Welcome to NSTA’s national conference!! Where should you begin? Join us for an exploration of the conference app and NSTA’s social media. You will learn how to maneuver and conquer the conference and leave feeling energized.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to get the most out of your conference experience in addition to becoming an engaged learner.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Mulkerrin (Science Olympiad: No City, No State)

In pre-NGSS approaches to science teaching, units were often sequenced based on how experts understand the relationship among concepts. This means that it typically requires an understanding of the concepts being taught to understand why a unit is sequenced the way it is. The result is that the sequence of activities may make sense to a teacher, but doesn’t necessarily make sense to the students. The shift to phenomena-based 3D learning brings the student to the center of the learning and uses their life experiences and approaches to sensemaking to drive the learning. This session will highlight how powerful this shift is for student ownership of learning and general engagement. Additionally, we will describe HOW to make this a reality in classrooms and provide participants with resources and supports to bring this learning to life in their classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
The shift to phenomena-based 3D learning brings the student to the center of the learning and uses their life experiences and approaches to sensemaking to drive the learning forward.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Krehbiel (OpenSciEd: New York, NY)

Explore how the Project Approach is effective for increasing authentic sensemaking experiences in PreK-2 settings. Grounded in classical procedures of science, the Project Approach builds a foundation for science learning. A project, or long-term investigation, begins with children’s questions about the phenomena of interest, proceeds to cycles of predictions and data collection, and concludes with representation of learning. Projects provide rich opportunities for discipline integration, optimizing learning for young children through integrated curricula. Project work assists teachers in building on children’s innate abilities and curiosity about phenomena that they find intensely interesting, such as worms seen on sidewalks after it rains. Participants will identify key project phases, how to use planning tools for topic selection, and intentionally teach through standard integration. Participants will examine documentation of project work including photos and children’s questions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Examine classroom documentation to evaluate alignment between NGSS sensemaking pillars and the Project Approach components, such as how to select topics for investigation; gather children’s questions; and support young scientists to plan, investigate, collect data, and communicate their learning.

SPEAKERS:
Karrie Snider (Associate Professor: Lee's Summit, MO), Rebecca Wilson (Van Meter Community School District: Van Meter, IA)

The claim, evidence, reasoning method is a well-researched and effective tool in helping students engage in argumentation. However, in our work with teachers, we find that the method is often not well understood or implemented. In practice, especially in elementary classrooms, teachers are using claim to replace the word hypothesis, leading to the incorrect use of the method. Teachers are also starting by having students make a claim and then evaluating the evidence shown as to provide reasoning. A better way of using the method is to evaluate the evidence, then make a claim, and finally use reasoning to support the claim. We want to help teachers understand the research and how to use the method in their classrooms. Once the background is understood, the teachers will practice the method themselves by gathering evidence from the provided visualizations, writing a claim based on the evidence, and using the evidence along with their own background knowledge as their reasoning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn where and how to use the claim, evidence, reasoning method and practice using it to make their own reasoned claims based on evidence.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Licher (Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Ithaca, NY)

Join us to see how OpenSciEd’s materials can help build science learning experiences anchored in compelling phenomena and in important community and global problems. OpenSciEd high school uses a storyline approach that emphasizes coherence from the student perspective. Participants will explore the curricular routines, discourse strategies, and comprehensive assessment system that support equitable participation

TAKEAWAYS:
OpenSciEd HS's storyline approach, curricular routines, student discourse strategies, and assessment systems work together to help students build equitable science learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Buck Bracey (Senior Science Educator and Director of Design for Justice: Colorado Springs, CO), Michael Novak (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Kate Henson (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO)

It's difficult for educators at the primary level to imagine creating “additional time” for science, but when we understand strong language skills provide greater success in reading and writing, we see that science isn't just "one more thing." Science and critical thinking creates opportunities for students to have authentic conversations–which allows us to guide student language in a way that's unmatched! We will include a brief review of SEPs, standards for spoken/written language, and examples for using NGSS DCIs to facilitate student conversations. Ideas for explicitly teaching conversational language skills and behaviors will be shared. Participants will learn ways to combine the use of guided student language and current best practices in literacy instruction along with other ideas that can be used immediately. The session will end with participants developing plans for scientific conversations in their own classrooms, and ideas for how they might guide & build student language.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be provided with ideas for engaging students in scientific conversations, ideas for guiding student language within those conversations, and ideas for using language to facilitate literacy instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Paige Garrett (Teacher: Nixa, MO), Courtney Mills (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO), Shannon Winkler (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO)

This is session 1 of 4 in the PL Committee CCCs conference course. It is designed to support K-12. This session is an opportunity for members of NSTA's PL Committee to recruit and connect with fellow NSTA members. Attendees will be introduced to topics included in the conference course highlighting how CCCs are used as tools in service of DCIs and SEPs, student sensemaking, and assessment of CCCs to guide further instruction. Using the Framework progression documents and STEM Teaching Tools, attendees will have the opportunity to collaborate with fellow participants to uncover vertical progressions of CCCs and have tools to use within the classroom to elicit student sensemaking. The PL Committee will utilize research from Jeffery Nordine and Okhee Lee's book, "Crosscutting Concepts: Strengthening Science and Engineering Learning," to ignite the call to action for realizing the power of CCCs.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session is a call to action for realizing the power of CCCs. Attendees will have an opportunity to connect with NSTA's PL Committee, collaborate with fellow science leaders, and leave with an invitation to continue the conference course to further understandings of sensemaking and CCCs.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA), Sharon Cates (Phenomenon Science Education: Amherst, MA), Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Bremen, GA), Leah Litz (Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium: No City, No State)

The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food Agriculture Nutrition Innovation Center (JJK FAN) is a collaboration between the Danforth Plant Science Center, the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, and the JJK Foundation that serves K-12 youth, predominantly Black/African American, and low-income students in East St. Louis, IL. To ensure high-quality programming in out-of-school time (OST) settings, capacity development for OST staff is critical. The JJK FAN developed a culturally responsive mentoring program to provide STEM professional development for racially minoritized staff. The pilot paired racially minoritized male part-time staff (mentees) with full-time educators (mentors) for a year. We used community-based participatory research methods and culturally responsive pedagogy. Mentors and mentees will share their experiences and examples of OST activities. We will present research findings and highlight the benefits and challenges of working on educator capacity building in underserved communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
This project provides a model for engaging out-of-school time staff in professional development designed around their specific needs and cultural wealth in historically minoritized communities that is broadly adaptable.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Kaggwa (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center: Saint Louis, MO), Tiffany Langewich (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center: Saint Louis, MO)