Students take ownership while working in the cycle of Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information. Teachers are a facilitator, a helpful guide to support students in their sensemaking journey. While students are working independently or in groups, they may get to points where they need the support of their teacher. However, how can students get the teacher’s attention without causing a disturbance? By using everyday items like popsicle sticks, construction paper or plastic cups, this strategy called Red Light, Green Light is a way students can non-verbally communicate with their teacher about where they are at in their sensemaking journey and if they need help. A variation to this strategy is adding a yellow light. This low-risk strategy can be used by all students including students who are multilingual learners and/or students with disabilities. Teachers benefit by providing a method to informally assess their students; thus, providing immediate feedback and support.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about an informal formative assessment strategy to quickly gauge their students’ confidence level during the sensemaking process.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Canepa-Redondo (Science/ESOL Program Specialist)

Are you excited to learn strategies for science learning in the elementary classroom? Join three educators sharing three different strategies for elementary science learners, including project-based learning, place-based learning, and online assessment materials.

Free Project-Based Learning Resources for Elementary Science
Get a brief introduction to free OER integrated science curricular units for Grades 3-5 and see how well the features of Project-Based Learning provide the tools and routines to support sensemaking.

A Home for Fossils: Bringing place-based education to a museum-based program
Join education staff from Tellus Science Museum to see fossils that call Georgia home and discuss how to incorporate place-based geoscience education with elementary science standards.

Multidimensional Assessment Tasks and a Virtual Learning Community for Elementary Science Teachers
Learn about two free, complementary online resources: NGSS-aligned assessment tasks for Grades 3-5 and a website to support teachers in using the assessment tasks and participating in an online community of practice.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University, Retired), Hannah Eisla (Tellus Science Museum: No City, No State), Jeanne Di Domenico (The University of Chicago: Chicago, IL), Carla Strickland (UChicago STEM Education: No City, No State)

This session will be organized around curriculum-anchored assessment literacy. Building on the compelling evidence emerging for curriculum based professional learning (i.e, professional learning that is connected to the curriculum teachers are implementing in the classroom), this speed session will explore ways to forget the decontextualized modules that have defined assessment literacy for decades, and focus on strategies to build assessment literacy through the process of more deeply understanding curriculum implementation. This session will highlight strategies educators across the country are using to advance better assessment practices, including those related to curriculum-based assessment system analysis, student work analyses, and equitable grading practices. Note: we will organize our own set of presenters, drawn from teachers, regional science instructional leaders, and state leadership. This session is appropriate to all grade-levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
By connecting assessment literacy to what teachers are doing in the classroom, we can focus on deep functional assessment literacy, and worry less about artificial boundaries established based on assessment types and terminology

SPEAKERS:
Aneesha Badrinarayan (Learning Policy Institute: Washington, DC)

The pandemic has dramatically altered our students, and therefore our classrooms and teaching have had to adjust as well. In this share-a-thon, the 2020 class of STEM Scholars will share what we have learned and how we have changed as a result of pandemic teaching. We will share our struggles, our miserable failures, our innovative ideas, as well as our successes. We are a diverse set of teachers from throughout the country, so all participants will be able to relate and learn something that can be imeediately applied in their own classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Discover new ideas, lessons, and projects that you can use in your middle school classroom; 2. Network with other middle school teachers from around the country; and 3. What lessons have we learned through pandemic teaching, how has it changed us and our students.

SPEAKERS:
Tammy Bartlett (Dinwiddie Elementary School: Dinwiddie, VA), Katie Lee (Cockrill Middle School: McKinney, TX), Patrick Marti (Villa Academy: Seattle, WA), Erin Lange (Surfside Middle School: Panama City Beach, FL), Rob Jackson (Seaman Middle School: Olathe, KS), Amanda Huff (Christian County Middle School: Hopkinsville, KY), Allison Bogart (Stonecreek Junior High: No City, No State)

Are you looking for new and creative ways to assess learning in your classroom? Join educators in sharing assessment practices aimed at the middle school classroom.

Stop Signs and Stop Lights: When and How to Check in with Students to Maximize Feedback and Understanding
Want to give more feedback and formatively assess your students on the fly? Learn some quick tools to support student consensus, sensemaking, and your gauge of their understanding. These are quick and easy protocols that anyone can implement!

Reassessment: Closing the Learning Gap
How can we, as educators, promote life-long learning and a growth mindset? Provide opportunities for reassessment. Give students the chance to show their new learning of concepts and skills. This is not a retake or a “do-over”, but an honest demonstration of proficiency.

SPEAKERS:
Johanna Brown (Washington State OSPI), Allison Wise (American Community School of Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)