What will be describe in this session is are community science events that can be organized with themes that use natural phenomena or NGSS standards, practices, and outcomes that a school would like to promote.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to update these events to go beyond the traditional Family Science Events that are superficial. One main takeaway are example indepth activities and resources that can be used for use with families and students

SPEAKERS:
Annabelle Fortine (Central Michigan University: Eagle, MI), Lavender Bertsch (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Hannah Smock (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Morgan Glann (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Nicole Merner (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Makayla Spencer (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Emma Harma (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI), Jim McDonald (Central Michigan University: Mount Pleasant, MI)

Looking for more in your partnerships with edtech providers? Join InnerOrbit and Wicomico Science Leaders as we unpack our partnership providing sensemaking supports for science educators. We aim to provide the inspiration and structures to shape the landscape of edtech and district partnerships.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave this session with a replicable structure of partnership between a Technology Provider and District to move the needle on Sensemaking in High School. Additionally, lessons learned will be shared to give attendees a strong foundation to build upon in their future partnerships.

SPEAKERS:
Hemalatha Bhaskaran (Wicomico County Public Schools: Salisbury, MD)

Look across three elements, Learning Designs, Beliefs, and Models, to figure out how leaders use them together to support teachers in making the shifts called for in NRC’s Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
concrete ideas about how you, as a leader, can plan for effective curriculum-based professional learning. excerpted chapter(s) of the new book by Jim Short and Stephanie Hirsh, Transforming Teaching through Curriculum-Based Professional Learning.

Does your PLC need some TLC? Come learn new strategies and approaches to enhance your professional learning community (PLC). In this workshop, participants will reflect on their previous PLC experiences, learn about the components of a community of practice (CoP), and walk away with specific strategies to revitalize and bring meaning back to their PLCs. “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly,” (Wenger-Trayner, E. & Wenger-Trayner, B., 2015). Workshop participants will explore how to make their PLC not just another group planning session, but rather a dynamic community where members work towards specific goals for themselves and their students by incorporating elements of a CoP. By the end of this session, participants will have specific strategies they can take home and implement immediately with their PLCs.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this workshop, participants will reflect on their previous PLC experiences, learn about the components of a Community of Practice (CoP), and walk away with specific strategies to revitalize and bring meaning back to their PLCs.

SPEAKERS:
Meredith Schwendemann (Clemson University), Ashley Hunter (Clemson University: Clemson, SC), Brooke Whitworth (Clemson University: Clemson, SC), Jennifer Bateman (Clemson University)

Use your position to impact more teachers and students and actualize the NGSS vision. Success stories include: launching an NGSS-aligned curriculum, forming collegial circles, hosting administrator-focused workshops, and providing assessment resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be inspired to form partnerships with formal and informal organizations supporting science education. Participants will hear success stories and receive electronic links to relevant resources.

SPEAKERS:
Harry Rosvally (Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES: Yorktown Heights, NY), David Jacob (Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES: Yorktown Hghts, NY)

For anyone that has excitedly explained the power of phenomenon-based instruction or 3-dimensional learning and been met with a blank stare – this session is for you! Led by communication experts, this session is designed to help you create K-12 Science messages in succinct, compelling ways.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn new ways to describe and explain the importance of 3-dimensional instruction and phenomenon based learning to key audiences, including parents and communities, lawmakers, and non-science educators.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Ezring (Collaborative for Student Success: No City, No State), Josh Parrish (Collaborative for Student Success: No City, No State), Michelle Austin (Managing Director, SVP: Washington, DC)

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.

This session will provide teachers, school leaders, and administrators a basic framework to implement an inclusive standards-based educational experience that addresses the whole child in a science lab setting through a typical peers/peer facilitation model to build equity in education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be presented a step-by-step model that builds equity and implements special education science standards so students of all abilities can “do science” in a safe and trusting environment. Starting small and building relationships is essential to creating program sustainability.

SPEAKERS:
Katerina Flanders (Lambert High School: Suwanee, GA), Mary Nicoletti (Special Education Teacher), Brittney Cantrell (Forsyth County Schools: Cumming, GA)

Have you wondered how to develop capacity and support teachers around the shifts in the Framework and the NGSS? This session will dive into how one teacher discovered the NGSS, moved from novice to apologist and works with teachers to continue to realize the vision of the Framework for Science Ed.

TAKEAWAYS:
This will largely focus on how to support teachers from a leadership perspective to help students engage in all three dimensions of the NGSS. How can we talk with and work with teachers to help them make shifts while developing the needed capacity and not devalue their expertise.

SPEAKERS:
Spencer Martin (Kansas City Kansas Public Schools: Kansas City, KS)

Engaging in scientific investigations can motivate students to read, write and participate in productive discourse. This session provides educators with lessons and resources to support teaching three-dimensional hands-on scientific investigation that motivates student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants leave the session with insights into how to use engaging hands-on investigations to motivate students to read, write, and engage in discourse. They will receive a complete set of lesson plans for their NGSS state grade-level standards.

SPEAKERS:
Brett Moulding (Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning: Ogden, UT), Candace Penrod (Salt Lake City School District: Salt Lake City, UT)

Does your district have limited support for science in Elementary schools? Join us to explore recruiting classroom teachers to develop a science teacher leader community that supports quality science instruction in PreK-5 in all schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for developing these science teacher leaders that can increase student performance/interest in science, fostering a science community among educators, enhancing their capacity in science education best practice, and developing their leadership skills.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Reese (Howard County Public School System: Ellicott City, MD), Jenn Brown-Whale (Howard County Public School System: Ellicott City, MD), Linda Wilson (Manor Woods Elementary School: Ellicott City, MD)

The path to science leadership is not always a clear and direct route. Join us as we share our path to science leadership and the numerous options for supporting teachers and leaders in promoting high-quality science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. An understanding of the science leader’s role in putting the pieces of the NRC Framework together for a coherent science program; 2. Ways to strategically plan and prioritize professional learning based on system and individual teacher needs; and 3. Developing a strategic and personal plan to adv

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Morgan (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA), Tonya Woolfolk (Houston County Schools: Perry, GA)

This session will share professional learning designs, systems, and structures that cultivate teacher leadership and ground the work in teachers’ day-to-day instructional practice. Come alongside us as we share the work of two collaborative districts focused on building teacher capacity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore structures to support teacher growth to improve student outcomes. Participants will leave with examples of structures that can be used in their own districts and have the opportunity to network with other leaders.

SPEAKERS:
Jamie Parris (Hamilton County Schools: Chattanooga, TN), Andrea Berry (Knox County Schools: Knoxville, TN)

This session is designed to support instructional leaders and teachers in considering what the key shifts called for in the NGSS and Framework look like in classrooms. Our team developed an observation tool through our work observing and coaching 76 schools adopting OpenSciEd. The observation tool identifies what to look for in classrooms around rigor, teacher’s responses to student ideas, students’ responses to each other’s ideas, vocabulary, key instructional moves, and student sensemaking. Attendees will unpack the tool and then use it with classroom videos to understand the focal areas. Next, we will examine examples of how schools have used the tool, including classroom observations, to guide PLC discussions, and to facilitate individual teacher reflections. Finally, participants will have an opportunity to plan how they might adapt and use the tool in their own contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away an observation tool that is designed to focus observers on the actions of teachers and students that indicate rigorous student sensemaking. Attendees will practice using the tool and consider how to use the tool in their context.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Affolter (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA), Benjamin Lowell (New York University: New York, NY), Hillary Paul Metcalf (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA)

Many districts de-prioritized elementary science during the pandemic and now are struggling to reignite consistent science instruction. Building, tapping, and deploying teacher leaders is a key strategy for quickly reintroducing science into the culture of your district. Teacher leaders can model best practices, demonstrate how science fits into their schedule and instructional priorities, and can guide colleagues to do the same by facilitating institutes, workshops, video reflections, PLCs, and coaching sessions. Improving Practice Together, an NSF-funded partnership between Lawrence Hall of Science, Stanford University, and Santa Clara USD, developed a suite of tools for developing and studying development of science teacher leaders, including: professional learning tools for summer institutes to support teachers’ classroom practice; tools to support development of teacher leaders; lesson artifacts, classroom videos, & teacher interviews; and research & evaluation tools.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Improving Practice Together website contains resources to support: facilitating and evaluating classroom science argumentation; leading and evaluating professional learning on argumentation; and the development and deployment of teacher leaders to support science learning in a school or district

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Pedemonte (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Diana Velez (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Krista Woodward (Santa Clara Unified School District: Santa Clara, CA), Emily Weiss (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Dig into the Change Management element from the Functional Design Features to figure out how lessons about change can help leaders lead change in their systems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain concrete ideas about how you, as a leader, can plan for effective curriculum-based professional learning. excerpted chapter(s) of the new book by Jim Short and Stephanie Hirsh, Transforming Teaching through Curriculum-Based Professional Learning.

STEP UP is a national community of physics teachers, researchers, & professional societies. We design research-based materials to empower teachers, change culture, & inspire young women to pursue physics. The poster presents the research behind the design, evidence of impact and propagation model.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about research behind the design, and evidence of effectiveness behind classroom interventions that you can use to expand the narrow perceptions of physics and promote supportive classroom cultures to facilitate physics identity development, particularly for women.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Murawski (Royal Oak High School (retired))

During this session school leaders will explore a NGSS Implementation Toolkit that leverages classroom observations to support strategic alignment of resources for elementary science education. Participants will hear from teacher leaders that utilize this tool to advocate for structures and supports

TAKEAWAYS:
This toolkit allows educational leaders across the system to gain a deeper understanding of student sensemaking and discourse in an NGSS aligned elementary classroom. Teacher Leaders who open up their classrooms can leverage this process to advocate for structures and support for elementary science.

SPEAKERS:
Dawn O'Connor (CSU East Bay: Danville, CA), Nancy Wright (Hayward Unified School District: Hayward, CA)

Journey with us from passage of state legislation mandating K-12 Computer Science integration and graduation requirement to mobilization of efforts to reach 57,000+ teachers across our state within 18 months. Tools, lessons and resources will be shared to make your journey easier!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with tools, ideas and structure ideas for leveraging a partnership between a state department of education and a non-profit network to message, empower and mobilize K-12 educators in every role across a state towards the goal of integrating CS into all instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Audra Block (Director of STEAM and Computer Science: Cordova, TN), Becky Ashe (Tennessee STEM Innovation Network-Battelle: Nashville, TN)

School leaders and university faculty will share and discuss two different grassroots approaches to the development of STEM programming in K-8 levels. The processes of continued collaboration, strategic planning, professional development, and STEM culture have led to initial successful outcomes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about STEM program development and STEM professional development models. STEM Education frameworks and a toolkit used as a foundation for strategic planning and sustainability will be shared and available for attendees.

SPEAKERS:
Brandy Hepler (Southeast Missouri State University: Cape Girardeau, MO), Andi Maddox (Director of Curriculum and Instruction: Kennett, MO), Trudy Giasi (Valle Catholic Schools: Ste. Genevieve, MO)

School leaders play a large role in the adoption of high quality instructional materials and can impact change in this space. Participants will learn about how to utilize EdReports reviews of instructional materials and how to get started with the adoption process by setting an instructional vision.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage with EdReports reviews of instructional materials and how to use the evidence from the reports to make informed decisions based on local context. They will explore how to utilize EdReports resources to set an instructional vision as part of the materials adoption process.

SPEAKERS:
John-Carlos Marino (Science Lead), Shannon Wachowski (EdReports.org: Fort Collins, CO)

The work of a science education leader involves growing capacity in others to provide quality instruction to positively impact student achievement. Come learn how to develop a coaching mindset and utilize strategies to coach science educators through change to improve science teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
In short, adults learn differently than our students. So science education leaders need an aligned mindset and appropriate skills to coach science teachers through any change needed to improve.

SPEAKERS:
Derek McDowell (Frisco ISD: Frisco, TX)

Participants will come away with a roadmap of how to align their local instructional evaluation instrument with the characteristics of a great STEM lesson and how to provide actionable feedback to improve STEM instruction in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to identify the key components of STEM instructional practices, have a process to align those practices to their local instructional evaluation instrument, and will be able to identify key components of actionable feedback.

SPEAKERS:
Christina Hilton (Central Indiana Educational Service Center: Indianapolis, IN)

District leaders play a critical role in ensuring all students in their district have access to meaningful science experiences. The NextGenScience team shares lessons learned from work with state- and district-level leadership networks across the nation to plan for equitable science programs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants examine their definition of equitable science education and consider key strategies for school and district leaders to evaluate and design systems in ways that eliminate inequitable practices, engage stakeholders, and create a supportive context for learning.

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

Admins, Supervisors & TLs: Do you need a new way to engage your teachers about equity issues? Focusing on diversity, technology, assessment, and more, we will model case-based pedagogy as a tool for your learning community to have tough discussions. K-5 Resources Provided (focus), 6-12 Available.

TAKEAWAYS:
School leaders will be able to use cases (short stories around a central dilemma) to create a layered dialogue bringing together multiple stakeholders in a learning community. Multiple cases will be provided as take-home resources and training material for attendees.

SPEAKERS:
Chelsea Sexton (University of Georgia: Athens, GA)

Science teacher leadership roles and responsibilities vary according to context. This session will present an activity designed to support science teacher leaders to identify their leadership roles and professional learning needs as it relates to their organizational context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science teacher leader participants will have an opportunity to identify their roles and professional learning needs. Science teacher educators will leave with an activity that they can use in their context to develop professional learning supports for the science teacher leaders they work with.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Stallings (Graduate Student: No City, No State)

When teachers take risks, students are motivated to follow. Learn about research opportunities in the U.S. and abroad to lead as a citizen scientist teacher.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Opportunities will be shared to see how educators in other parts of the world teach STEAM topics; 2. Participants will learn about opportunities to partner with scientists in field work; and 3. Participants will be encouraged to apply for national and international citizen science projects.

SPEAKERS:
Candice Autry (Sheridan School: Washington, DC)

STEP UP is a national community of teachers, researchers, and professional societies. We design high school physics lessons to empower teachers, create cultural change, and inspire young women to pursue physics in college. Come learn about the free lessons, materials and supports for your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Research shows classroom teachers play a pivotal role in their students’ physics identity development. Learn about actions you can take every day to support cultural change in your classroom and the field of physics. We will share our resources to support you with these student-centered lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Murawski (Royal Oak High School (retired))

Based on the statistics that show that less than 30% of research scientists in the US are female, we need to have strong role models for girls at a young age. In this session, I will show you how to get started in planning the Science Event for Girls, which is a program developed for grades 6-8.

TAKEAWAYS:
Making sure that young women have the same opportunities as young men in the science field will help to ignite curiosity and interest in our natural world. Starting this interest at a young age is important for gaining traction in shifting the statistics of women in the science field.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Pagnotta (Science Teacher)

Leaders of elementary and secondary education will learn how they can build capacity and promote teacher efficacy by creating a system for in-house professional learning. Come see how we have capitalized on our greatest assets, our teachers, to build a climate which supports continuous learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Effective, sustainable, professional learning comes from within your district by utilizing in-house teacher leaders.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Lewis (Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy: North Windham, CT), Stephanie Sawyer (Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy: North Windham, CT), Nicole Bay (Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy: North Windham, CT)

This session discusses the benefits of integrating a historical approach to learning scientific principles by eliciting empathy through historical and cultural perspectives, while designing history lessons around scientific milestones furthers integration of science into the general curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Taking a historical role-playing approach to the sciences can enhance the understanding and excitement of scientific discovery, as well as provide an avenue to place students into a mindset that sets the science in historical and cultural perspective.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Wong (Mercy Academy: Louisville, KY)

Sponsoring Company: National Science Foundation

Join the National Science Foundation as we share professional development opportunities for teachers within the federal government and hear from Presidential Awardees about their experiences and benefits received from the PAEMST program.

SPEAKERS:
Gianluca Grignoli (NSF Event Lead: Philadelphia, PA)

A Scientist Just Like Me is designed to raise awareness of diversity in science -related jobs and to provide illustrated examples of a wide range of science-based careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have a free resource that they can share with any age group, to improve pupil confidence and awareness of their own skills and abilities. Pupils will be able to see themselves in these resources, and feel they can achieve, know about inspirational adults just like them.

SPEAKERS:
Kulvinder Johal (Primary Science Teaching Trust: Bristol, England)

Concerned about the achievement gap? Learn about the latest achievement gap data, experience a strategy for facilitating equity conversations with students, colleagues, and/or PD participants, which will enhance students’ STEM achievement and foster educators’ leadership skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience a unique equity-enhancing strategy and discuss how it might be used by teachers to create positive classroom cultures that nurture the STEM achievement of all their students, or with colleagues or PD participants as an asset to developing their leadership skills

SPEAKERS:
Jerry Valadez (Fresno State and SAM Academy CSW)

Systemic inequities inhibit access to high quality science instruction. Using an equity-based MTSS framework, we use the Leadership 4 Justice Framework to recognize, dismantle and rebuild initiatives to ensure they are truly serving ALL students. Participants create a Vision 4 Justice for science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use MTSS to RECOGNIZE systems of inequity and racist policies, particularly in science. Discuss strategies to DISMANTLE these systems and achieve equitable outcomes, and Explore ways to REBUILD systems by creating a Leadership 4 Justice action plan outline to take back to your leadership teams.

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

Look across the Essential Elements, Leadership, Resources, and Coherence, to identify enabling conditions for curriculum-based professional learning to ensure that all teachers are prepared to leverage high-quality materials as they provide meaningful learning experiences for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain concrete ideas about how you, as a leader, can plan for effective curriculum-based professional learning.

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)

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)

This interactive session will share a statewide model for systems-level change anchored in science where participants reflect on their own contexts to advance content integration anchored in science. Participants will engage in a discussion about how the focus of content integration could be a high-leverage strategy at a systems level for enacting change in elementary science teaching and learning and for supporting learning for all children. Participants will learn about the model created by Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction's in collaboration with The Lawrence Hall of Science to discuss the strengths, challenges and affordances of this ongoing approach. Participants will have opportunities to share the conditions of their own contexts, reflect on how the strategies employed in this model may apply in their own systems, and identify entry points for beginning and/or advancing implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about a statewide model for supporting education systems in enacting content integration anchored in science, and will be able to reflect on their own systems’ context in order to identify their next step towards content integration.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Velez (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Sarah Pedemonte (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA), Vanessa Lujan (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

NSTA volunteers have amazing opportunities to collaborate with other educators, practice leadership skills, and give back to the teaching profession. Learn more about how to get involved and provide input into some of the proposed changes coming to NSTA governance.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about NSTA and how to get involved with the Association

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Mulkerrin (Science Olympiad: No City, No State), Elizabeth Allan (University of Central Oklahoma: Edmond, OK), Erika Shugart (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

We need skilled teachers to lead from the classroom rather than leave to become administrators. Your voice needs to be heard by your local community and your state education department. Your voice Carrie’s far more weight than you realize! Come discuss recent reports and strategies to effect change.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore how to make their voice heard in their school, district and state. Too often teachers are frustrated by the way things are and they lack an understanding of how systems work. This session is designed to pull back the curtain and divulge a path forward.

SPEAKERS:
Shari Templeton (Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance: Augusta, ME)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

As a NOAA Planet Steward Educator you can become a STEM agent of change in your school and community. Learn how to access professional development opportunities, education resources, and funding, to increase students’ science literacy, and have them respond to real world environmental threats.

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

What does the science of reading say about reading in science? Science knowledge directly supports reading comprehension, and students can’t afford to wait until upper grades to start learning science. Learn how to integrate science and literacy in your own classroom and how to advocate for changes

TAKEAWAYS:
Science and reading can compete for time, but students benefit when the two serve each other. Science gives purpose and meaning to reading and writing, which help students build and clarify their ideas. You can do this in your classroom and be a voice for change in your school, district, and state.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Westhafer (West Jackson Elementary School: Hoschton, GA), Jeremy Peacock (Jackson County School System: Jefferson, GA)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

As a NOAA Planet Steward Educator you can become a STEM agent of change in your school and community. Learn how to access professional development opportunities, education resources, and funding, to increase students’ science literacy, and have them respond to real world environmental threats.

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