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)

Executive function deficits are common in students and impact achievement. Come learn what executive functioning is and strategies to make your classroom executive function friendly.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of what executive functioning is and how problems with executive functioning can impact student engagement in the classroom. Through hands-on activities, participants will walk away with ready to implement strategies and ideas to reach all learners.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Thomas (F. A. Day Middle School: No City, No State)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

High quality instructional materials are essential for equitable access to science, but materials are only the start of the instructional journey! Examine the importance of YOUR role as a teacher in leveraging NGSS-designed curriculum to inspire your students to figure out phenomena.

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Teachers will be introduced to the four elements of the anchoring phenomenon routine from OpenSciEd for Middle School. Teachers will experience how an anchoring phenomenon can motivate students to explore & explain real-world phenomena, & develop strategies for creating a driving question board.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC), Hoover Herrera (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Engage in strategies to help your English Learners (EL) population make sense of science concepts and apply their science knowledge to real-world applications. We will explore a variety of strategies for differentiating instruction so that ELs can build their ability to communicate science concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Stacey O'Connor (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX), Suzan Morris (STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

How can a phenomena-based NGSS curriculum promote sensemaking in science and also support language development? See how embedded supports in well-designed instructional materials, along with teachers’ best practices, can create a successful science learning environment for Multilingual Learners.

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Explore the teacher’s side and experience the student side of our IDE. While engaged in an OSE lesson we'll explore the Teacher Edition’s and its structure while also experiencing the different features that students have available to use in their interactive student edition.

SPEAKERS:
Jen Gutierrez (IntegratedSTEMk12, LLC: Chandler, AZ)

This session will describe the Science Curriculum Adaptation Project for Special Educators, in which science specialists and special educators adapted an NGSS badge unit for students with moderate to severe disabilities. We outline the program structure and share examples of adaptations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about the structure of a program designed to support special education teachers in using the high quality “Garbage” unit with their students, discuss the UDL framework as a part of this work, and see examples of adaptations that can be used with students with moderate to severe disabilities.

SPEAKERS:
Casandra Gonzalez (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Malden, MA)

Sponsoring Company: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Students' lived experience of brain disorders can strengthen lessons for Middle and High School science standards on structure/function. Validation of students as personal or cultural lived experience experts sets a foundation for their future learning, that is critical to achieve classroom equity.

SPEAKERS:
Rebekah Corlew (NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Bethesda, MD), Carlo Quintanilla (NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Bethesda, MD), Diana Andriola (NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Bethesda, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Using the storyline approach, a logical sequence of lessons motivated by students’ questions arising from their interactions with phenomena, we’ll navigate through the OSE model using the five routines to help students achieve the objectives and actively work through the sense-making process.

SPEAKERS:
Jen Gutierrez (IntegratedSTEMk12, LLC: Chandler, AZ)

Join this session to explore effective and practical student discourse strategies that promote inclusive and productive classroom discourse. In this session, you will have the opportunity to engage in a few strategies as a learner to better equip you with implementing these with your students!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of shifts in classroom talk patterns, like moving away from the I-R-E talk pattern and towards Productive Talk. Attendees will engage with practical and effective discourse strategies that promote inclusive and productive classroom discourse.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

Attendees will learn how to utilize interactive lab journals to model scientific reasoning with students. Lab journals allow students to become owners of their own learning and track growth throughout the year.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to create a lab journal in their classroom to fit their standards and curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Cristina Farley (Ahlf Junior High School: Searcy, AR), Kyla Glasser (Ahlf Junior High School: Searcy, AR)

Participants will participate in several discussions focused on the general perception of STEM careers that students may have, as well as their own perceptions and biases surrounding the content and materials they incorporate in their instruction. Strategies will be provided for use in the classroom to engage student interest in seeing themselves in STEM, and foster space for their resilience and perseverance. Activities: Discussion: What does a scientist look like? Activity (Philosophical Circle): Participants will be given a scenario and tasked with determining their response to that scenario. Activity: Choose an item that symbolizes skills or qualities that are needed to persevere in STEM. Discussion: What do you do in your classroom to cultivate student perseverance and resilience?

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will takeaway strategies to engage student interest and perseverance in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
LaTonya Bolden (School Improvement Coach), Marshai Waiters (Marietta Middle School: Marietta, GA)

Sponsoring Company: Plasma Games

Let's expose students to the diversity in STEM careers x3! Explore how to inspire the next generation of STEM experts by showing them STEM experts who are diverse in how they look, diverse in what they do, but most importantly diverse in how they got there.

How do we adapt curriculum to support our emergent multilingual learners? How can we localize phenomena for science instruction? Participants will examine student work from multimodal language surveys and learn strategies to guide curriculum adaptations for more linguistically equitable learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be provided with a language survey tool, example student work and a strategies list to help them make more linguistically inclusive curriculum adaptations and help localize phenomena for science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Katherine McNeill (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA), Samuel Lee (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA)

Why do many students struggle with data? We will explore strategies for finding high quality datasets and discuss different approaches of building data skills by integrating real-time data into our teaching. Data as our instructional hook can result in changes for all of our students' data skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Review ways to leverage real-world data -- including personalized or daily data -- to enhance all students’ ability to access and make sense of data as parts of our instructional practices and/or adjust the curriculum you have.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC)

Sponsoring Company: National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Students' lived experience of brain disorders can strengthen lessons for Middle and High School science standards on structure/function. Validation of students as personal or cultural lived experience experts sets a foundation for their future learning, that is critical to achieve classroom equity.

SPEAKERS:
Rebekah Corlew (NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Bethesda, MD), Carlo Quintanilla (NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Bethesda, MD), Diana Andriola (NINDS - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Bethesda, MD)

ARISS allows your students to talk with an astronaut on the International Space Station! ARISS involves NASA and other space agencies to provide this amazing experience for schools worldwide! An ARISS contact tends to unite and excite a school community while focusing on STEM at your school.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will find out about all the experiences and resources provided at no cost to schools and teachers selected for an ARISS contact including a STEM enrichment kit and special workshop opportunity.

SPEAKERS:
Martha Muir (Retired teacher: Alpharetta, GA)

The SIOP Model is an effective research-based instructional model for meeting the academic needs of English language learners. Learn how to use it to support ELLs in your science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The eight components to the SIOP model will be explained; 2. Examples of actual and effective classroom implementation of the SIOP model; and 3. Consideration for not only teaching science content but doing so in a culturally conscious manner will also be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Nadene Klein (Daniel C. Oakes High School: Castle Rock, CO)

Creating emotionally safe classrooms for all students willing to take risks, gain confidence, and find their voice, this is the ultimate reward. Student scientists practice positive communication, build strong connections, and support each other as they learn new concepts and develop new skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn several strategies to create emotionally safe classrooms and practice applications in grade level support teams. Teachers will feel confident returning to their student scientists ready to set up learning environments where everyone has a voice and is their own self-advocate.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Couch (Captain Nathan Hale Middle School: Coventry, CT)

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)

Discover the recent research on females in STEM and learn how to take intentionally small, but powerful steps in your classroom to ensure that our future female problem-solvers have the confidence, encouragement, and motivation to change the world, one STEM field at a time!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will discover the current reseach regarding girls in STEM and leave with six powerful ways to increase their interest,, motivation, and confidence in these fields.

SPEAKERS:
Dawn McCotter (Van Andel Education Institute: Grand Rapids, MI)

A special education teacher and science consultant worked together to plan, create, deliver and assess the middle school Essential Elements Science standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities. All assessed students increased three full grade levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with an understanding of how to teach science using the Dynamic Learning Maps for middle school students with significant cognitive disabilities using best practices in special education and science teaching. Unit samples will be available.

SPEAKERS:
Mandie Sanderman (Central Rivers Area Education Agency: Cedar Falls, IA), Nancy Scheel (Teacher), Chelsie Byram (Central Rivers Area Education Agency: Cedar Falls, IA)

Our FlyGirls program was developed to introduce young women in grades 4–8 to aerospace using drones. The Cobb County School District has partnered with Lockheed Martin, FTW Robotics, female drone pilots from across the U.S., and other informal educators to offer our FlyGirls program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will: 1. learn how to cultivate a dynamic partnerships between multiple agencies; 2. receive step-by-step guidance to start your own local chapter of FlyGirls; and 3. receive access to the resources we developed and used with our FlyGirls group.

SPEAKERS:
Alana Davis (Cobb County School District: Marietta, GA)

Sponsoring Company: PEER Physics

Join us for an interactive workshop to explore how science practices can be used to build a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. Participants will explore the PEER Physics Learning Cycle and gain access to a phenomenon-driven Waves unit for high school physics and physical science.

SPEAKERS:
Valerie Otero (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

This session will focus on the developmental (not academic) gaps that the past few years of learning are likely to have caused and provide multiple strategies to address those inequities. Like Maslow's model shows, we must address the deficiencies before we can expect growth.

SPEAKERS:
Ramy Mahmoud (Savvas Learning Co.: Paramus, NJ)

In this session, participants will work on hands-on activities and test a prototype to learn about genetics using the engineering design model and translanguaging for middle grades.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to teach about genetics for middle grade level using an engineering activity and translanguaging (English/Spanish).

SPEAKERS:
Maggie Lewis (Student: Dawsonville, GA), Lorraine Ramirez Villarin (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, GA), Victoria Hunter (Student), Max Vazquez Dominguez (University of North Georgia: Dahlonega, 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)

Participants will learn practical strategies to build a more equitable and inclusive class culture in this LSSS aligned session. Participants will engage in an original environmental science-based anchoring phenomenon to explore proven routines that support student articulation of ideas for investigation and development of models. In particular, the session will examine the importance of leveraging student experiences and resources to drive modeling discussions which help students understand key aspects of the phenomenon. Participants will also learn strategies for moderating focused student-led discussions. These strategies include development of student norms for dialog, methods for planning student discussions and sharing of teacher and student "Talk Moves". Session materials will include references, background readings and "ready to go" classroom materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
Three dimensional and phenomena-based teaching routines build classroom equity and inclusion, developing clear norms together are key to helping students find their voice and productive student talk requires planning, but student and teacher tools are available.

SPEAKERS:
Steven Babcock (Louisiana State University Laboratory School: Baton Rouge, LA)

Houston we have a problem... We need more inclusive science classrooms and curricula! Explore the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and learn how to use the UDL Guidelines to identify and overcome barriers to student learning and make science accessible for ALL students.

TAKEAWAYS:
By the end of this session, participants will understand how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework can be used to plan more inclusive learning experiences and classroom environments so that every student can be a successful learner in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Dodie Resendez (Region 4 Education Service Center: Houston, TX)

This interactive session will explore scaffolded, NGSS aligned, three-dimensional Earth science resources for all students including multilingual learners. The My NASA Data Literacy Cubes support data literacy using authentic data from scientific research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Implementation strategies for a flexible resource which can be used with multiple Earth System Science DCIs, support numerous science and engineering practices related to questions, evidence, models and data, and CCCs for patterns, scale, proportion and quantity, and stability and change.

SPEAKERS:
Desiray Wilson (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.: Hampton, VA), Natalie Macke (Pascack Hills High School: Montvale, NJ), Angela Rizzi (NASA Langley Research Center/ADNET: No City, No State)

Who better than a teacher to forge partnerships that infuse the arts and social studies into STEM by linking caring adults beyond the classroom to young people in the classroom and in doing so situate learning in vibrant, real-life contexts? As the expert in teaching and learning and with a deep con

TAKEAWAYS:
- understand the benefits of infusing arts and social studies into STEM (STEAM & STEMSS) - explore myriad examples of community partnerships and place-based learning - learn how to build supportive community networks for STEM learning

SPEAKERS:
June Teisan (InnovatED 313: No City, No State)

Engage multilingual learners with human ecology activities scaffolded for different levels of English proficiency. Participate in hands-on lessons (simulations and group problem solving) that promote 3D learning while building language skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies to adapt science activities for the middle school classroom to be more inclusive for English language learners. Shared activities explore “Human Impacts on Earth’s Systems” and “Natural Resources” (ESS3).

SPEAKERS:
Abby Watkins (Population Connection: Washington, DC)

Teaching reproduction and puberty can be challenging for early middle schoolers. We have created a fun, engaging, and inquiry-based curriculum that gets even the most hesitant student excited about sexual health!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teaching reproduction and puberty for middle schoolers can be engaging and fun!

SPEAKERS:
Laura Doyle (MYP Science Teacher: Atlanta, GA), Kyla Corelli (Atlanta International School: Atlanta, GA)

New science curricula use effective pedagogy to provide young people opportunities to explore the prevalence and impacts of plastics, learn about emerging work on sustainable bioplastics, and plan authentic projects to help mitigate environmental impacts in their communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to use this new peer-reviewed curriculum to engage youth in environmental science and civic engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Martin Smith (University of California, Davis: Davis, CA)

Attendees will engage in hands-on activities focused on force and motion concepts. Activities are easy set-ups using low-cost household materials that promote inclusivity of all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be engaged in multiple activities that promote learning and inclusivity of all students. Necessary materials and best teaching practices will be shared so that attendees can immediately incorporate knowledge and activities into their own classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Andrea Starks (Houston Middle School: Germantown, TN)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Cultivate a sense of belonging in your classroom with conservation, stewardship, and climate science using educational resources from NOAA and other socially conscious organizations. This workshop and resources to be shared is suitable for educators working with students at all grade bands.

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

Adopting curriculums is a top priority for many schools across the nation. While curriculums are useful, they often have shortcomings. One shortcoming we often see in schools is a lack of engagement between the students and the content. In this session, we will explore strategies that align with the 5E Instructional Cycle and UDL that can be easily implemented with the curriculums adopted by schools and provide opportunities for students to engage with science and engineering practices. The strategies can be implemented immediately in the classroom setting. Each strategy presented can be leveled up or leveled down for varied grade levels, including differentiated supports in class to support the varied learners in a classroom. Engage strategies include Observations and Questions and Four Corners. Both are low stakes and engage learning with phenomena immediately. The Explain strategy leverages reading in science and makes it accessible through targeted questions and scaffolding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Small shifts in the curriculum can make large shifts to develop an inclusive classroom environment. Science should be accessible for all and by taking prescribed curriculum and making a few adjustments, all students can engage in science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney McCormick (Alliance College Ready Public Schools: Los Angeles, CA), Sheena Velasquez (Alliance College-Ready Public Schools: Los Angeles, CA)

This workshop will be integrating Game Based Learning strategies into hands on experience for participants. The focus will be looking at crosscutting concepts and the science and engineering practices to make science come alive thru game play.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with a model and their own lesson as well as ideas on game based learning integrated through the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPEAKERS:
Tammie Schrader (NorthEast Washington ESD 101: Spokane, WA)

With increasing diversity in student populations and continued focus on STEM education, new approaches are needed to increase student interest and literacy in science. Student success in the science classroom requires that they be authentically engaged as they investigate and communicate their understanding of scientific phenomena. In this session, participants will receive 30+ classroom-ready strategies, activities, games, templates, and resources that will help engage all learners and increase student achievement in various domains of science. The resources and strategies provided will help participants teaching grade 6 and higher motivate even the most unengaged students. Resources and strategies target areas of the 5- E Model of instruction. Many activities can be used as formative assessments to assess student learning. Participants may modify the activities based on the content they teach and the academic level of student groups and individual students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore resources including activities, templates, games, etc. they can use to increase the scientific literacy and engagement of all students. These can be used “as is” or modified to include other content based on the needs of the learners.

SPEAKERS:
Iris Mudd (Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools: Winston Salem, NC)

Physical computing allows students to design and create interactive objects that emphasize computational thinking skills. Participants will engage in activities designed for middle school students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Microcontrollers are small computers that come with several integrated sensors. Their functionality makes them useful for both investigations and engineering projects. We will focus in how engineering tasks using microcontrollers provide opportunities for student sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
G. Michael Bowen (Mount Saint Vincent University: Halifax, NS), Susan German (Hallsville Middle School: Hallsville, MO)

The sky belongs to everyone - including middle-school age youth. Learn how to join the Youth Astronomy Network (YouthAstroNet) of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, where your students can tell their own star stories using images they capture from real robotic telescopes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn YouthAstroNet’s strategies for engaging students from culturally diverse backgrounds in accessible, relevant and meaningful exploration of their place in the cosmos and find out how they can join the YouthAstroNet online community, supported by the National Science Foundation

SPEAKERS:
Erika Wright (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA), Mary Dussault (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA)