Sponsoring Company: PASCO

Learn how collecting carbon exchange data from plant leaves can help you correct students’ most common misconceptions about respiration and photosynthesis.

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Learn to leverage freely available global data visualizations using NOAA’s SOS Explorer mobile application (available on Apple and Android devices and Chromebooks), and an observational technique used in art museums to increase critical thinking and time spent on visual and group thought analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Russell (NOAA Office of Education: Silver Spring, MD), Hilary Peddicord (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory: Lyons, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games North America LLC

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Sue Mundell (Adventerra Games North America LLC: No City, No State), Bryan Mundell (Founder), Lauren Kelly (Crowley ISD: Fort Worth, TX)

Centering learning around local phenomena can foster sustainable futures when learning is framed in larger global systems thinking and principles. The SDGs provide a framework of 17 central goals that help to foster thriving and sustainable communities. The SDGs are used across many different nations to raise awareness, engage people in action around critical needs for fostering thriving communities, and innovate solutions for our shared futures. This session will explore the SDG framework and its connections to potential local phenomena that connect to learning standards. Participants will be supported to consider examples of how this framework can be used for teaching students about sustainability, climate solutions, and green economy transitions that are critical to our shared future. We will draw on resources and experiences from partner organizations across the nation and the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
After learning about the SDGs, participants will explore the interrelationships between the SDG Framework and local phenomena for use in their own teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (University of Washington), Brian Mandell (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC), John Olson (Metropolitan State University: Saint Paul, MN)

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

Learning Sequences to drive phenomena through a unit is one way to help students understand the content. In this model activity from a new Lab-Aids program; Science and Global Issues: Biology, developed by SEPUP, you will use data to investigate how abiotic factors and species diversity are related.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collects hundreds of terabytes of data daily from satellites, buoys, weather stations, animal tags, and more. Though that may sound intimidating, much of this data is readily available to teachers and can be used in the classroom to teach about our natural world. Using scientific data in the classroom can be a great way for teachers to motivate students and for students to learn inquiry-based methods using real-world data. This presentation will highlight many of NOAA’s standards-supported resources, how to access them, and strategies for using them in the classroom. NOAA data spans Earth, life, and physical sciences, and comes in a variety of formats ranging from raw unprocessed real-time measurements and satellite images to processed visualizations, graphs, charts, and animations. Many resources are ready-to-go so you can bring data into your classroom tomorrow!

TAKEAWAYS:
What types of data are available from NOAA and how to find and use NOAA data in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD)

Crosscutting Concepts, the links between different science disciplines, can be challenging to use as an anchoring storyline activity. However, it can be one of the best ways to engage students, as they can make personal connections between different domains. Teachers will begin by becoming familiar with the NGSS Appendix G Systems and System Models progression, identifying essential learning by grade. Then, they will investigate how this CCC has been built into a storyline anchor, extending this concept from the initial activity (involving video games) into a different aspect of science–climate modeling. Teachers leave prepared to utilize this storyline in the classroom. Upon completion, students will be able to identify the factors used in climate models and create a model that depicts the flow of energy/matter in a climate system. They will also be able to express the reliability and validity of climate models. Resources: https://ncse.ngo/supporting-teachers/classroom-resources

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with a better understanding of how to use the Systems and Systems Modeling Crosscutting Concept to help students analyze the precision and reliability limitations of past and present climate models, dispelling major misconceptions about climate science along the way.

SPEAKERS:
Blake Touchet (National Center for Science Education: Oakland, CA), Michael Lowry (McCallie School: Chattanooga, TN), Lin Andrews (: Oakland, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

Students use a river model to investigate how flowing water erodes and deposits sediments to create common landforms. They then design erosion control structures and use the river model to test them. Based on the results of their initial testing, students redesign and retest their structures.

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! We will explore how organisms find food and interact with other organisms in their environment. For younger students: How creatures find food, and for older students: Social behavior and interspecies interactions will be discussed.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon (Watauga High School: Boone, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Aidmics Biotechnology

This workshop supports teachers to implement inquiry-based science learning and helps students to develop meaningful scientifically literate views of the world by using the uHandy Microscope that acts as your second pair of eyes, which ignites your curiosity and your genuine passion for science!

SPEAKERS:
Jolanda Hsu (Aidmics Biotechnology: Taipei City, Taipei City)

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

A decomposing corpse is found in a field. Four possible missing persons fit the description. But who is it? Using clues near the scene will help determine identity. Forensic anthropologist Diane France helped to develop this free middle school and high school forensic science lesson.

This session will focus on sharing instructional modules that have been developed to facilitate relationships between herbaria and high school students to highlight the importance of plants and preserving botanical specimens. Many times plants are overlooked or considered less significant than animals. This research-backed perspective is known as Plant Awareness Disparity. These free, research-based modules allow students to investigate their own botanical history by connecting with plants that are important to them and their families, then experience the entire process of collecting, mounting, cataloging, and digitizing their specimen. There are 10 modules that are aligned with the NRC K-12 Framework and heavily rely upon student-centered and place-based learning. All participants will be given access to the modules and encouraged to interact with the module developers as they implement the activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Many times, plants are overlooked and considered less significant than animals. This is known as Plant Awareness Disparity. Participants in this session will learn about free instructional modules that will help high school students connect with plants through exploring their own botanical history.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Moore (Tennessee Tech: Cookeville, TN)

Designers and writers from the well known STEM Teaching Tools collection (www.stemteachingtools.org), a free repository of resources that reference other national resources funded by the NSF and created by national leaders in climate science and education, have developed a branch of resources called the ClimateEdTools which provide learning pathways for educators as well as strategies for use in youth centered learning contexts. Come and explore these resources with us as we examine the deeply intersectional socio-ecological issues facing our world and how to teach about them. In this workshop we will explore how to engage in science instruction that centers local climate justice phenomena to teach climate science standards. In addition, we will workshop how educators may apply this collection of resources to meet the needs they have in their own teaching and learning contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate Ed Tools contain rich examples of climate justice instruction, strategies for engaging youth, and to support climate change learning and communication among educators. These open education resources (OER) include video overviews, valuable guidance educators, and tons of background resources!

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (University of Washington), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

An important and exciting focus of climate science addresses tipping points, which are non-linear reinforcing feedbacks within the climate system. Current climate research has identified at least a dozen different important climate tipping points that could possibly be triggered in the near future, with significant implications for human society; these include changes to glaciers, permafrost, ocean circulation, surface albedo, ocean acidity, and the biomass storage of carbon. This presentation will address what these tipping points are, why they are potentially dangerous, and how best to teach about them. The topic of climate tipping points aligns with several of the NGSS Earth and space science performance expectations and also strongly aligns with the NGSS CCC on the Stability and Change of systems. Ideas will be presented for phenomena and storylines addressing climate tipping points, which can be used in a chemistry, Earth science, environmental science, or physical science course.

TAKEAWAYS:
The subject of climate system tipping points is societally timely and important, and is an engaging topic for addressing NGSS several performance expectations in Earth and space science, and helping students understand the NGSS crosscutting concept of Stability and Change.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession (Washington University in St. Louis: Saint Louis, MO)

Sponsoring Company: PASCO

From analysis of individual ions to calculating an overall index for general water quality. Explore tips for best results and how to leverage your work for students beyond those who go to the field to collect the data. Importance of Temp, DO, conductivity, pH, hardness, nutrients, and bacterial load

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

In this interactive workshop from our new Biology program from SEPUP, students will engage with a model of how human choices affect the sustainability of a particular resource—the fish population of a fictitious lake—and the potential effects of various actions.

Sponsoring Company: miniPCR bio

Bring molecular techniques to Ecology and Evolution units. Join an expedition to Madagascar to decide if an extinct lemur species has been rediscovered! Test DNA with gel electrophoresis, build phylogenetic trees, and analyze authentic field data from the Duke Lemur Center.

SPEAKERS:
Allison Nishitani, PhD (miniPCR: Cambridge, MA)

In this poster session, educators will have the opportunity to learn about ways to get students outside and learning about the native arthropods in their area. This 2-4 day project allows students to research, collect, and identify different arthropods in their environment. Students will practice and show their understanding of these arthropods by designing and presenting their own phylogenic tree while connecting it back to their native environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Come learn about how to engage your students in the environment around them through the lens of classification and taxonomy.

SPEAKERS:
Jacqueline Svetich (Science Teacher: Naperville, IL)

Using the authenticity framework, students are guided through a 5E lesson, to answer the essential question “How does fire impact prairie ecosystems?” Embedded are real-world connections, the construction of knowledge, student inquiry, and student-centered learning. Lesson snapshot: Students will: Engage with various prairie ecosystem photos and images of prairie fires, and write descriptive words that come to mind. Explore a map of North American prairies, and complete an I Notice, I Wonder; we will explore articles to begin a CER to answer the essential question. Explain by participating in an activity to sort goods and services based on their knowledge of prairies. Extend by viewing an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) video to learn about the importance of using fire to improve plants and ecosystems, and how indigenous tribes used fire for agriculture. Evaluate the completion of their CER using their notes from the lesson and a list of prescribed vocabulary terms.

TAKEAWAYS:
HS teachers will have a ready-to-use, standards-based 5E lesson that they can use in their classrooms immediately. And it’s FREE!

SPEAKERS:
Teresa Randall (The University of Oklahoma: Norman, OK)

Discussion of culture is often missing in garden-based education. To share and validate the interests of our culturally diverse students, we will delve deep into the significance of culture as it relates to food and gardens and also as it relates to the diverse populations with whom we work. Through student voices and examples we will share the principles of culturally responsive garden education that honors diversity and inclusion. Join us as we explore ways to celebrate and center culture through garden-based learning. School gardens have many benefits for students which include helping students make nutritious choices, encouraging students to be environmentally conscious, and providing experiential learning. Research shows that students who participate in garden-based science curriculum score significantly higher on science achievement tests than students in a traditional classroom-based control group. This garden-enhanced achievement benefits both boys and girls equally.

TAKEAWAYS:
By their nature, gardens embody diversity. Garden education is increasingly recognized as an interdisciplinary approach that integrates academic goals, health and wellness, place-based education, and community connections and relationships.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Noonan (Topeka Public Schools USD 501: Topeka, KS), Rhonda Gadino (Topeka Public Schools: No City, No State)

School gardens are a fantastic way to transition from a more traditional classroom to an outdoor, experiential learning opportunity centered on student engagement and critical thinking. Students are able to physically connect with nutrition education, understand the process of growing healthy foods, and recognize environmental stewardship. A school garden can also be integrated into many subjects such as math, science, health, literacy and social studies. The school garden offers a place to enrich teaching efforts with powerful hands-on experiences that make learning come alive. Each school or youth garden is as unique as the school or community that plants it. Gardens may come in many configurations, ranging from a collection of container gardens or a grouping of raised beds to a half-acre of plowed land. Successful garden programs do have certain features in common, however, they are designed to meet local program needs, to be sustainable, and to use the physical site and resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
School gardens are a fantastic way to transition from a more traditional classroom to an outdoor, experiential learning opportunity centered on student engagement and critical thinking. A school garden can be integrated into many subjects such as math, science, health, literacy and social studies.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Noonan (Topeka Public Schools USD 501: Topeka, KS), Rhonda Gadino (Topeka Public Schools: No City, No State)

Prolonged exposure to radon, a colorless, radioactive, noble gas, is the second-leading cause of lung cancer. Researchers at Georgia State University (GSU) and GSU Perimeter College are conducting research to measure levels of radon gas in metropolitan Atlanta with support from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation. GSU researchers are testing soil samples and remotely monitoring radon levels. To disseminate this research to the broader community, the researchers hosted a week-long radon research workshop for 6-12 grade teachers in DeKalb County Public Schools, Georgia, in June 2022. Four teachers attended the summer radon workshop at the GSU Perimeter College-Decatur Campus. They participated in experiments on soil and water quality testing, soil porosity measurements, gene editing for cancer treatment, and virtual reality lung exploration. The project was highly successful and received positive feedback. This poster will detail the workshop experience.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how universities can successfully partner with local districts to provide research experiences for teachers to expand their content knowledge and lab experience. This project demonstrates the broader impact of the project’s initial goal of measuring radon levels in Atlanta.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Andrews (GSU Perimeter College)

In this session, participants will experience part of an NGSS-aligned unit on wastewater testing and COVID-19. This six-lesson unit utilizing the 5E learning approach was developed through the collaboration of educators, engineers, scientists, medical doctors, and public health experts within an NIH-funded project. Attendees will participate in the fourth lesson of the sequence, entitled “H-Two-Poo.” Participants will first test the quality of different water samples to answer the driving question “how do you know if water is safe to use?” Participants will then learn about sources of wastewater, methods of wastewater management, and the development of a wastewater testing protocol to detect the presence of COVID-19. The experiences of high school students and teachers who have participated in the implementation of this phenomenon-based unit will be shared, including data from student surveys and handouts, along with photos of field trips to the community wastewater treatment facility.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will utilize science and engineering practices to collect and analyze water quality data. They will further learn how science and engineering have been used to develop wastewater testing techniques that inform public health decisions in our communities.

SPEAKERS:
Sahar Alameh (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY), Jeff Chalfant (Ph.D. Candidate), Sagan Goodpaster (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY)

Ecological systems have been damaged by humans. Science can be used to guide responses and support the thriving of species. Science education tends to reflect Western perspectives, including the view of humans as separate from and exerting control over nature. However, science learning can build from caring, relational orientations toward multispecies worlds and socio-ecologically just and thriving systems. We must engage learners in ways that highlight these webs of interdependence and support learners in responding to complex human-nature ecosystem dynamics. In this session, we will explore strategies and examples of science learning that cultivate caring ecological relationships, including firsthand experiences of learning by engaging with and investigating land and water systems. We will draw on co-designed resources from STEM Teaching Tools (www.stemteachingtools.org) and Learning in Places (learninginplaces.org) to support these experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Human-nature relationships are culturally and historically rooted and are embedded in approaches to science teaching and learning. Supporting reciprocal and caring human-nature relationships leads to socio-ecologically just and thriving systems—and aligns with NGSS 3-D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Nancy Price (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Participants will examine how real data can be used to create conceptual models to drive understanding of complex concepts. Tree ring data will be used as an example of a line of evidence to support climate models and phenotype data are collected to create a conceptual model of inheritance patterns.

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Kopkau

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Join us for a demo of our database of 1,200+ educational resources from NOAA. We host ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, and climate resources. Tour our lesson plans and activities and ask us your questions. Learn more at noaa.gov/education/resources. This session is appropriate for K-16 educators.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD)

Connect the human impact of trash pollution to engineering design. Get your students thinking critically and creatively as they collaborate in real-world problem-solving. The global real-world issue of human-generated trash polluting local bodies of water is the main focus of this hands-on session. Using our partnership with the Howard County Conservancy, our students learn about their local watersheds and contribute to a Watershed Report Card. Students see how trash that is often found on our local schoolyards can affect our watershed, and they design a working model for trash removal in a local tributary. Basic coding will be used to design programs that will control sensors and motors through a microcontroller, thus removing the trash from the water source. The model will utilize solar and water power to move the trash into a separate receptacle. Various sensors will also be used to monitor water levels and determine the outcome of the program.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Connecting the human impact of single-use plastics and their effect on aquatic ecosystems; 2. Exposing students to basic coding and engineering design in an NGSS-focused content classroom; and 3. Developing a project that enhances STEM skills in students such as collaboration, curiosity, and creativity.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout (Educational Consultant: Ellicott City, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

Use a DQB to make phenomena meaningfully connected to science content. Pro-tips and exemplary DQB walkthrough – an experienced trainer will guide development of a sample DQB using a model lesson from our middle school program that looks at the effects of an introduced species on an ecosystem.

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Engage your students in learning about the effects of climate change with this hands-on experiment. Using the latest Vernier data-collection technology, we'll define ocean acidification, determine how we can measure it, and discuss why it is bad for our marine ecosystems. Get ready to dive in!

SPEAKERS:
Colleen McDaniel (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

This presentation will involve a Google Slide show detailing why some of our beloved labs do not meet the NGSS standards and how we can adjust these labs through phenomena, critical thinking questions, CER, and rubrics to meet those standards. Furthermore, this presentation's primary purpose is to highlight why we struggle with "students today." It is a fact that students have changed; we expect students to change. It's the fact that we as educators have not adapted to the students that are in front of us today. They have changed but have we, as educators? Have our lessons and lab experiences changed with them? This presentation will show how to adapt and adjust old lab experiences (biology, chemistry, environmental science, and physics) to meet the NGSS standards and why newer phenomena-based lessons differ from old recipe labs. If time permits, teachers will work on a lab they want to update.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway from this presentation will be how we incorporate rubrics, critical thinking questions, and phenomena into our lab experiences to meet the students & standards of today—cultivating an engaging and collaborative experience for the students.

SPEAKERS:
Dennis Dagounis (Berkeley Heights Public Schools: Berkeley Heights, NJ)

As science educators, we often ask our students to make sense of phenomena that have a direct impact on human life such as hurricanes, floods, or wildfires. During this session, participants will explore free online modules which contain uncertainty-infused argumentation sets and interactive models that allow students to explore these events. Students’ work samples will be examined to see how their capacity for developing scientific arguments grows as they learn more about natural hazards. These samples include making claims from evidence, writing explanations that support their claims, and discussing the uncertainty of their explanations. The uncertainty discussions also include students’ evaluations of the models and data presented. This session is designed to introduce you to the modules and demonstrate how using them can strengthen your teaching and deepen student understanding of natural hazards through modeling and argumentation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore a series of simulations designed to deepen students’ understanding of natural hazards. They will create a free account to access these simulations and associated curricula. An emphasis on the practices of modeling and argumentation will be used as part of the sensemaking process.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Harmon (PIMSER (KY): No City, No State)

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)

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning | Twig Education

In this session, participants will discuss strategies to support STEM classroom experiences that position all students as thinkers and problem-solvers. Participants will also reflect on peer experiences as they consider their own implementation of ideas that ensure the inclusion of all learners in authentic STEM focused tasks. Finally, attendees will identify success criteria for appropriate task engagement.

Sponsoring Company: American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture

Learn how transfer tasks can be used as summative assessments to help students apply knowledge through authentic learning experiences through the context of food and agriculture. Open to all teachers K-12!

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning | Twig Education

Join world class designers and engineers as we dive in to explore hydroelectricity and the growing need to harness force and motion found in the ocean. Participants will experience a simulated lesson, make a 3D model of a water turbine, and use it to investigate the relationship between force and motion.

SPEAKERS:
Charmaine Cowell (Imagine Learning | Twig Education: Scottsdale, AZ)

For the purposes of the STEM Share-a-Thon, NCSE will have two mini-stations set up to provide quick, meaningful previews of our evolution and climate change lessons. We will have a variety of student and teacher handouts ready to take home for immediate use in the classroom, and a variety of SWAG to help spread the word about scientific literacy and our evidence-based approach to NGSS storylining. The National Center for Science Education's mission is to ensure all students have access to a sound science education, regardless of societally contentious regional topics like evolution and climate change. Our lessons were developed for teachers by teachers and have been extensively field-tested over the past three years. As we are a non-profit organization, all our resources are free. For more information, and to check out the variety of lessons we will have available at the Share-a-Thon, go here: https://ncse.ngo/supporting-teachers/classroom-resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Scientific literacy and critical analysis of verified evidence are more important than ever in the secondary classroom. NCSE has developed lessons to resolve common misconceptions encountered online and through social media. All resources are free, NGSS-aligned, and readily available online.

SPEAKERS:
Blake Touchet (National Center for Science Education: Oakland, CA), Lin Andrews (: Oakland, CA)

Prolonged exposure to radon, a colorless, inert noble gas, is the second-leading cause of lung cancer. Researchers at Georgia State University and Perimeter College are conducting research to measure and monitor the levels of radon gas in metro Atlanta through support from USDA and NSF grants. This project will detail the partnership between Georgia State University and DeKalb County Public Schools to provide an authentic experience by hosting a radon research summer workshop for 6-12 grade STEM teachers in 2022 and 2023. The teachers conducted hands-on laboratory experiments that modeled the research that is being conducted by the Georgia State University researchers and toured the sampling sites. The workshop received positive feedback from both cohorts. The workshop will detail how universities and school districts partner to strengthen the STEM pipeline and incorporate university-level research in a secondary classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how universities and K-12 school districts can partner to provide authentic science experiences to transfer high-level university research to a secondary classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Andrews (GSU Perimeter College)

In this session, participants will experience part of an NGSS-aligned unit on wastewater testing and COVID-19. This six-lesson unit utilizing the 5E learning approach was developed through the collaboration of educators, engineers, scientists, medical doctors, and public health experts within an NIH-funded project. Attendees will participate in the fourth lesson of the sequence, entitled “H-Two-Poo.” Participants will first test the quality of different water samples to answer the driving question “how do you know if water is safe to use?” Participants will then learn about sources of wastewater, methods of wastewater management, and the development of a wastewater testing protocol to detect the presence of COVID-19. The experiences of high school students and teachers who have participated in the implementation of this phenomenon-based unit will be shared, including data from student surveys and handouts, along with photos of field trips to the community wastewater treatment facility.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will utilize science and engineering practices to collect and analyze water quality data. They will further learn how science and engineering have been used to develop wastewater testing techniques that inform public health decisions in our communities.

SPEAKERS:
Sagan Goodpaster (University of Kentucky: Lexington, KY)

N/A

TAKEAWAYS:
You will takeaway teacher tools to support planning and implementing each flexible practice, along with understanding how these practices have played out with teachers and students. These takeaways will be supported by student and teacher examples of work with, and reflections on, these practices.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Lawson (Teaching Assistant Professor)

Climate change is the biggest threat affecting our collective futures. We need to provide young people with the tools to be able to navigate a future that is unclear. Technology is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to climate solutions. However, teaching students how to understand the limitations and benefits of how technology can lead to climate solutions is important. This poster session will showcase student work that was completed during the Howard County Conservancy’s Youth Climate Institutes STEM Action Team. Students worked collaboratively to identify climate impacts within their own communities and developed models to potential solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get ideas of how to incorporate STEM projects while teaching Climate Change and Environmental Science.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout (Educational Consultant: Ellicott City, MD)

The interdisciplinary STEM unit is a series of six science lessons and activities for grades 9-12 about viruses, wastewater, and public health with COVID-19 as the anchoring phenomenon. The unit was implemented at a rural high school in the southeastern United States. The presenter co-taught the unit with each teacher during their regular biology classes. Along with the three biology teachers, over 160 students in grades 9-11 participated in the implementation. The students experienced hand-on, inquiry-driven lessons exploring the role of wastewater testing in public health. Additionally, the co-teaching provided an immersive perspective into students’ and teachers’ experiences throughout the unit. We will provide insight into these experiences and discuss how they helped students develop science understanding associated with wastewater testing and public health.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore the experiences students and teachers had during the implementation of the STEM unit on wastewater and public health. We will present examples of student work and share students’ and teachers' experiences from the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Chalfant (Ph.D. Candidate)

Due to the increasing environmental concerns among consumers, governments worldwide are focusing on adopting clean mobility solutions through alternative fuel. The team decided to gather leftover seeds to extract oils that will serve as our source of FAMEThe team used grape, pumpkin, watermelon, pomegranate, and cactus seed oils as a source of fatty acid methyl esters or biodiesel as an Alternative Biofuel. Results show that all plant seeds are a feasible source of biodiesel, pumpkin. on the other hand, oil from the pumpkin seeds shows remarkable results wherein it produces 100 mL of oil from 500 grams of seeds and it has also the highest height (9 inches) of flame when measured. It was also observed that it easily captured the fire during the flammability test. On the other hand, the team observed that the flame color of most of the biodiesel was orange, except for the grape seed which shows a more yellow flame.

TAKEAWAYS:
Making of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (Biodiesel) Out of Native Plant Seeds

SPEAKERS:
Roy Basa (Zuni Public School District: Zuni, NM)

Presenting on the NSTA/HESI (Health and Environmental Sciences Insitute) partnership curriculum - Health DataWell. To understand the varied roles of citizens and health scientists in protecting and promoting the health and wellness of their communities This curriculum is designed for teachers to use with high-school level science students and can be freely accessed and implemented by teachers anywhere in the world. The program content is aligned with common educational standards of learning (SOLs) in the US but is not specific to any State. At present the curriculum will only be offered in English, but future iterations may include translation into other languages.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will build skills and knowledge in three primary focus areas: data analysis and visualization, social and environmental determinants of health, and increasing awareness of careers and civic roles in societal health protection.

SPEAKERS:
Raechel Puglisi (Scientific Program Manager: Washington, DC)

This is an overview of the farm-to-table process through the FDA. Labs are written so that the level of literacy is equitable to the grade span for which it is written. Grade levels 5-12 are included in the curriculum and NGSS standards included. The curriculum spans biology, chemistry, physical science, environmental science, and food and consumer science. It is written free of bias so that all students regardless of their life experiences can relate science to everyday food safety and nutrition. Food safety and nutrition will be discussed, curriculum links, methods, and activities to bring real-world knowledge into the classroom will be shared. Ideas for incorporating lessons as well as the literacy standards linking reading nonfiction topics in the science classroom will be addressed. Three classroom activities using beef, milk and salt will be demonstrated to show connections with science literacy standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will: 1. be introduced to the fundamentals of microbiology while, at the same time, identifying important public health information through literature and hands-on learning activities; 2. learn about the label, and that nutrition not only aids in general well-being.

SPEAKERS:
Leanne Thele (Perryville High School: , MO), Tiska Rodgers (Clarkton High School: Clarkton, MO)

For Teachers, By Teachers -- A group of 25+ educators from the Midwest are currently developing a series of storyline units for science and agriculture teachers that engage students in developing explanations for agricultural phenomena and solving real-world problems. Students utilize the three dimensions of NGSS in each of the storylines as they learn about food systems, or the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food products and interactions with the natural environment. During this session, participants will learn about storyline #2 which challenges students to figure out how different soils affect the kinds and quantities of food commodities that can be produced. Topics include: what is soil, effects of soil on plant growth, movement of matter and energy in soil, and how to decrease human impact on soils and biodiversity. Specific emphasis is placed on developing skills related to the Scientific & Engineering Practices and building Crosscutting Concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in activities that are part of a new storyline unit on how soil affects the types and quantities of food commodities grown. Topics include what is soil, the effect of soil on plant growth, movement of matter and energy through soils, and how to decrease human impact on soils.

SPEAKERS:
Chris Embry Mohr (Olympia High School: Stanford, IL)

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning | Twig Education

Become part of an amusement park design team as we explore the laws of repulsion and attraction through magnetic experimentation! Participants will experience a simulated elementary lesson using magnetic poles to exert pushes and pulls onto an object without touching it.

SPEAKERS:
Bradley Shepstead (Imagine Learning | Twig Education: Scottsdale, AZ)

Students utilize different components (enzymes, yeast, feed stocks, water] to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide through fermentation. Students develop a model and explain how ethanol is made to answer the focus question: "How can fermentation produce a renewable fuel source?" Students develop experimental models to generate data to construct explanations about relationships between components of the fermentation process and to predict how they can be manipulated to produce carbon dioxide. Students will design solutions to make the fermentation process as efficient as possible and generate the maximum amount of ethanol in a small bag environment. Participants will deconstruct a model of starch to examine enzyme and starch reactions to determine how starches change into smaller molecules. Attendees will participate in numerous hands-on activities centered around biofuel.

TAKEAWAYS:
Nourish the Future is a national education initiative developed by science teachers for science teachers to connect students to modern agriculture and provide sound science-based resources that meet teacher and student needs in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Leanne Thele (Perryville High School: , MO), Tiska Rodgers (Clarkton High School: Clarkton, MO)

There is a strong need in the post (ish) COVID world, to help overworked, under supported teachers find the mental clarity needed to be the creative, innovative, and caring teachers we need to develop the future STEM minds of the future. As a certified nature therapy guide and long time NSTA presenter, I would love to bring this practice to the NSTA community. Participants will meet in the room and listen to a short overview of nature therapy and its roots in Shinrin-yoku. We will walk outside - encouraged to notice what is moving slowly as we walk through the busy conference. Once we are outside, I will lead in a land acknowledgement and sensory meditation. Participants will be given a chance to share what they noticed in a sharing circle. We will walk to the next locations and engage in more invitations / sharing circles. The invitations will be finalized once I am on site and connect with the land for inspiration.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about the practice of nature therapy and its roots in the Japanese practice Shinrin-yoku which is widely researched for its health benefits.

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero (Student / Educator / Researcher / Healer: Saratoga, CA)

Climate science education is foundational for all learners given our changing lands and waters. These changes vary across the landscape and thus we also need to learn about the differential way in which climate change is impacting people across different contexts. Often the most marginalized peoples are the first impacted. This session will explore ways to teach about climate science that provide insight into the lived experiences and current adaptations of those most impacted by climate change. Tools for engaging in conversations around such inequities, curriculum resources, and ways to engage in solutions centered action research with students will all be explored. We will draw on emerging resources being built within the STEM Teaching Tools collection (www.stemteachingtools.org), a free repository of resources that reference other national resources funded by the NSF and created by national leaders in climate science and education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for engaging in climate change and climate justice learning appropriate to grade band NGSS standards, climate and energy literacy standards, and for both school and community-based learning contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (University of Washington)

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning | Twig Education

Join us as we have some scientific fun while exploring the big pull of gravity! Participants will experience a simulated primary elementary session using marbles and gravity! This session demonstrates how to make science accessible and engaging to some of our youngest learners, while also laying a solid foundation for further exploration.

SPEAKERS:
Tess Burns (Imagine Learning | Twig Education: Scottsdale, AZ)

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning | Twig Education

In this session, participants will discuss strategies to support STEM classroom experiences that position all students as thinkers and problem-solvers. Participants will also reflect on peer experiences as they consider their own implementation of ideas that ensure the inclusion of all learners in authentic STEM focused tasks. Finally, attendees will identify success criteria for appropriate task engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Tess Burns (Imagine Learning | Twig Education: Scottsdale, AZ)