: No City, No State), Natalie Macke (Pascack Hills High School: Montvale, NJ)

Incorporate coral reefs into your existing curriculum – biology, chemistry, climate studies, art, and more – using lesson plans, demos, activities, and multimedia from NOAA.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn what corals are, why they are important, and how to fit coral reefs ecosystems into your curriculum using free NOAA resources.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD), Denise Harrington (NOAA TASAA Fellow: Garibaldi, OR), Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD)

Botany principals presented in unusual, indigenous myths of photosynthesis, mycorrhizal fungi, pollination, decomposers, seed diversity, forest ecology, etc. Discover elements of what makes story an effective educational tool and generate successful interdisciplinary experiences supporting science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the essential elements of story and understand what makes story such an effective educational tool. Learn from indigenous myths to build the meaning of botanical/scientific concepts in the context of narrative, imagery, characterization and sensory elements.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Strauss (Author/ Storyteller: , OR)

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)

PFAS are a harmful class of widely used chemicals that can be found in everything from drinking water and crops to cosmetics and food packaging. Secondary science teachers from North Carolina used design-based thinking to develop standards-aligned activities featuring the cutting-edge research taking place to understand exposure to PFAS and to describe the biological processes behind health outcomes, such as autoimmune disease or cancer. This session will showcase how teachers adapted published scientific data for use with diverse learners to address life science standards while conveying important environmental health concepts and promoting biomedical research careers. Teachers also will receive an array of curated media resources to help them incorporate this nationally relevant topic into their instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Humans are exposed to PFAS before birth, and exposure continues throughout life due to the prevalence of these chemicals in our environment. Attendees will learn about the biomedical research taking place to understand the biology underpinning health effects and receive standards-aligned activities.

SPEAKERS:
Andromeda Crowell (Orange High School: Hillsborough, NC), Clare Matusevich (Chapel Hill High School: Chapel Hill, NC)

In this workshop, participants will apply conceptual maps of photosynthesis and cellular respiration to simple algal assays. Collected assay data will be used to evidence real-time carbon cycling within the organism as well as serving as a model for ecological interplay between these processes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Walk through how students can measure and learn about photosynthesis, cellular respiration and the carbon cycle in the same hands-on lab.

SPEAKERS:
Audra Brown Ward (Upper School Biology Teacher: , GA)

Conduct an activity that can be used to introduce students to the concept of energy justice and receive a scorecard that can be used to evaluate stories that highlight our current and future energy system and its impacts on people and communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about energy justice and use an evaluation scorecard as one strategy to enhance education about clean energy technologies while promoting literacy, systems thinking and critical thinking skills among learners.

SPEAKERS:
Dana Haine (UNC Institute for the Environment: Chapel Hill, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! Discover fun, simple hands-on ways to explore evolution, adaptation, and behavior in your classroom with a variety of insects and arthropods. Learn about care and handling, as well as easy ways to integrate Organisms and Environments standards. Addit

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon (Chemistry Teacher: Boone, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning | Twig Education

Join world class designers and engineers as we dive in to explore hydroelectricity and the growing need to harness force and motion found in the ocean. Participants will experience a simulated lesson, make a 3D model of a water turbine, and use it to investigate the relationship between force and motion.

Sponsoring Company: Project WET

People learn better when they are having fun. This session will use Project WET’s guide—Climate, Water and Resilience—to effectively teach about local and global climate change using fun, hands-on, interactive lessons for middle and high school educators.

SPEAKERS:
Julia Beck (Project Wet Foundation: Bozeman, MT)

Do you struggle with integrating your local habitat with science and literacy? Engaging K-3 students in content-integrated outdoor learning can be difficult for a variety of reasons. However, engaging students in environmental education outdoors is vital for developing scientific literacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using appropriate children’s literature, lessons were developed that emphasize the role of streams, water, and the local watershed allowing teachers to focus specifically on aspects of the stream that are relevant to the standards in their grade level. These will be shared with participants.

SPEAKERS:
Ann Catherine Cox (Carrollton Elementary School: Carrollton, GA), Brent Gilles (University of West Georgia: Carrollton, GA), Stacey Britton (University of West Georgia: Carrollton, GA)

Our session introduces an open-source data visualization tool, Map Spot, which creates spaces for participants to draw together personal and public accounts to illustrate claims about the places they live. Research shows that visualization tools can help youth understand the effects of disasters, the value of resilience, and how infrastructural improvements can support or even alleviate existing community resilience strategies. Besides Map Spot, we will demonstrate YARDs, a 14-session curriculum for middle school youth to advocate for building community resilience. Youth advocacy is an effective intervention for improving individual and group-level psychosocial outcomes and also built environment and community change. Our presentation will show how these two tools can help youth reflect on the effects of disasters in their communities, imagine what resilience to these disasters might mean, and advocate for infrastructural projects that will benefit themselves and the region.

TAKEAWAYS:
Besides Map Spot and YARDs, participants will learn how advocacy work can increase self and collective efficacy and connect youth to a broader network of local allies. In addition to the potential for infrastructural change, these social and individual psychosocial changes can enhance resilience.

SPEAKERS:
Mohsin Yousufi (PhD Student: Atlanta, GA), Allen Hyde (Assistant Professor)

Model how environmental health investigators work to discover the cause of an outbreak of encephalitis. Experience hands-on, minds-on, NGSS practice-based lessons related to One Health – the connections between human, animal, and environmental health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about hands-on, minds-on, NGSS practice-based lessons related to One Health – the connections between human, animal, and environmental health. Engage in three-dimensional activities that focus on the science practices of analyzing data and constructing explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Dina Markowitz (University of Rochester: Rochester, NY), Lisa Brosnick (SUNY Buffalo State College: Buffalo, NY)

Learn how to integrate the engineering design process and environmental education to engage students in this unit designed for upper elementary students! Participants will complete the Ocean Cleanup Challenge from the perspective of a student and learn about the Trashion Fashion Challenge.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will learn how to increase student awareness of ocean and land pollution through hands-on STEM challenges. They will also learn how to connect relevant, real world topics that matter to promote student voice.

SPEAKERS:
Meghan Marrero (Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry Campus: Dobbs Ferry, NY), Johanna Vasquez (Trinity Elementary School: New Rochelle, NY), Terri Agravat (Trinity Elementary School: New Rochelle, NY)

A hands on simulation based on probabilities from scientific literature is used to investigate the effect of community structure on the prevalence of infected ticks. This anchoring phenomenon is extended to explore population ecology, trophic cascades, biodiversity, and the dilution effect.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with a set of lessons that teach many core concepts in ecology using a modeling approach. The hands on simulation will be supplemented by computer models that allow students to explore population growth curves and more complex community relationships.

SPEAKERS:
Daniel Carroll (Yorktown High School: Arlington, VA), Michael Zito (Yorktown High School: Arlington, VA)

Empower our students to be solutionary thinkers with “think local, act global” as an important theme in student centered instruction. Create engaging 3D, phenomenon-based opportunities through a social justice lens and harness local and global community partnerships to deepen student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Create a solutionary approach to lesson planning connecting local and global environmental issues in California and Africa, while enhancing SEL. Using the 3D5E DO-KNOW-THINK Learning Sequence, teachers create STEAM-centered lessons for engagement, interdisciplinary active learning, and empathy.

SPEAKERS:
Marie Gorman (STEM 4 Real: San Francisco, CA), Jacqueline Lafitte (Teacher: Hayward, CA), Leena Bakshi (STEM4Real: No City, No State)

Join this hands-on workshop to explore phenomenon-based outdoor learning with (free) Eco-Engineering Challenges and Schoolyard Investigations, using a toolkit of research-informed easy-to-implement instructional strategies that promote equitable and inclusive student engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with instructional strategies and teaching resources they can implement immediately to create a more relevant, equitable and inclusive learning environment for phenomenon-based environmental and outdoor learning.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Miles (Villa Rica High School: Villa Rica, GA), Patricia Morgan (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA), Karan Wood (Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia (EEA): Acworth, GA)

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Discover how collecting data from a classroom greenhouse can help you engage students in more meaningful explorations of environmental concepts. Learn how to measure, analyze, and control greenhouse conditions such as light, water, and airflow - then optimize them using block-based code.

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Nurture students’ curiosity! Investigate methods used by scientists to estimate population sizes. Learn how students can use a terrestrial model to observe how pill bugs respond to habitat degradation. Use inquiry to develop experiments to observe the habitat preference of Bess beetles and milliped

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

How do we engage students to ask questions and develop evidence-based explanations? In this hands-on activity from the Lab-Aids EDC Earth Science program, discourse occurs authentically as you role-play a geologist testing various site extractions for molybdenum, a valuable mineral.

Sponsoring Company: BIOZONE Corporation

BIOZONE's innovative interactive worktext approach is a departure from traditional textbook learning, providing flexible, engaging, student-centred resources. Teacher Toolkit helps teachers plan, deliver and assess NGSS and AP programs. Attendees receive a FREE print copy and a 1-year eBook license

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Learn to leverage freely available global data visualizations using the SOS Explorer mobile application.

SPEAKERS:
Juan Pablo Hurtado Padilla (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD), Eric Hackathorn (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory: Boulder, CO)

Are you looking for new ideas to engage your secondary biology classrooms? Join these three educators as they share strategies for engaging students in topics around climate change, environmental science, and models.

Experiential Learning: Marine Science Field Studies
How do we prepare our youth of today to become tomorrow’s future leaders and decision makers? In this presentation, we will explore a Marine Science course designed to instruct students through experiential learning in our changing world.

The “Wicked” Problem of Phosphate in Clean Water, Food Systems, and Climate Change: Using Clues to Solve an Environmental Mystery
What killed the fish in the river? Solve this mystery by analyzing well water data to identify the source of phosphate pollution in the environment. Use a game-based activity to highlight the role of phosphate in the environment and learn about the how phosphate contributes to eutrophication.

Evaluating and Using Models - A DNA Example
Models allow us to "see" things we wouldn't normally be able to see. Models are useful tools, but they are not perfect representations. Analyse models of DNA to determine which are able to demonstrate the most DNA properties and which would be best for your specific purpose.

SPEAKERS:
Madeline Stallard (North Carolina State University), M. Gail Jones (North Carolina State University: Raleigh, NC), Hannah Crowder (Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton: Atherton, CA)

Deepen engagement for all students by showing them the power of science to impact their worlds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with practical strategies for empowering students to apply their learning to have a positive impact on their communities.

SPEAKERS:
Ben Talsma (Van Andel Education Institute: Grand Rapids, MI)

Participants will engage with activities about soils provided on the 2022 Geologic Map Day poster, including resources and hands-on investigations that highlight connections between soils and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to demonstrate the importance of soils for the health of our planet.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explorations of the vital role that soils play in many phenomena across the sciences can engage learners with a variety of NGSS Performance Expectations in ways that are hands-on and are also relevant to global sustainability.

SPEAKERS:
Sequoyah McGee (American Geosciences Institute: Alexandria, VA), Lauren Brase (American Geosciences Institute: , IL), Ed Robeck (American Geosciences Institute: Alexandria, VA), Lindsay Mossa (American Geosciences Institute: Alexandria, MD)

In this multidisciplinary 5E lesson plan, students will dive deep into many aspects of aquatic pollution through a wide variety of lab experiences and project based learning activities. This 5E unit plan is aligned to AP Environmental Science and NGSS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
A full 5E multidisciplinary lesson plan about aquatic pollution that can be incorporated in full or in parts within the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Feifei Liu (Ph.D. candidate: Atlanta, GA), Laura Rogers (Teacher)

This presentation will use children's literature to identify topics related to sustainability and human impact on the environment along with how to use creative, hands-on activities to apply the concepts and inspire young, planet-conscious citizen scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning about sustainability and environmental issues shouldn't be boring or negative. Explore quality children's literature that focuses on these topics in age-appropriate ways as well as engaging activities designed to help make real-world connections.

SPEAKERS:
Kerry Teeple (University of Findlay College of Education: Findlay, OH)

Engage students in learning about extreme heat and the heat island effect through interaction with maps highlighting environmental and demographic indicators. Data interpretation activities will prompt students to identify vulnerable populations and examine strategies for addressing extreme heat.

TAKEAWAYS:
Extreme heat is relevant to everyone and can be used as an anchoring phenomenon to engage all learners. Depending on where they live, people experience extreme heat differently. Attendees will experience how maps can be used to teach about extreme heat through an environmental justice lens.

SPEAKERS:
Emma Refvem (Durham Public Schools: Durham, NC)

Protecting Whales is one of two new freely available units in the Smithsonian Science for Computational Thinking series. Learn about integrating computational thinking into your elementary STEM classroom using both hands-on and high-tech resources by using this specific third grade unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to integrate computational thinking into the upper elementary STEM classroom using a problem-driven approach. Learn how to access everything needed to implement the 3rd grade Protecting Whales unit.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rogers (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC), Sarah Glassman (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC)

Compare surface temperature data collected by students between urban & rural areas studying the phenomenon of urban heat islands. Get involved in the summer in a Google classroom and receive equipment.

TAKEAWAYS:
The importance of collecting surface temperature data to study “heat islands” within communities and ways to interpret the ground-truthing & satellite data.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Mierzwiak (The University of Toledo: Toledo, OH), Kevin Czajkowski (The University of Toledo: Toledo, OH), Jessica Taylor (NASA Langley Research Center: Hampton, VA), Janet Struble (The University of Toledo: Toledo, OH)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Engage your students in learning about the effects of climate change with this hands-on experiment. Using the latest Vernier data-collection technology, we'll define ocean acidification, determine how we can measure it, and discuss why it is bad for our marine ecosystems. Get ready to dive in!

SPEAKERS:
Colleen McDaniel (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

How do hydrothermal vent communities survive without sunlight? Dive into the deep with us and investigate how these ecosystems thrive in the absence of light using a student sensemaking approach and activity. We’ll also share resources that make it easier than ever to connect to ocean exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Suraida Nanez-James (Education Specialist), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Accu-Scope

ACCU-SCOPE would like to offer a professional class instructing teachers the best techniques for acquiring images on items that are part of their curriculum. These classes will discuss mitosis slides, contrast methods for seeing live water organisms, polarizers, phase contrast, photosynthesis, etc.

This poster presentation will demonstrate teacher methods for using children's literature to explore topics related to sustainability as well as student-created picture books that serve as rich, individualized artifacts of project-based learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learning about sustainability and environmental issues shouldn't be boring or negative. See how quality children's literature that focuses on these topics can inspire creative writing and illustration projects that demonstrate individualized student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Kerry Teeple (University of Findlay College of Education: Findlay, OH)

Learn how to use guiding phenomena to increase student engagement and inquiry. The guiding phenomenon of Sickle Cell will be demonstrated for Biology and Mangrove Forests for Environmental Science.

TAKEAWAYS:
From this session, attendees will learn how to use guiding phenomena to develop units that engage students and increase inquiry.

SPEAKERS:
Elissa Blount (Vidalia High School: Vidalia, GA)

This project was funded by a National Science Foundation grant to expose high school students to geoscience within their required science curriculum. A collateral benefit is integrating key concepts in other sciences. In Biology, natural selection requires eons (“deep time”) to create Earth’s biodiversity. In project-based learning using fossil-bearing rocks of multiple ages, students experience deep time concretely. A barrier to hands-on fossil study is the expense of specimens good enough for university students to systematically learn fossil taxa. However, imperfect samples can connect anyone to deep time. Ironically, some such samples are simply dumped when teachers return from professional development field trips. This presentation reveals a path to making use of such ordinary material by 1) circling fossils in ink, 2) creating a picture guide from circled fossils, 3) building a PBL unit uniting those fossils with a biodiversity-though-time graphic known as a Tree of Life diagram.

TAKEAWAYS:
Might students better master evolution standards, especially extinction and adaptation, by encountering fossils through "deep time"? Teacher-collected samples, with fossils circled in ink, a picture guide made from the set, and a detailed Tree of Life diagram form foundations for PBL exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Adrianna Rajkumar (Lecturer), Katty Mobasher (Professor of Geology and GIS: , GA), Bill Witherspoon (geologist/educator: Decatur, GA)

Students from Anna-Jonesboro High School and Marion High School worked together to complete a field study on tardigrades and biodiversity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students felt more driven to succeed in their scientific research when working with peers from another school.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Richbourg (Anna Jonesboro Community High School)

This poster will introduce attendees to Transformational Learning Theory and how we have used this as a research to practice framework. We will provide best practices for using it to develop science teacher education programs, particularly focused on study abroad or study away opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to create transformational learning experiences for their science teacher educators using study abroad and study away opportunities. A template for designing and assessing such experiences will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Lacey Huffling (Georgia Southern University: Statesboro, GA)

In this poster session, we will explore a hands-on, youth-centric citizen science program that teaches elementary students to “think like a scientist” by embodying the Scientific Method in a unique five-step program. Utilizing aspirational diverse characters and storylines from the award-winning “The Paper Girls Show” and standards-aligned, inquiry-based activities we will enhance the fun in science education. Participants will learn how to use the citizen science platform Marine Debris Tracker, and see how all of their students can become scientists and make changes in their communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to 1. harness the power of stories to inspire their learners to think like scientists; 2. integrate inquiry-based learning into their classrooms; 3. empower their students to act like scientists and take action in their local communities through citizen science.

SPEAKERS:
Lena Deskins (Sandy Ridge Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School: Durham, NC), Rachael Polmanteer (Center for Inquiry Based Learning: Durham, NC)

Come learn from a fellow chemistry teacher how to incorporate history and culture using chapters from Napoleon's Buttons. We will focus on Birth Control Pill, Malaria Pill, and DDT by DuPont. Mini-lessons will be enacted and full lessons for chapters will be shared at the end of the semester.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the history, chemistry, and cultural implications of the Birth Control Pill, Malaria medicines, and DDT. Real-world applications will be addressed and lessons will be shared that have been tested in high school chemistry classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Benkoski (Greene County High School: Greensboro, GA), Lacey Huffling (Georgia Southern University: Statesboro, GA)

Elementary teachers—This session has it bagged up. Let's read some awesome books and pair those books with opportunities to connect with students’ families and share an appreciation of our natural world. The session shares a collection of environmentally-themed children’s books and activities and in

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn the value of using the Outstanding Science Trade Books to review, explore and create engaging, standards-based, hands-on activities to develop an appreciation of the natural world.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Parks (Stetson University: Deland, FL)

Are you looking for climate change lessons that provide strategies to engage high school students? Activity-filled lessons will explore natural cycles, proxies, and ways to minimize human impact.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore activities that offer strategies to demonstrate how and why Earth’s climate has changed over time

SPEAKERS:
Kathleen Brooks (CREC: No City, No State), Karin Jakubowski (eesmarts: No City, No State)

How often have you performed a simple water test as a lab and thought - is there more to this? How else can I get students to relate to the importance of the water they utilize everyday? Learn how to incorporate case studies and reading into this common lab activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to set up a simple water test for testing nutrient levels in the water but then expand concepts on the quality of water by exploring the digital platform H2KNOW.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Reynolds (Teacher: Chicago, IL)

We will discuss engineering design within the context of the NGSS. Focusing on the decline of pollinators, participants will develop prototypes of native bees and dry pollination techniques to demonstrate how to develop engineering lessons using problem-based phenomena and engineering design.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have the opportunity to experience an engineering design lesson aligned to NGSS, develop and test prototypes of native bees, and engage in meaningful discussions of engineering design within the context of 3-dimensional science and engineering teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Rita Hagevik (The University of North Carolina at Pembroke: LAURINBURG, NC), Kathy Trundle (Utah STate University: No City, No State), Laura Wheeler (Assistant Professor: , UT)

Overview of thermoset vs thermoplastic polymers and hands-on activities to be done in the classroom, including predictive design, calculations, and environmental impact discussion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Ways to categorize, work with, and recycle polymers with design and engineering challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Spohler (Global Impact STEM Academy: Springfield, OH), Briana Richardson (Washington High School: Washington Court House, OH)

Botany principals presented in unusual, indigenous myths of photosynthesis, mycorrhizal fungi, pollination, decomposers, seed diversity, forest ecology, etc. Discover elements of what makes story an effective educational tool and generate successful interdisciplinary experiences supporting science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover the essential elements of story and understand what makes story such an effective educational tool. Learn from indigenous myths to build the meaning of botanical/scientific concepts in the context of narrative, imagery, characterization and sensory elements.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Strauss (Author/ Storyteller: , OR)

BRIDGES is a new initiative through the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, Idaho National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory to bridge the awareness and learning gaps for rural and urban communities as well as students from underrepresented groups. In this session, we will introduce our four new educational case studies in bioenergy that place students in collaborative and decision-making roles. Through the cases, students learn how bioenergy is important in our lives and is also being used to solve real environmental and economic challenges. Students will also discover career options for both non-technical and technical skills that can be used in the government, national laboratories, as well as private industry. Scientific practice skills such as developing and using models and obtaining, analyzing and interpreting data are featured in the cases.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be introduced to four newly developed case study curricular resources that feature cutting edge science in sustainable aviation fuel, waste to energy, plastics upcycling, and biofuel feedstocks. After working one of the case studies, they will leave prepared to use it in the classroom

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Jackson (Precollege and Early Workforce Development Manager: , ID), Kelly Sturner (Argonne National Labaratory: Lemont, IL)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

How does temperature affect coral ecosystems? We’ll use resources and model instructional strategies that incorporate phenomena, questioning, and modeling to make student thinking visible.

SPEAKERS:
Elise Cooksley (Professional Development Provider-Teacher: North Bend, WA), Ann Brokaw (Rocky River High School: Rocky River, OH)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Introduce your students to renewable energy to sharpen their problem-solving and engineering skills. This workshop will provide three-dimensional learning opportunities for your students as they explore the engineering design elements of a wind turbine, such as number of blades, blade shape, etc.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Data analysis provides evidence for posing scientific arguments and models. Tree ring and WFP data are collected then used to make arguments about climate change and inheritance patterns. Data set size and differences between direct and indirect data are illustrated.

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

For over 15 years NOAA Ocean Today videos have engaged students in environmental phenomena. Watch never before seen clips of a new animated series that explores ocean, weather, and climate connections. Wherever you live, Ocean Today’s over 300 videos will be a powerful asset in your teaching toolkit

SPEAKERS:
Kurt Mann (NOAA National Ocean Service: Silver Spring, MD), June Teisan (InnovatED 313: No City, No State)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Do your students know their food is an ecosystem? Students apply science, technology, engineering and math concepts to the exploration of microbes that they encounter every day. Come microbe hunting with us using BioPaddles. Participants leave with easy to implement lesson plan ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans (Kent County High School: Worton, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers

Discover opportunities for AP® Environmental Science students to develop literacy skills along with science skills/science practices needed for the AP® exam. The session will go through each of the 7 science practices using a unit of Environmental Science for the AP® Course, 4e (Friedland/Relyea).

SPEAKERS:
Kristi Schertz (Saugus High School: No City, No State)

Sponsoring Company: American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture

To effectively collaborate, problem-solve and be active in their own thinking/learning, students need to develop an understanding of themselves, their environment, and their impact on the future. Join us for a hands-on learning experience connecting food, agriculture, and science.

Learn how to select phenomena that matter to students and leverage students' questions to create a student-driven storyline. Participants will learn the design principles for adapting existing curriculum that honor students’ identities, voices, and ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn two key aspects of designing equitable learning experiences for NGSS instruction: 1) making phenomena matter by considering community issues and student identities; 2) leveraging students’ diverse ideas and questions to drive instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Nelly Tsai (University of California, Irvine: No City, No State)

Water is constantly in the news. Between hurricanes, flooding, drought issues and water wars, everyone knows how important water is to our well being. With that being said, do students really understand its importance, it's behavior, the difference between cohesion, adhesion and surface tension?

TAKEAWAYS:
Activities in this session come from the Project WET Curriculum. These will feature hands on activities with copies of lessons distributed.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Henman (Brenau University: Gainesville, GA)

Geoscience Teaching Outdoors in NC cultivates an active and equitable geo-STEM learning ecosystem. Gain activities and discuss best practices for phenomenon-based learning about earth systems using technology and citizen science to support a diverse future workforce and STEM-literate public.

TAKEAWAYS:
Supporting a geo-STEM learning ecosystem of teachers, informal science centers and geoscience researchers can lead to integration of field experiences focused on locally relevant climate change impacts and solutions into instruction, sparking diverse students’ interest in geoscience careers.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Yelton (UNC Institute for the Environment: Chapel Hill, NC)

The session will cover 3 different types of gardens spaces. The session covers how to evaluate and set up different garden spaces. The session will cover what standards the spaces will cover and how to receive funding for the spaces.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away how to plan and incorporate a garden space of some sort for their school while supporting NGSS standards.

SPEAKERS:
RaeAnn Wood (8th Grade Science Teacher/Lab Science: Little Rock, AR), Jackie Scott (Mann Magnet Middle School: Little Rock, AR)

The lived experiences and narratives of Black heritage and African American Gullah-Geechee are used as engaging phenomena in inquiry lessons using the 5E model. The scientific practices are used to explore biology data cards created in a National Science Foundation funded project.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engaging in inquiry and scientific practices using the cultural resources of Black heritage facilitate engagement in the NGSS three dimensions of STEM. Attendees receive free resources created from this project. Connections to Common Core and equitable classroom practices will be made.

SPEAKERS:
Catherine Quinlan (Howard University)

Provide students with the power of citizen science as they make scientific observations and analyze data to increase awareness worldwide about the impact of light pollution using NSF’s NOIRLab’s Globe at Night program. Students engage with authentic data to propose local solutions to light pollution

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the impacts of light pollution and walk away with resources and strategies to implement this citizen science campaign in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Sparks (NSF's NOIRLab), Justine Schaen (NSF's NOIRLab: Tucson, AZ)

Participants will use Antarctic fossil images and descriptions to deduce how the the Antarctic environment changed over time. They will then look at Cretaceous-era fossils from Central Texas to infer how the geography differed from today. Fossil images and 5E Lesson plan will be provided.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to use fossils as evidence for climate change in a student-centered inquiry lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Gail Dickinson (Texas State University: San Marcos, TX)

Set up a simple lab experiment and watch a cool demo for ways to talk about resources and the environment, using copper as a specific example.

TAKEAWAYS:
Great lab that can be used for many levels of understanding - geology, environmental science, chemistry – with a focus on environmental impact of resource acquisition. Resources to highlight for students the depth and complexity of these issues.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Spohler (Global Impact STEM Academy: Springfield, OH), Briana Richardson (Washington High School: Washington Court House, OH)

Join the author of the Once Upon A Science Book series to try out a hands-on lesson on ocean garbage patches and the Coriolis Effect. You'll also learn strategies that will help you build literacy while teaching any science topic.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be introduced to the literacy learning cycle format, in which hands-on work precedes meaningful reading and writing activities. You will see how this system works by participating in a lesson and come away with practical strategies for your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Wheeler-Toppen (Author/ Staff Development: Atlanta, GA)

Learn about Educating for Environmental Change, a free Indiana University program that helps educators teach the science and policy of climate change and participate in an exemplar ice core activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science teachers have stated that standards like the NGSS are a principal reason for teaching climate change in their classroom. This workshop will engage participating teachers in hands-on, exemplar climate change activities that align with the NGSS and emphasize science practices.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Scribner (Indiana University Bloomington: Bloomington, IN)

This project was funded by a National Science Foundation grant to expose high school students to geoscience within their required science curriculum. A collateral benefit is integrating key concepts in other sciences. In Biology, natural selection requires eons (“deep time”) to create Earth’s biodiversity. In project-based learning using fossil-bearing rocks of multiple ages, students experience deep time concretely. A barrier to hands-on fossil study is the expense of specimens good enough for university students to systematically learn fossil taxa. However, imperfect samples can connect anyone to deep time. Ironically, some such samples are simply dumped when teachers return from professional development field trips. This presentation reveals a path to making use of such ordinary material by 1) circling fossils in ink, 2) creating a picture guide from circled fossils, 3) building a PBL unit uniting those fossils with a biodiversity-though-time graphic known as a Tree of Life diagram.

TAKEAWAYS:
Might students better master evolution standards, especially extinction and adaptation, by encountering fossils through "deep time"? Teacher-collected samples, with fossils circled in ink, a picture guide made from the set, and a detailed Tree of Life diagram form foundations for PBL exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Katty Mobasher (Professor of Geology and GIS: , GA), Adrianna Rajkumar (Lecturer), Bill Witherspoon (geologist/educator: Decatur, GA)

Butterflies, birds, bees, bats, & books blend as topics and tools for teaching engaging outdoor lessons. Get hands on animal artifacts & rethink the student science journal. Interwoven throughout, suggestions for appropriate children’s literature will include books from NSTA Kids, the Outstanding Sc

TAKEAWAYS:
The main take away will be cost effective, hands on, content specific strategies for teaching appropriate NGSS standards outdoors or with materials gathered from the outdoors. integration of children's literature and strategies for science journals/notebooks will accompany each teaching strategy.

SPEAKERS:
Steve Rich (Science Author/Consultant: Atlanta, GA)

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore an Elementary Grades Environmental Literacy learning module on the Eastern Oyster using stereo microscopes, smartphone lenses, the camera+ app, and iNaturalist to examine internal and external structures and how they support the species' survival.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science teachers will experiment with technologies and pedagogies that foster student engagement in scientific inquiry grounded in localized phenomena and environmental literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Green (University of Maryland, College Park: College Park, MD), John Frederick (Maryland Sea Grant: College Park, MD), Angela Stoltz (Asst. Clinical Faculty)

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

Learn about the intentional design of our units to embed equitable opportunities in phenomenon-based learning. This hands-on workshop uses a model activity showing how students use data to develop an evidence-based argument supporting the best way to recover copper from a waste solution.

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Join us for a demo of our database of 1,300+ educational resources from NOAA. We host ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, and climate resources. Tour our lesson plans and activities and ask us your questions. Learn more at noaa.gov/education/resources. This session is appropriate for K-16 educators.

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games

Adventerra's unique board games nurture environmental literacy. While racing to win, students see how their actions affect the planet. Come play, and discuss how to use games to empower students and achieve curricular goals! Learn about a Johns Hopkins study on the effect of games on eco behavior.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Mundell (Marketing and sales: Laurel, MD), Bryan Mundell (Founder), Sue Mundell (Adventerra Games North America: Boston, MA)

Investigate the spread of tick-borne diseases in humans and animals. Experience hands-on, minds-on, NGSS practice-based lessons related to One Health – the connections between human, animal, and environmental health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about hands-on, minds-on, NGSS practice-based lessons related to One Health – the connections between human, animal, and environmental health. Engage in three-dimensional activities that focus on the science practices of analyzing data and constructing explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Dina Markowitz (University of Rochester: Rochester, NY), Lisa Brosnick (SUNY Buffalo State College: Buffalo, NY)

FREE resources and earthquake data enable students to compare models with observations to discover and measure Earth's outer core in this NGSS aligned activity! Can be implemented as either an in-person hands-on lab, or and entirely self-guided online lab experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Working through this novel curriculum, teachers will explore two different pedagogical approaches to use recent earthquake data and models, to find and measure Earth's outer core!

SPEAKERS:
Michael Hubenthal (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Washington, DC)

Current trends highlighting plants using 3D Learning that support sensemaking in the K-6 classroom will be presented. Participants will be provided hands-on, real-world lessons that engage students with a deeper and more meaningful experience that center around the Next Generation Science Standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop a more meaningful understanding of sensemaking by using plant investigations to increase student engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Lynn Hess (Goldsboro Elementary Magnet School: Sanford, FL)

The sand session returns! Sand is ubiquitous, unique, and addresses physical science, earth/environmental science, art, history . . . and more! Free sand/resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sand contains clues to weathering/erosion, transportation, and more! Free classroom samples and online resources make classroom sand activities fun and easy with identified NGSS PEs, DCIs, CCCs, and SEPS. ABC charts organize students’ incoming knowledge and documents progression in learning.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Clary (Mississippi State University: Mississippi State, MS)

Engage in hands-on activities (problem-solving challenges, simulations and modeling) that use 3D learning to explore key ecological topics in Biology and Environmental Science courses (including AP) – population trends, climate change, land use, biodiversity, and ecosystem health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn ways to guide students’ inquiry around key environmental challenges, using hands-on simulations and modeling activities that employ 3D learning in an inclusive classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Grams (Education Program Associate: Washington, DC), Barbara Huth (Online Learning Manager: Washington, DC)

In this unit, learn about fermentation and ethanol production, what enzyme action can do, and how co-products from ethanol are valuable in their own right.

TAKEAWAYS:
Nourish the Future is a national education initiative developed by science teachers for science teachers to connect students to modern agriculture and provide sound science based resources that meet teacher and student needs in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Leanne Thele (Perryville High School: No City, No State), Tiska Rodgers (Clarkton High School: Clarkton, MO)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Our coasts are changing. Join the National Earth Science Teachers Association to explore creative ways to use NOAA Ocean Today video assets for sense-making of phenomena using cross-cutting concepts. Help your students discover personal connections to our coastal systems.

SPEAKERS:
Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service: Silver Spring, MD), Natalie Macke (Pascack Hills High School: Montvale, NJ), Missy Holzer (Chatham High School: Chatham, LA), Kimberley Norris-Jones (Richland Northeast Hs: Columbia, SC), Matt Haverty (Amphi High School: Tucson, AZ)

Learn new science and explore more than a dozen, simple, easy to build, and fun physical models to develop students’ understanding of abstract earthquake and plate tectonics related concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be able to support explanations of important Earth science concepts by linking multiple types of models to earthquake phenomena!

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Bravo (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Vancouver, WA), Michael Hubenthal (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Washington, DC)

In this presentation you'll learn one way to meet the challenge of providing meaningful, growth-focused feedback on student lab work, while also conserving teacher time and energy. It can be used for courses from AP to on-level courses, and may streamline department-level alignment as well.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will come away with reusable tools for implementing the method I have developed, as well as rationale, examples, and ideas for applying this approach to any set of instructional standards.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Miller (Visitation School: Mendota Heights, MN)

The Citizen Science model provides students with opportunities to engage in authentic, purposeful, and relevant educational activities in support of local, state, and national scientific research and monitoring projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be introduced to a variety of Life Science and Ecology-based Citizen Science ideas ranging from simple to highly complex activities: activities that teachers can do on their own with students or in collaboration with local, state, or federal wildlife or conservation organizations.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Hodgdon (Richmond Hill Middle School: Richmond Hill, GA)

We’ll explore key stances, strategies, and resources for supporting elementary students to learn about and take collective action in response to authentic socio-ecological challenges.

TAKEAWAYS:
Young learners are capable of consequential and justice-centered learning about social, political, environmental, and climate issues. Concerns about “developmental appropriateness” can perpetuate dominant forms of science and invisibilize marginalized students’ lived experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Rae Han (EarthGen: No City, No State), Pranjali Upadhyay (Educational Service District 112: Vancouver, WA)

The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) conducts graduate field biology training. Their teaching model is a daily cycle of data collection, analysis, and reporting. The benefits for students 15-18 of a strong commitment to field science include better understanding of scientific arguments, increased confidence in research, communication, and team-building, and a sense of ownership. For high school classes, I stretched the timeline of each research cycle from one day to three weeks. Classes were divided into three-student teams with rotating roles (writing, editing, and presenting). Teams developed hypotheses, carried out field investigations, analyzed data, and shared their results on the final day of each cycle. These activities occupy about 40% of available class time. This adaptation of professional education to high school biology has had the effect of giving students a distinct advantage in experience and confidence as they have moved on to later research opportunities.

TAKEAWAYS:
A strong commitment to a field centered program is a leap, but the diversity of choices for possible research projects can integrate with many curriculum goals and contributes profoundly to students’ excitement, engagement, and analytical skills.

SPEAKERS:
Barry McPhail (Bayside Academy for Advanced World Studies: Mobile, AL)

This presentation centers the NGSS dimensions of science, crosscutting concepts, and engineering practices in real-life applications that yield tangible results to get students excited about STEAM by engaging with a school garden. Current teachers will share their successes and pitfalls.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session is aimed at helping teachers see that school gardening provides a plethora of STEAM-based learning experiences from current teacher perspectives.

SPEAKERS:
Tain Curtis (Teacher: , UT)

This session will highlight a project that engages elementary and middle school-aged girls in citizen science focused activities. Come and learn how we developed equity and advocacy minded adolescents through place-based community activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to establish a collaborative program with community and business partners and engage in equity-supported STEM/STEAM Citizen Science focused activities.

SPEAKERS:
Kyana Young (Assistant Professor: Winston Salem, NC), Denise Johnson (Associate Professor: Winston Salem, NC)

Students are taught various scientific concepts that can be applied to a plethora of global phenomena. It is important to connect these concepts to local environments. Learn about a CER investigation that engaged students with thinking about mosquitos and global warming in their neighborhood.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of this session, attendees will have an example of a CER investigation that ties big picture concepts and phenomena to a student's local environment. This investigation can be seen as a framework and modified to fit different phenomena while still allowing students to think critically.

SPEAKERS:
Alexander Eden (Florida International University: Miami, FL)

In The Story of Our Stuff, students choose an everyday object, trace its history backwards to its roots in natural resources, and its future all the way to the point when it returns to the earth. They represent the story in a creative way.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students make connections about mining and agriculture, consumerism and the value of everyday objects, transportation, energy, and the value of workers and artists.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Miller (Visitation School: Mendota Heights, MN)

We have worked with more than 40 current and future K-8 teachers across our state as part of a PD and curriculum project. We used a place-based approach to explore marine science, climate change, and the NGSS. We will share our PD model and strategies for successful implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will present an overview of our PD model, which provides a series of workshops on climate change, marine science, and the NGSS K-8. Attendees will have access to our growing database of NGSS-aligned grade-level specific science lessons exploring marine science and climate change.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren Madden (The College of New Jersey: Ewing, NJ)

The All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network is a network of schools in 15 countries lining the Atlantic Ocean Basin. The goal is to connect schools internationally around ocean literacy and conservation. Learn more about current and future activities, and how your school can be involved.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will be introduced to the All-Atlantic Blue Schools Network, examine examples of successful work, and learn how to become involved.

SPEAKERS:
Meghan Marrero (Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry Campus: Dobbs Ferry, NY)

Experience a lesson where students take on roles of stakeholders while engaging in guided research, discussion, and designing solutions to address algal blooms in Florida. Plans, protocols, and templates for student work and collaboration will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn a strategy for guiding students to research and generate solutions an environmental issue that impacts various stakeholders in different ways. I want attendees to see the need to teach skills related to research, discussion, and consensus building.

SPEAKERS:
Steve Kuninsky (Science Teacher/Instructional Coach: Lawrenceville, GA)

Learn how we engage students in STEAM learning through a garden club, school garden, and pollinator conservation project. We will share helpful tips on university-school partnerships like the one we established to create an outdoor learning space and school garden.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to get students outside in an engaging effective learning environment and what to do with them when you are out there. Student experiences like “I like garden club because everybody is kind and open to help and teach you things like which plant is what and how to pick certain foods.”

SPEAKERS:
Rita Hagevik (The University of North Carolina at Pembroke: LAURINBURG, NC), Michelle Parslow (Student)

Learn how we use the 3-H Learning Cycle and our school garden to teach integrated STEAM lessons in our early childhood classrooms. This approach incorporates hearts-on, hands-on, and minds-on learning to address children’s social and emotional needs. We will share STEAM lessons and tips.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about the 3-H Social and Emotional Learning Cycle, our favorite integrated STEAM garden-based lessons, and tips for effective and safe outdoor learning with young children (K-2). How to encourage students and families to get outside and make community connections in outdoor spaces.

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Trundle (Utah STate University: No City, No State), Shannon Rhodes (Teacher: Logan, UT)

Come hear our ideas on how to use graphic novels in science courses by increasing the science content. We will present a learning unit we developed with The Leak. We will share student examples that model enhancing science content and learning activities to engage the development of water literacy.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to enhance the science content of a graphic novel focused on community water quality issues. Real-world examples of local and national water quality issues will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Lacey Huffling (Georgia Southern University: Statesboro, GA), Kelly Moore (Berrien High School: Nashville, GA), Heather Scott (Georgia Southern University: Statesboro, GA)

Research shows that writing enhances learning outcomes. In place of long research papers, low stakes writing was incorporated in an online geoscience course. This presentation will demonstrate various strategies to incorporate low stakes writing in an online course to facilitate learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Low stakes writing assignments (worth a small percent of the final grade) are a great way to increase student engagement with the material, apply topics to a student's local area, increase critical thinking and improve scientific writing skills.

SPEAKERS:
Christa Haney (Mississippi State University: Mississippi State, MS)

Nothing is better than learning new strategies that you can take back to your classroom/school that enhance literacy and engage English language learners in science. This session will introduce you to four or more new strategies that promote speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Educators will

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will acquire four or more essential teaching strategies for ELL's that they can use in their classroom to enhance literacy and engage learners.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Rowland (ESOL Department Chair/ ESOL Teacher)

Exploring Monarch Butterflies in Science and Art

TAKEAWAYS:
This quick session will introduce insects to a class designed for both Science and Art.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Kurson (Collegiate School: New York, NY)

This USDA funded project aims to develop diverse rangeland grazing systems to optimize ruminant production, reduce environmental impacts, enhance biodiversity, and improve overall health. Schools and communities partner through gardening programs to develop scientific ways of thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about a sustainable agricultural research program that utilizes garden-based and social and emotional learning through the 3-H learning model. We build science capital through an integrated STEAM curriculum, children’s literature, outreach booths, citizen science, and videos.

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Trundle (Utah STate University: No City, No State), Rita Hagevik (The University of North Carolina at Pembroke: LAURINBURG, NC)

Our problem based learning project ‘Impacts to biodiversity on campus,’ merges scientific inquiry and hands-on, authentic experiences. We share our unit sequence, materials and methods, and finished products as well as the intangible benefits such as class camaraderie and appreciation for science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the unit sequence, materials and methods, and finished products of our problem based ecology unit, as well as intangibles such as class camaraderie, enthusiasm and appreciation for the challenges of science.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Jenkins (Rabun Gap Nacoochee School: Rabun Gap, GA)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Your students will employ the NGSS Practice of developing and using models within VR versions of ocean habitats. Three new lessons from NOAA explore scientific modeling and ocean ecosystems. Lessons include Ocean Food Webs, Observations vs. Models, and Predators and Prey (in a marine setting).

SPEAKERS:
Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service: Silver Spring, MD), Randy Russell (Dragonfly Games: Boulder, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Esri

Join us as we demonstrate how to use data collectors from PASCO to collect and push data into ArcGIS Online mapping software. Among other measures, we will assess ground-level CO2 and correlate it to temperature in a map display. ArcGIS Online is free to K-12 instructional use, globally.

Join us on an exploration to see how teachers used citizen science web camera projects and ArcGIS Storymaps to engage their students in the question: How is Earth’s water like a community well? Lesson materials, resources, and assessments will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to engage their students in citizen science research and explore access to Earth’s water resources through ArGIS Storymaps.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Scott (Georgia Southern University: Statesboro, GA), Kelly Moore (Berrien High School: Nashville, GA), Miranda Simmons (Mary Persons High School: Forsyth, GA), Natalie Sumner (Secondary Science Teacher: Forsyth, GA), Lacey Huffling (Georgia Southern University: Statesboro, GA)

Earth science and statistics come alive in a STEM integrated activity focusing on the coastal flooding problems on Tybee Island, Georgia. Come experience how students apply their knowledge to tidal data sets from Fort Pulaski to help a community with its flood mitigation decisions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how the STEM-integrated activity ‘Coastal Flooding of Highway 80’ can be implemented as a way of incorporating tides, climate change and statistics into their lessons. They will also learn how it was developed and how tidal data can be accessed for creating similar activities.

SPEAKERS:
Jayma Koval (CEISMC/ Georgia Institute of Technology: Atlanta, GA)

In this session we will share our model for sustainable and inclusive K-5 STEM teacher leadership, drawn from experiences working with teams of teachers and administrators. This work is part of an NSF-funded capacity-building initiative in preparation for a larger project which seeks to develop a robust cadre of Master Teacher Fellows. Our model for STEM teacher leadership is unique in that (1) it is focused on STEM learning at the K-5 level; (2) it centers equity and inclusivity in STEM teaching, and (3) it takes place within the context of a state that recently adopted K-12 climate change standards. We will first share the model and how it came to be. Then, we will provide examples of ways in which STEM teacher leaders can lead innovation within and across many contexts including schools, communities, professional organizations, and through social media.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will share a model for sustainable and inclusive K-5 STEM teacher leadership and examples of ways to leverage the assets of these leaders to bring about innovation in schools, communities, and society at large.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Taylor (Assistant Professor of Special Education), Helen Corveleyn (Hopewell Elementary School: Hopewell, NJ), Melissa Zrada (The College of New Jersey: Ewing, NJ), Lauren Madden (The College of New Jersey: Ewing, NJ)

In this session we will explore the way that open source tools and techniques can be used to bring citizen science to life in your classroom. This will be a whirlwind session where examples from the tools will be shared as will results of these tools from classroom implementation and how these data

TAKEAWAYS:
A set of tools that will expand the participants knowledge base for implementing citizen science in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Jabot (SUNY Fredonia: Fredonia, NY)

Hear experiences of implementing a Project Based Learning approach, based upon the Sprocket AP Environmental Science Curriculum, to increase engagement for diverse learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to modify the Sprocket PBL curriculum to create culturally responsive teaching and learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Pavic (Glenbrook South High School: Glenview, IL)

Want to make phenomena come alive for your students? Well use live animals for your phenomena! In this session, Samuel Pruitt will show how to use the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) teaching strategy and an array of live reptiles as phenomena to teach biology and environmental science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) and live animals in biology and environmental science phenomena can provide critical to learning and can be motivational to students. This session will blend the CER teaching strategy with the interest that comes from using live reptiles in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Samuel Pruitt (Biology/Environmental Science Teacher: , GA)

How do we prepare our youth of today to become tomorrow’s future leaders and decision makers? In this presentation, we will explore a Marine Science course designed to instruct students through experiential learning in our changing world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore a Marine Science course designed to instruct students through experiential learning in our changing world.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Dushay (High School Science Teacher)

Deepen connections between home and school, appreciate the role of out-of-school STEM learning experiences and Maker-Centered Learning play in developing lifelong science learners. Join these educators as they share experiences designed for the elementary classroom.

Making Science Learning Lifelong, Lifewide and Lifedeep: Incorporating Out-of-School (Informal) STEM Learning experiences in the classroom.
Learn about research on when and where STEM learning occurs, as well as effective science experiences between schools and out-of-school programs.

A STEAM Mindset: Teaching the Next Generation to Problem Solve
For teachers looking for tools to foster student achievement, participation and growth. The key way to do this is with teaching students about a positive growth mindset and applying thinking routines to make the mindset part of the classroom's culture (free routines from Harvard's Graduate School of

Deepen the STEAM Connection between School and Home
Explore how a K–6 STEAM school is working to build connections between home and school.

SPEAKERS:
Dennis Schatz (Institute for Learning Innovation: Beaverton, OR), Diana Lockwood (Author & Executive Director), Joe Shaughnessy (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO), Ryan Mahn (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO)

Join elementary educators in sharing ideas for engaging students in projects that improve their environment, and share ways for students to engage with the microscopic world.

Watershed Detectives - An interactive learning module for 4th graders to learn about their watershed
We developed an educational module on water pollution issues facing lake Champlain that not only meets several next generation science standards for fourth grade but also also integrates inquiry-based techniques to increase student engagement and retention.

An up close look at microscopes for all ages
Using a variety of microscopes, including affordable cardboard microscopes and microscopes that do not need slides, provides students with the ability to access the microscopic world. These resources give students the ability to share their discoveries and observe with the naked eye.

Tackling the Climate Change Conversation in the Classroom
Research shows that educators struggle with the topic of climate change in classrooms. In this session, EiE will equip educators with climate change lessons, developed in collaboration with Pear Deck. Attendees will also learn about new online professional development courses, available on-demand.

SPEAKERS:
Brooke Ovorus (Sixth Grade Science Lead: Atlanta, GA), Robin Collins (Champlain College: Burlington, VT), Paul Pileggi (makerspace specialist: Atlanta, GA)

Explore free hands-on, inquiry-based learning activities using real national and local data and models to explore how to clean, conserve, and manage local fresh water resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will: 1. explore geographic, social, political, and environmental concepts and problems related to their watersheds; 2. use maps, models, and simulations of their environment to learn the factors involved in interacting with and protecting water in their surroundings; and 3. investigate a

SPEAKERS:
Carolyn Staudt (The Concord Consortium: Concord, MA)

Explore how excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes water more acidic through hands-on activities from the free 5E lesson plans in middleschoolchemistry.com.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers practice using grade-appropriate explanations of the interactions of atoms and molecules to help students better understand the causes of the phenomena they observe and its connection to the problem of ocean acidification.

SPEAKERS:
James Kessler (American Chemical Society: Washington, DC)

Participants will learn strategies for implementing Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences in their classrooms. Strategies include how to build relationships with community partners, finding local spaces to use to conduct investigations, and how to engage students in field-based investigations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will have a “front row seat” and get hands-on experience with the resources needed to implement a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. Participants will walk away with specific strategies for building partnerships and gaining resources to support their instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Alexis Tharpe (ODU Research Foundation TCEP: Norfolk, VA 23508, VA), Venicia Ferrell (Research Assistant Professor: Norfolk, VA)

Will I ever use this outside of the classroom? When students engage in integrated real-world math activities, they make deeper connections, gain a stronger understanding of academic concepts, and see the concepts as a whole. Teachers in grade bands will collaborate on an integrated garden activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be provided with lesson plans, student work, and anecdotes to initiate discussions about what this activity could look like in their classrooms. At the end of the session, participants will see how integrated math learning projects, like the one described here, connect students.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Miles (Graduate Student: Logan, UT), Michelle Parslow (Student)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Why are sea levels rising? Why is it so dangerous for everyone - no matter where they live? How can we address it? Explore these questions and NGSS-aligned online lessons, visualizations, and role-playing activities from NOAA to engage your students on this topic.

SPEAKERS:
Bruce Moravchik (NOAA National Ocean Service: Silver Spring, MD), Symone Barkley (Education Specialist: Silver Spring, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Esri

Join Esri as we demonstrate how to build powerful maps using ArcGIS Online. We will use scientific data from the Living Atlas and data created during the workshop using Survey123 – and map it all. Analysis tools will be demonstrated. ArcGIS Online is free from Esri for K12 instruction.

Teachers will hear about the EPA Gulf Guardian Award winning curriculum that teaches students about climate change. A Classroom Course in Community Resilience uses scientific problem-based learning to promote environmental stewardship.

TAKEAWAYS:
TThe human effect on the climate is evident in many ways, and today's students will be future leaders. Our program equips teachers with lessons that are easily implemented into their existing coursework and empowers students to think outside the box and creatively solve climate-related issues.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Capers (USM Marine Education Center: No City, No State)

In this workshop, we will explore The National Park Classroom, an approach to inquiry-focused education which combines aspects of several pedagogical models to create engaging and student-centered learning experiences. Students of all ages can benefit from this approach which is rooted in the Buck Institute for Education's HQPBL model, National Geographic Geo-Inquiry model, and tech-infused resources from the National Park Service. You will learn all about where to find these resources, how to align them to your content and learning goals, and how to facilitate student-centered learning experiences, both inside and outside the classroom! Participants will leave with a great exploration-focused lesson and a large list of FREE resources for building their own completed unit of study.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with an understanding of the National Park Classroom model, the research that supports its use, strategies for integrating it into your classroom, and free resources for both teachers and learners.

SPEAKERS:
James Fester (Hill-Murray School: Maplewood, MN)

Climate change can affect us all differently but it is still the biggest threat to humanity on our planet. Learn how engaging in STEM projects can elevate student voices and hope for the future through climate action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get ideas of how to incorporate STEM projects while teaching Climate Change and Environmental Science.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA), Jessica Kohout (Independent Contractor: Ellicott City, MD)

Planet Lamron is a new way to teach biomes and renewable energy in environmental science. Using climate graphs from an earlier mission to the distant earthlike planet, students will determine the biomes present. From there, students will decide where to colonize and how to set up energy plants.

TAKEAWAYS:
Conference attendees will learn to use Planet Lamron to teach the concepts of biomes and renewable energy in environmental science. Students will learn to interpret climate graphs, make decisions about where to colonize based on biome, and how/where to set up renewable energy plants.

SPEAKERS:
Victoria Myers (Teacher: Alpharetta, GA)

Celebrate Earth Day Every Day in and out of the classroom. Learn how to incorporate fun hands-on projects at your school to promote awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Start a program at your school that celebrates the notion of Earth Day Every Day 2. Gain resources to start engaging in hands-on projects for your students that promote conservation. 3. Learn how to partner with local and national agencies to create projects for your students.

SPEAKERS:
Kristi Gnage (Science Teacher: St. Petersburg, FL)

Explore different handheld sensors that can be used to engage students in outdoor data collection. Students examine conditions across campus and consider implications during extreme heat events, then use evidence from data and maps to argue for school-based solutions to extreme heat.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain ideas for using environmental sensors and data visualization tools to explore microclimates across your school’s campus. These ready-to-implement, authentic hands-on investigations prime students for learning about the heat island effect and the various solutions to address extreme heat.

SPEAKERS:
Emma Refvem (Durham Public Schools: Durham, NC)

Modeling the multiple natural and human-initiated factors that impact global climate change can be daunting! A geoscientist and science educator will share a beta version of a climate change board game that is being developed as part of a National Science Foundation grant.

TAKEAWAYS:
This game provides students with a simulation of the causes and effects of factors that impact global climate. Participants will engage with the game and have an opportunity to provide feedback on the game elements. The game will eventually be offered as a free download.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rearden (The University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Knoxville, TN)

At arrival participants would receive a green or grey colored paper. They would then be prompted with the question, How would environmental changes impact the population of both green and grey colored insects? After brainstorming they would read and view some graphics on the poster of the “Impacts of Industrialization,” looking at how scientists have long studied how environmental changes impact organisms over time. Then, educators would participate in an online simulation, they would play as a bird and eat the moths in the simulation. Participants would then debrief their observations, hopefully finding that dark forest environment represented what the environment was during and after the Industrial Revolution. The light colored trees became dark and bare, due to the harmful effects of the pollution; this made the lighter colored moths harder to see and therefore gave them an advantage to survive. Poster facilitators would them help educators brainstorm other SS/Science connections.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will find unique ways that they can incorporate their science and social studies lessons more frequently and naturally.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Petersen (Professional Development Facilitator: Phoenix, AZ), Judith Lozoya (Professional Development Facilitator: Phoenix, AZ)

Are you looking for climate change lessons that provide strategies to engage middle school students? Activity-filled lessons will explore natural cycles and what can be learned from proxies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Activities involving natural cycles including the sun cycle, the carbon cycle, and seasons, as well as a variety of proxies and what they can tell us about Earth’s climate past and present will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Karin Jakubowski (eesmarts: No City, No State), Kathleen Brooks (CREC: No City, No State)

Applying design thinking, students, educators, and community members collaborate to solve issues facing our community.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Encourage your students to engage in community partnerships to promote student learning; 2. Provide strategies to increase scientific literacy through socio-scientific issues; and 3. Facilitate an inclusive culture through student agency.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Joslyn (Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow: No City, No State)

Grasses are important to biodiversity, geography, and human culture. Their diversity includes rice, corn, wheat, sugar cane, bamboo and more, and they cover much of Earth’s surface. Explore grasses on Earth@Home, a free online interactive resource for learning about the history of Earth and i

TAKEAWAYS:
Grasses play critical roles in our everyday lives, in landscapes, and in global ecosystems. Grasses on Earth@Home provides information on the diversity, evolution, and role of grasses in human society to assist educators in weaving information about these important plants into their courses.

SPEAKERS:
Don Haas (The Paleontological Research Institution)

Learn how teachers empower students in leading year-long science investigations to address community environmental challenges using computational thinking (CT). We’ll give an iWonder overview, dive deep into the iWonder questioning process, and highlight CT integration and student action projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will learn how our teachers have used computational thinking to empower students in developing and refining observation based questions into a year-long science investigation that addresses environmental challenges in their community.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Clark Uchenna (Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance: Augusta, ME), Megan McCall (Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies: No City, No State), Ian Collins (Maine Math and Science Alliance)