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 (CEO: No City, No State)

Differentiation in the science classroom is essential for student learning, allowing students to enter the lesson from different points and gain the tools to access material and ensure enduring understanding. In this session, participants will learn about a variety of strategies they can use in their classroom to engage students, identify misconceptions, provide varied practice activities, and offer choices in the learning progression. Differentiation seems to be a wide umbrella, but this session aims to narrow the focus and provide teachers with tools and tips they can implement as soon as they’re home from NSTA!

TAKEAWAYS:
Takeaway a deeper understanding of approaches to differentiation, including both small- and large-scale strategies that are applicable to all science classrooms. Strategies range from simple techniques that can be implemented during a portion of one class, to unit-long approaches.

SPEAKERS:
Kellie Dean (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Jin Kyung Hwang (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Molly Sponseller (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

STEM Career awareness has been done in many ways, as has STEM experiences. Students doing research projects is not new, nor is having mentors. What IS novel is how a coordinated effort to move students from career awareness to interest, to proficiency, through doing research in a mentored and well-resourced environment with extensive Teacher PD at the core, really results in 89% of the students choosing a STEM career. Based on a 12-year case study, the combination of intentional (teacher/student) support centered around a specific STEM career has outcomes tracked in a free online database. This presentation will share the formula, coach teachers to create their own implementation plan during the session, and offer web access to the free online database so teachers/students can track their own progress and benchmark it to aggregated anonymous data of others doing similar programs. Teachers are able to pull/share a PDF report of their own outcomes and as compared to others.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a written plan for their chosen career focus and lists of resource suggestions to help implement this program locally, as well as access to an online data tracking system where they can benchmark outcomes and receive tabulated reports at no charge.

SPEAKERS:
Jill Ott (Science Coach: Saint Louis, MO)

Nature, we vacation near it, we immerse ourselves in it, we need it for survival. A student’s natural curiosity about nature and the world around them can drive science learning and outcomes. Investigating natural phenomena within your state and close to your school creates authentic and relevant opportunities for students to research their local ecosystems. Experiences with nature not only promotes learning, but can help close the achievement gap (Liberman, 1998. Closing the Achievement Gap.) Citing studies, we will discuss how spending time in nature is healthy for students, faculty, and staff. Nature can lower blood pressure, calm anxiety, and improve mood. Using Missouri Department of Conservation’s Discover Nature Schools Curriculum as an example, we will discuss how taking learning outside can meet NGSS Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics and the Earth and Human Activity Strands. We will discuss ways to find and/or create nature experience near you.

TAKEAWAYS:
Nature is everywhere, accessible to everyone; from studying a crack in the sidewalk, where ants and other insects travel, to studying ponds, prairies, and forests. I can find and create nature study opportunities at my school, whether it is urban, suburban, or rural.

SPEAKERS:
Kathi Moore (Conservation Educator: HANNIBAL, MO), Sherri Russell (State Wildlife Veterinarian: Jefferson City, MO)

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (DDPSC) in St. Louis, MO, is the world's largest non-academic plant science research institute. DDPSC collaborates with K-12 schools and higher education institutions to offer authentic research experiences (AREs) and course-based research experiences (CUREs), allowing students to participate in real science as practicing scientists. DDPSC’s 6-12 geospatial education program engages students to use GIS and remote sensing tools to address local plant science and agriculture challenges. DDPSC also partners with AVR companies like Zspace to offer students X-reality learning experiences that foster engagement in science practice and communication. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we measure the impact of these programs on students’ STEM identity, interests, and career interests.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Danforth Center collaborates with K-12 and higher education to provide research, geospatial, and X-reality experiences for students in and out of the classroom to shape their STEM identities and expand their thinking about careers in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Kass (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center: No City, No State), Kristine Callis-Duehl (Donald Danforth Plant Science Center: Saint Louis, MO)

Education is one of five key elements of Social Determinants of Health that have a huge impact on quality of life. Ensuring good physical & mental health is essential to learning. While some schools have excellent health education programs, a large number have limited time and resources for providing health education. An efficiently effective method is to address health questions within the routine science curriculum. For example: In Biology: How does Gonorrhea become multidrug resistant? In Chemistry: How does the chemical structure of penicillin lead to its effectiveness? In Physics: How do seatbelts and airbags affect “Impulse” so crashes can be survivable? Answering these and many other questions provides health information to your students which can help them make more informed decisions. School leadership and science teachers are in an excellent position to promote curriculum incorporated, evidence-based health education using the practical solutions provided by Dr. Lucas

TAKEAWAYS:
Dr. Lucas will address essential topics such as sex ed., substance use, physical self care and mental health. He will offer effective strategies for incorporating these topics into your existing science curriculum to advance overall student well being.

SPEAKERS:
John Lucas (Lucas Health Consulting: Bethesda, MD)