Animal movement patterns are phenomena that students can make sense of and explain. A variety of animal movement data sources will be shared with participants, along with strategies for assisting students in data organization and interpretation. During the presentation, participants will engage as students exploring data to answer questions about specific animal movements. Since this is an elementary session, there will be connections made to trade books and disciplinary text, as well as connections to math and geography standards with an emphasis on integration of disciplines that will assist students in making sense of problems and phenomena of animal movement. Examples of data sources include: Movebank, eBird, Journey North, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Tagging of Pelagic Predators, etc.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to access data related to animal movement and migration, along with strategies that enable students to make sense of that data in explaining phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth (Betsy) O'Day (Retired Educator: Kansas City, MO)

If the ultimate goal is for students to understand from experiences, we must carefully consider our professional practices. While hands-on learning can naturally be engaging for students, the experiences must be carefully woven into the flow of instruction to produce the desired outcomes. An important finding from America’s Lab report is that many students view science as a “false dichotomy,” meaning that students think that the hands-on, “doing” part of science is separate from content (Singer, Hilton, and Schweingruber 2006). As a result, the desired outcomes are for students to discard incorrect ideas, accept the most accurate scientific explanations, and for students to learn the nature by which these scientific explanations are generated. Explore-before-explain teaching allows teachers to meet these goals by providing students with immediate experiences to form accurate understandings; and connecting students’ claims to scientifically accepted explanations.

TAKEAWAYS:
An overview of essential planning considerations covers becoming an “explore-before-explain” teacher and designing lessons that use the assets all students bring to learning science.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown (Fort Zumwalt School District R-II: O'Fallon, MO), Anne Green (Fort Zumwalt School District R-II: OFallon, MO)

This session will provide insights into why claim, evidence, & reasoning assessments are wonderful formative assessments. Educators will experience a CER through the student lens, provide tips for scaffolding the process, and take away an assessment with accessible success criteria.

TAKEAWAYS:
Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future).

SPEAKERS:
Maegan Kurz (Wentzville School District: Wentzville, MO)

To get kids excited to come to school, we built a School Zoo with 113 small animals that is run by an Animal Science elective class and student zookeepers. The students learn and run everything, including tours to over 3,000 elementary students. We will discuss the zoo and how to replicate it.

TAKEAWAYS:
Create a classroom or school zoo where your students become advocates and leaders while they learn by solving practical STEM related daily issues that come up.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Szydlowski (Jefferson Middle School: Columbia, MO), Mike Szydlowski (Columbia Public Schools: Columbia, MO)

While the concept of the interconnectedness of species seems fairly easy to understand the depth and complexity of these relationships is sometimes overlooked. Ecosystems are built with layers and layers of dynamic relationships and dependencies on top of one another and webbed among one another. In the following simulations, students will begin to visualize just how complex ecosystems are by simulating various scenarios using experiential learning. These simulations are fun and engaging - and also thought provoking and enlightening.  Most of all, students should come away from them with a deeper understanding of the relationships between living things both seen and unseen.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience the games as a student would and receive electronic versions of the game pieces for adaptation to your local environment and classroom.

SPEAKERS:
John Lawler (School Programs Instructor: St. Louis, MO), Matthew Magoc

Within collaborative groups, team members work through age-specific engineering challenges based on the natural world. Participants engage in each step of the Engineering Design Process through free online Missouri Department of Conservation Discover Nature School curriculum. The pre-K group will use recycled materials, creating bird feeders to test quantity and strength. The kindergarten group will create a model of a bear den, testing strength and weaknesses of weather conditions. First grade group will analyze armor and behavior of living isopods and research other common Midwest animals with protective layers. From this research, they will create their model and test its protective nature. Using seed dispersal as a phenomenon, the second grade group will model and test different seed dispersal methods as assigned for their specific seed to explore. Participants will share how to connect engineering and ELA within their classroom through supporting trade books.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through hands-on practice and application of the engineering design process, participants will engage in asking questions, building models to test shape and function of an object, and test/identify strengths and weaknesses within grade-level groups. Utilize local nature for engineering prompts!

SPEAKERS:
Gwendolyn Parrett (Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center: Kansas City, MO), Mary Beth Factor (Discover Nature School Curriculum Coordinator: West Plains, MO)

Four methods to integrate (Charles W. [Andy] Anderson): Identify productive questions and goals; Provide rules for sensemaking; Guide the search for evidence; Support analogical reasoning. Using the lesson example - Marshmallows in a Vacuum: Set up a vacuum chamber and place a marshmallow inside. Start removing the air from the chamber. Ask students to make observations of what they see. Once most of the air is removed, stop and reverse the air movement to return to the chamber. Take the mass before each step. Another lesson example, Cookie Alarm: Design a cookie jar that sounds an alarm every time someone opens the jar. Participants are provided a container and micro:bit that they use to construct a solution. We will look through what information we need to gather in order to find the optimum solution to the problem. This will be accomplished without participants needing to code or have access to materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to harness the power of CCC's as tools to assist students in making sense of phenomena or solving engineering problems.

SPEAKERS:
Susan German (Hallsville Middle School: Hallsville, MO)