University/college instructors at several institutions in the US and Canada are using NSTA resources in lieu of a textbook when teaching preservice teachers. Participants will meet some of these instructors and learn how they integrate NSTA resources in their courses and the benefits of the program. Preservice teachers using NSTA create a library of resources, grow their network of professional colleagues, and enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge of science. Instructors receive a class landing page to manage their course and a private forum for asynchronous discussions. They also gain access to an administrator's dashboard to monitor and assess their students' engagement within the NSTA website. All instructors receive a free NSTA membership. Students can become members of the Association through graduation and add to the website's library all of NSTA’s Interactive E-Books+ Professional, professional learning units, and other fee-based resources to use in class and beyond.

TAKEAWAYS:
University/college instructors are using NSTA resources in lieu of a textbook when teaching preservice teacher courses. Participants will meet some of these instructors and learn how they integrate NSTA resources in their courses and the benefits of the program.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

(Providing all 3 presenters) Making sense of the world as part of a classroom community requires a classroom culture where all students feel like they belong and it is safe to participate, share their ideas, disagree, and productively struggle together. Participants in this session gain strategies and resources for developing and supporting the ongoing use of classroom norms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Classroom norms create a culture of equitable science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Edel Maeder (Rochester City School District: Rochester, NY), Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Bremen, GA), Kristen Moorhead (PLI, LLC: Mesa, AZ)

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)

Do your secondary learners crave new online experiences? Join these three secondary educators in sharing three digital tools for engaging students in science learning aimed at physical science and biology classrooms. Digital learning that's engaging, immersive AND relevant? Is it possible? Imagine your learners exploring virtual field trips about local research, places, and communities! Learn how you can use Infiniscope's Tour It to create customized immersive field trips with 360 degree spaces and media hotspots using just your computer and a smartphone. DIY Digital Lessons: Create Custom Online Lessons for Your Learners Create interactive digital lessons that students can explore anytime. From single lessons to multi-unit courses, you can build a library of digital content that can be used at scale, increasing accessibility. Embed assessments, collect data and guide your learners with customized real-time feedback. Engaging Online Science Students in Lab Experiences I will share my experiences transitioning from 18 years in the physical classroom to teaching science 100% online in 2022. I will describe how I invited students to collect data, sent lab materials home, conducted lab demos over zoom, engaged in videoconferences, and had students do "kitchen" labs.

SPEAKERS:
Melanie Narish (Senior Learning Designer: Mesa, AZ), Sina Kirk (ASU: Tempe, AZ), Jessica Swann (Arizona State University: Tempe, AZ)

Are you looking for new and inspiring ways to help secondary students grasp human evolution? Dr. Bayer presents 3 inquiry-based, open-access labs that not only bring the most compelling evidence for hominin evolution, but also unpack its underlying mechanisms: 

1. Honing in on 5 physical traits (including vestigial ones), the "Human Species in Transition" lab investigates our evolutionary past (and future), illustrating the interplay between natural selection and mutation as evolutionary drivers. 

2. Employing 11 skull replicas, the "Be a Paloanthropologist for a Day" lab allows students to literally grasp 3 key features of human evolution, namely bipedalism, brain growth, and orthognathism.

3. The "Bonobo vs. Chimp vs. Human" lab features 3D-printed crania from each of the 3 distantly related species and employs the sexual dimorphism lens to unpack physiologic and behavioral differences between the sexes, traits which are then compared and contrasted between the species.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Bayer (Co-Founder, AncientAncestors.org: Feucht, Germany)

Join three secondary physics educators as they share resources to support students in exploring astronomical data.

Using Authentic Data to Explore the Solar System with Vera C. Rubin Observatory
How do scientists evaluate and build context for a newly discovered solar system object? Rubin Observatory’s interactive tools empower students to analyze data using a three-dimensional approach to learn about orbital dynamics and interactions of small bodies, and the formation of the solar system.

Simulate the Universe! Using Python Notebooks to Analyze Real Data
NSF’s NOIRLab’s Teen Astronomy Café – To Go! program brings the excitement of scientific discovery to students by providing them with an opportunity to explore real astronomical data using Python Notebooks. No coding background is required as students develop their data literacy skills.

A system for incorporating nonfiction books in multi-leveled astronomy classes aligned to the NGSS nature of science standards.
Students can earn honors credit in 12th grade astronomy by engaging in biweekly book club discussions and written reflections. Students read and discuss nonfiction books that focus on the NGSS nature of science standards. I will share my experiences with this approach over the past four years.

SPEAKERS:
Ardis Herrold (Vera C. Rubin Observatory: Tucson, AZ), Justine Schaen (NSF's NOIRLab: Tucson, AZ), Lars Nelson (Teacher)

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)

Join this team of Secondary Earth Science Educators as they share resources and strategies for teaching using data from radio and space telescopes, and from Station Monitor.

Investigate Stellar and Galactic Evolution Using NASA’s Universe of Learning (UoL) JS9 STEM Image Analysis Tools and Data.
Access NASA’s Universe of Learning web-based image analysis tools, tutorials, activities, and database to investigate and research the properties, chemistry, physics, mechanics and variability of stars, binary systems, Type Ia & Type II supernovas, stellar cores, dark matter and galaxies.

Did the ground move near me? FREE app/website to access seismic data and explore local and global ground motion
Station Monitor, mobile and desktop friendly, allows you to answer the question “Did the ground move near me?” You can quickly find a station near you or search a global station map to explore recent ground motions, learn about recent earthquakes and other ground shaking events (e.g. hurricanes).

Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments
A large earthquake, especially when it makes the news, can capture a student's attention. Teachable Moments bring knowledge, insight, and critical thinking to your students following a newsworthy earthquake.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young (NASA/NSO/UoL Program Manager: Laughlin, NV), Michael Hubenthal (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Washington, DC), Tammy Bravo (IRIS | Earthscope Consortium: Vancouver, WA)

Are you interested in how to integrate literacy and science? Join this team of educators as they share strategies and resources for using science-focused texts in the secondary classroom. Read Alouds: Developing Literacy and Thinking Skills in Science Read-alouds are a valuable strategy for introducing nonfiction text, articles, and current events to students that can also promote deeper understanding, higher-level thinking, and increased engagement. Learn how to prepare and implement read-alouds in your science class. Planning and Implementing a Whole School Book Read in an Urban High School I will share my experiences with 5 years in a row of planning and implementing a whole school book read at my urban high school. Each book had a health science focus and was read, at least in part, in every classroom, in every content area. This culminated with a whole school exhibition. The Martian in the Physical Science Classroom Incorporating science literacy into the curriculum can be seamless when using the right novel. The Martian by Andy Weir provides an ideal launchpad to bring real-world science "faction" enrichment to your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsay Santen (Columbus City Schools: Columbus, OH), Meredith Hegarty (Middle School Science Teacher: College Park, GA)

Are you a secondary teacher looking for resources for your classroom? Join this team of educators in sharing their experiences of tools and routines designed to support students' sensemaking.

Students Teaching Students
Students can learn so much by teaching each other. Give them a challenging conceptual question that they can debate after choosing initial answers (with cards or free software). Ask the question again when debate is done, and students will likely have all arrived at the correct answer!

Integrating Anchor Phenomena as Engagement and Assessment
Phenomena are an essential element to science teaching. But, we often do not refer back to them in our unit! Come see how a biology and chemistry teacher not only use them as anchors, but also incorporate them as part of an end of unit assessment!

SPEAKERS:
Karen Cianciulli (Physics Teacher: Asheville, NC), Erin Springthorpe (Gwinnett Online Campus: Lawrenceville, GA), Jennifer Barnes (Gwinnett Online Campus: Lawrenceville, GA)

Hear from middle school educators about the resources and tools they have used to develop a community of collaborative learners. They will share ideas for hands-on manipulative learning experiences and building scientific literacy skills.

Making Salsa = Making Connections!
How can making salsa help you grow your classroom community? This session will describe an engaging activity that was educational and impactful in many different ways. Students dehydrated and rehydrated salsa recipes so astronauts on the ISS could enjoy some flavorful food.

Meaningful CER in Physical Science
Exploration on developing more in-depth Claim Evidence and Reasoning investigations in Physical Science. Now that the Milestone EOC has been removed from this course, learn more about diving deeper into content will support students' scientific literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Biernat (Zanilu Educational Services, LLC: No City, No State), Stephanie McDonald (Teacher: , GA), Aliyah Johnson (Alpharetta High School: Alpharetta, GA)

Join middle school educators as they share strategies for supporting students to develop questions, writing of lab reports, and the development of time management skills.

A better way to do middle school lab reports
One challenge that we face as science teachers is the dreaded lab report. How do we teach the scientific method with such diverse classes, without it being too overwhelming? I have a strategy that has worked well with middle school students to introduce lab reports, and I will share the template.

Time Management Techniques for the Science Classroom
Are your students disorganized with labs/activities not getting completed? Do you find that sensemaking activities are taking more time than expected? This session presents time management techniques to support students efficiently using class time.

Effectively Engage Students in the SEP Asking Questions with the Question Formulation Technique
Participants will engage in an effective instructional strategy, the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), to help students develop explanatory questions to investigate phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Kyla Corelli (Atlanta International School: Atlanta, GA), Alison Seymour (Science Teacher: Winchester, 0), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

Join these middle school educators as they share strategies to support students in modeling their ideas in the classroom.

Model Your Anchor Phenomenon Early and Often: A Strategy for Sensemaking
1. Have students make an initial model based on prior knowledge and assumptions about the natural world. *Predict. Wonder. Be wrong!* 2. Dedicate time for students to continually revise their models as they acquire more evidence and content understanding. 3. Watch the lightbulb turn on!

Read Alouds: Developing Literacy and Thinking Skills in Science
Read-alouds are a valuable strategy for introducing nonfiction text, articles, and current events to students that can also promote deeper understanding, higher-level thinking, and increased engagement. Learn how to prepare and implement read-alouds in your science class.

Flippity: A go to versatile tool to increase engagement
Flippity can "easily turn Google™ spreadsheets into flashcards and other cool stuff." This session will highlight three go to interactives to increase student engagement with one another and with content. Consider bringing a device to practice creating one or two of these cool things. Hacking the Secret Garden with 3D eLearning Experiences Elementary preservice teachers and students hack the science of school gardens and digitally present details of garden-based phenomena that meets NGSS 3D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Allison Wise (American Community School of Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Jeff Thomas (University of Southern Indiana: Evansville, IN)

Join High School educators as they share strategies for STEM in chemistry and physics classes.

Engineering Design Challenges Designed For Non-Men By Non-Men
Planning, facilitating and leading engineering design challenges to improve awareness and interest of non-men in STEM pathways. This approach is community-centric and student-led.

Using Augmented Reality to Help Teach Gravity
You will be able to learn how to use a free augmented reality application to help with your classroom instruction when teaching topics related to gravity.

SPEAKERS:
Corinne White (Student Intern), Kimberly Jacoby Morris (STEM Program Coordinator), David Rosengrant (University of South Florida St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg, FL)

Join middle school educators sharing experiences of growing experimental gardens, and teaching weather.

Creating & Maintaining an Experimental Hydroponic Online Garden
Create a long-term experiment, where students must act daily with nature to help collect, analyze and publish data online. Students sustain and maintain and experimental garden where variables such as light, water and plant nutrients can be manipulated to optimize growing conditions.

Who needs to know about weather?
Weather Lessons Use it to make sense of the maps and numbers of weather from television, radio, newspapers and the Internet. Relate them to local weather. The WeatherCycler Lesson puts weather systems into motion so that you can see why the forecast is what it is. Make your own weather forecasts with it. My NASA Dat

How an Open World Game Supports Students Computational Thinking in Science
What is computational thinking (CT) and why should students practice CT? Learn about what CT is, why to integrate CT skills into science class, and how the Pack, an open-world digital game, can provide diverse entry points for students to explore problem-solving and algorithms.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Kelly (Brandywine Springs School), Diane Ripollone (Cardinal Gibbons High School: Raleigh, NC), Laycca Umer (NYSCI: Corona, NY)

When children start team sports not much is expected, they are often not physically developed, and coaches start at the beginning. By high school and college bodies are better equipped, fundamentals have been learned, expectations rise, and the process is performance oriented. The same concepts should guide student research. First-year undergraduates begin with fundamentals, using guided inquiry. Expectations rise as research is conducted in courses (CUREs), and finally as independent projects. Just as with coaches, faculty expectations need to be developmentally defined, and success easily measured. As sports teams need specialty coaches, research teams also need specialists that can teach/encourage by using their expertise for unique projects – a primary advisor (coach) and additional specialists (assistant coaches). As a team sport, all members of the team receive the same rewards (although one member receives the honor of being first author, similar to one player being named MVP).

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will see examples of progression from inquiry labs to independent research. Attendees will how this model of undergraduate research increased the output of both presentations and papers. Attendees will discover how teams of faculty with different levels of expertise contribute to student s

SPEAKERS:
Kerry Cheesman (Capital University: Columbus, OH)

Join NSTA staff to learn about how Toshiba America Foundation wants to work together with teachers who are looking for a better way of doing the right thing through engagement in STEM action projects.

Money for Your STEM Ideas
Toshiba America Foundation wants to work together with teachers who are looking for a better way of doing the right thing through engagement in STEM action projects.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Your students deserve some recognition! Join our presenter as they highlight opportunities for your students to get involved in Nationally recognized STEM based programs.

The Scoop on K-12 STEM Competitions Administered by NSTA
Join us for a chance to learn about the value and how to implement K-12 STEM innovative competitions with hands-on learning strategies utilized to motivate engagement. NSTA administered competitions include Army Educational Outreach Program, Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge and the Toshiba/NSTA

Engaging K-12 students in STEM innovation projects - Where to begin and how to get started
In this speed sharing session, participants will collaborate together on effective strategies to engage K-12 students in STEM innovation projects.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Winnie Boyle (Army Educational Outreach Program: , United States), Amanda Upton (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Michelle Butler (National Science Teaching Association: No City, No State), Kathryn Lasky (NSTA/Army Educational Outreach Program)

Integration of the critical aspects of the three dimensions in NGSS is meant to drive and equip teachers to promote real science in students’ daily lives. These pillars of the three-dimensional learning delineated in each standard of the NGSS provide effective strategies that address important focus areas that positively impact Urban Science Education. How can we ensure that quality science education is being promoted in all school settings, especially urban ones? An asset-based pedagogical approach focuses on the strengths, interests, and connections to students’ prior knowledge in a culturally responsive way. Science educators constantly seek resources and strategies to promote successful science education. Challenges that are faced in urban educational settings such as overcrowding, limited resources, and equity in the distribution of the resources have negatively impacted science education directly. In many cases, urban science teachers constantly engage in the mitigation of these

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

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)

Three High School Committee members will share effective strategies to establish a sensemaking culture on the high school classroom based on the Framework for K-12 Science education and the vision of NGSS. Attendees will engage in reflection and discussion focused on applying these strategies to their context.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies to begin to lay a foundation for a sensemaking culture in your High School classes!

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Bahr (Harvard Public Schools: Harvard, NE), Wendy Binder (Program Director, STEM Professional Learning: Arlington, VA)

This session will introduce participants to the instructional routines and tools (developed by The Next Generation Science Storylines Project at Nothwestern University) used to create and enact phenomenon-based storylines. Using instructional routines helps support students as they work to explain a phenomenon, by uncovering the science ideas and crosscutting concepts through use of the science and engineering practices found in the Next Generation Science Standards. The session will also introduce participants to Storyline Tools which evaluate lessons for the presence and strength of these routines in existing instructional materials. We will provide all 3 presenters for this speed sharing session.

TAKEAWAYS:
Instructional routines used in storylines provide a coherent path from students’ questions about a phenomenon, to the explanation or model of that phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Holly Hereau (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

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)

Are you a secondary physics educator looking to inspire learners of space and the electromagnetic spectrum? Join this team of three educators as they share experiences and resources. Smithsonian DataLabs: Online laboratories for student analysis of light, color, and other worlds Find out about two free evidence-based online laboratories that support science and engineering practices in high school physics, earth and space science, and chemistry classrooms - The Spectrum Lab, and DIY Planet Search - and online workshops for educators who want to use them. Radio Frequency Allocation in the Classroom - An EM Spectrum Activity for the Big Kids Go beyond your basic electromagnetic spectrum lesson and challenge your students to consider one of the world's most sought-after limited resources: radio frequency bandwidth. Everyone uses it, so give students a chance to learn about EM waves in the 21st century! Introducing Superknova This session will provide information on the free curriculum offered by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory on Superknova. You will also learn how to stay in touch with the curriculum specialist at NRAO so you and your students never lose an opportunity to engage with our staff.

SPEAKERS:
Anna-Margaret Bruton (Project Director: Broader Impacts: Charlottesville, VA), Mary Dussault (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA), Jamie Avalos (O.D. Wyatt High School: Fort Worth, TX), Valarie Bogan (Curriculum Specialist)

Join postsecondary educators as they share asset-based teaching strategies. Hear about educator experiences of teaching STEM through an equity lens, and incorporating analytic discourse into science methods courses. Developing Asset-Based STEM strategies for preservice teachers. Come and learn how to infuse STEM and STEAM into teaching using asset-based strategies. Asset/Strength-focused approaches to instruction utilize equity-based strategies that can be used with all students. Using Analytic Discourse in an Elementary Science Methods Course This presentation will focus on the use of analytic discourse in an undergraduate elementary science methods course to increase scientific understanding and promote the equitable sharing of student ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Laux (Upper Iowa University: Fayette, IA), Denise Johnson (Associate Professor: Winston Salem, NC), Gina Childers (Texas Tech University: Lubbock, TX)

Do you wonder how STEM learning can impact communities? Hear from educators who share their experiences and resources for creating student advocates, problem-based learning, and developing student debate.

Developing Students Who Are STEM Advocates
Students who have been positively impacted by their STEM experiences can become some of the best advocates that can help change the lives of others in their community. Working with these students to develop their stories and to give them the tools to have successful meetings with legislators.

To Sit or to Stand: A Problem-Based Learning Unit Connecting High School Science Students to the Local STEM Community
Is a field trip enough? Connect your science students to STEM career opportunities found within their own community by helping those businesses solve challenges they already face! Participants will gain insight on planning STEM project-based learning units for science courses.

Inspiring Marine Protection and Careers for Teens (IMPACT)
The Wildlife Conservation Society is leading Inspiring Marine Protection and Careers for Teens (IMPACT) to prepare teachers and empower students in energy alternative careers. This project fosters foundational skill development by connecting students to professionals and professional development.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy McIntyre (Robotics Education & Competition Foundation: Greenville, TX), Patricia Rushing (PhD Candidate: , VA), Sonia Ahrabi (New York Aquarium: No City, No State)

Are you a middle school teacher looking for resources for your classroom? Join these educators as they share creating units teaching metric measures, discover the Teach the Earth Portal, and hear about one educator's experience of incorporating the 5E model into their lessons.

Designing Units
Learn how to create designer units based on standard metric measures. These units will be built based on volume measurements so students will be able to make connections to liquid measurement containers that students see and use in everyday life.

5 E's Made EEEEEasy!
The 5 E Model in science education is a great tool to help promote hands-on learning. Learn what the 5 E's are and how to effectively use them in your classroom. Help students make sense of their learning and make connections to the real world with the 5 E's.

Teach the Earth: A Portal to Earth Education Resources
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers manages the Teach the Earth portal, where educators can search for online resources in the geosciences and related fields.  Instructional approaches, classroom activities, course descriptions, and sample assignments make up the many resources in TTE.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Thurmond (Mercer University: Lithia Springs, GA), Mary Kay Bacallao (Mercer University: Atlanta, GA), Kristi Gnage (Science Teacher: St. Petersburg, FL), Christy Visaggi (Georgia State University: Atlanta, GA)

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)

Are you a middle school educator looking for inspiration? Join these educators as they share resources and strategies on using food and cooking in the STEM classroom, student-led mentorship in STEM classrooms, and learn how to use PolyDensity bottles to investigate concepts in the physical science classroom. Implementing STEM Kits to Improve Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Communities in Engineering Student-led mentorship programs can be fantastic early intervention tools that can be implemented in a variety of learning settings. Here we share a STEM Kit that high school mentors use with middle school mentees to improve recruitment and retention. Tinkering with Food & Cooking to Explore Science Purposefully Learn how to leverage food and cooking to encourage tinkering and sensemaking to make your secondary science curriculum engaging, meaningful, visual, and “sticky” (literally and metaphorically). Free resources (& lesson plans) included. Poly-density Bottles DIY for Inquiry I will share how to create your own cool polydensity bottles and use them for student inquiry activities that relate to many topics including density, molecular properties, and solubility.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Abrams (Student Intern: Washington, DC), Kimberly Jacoby Morris (STEM Program Coordinator), Kate Strangfeld (Harvard University: Cambridge, MA), Kelly Moore (Tennessee Tech: Cookeville, TN)

Join High School educators to learn about student collaboration, using website interactives, and engaging students with authentic data.

How science really works: Enhancing instruction with the Science Flowchart interactive
Find out how to modify your current instruction to better communicate the dynamic process of science using an interactive tool from the Understanding Science website. Help students recognize science as a dynamic, exciting, creative, and intensely human endeavor!

Saving the Night with Citizen Science
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 solutions to light pollution.

We are All in this Together - Collaboration is Key
In this session, we will focus on the importance of student collaboration and how to incorporate student collaboration through sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Betsy Barent (Lincoln Public Schools: No City, No State), Anastasia Thanukos (University of California Museum of Paleontology: Berkeley, CA), Robert Sparks (NSF's NOIRLab), Justine Schaen (NSF's NOIRLab: Tucson, AZ), Elissa Blount (Vidalia High School: Vidalia, GA)

Are you a secondary educator looking for new resources to use in the classroom? Join this team of educators as they share resources from the US Geological Survey website, the paleontological society and National Park Service, and learn how to host a night sky observation event.

Data Literacy: Using US Geological Survey Datasets in the Classroom
Current Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, Candyce Curry, discussing FREE RESOURCES from the U.S. Geological Survey website. This conversation will give teachers insight on finding & using, with minimal preparation, datasets from multiple sources within the website.

How to host a a star party for night sky observations
I will share my experience of hosting evening star parties for 15 years. And, I will provide a simple blueprint and share resources to help you plan an event. Night sky observation events engage students and romanticize science.

Exploring the expansion of the Universe, the Cosmological Principle, and the Big Bang Theory with a Hoberman Sphere.
We will explore how a Hoberman Sphere can be used to model the expansion of the Universe and the Big Bang Theory. Students manipulate and measure the physical model to explore the cosmological red shift, the cosmological principle, Hubble's law, and the Big Bang Theory.

SPEAKERS:
Candyce Curry (US Geological Survey: No City, No State), Lars Nelson (Teacher)

Join high school educators sharing strategies for engaging students using social media, escape rooms, and assessment probes.

AP Biology Escape Room
Come Escape to Winter Break with me! Every year to review for the 1st semester final exam, my students complete a week long Escape Room (4 locks per day for 5 days). In this speed session, I will share an example of some of the components from my escape room so you can do it too.

Social Media Review
Meet your students where they are! Our students are always on their devices and on their social media platforms, so why not develop a review opportunity that incorporates that. In this speed session, you will see how I have developed a review resource through Instagram stories.

Using Phenomena to Explore Student Ideas and Misconceptions in Biology
Using probes for understanding, students decide if they agree or disagree with explanations - containing common misconceptions - for every day phenomena such as consuming more weight in food than you gain, and how drinking too much water can kill you.

SPEAKERS:
Tiffany Shoham Jones (Science Instructor: Conyers, GA), Hannah Crowder (Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton: Atherton, CA)