2023 Kansas City National Conference

October 25-28, 2023

Additional sessions will be added as they are accepted and confirmed over the next several weeks.
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FILTERS APPLIED:Hands-On Workshop, Students and Sensemaking

 

Rooms and times subject to change.
133 results
Save up to 50 sessions in your agenda.

Shared Waters: A Classroom Ready Watershed Themed Curriculum for 3rd-7th Grade

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2206


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Participants in this session will be introduced to the Shared Waters curriculum, a classroom-ready, watershed-focused, 10-lesson unit. This presentation will provide attendees with a brief overview of the unit exploring overall content, learning goals, lesson resources, and the culminating student-driven action project. During the workshop, participants will engage in a hands-on activity that explores watershed boundaries and how pollution enters waterways via stormwater runoff. There will be a demonstration of pervious vs impervious surfaces and a showcase of an online learning tool titled 'runoff simulator' that connects the two activities. Finally, presenters will highlight the culminating student-centered action project and how the Shared Waters curriculum guides educators through the process with students. All participants will have free access to the Shared Waters curriculum, including all lesson plans, worksheets, and PowerPoint slides.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn more about this curriculum while participating in a hands-on watershed activity and demonstrations exploring pervious and impervious surfaces' connections to waterway health. We'll tie it all together with an easy-to-implement student-centered action project that can be completed in one day.

SPEAKERS:
Liz Fulton (Graduate Assistant: Millersville, PA)

Using the NSTA Sensemaking Tool to Evaluate Lessons for Sensemaking - Elementary

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 3501 E



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Demystifying the Practice of Using Mathematics and Computational
Kansas City Fall 2023 Elementary and Secondary Sessions

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool (adapted from the research-based NGSS Lesson Screener) is designed to help educators be critical consumers of curricular materials as well as create and/or revise science lessons to reflect the instructional shifts required by new standards (sensemaking). Join us to gain experience using the tool and facilitating criteria-based consensus conversations with colleagues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Recognize the critical aspects of sensemaking in a science lesson.

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

Students and Challenging Texts—Graphic Narratives, Lay Summaries, and Cooperative Groups

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2105



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Note to participants
Slide presentation (info, resources, agenda)
Students and Challenging Texts
Workshop on helping students with challenging texts. Folder with a number of resources and examples.

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Science writing is an essential part of authentic science. However, both perception and reality suggest that science texts of various genres are difficult and challenging for many students. What can a teacher do to help students meet challenges so that they can realize the beauty and significance of pivotal works in the history of science, groundbreaking contemporary research, and the deep reflections found in scientific creative non-fiction? In this workshop we will try out techniques based on cooperative groups who create graphic narratives and lay summaries. An assortment of texts will be available to explore, like the concluding paragraph to Darwin’s Origin of Species and the story of Carbon by Primo Levi. Experience in the classroom will be shared where understanding of the texts is achieved by students, including reluctant readers and English language learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Great, significant, and sometimes difficult written works in science can become accessible to students through cooperative groups, graphic narratives, and lay summaries.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Frazier (retired)

Developing Visual Literacy in Science: Strategies and Resources

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2102 A


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Participants will experience using dialogue structures and literacy skills in the science classroom. Research shows that when students are engaged with the content and are allowed the chance to make sense of it for themselves, they will learn more. Participants will experience mini lessons that incorporate phenomena and showcase research-proven structures. Participants will be actively learning strategies that can be implemented in classrooms to increase visual literacy amongst students. Strategies include reading, writing, speaking, and graphing skills. Science examples will be modeled. There will be collaborative discussions on how these strategies can be incorporated into a variety of grade levels. Throughout these strategies, we will focus on the dialogue structures set in place to encourage all students to participate and use the academic language. Each of these structures focuses on the teacher being the facilitator of the learning, rather than leading the discussions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Takeaways include: 1. Identify how literacy and dialogue are an integral part in sensemaking; 2. Engage in examples of activities that integrate speaking, listening, and reading into the science classroom; and 3. Pick up tips to promote retention of vocabulary through scaffolding.

SPEAKERS:
Molly Niedens (Tays Junior High School: Katy, TX)

3 Steps for ES & MS Students to Rock Graphs

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2202



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Shared resource document

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Data is key to NGSS. Yet many students struggle to make sense of it. Leaving many of us baffled by what our students do with data and/or confused by the claims they make from graphs. What can we do? Leverage classroom-ready strategies based on what research says about how younger students learn from data! Join us to discuss the data skills our young learners need and try strategies to integrate these skills into whatever your curriculum or platforms. We will explore how such strategies foster science learning for all students and increase students' interest in working with data (from Pre-K to 8th). We will discuss how novices and experts interact with data differently and what that means for our teaching. As we explore classroom-ready resources around data, data visualizations, and instructional strategies to enhance our current K-8 science content instruction and increase our toolkits. Let’s set ourselves and our students up for success by building strong foundations!

TAKEAWAYS:
Acquire skills and resources to unpack strategies for K-8 students to use when interpreting science data and visualizations in our existing curriculum for building data skills.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC)

What Could We Have Done About All That Dust?

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2207



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Kansas City 2023 NSTA Conference session_ What could we have done about all that dust_.pdf
NSTA KC 2023_ What could we have done about all that dust_ (2).pdf
Red and Blue Stripes Patterned Senses Graphic Organizer (2).pdf

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

According to recent studies, teaching elementary reading, writing, and math in isolation is not the most effective way for students to learn. We will show how it is possible to develop integrated learning opportunities using all of the subjects as attendees work together to analyze data and primary sources from the 1930's regarding the Dust Bowl in Kansas. Using a jigsaw method, attendees will first be divided into specialties: Horticulturist, Biologist, Geologist, Climatologist, Government employee, Native American, and a monoculture farmer to work together, from their discipline's unique perspective, to investigate how the Dust Bowl could have been avoided. They will analyze soil samples, graphs, charts, weather patterns, etc. and come to conclusions. Each member of the group will then be assigned a new group that includes one member from each discipline to present and share their perspectives with others in order to design a solution for the droughts being experienced in the 21st century.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to integrate historical problems, primary source analysis, and STEM practices in engaging and meaningful ways to reinforce student learning as they work together to explore and debate possible solutions from multiple perspectives to prevent another Dust Bowl like the 1930's.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah Draper (Cedar Ridge Elementary School: Tulsa, OK), Julie Siebach (Retired Teacher: Cedar Hills, UT)

How to Promote and Support Learning After Introducing a Phenomenon

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2103 B


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

The session will give teachers an opportunity to participate in the same sort of rich and meaningful learning experiences that are called for by the NGSS. This session, as a result, will include approximately forty minutes of audience participation in student hat. Teachers will leave with high-quality instructional materials that they can use in their own classrooms. The agenda for this session is: • A discussion of characteristics of phenomenon-based instruction and sensemaking (5 mins). • A discussion of obstacles to sensemaking during a learning experience (10 minutes). • An opportunity for participants to experience an example of how support learners use DCIs, CCs, and SEPs during a learning experience in a way that makes the process of sensemaking useful and inclusive (40 mins). • Questions and suggestions for learning more (5 mins).

TAKEAWAYS:
Introducing meaningful phenomena is necessary, but not sufficient for fostering sensemaking. Students must also have opportunities to use DCIs, CCs, and SEPs during the learning experience, and the experience must be structured in ways that make the process of sensemaking useful and inclusive.

SPEAKERS:
Victor Sampson (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX)

Extreme Living: Making Sense of Changing Weather Patterns and Designing Solutions

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2103 A


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

This presentation will provide teachers with a ready-to-teach Unit designed to help their students experience several Physical Science, Earth-Space Science, and Engineering NGSS standards. The unit addresses global weather patterns and the impacts of potential pattern changes. It also addresses thermal energy and its applications in building design. All middle school science teachers; whether new to the profession, new to phenomena-based learning, or seasoned veterans will find something new and exciting to bring back to their classrooms. This Unit combines my understanding of the middle school science classroom with expertise of curriculum writers at Pacific Education Institute. Teachers will receive help planning lessons, activities, and discussions. They will also take the role of a student to have first-hand experience with labs and activities. Teachers will receive a digital copy of all of the instructional materials including grading rubrics.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how to teach and assess a dynamic 3-D unit addressing Physical Science and Earth Space Science NGSS Standards. Teachers will leave with editable access to all Unit materials. Teachers will get time and guidance on how to adapt the Unit to their classroom and student needs.

SPEAKERS:
Kat Chamberlain (Ridgetop Middle School: No City, No State)

Is Your Science Instruction a Disaster? Let's Unpack Curriculum to Create Deeper Understanding

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2204


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

As third grade teachers in a STEAM school, we continuously work to create, plan, improve our science curriculum. Teachers who join us will learn how we apply the three-dimensions to our science planning while actively participating in our natural disaster unit. We will lead a discussion on how we breakdown and integrate the 3-dimensions of NGSS science in our unit plan. We will then showcase core instructional practices by completing an activity from our unit. During this time, participants will grow in their understanding through hands-on learning and journaling. They will leave with the natural disaster unit, along with materials to recreate this in their own classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a better understanding of the three-dimensions of the NGSS. We will break apart each of the three dimensions to see what they are, how they guide us, and how they make science more attainable within our classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Olivia Witherspoon (3rd Grade Teacher: Nixa, MO), Amanda Fenley (5th Grade Teacher: NIXA, MO), Daesha Parks (3rd Grade Teacher: Nixa, MO)

People and Wildlife: Lessons on Interconnections and Biodiversity

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2104 A


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

The growth of human settlements and natural resource use have impacted our wild spaces and led to fragmented habitats, pollution, and overharvesting. In this hands-on session, the presenter will lead participants in hands-on classroom activities that explore ecological footprints and possible paths toward sustainability. The presenter will introduce concepts around human ecology, including human population trends, biodiversity trends, and how human activities (agricultural expansion, deforestation, etc.) have impacted wildlife habitats. Most of the session will be the demonstration of hands-on activities that address NGSS content, but also integrate mathematics, social studies, and language arts. Activity formats include a large-group simulation on carrying capacity in nature, a visual demonstration of the breakdown of land use around the globe, and a modeling activity on biodiversity threats in different ecosystems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn hands-on, collaborative approaches to guide students’ inquiry around key ecological concepts on population, wildlife, and biodiversity, using 3-D strategies and sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Vanessa Wyss (Ferris State University: White Pigeon, MI)

STOM: Animals on the Move

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 3501 G



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Animals on the Move NSTA-KC2023
Presentation with links to resources and videos
Animals on the Move Resource Links
Animals on the Move Slides Presentation

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

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)

Making Sense of the Nature of Science: Easy, Fun, and Powerful Activities To Implement In Your Classroom

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2103 C



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
mystery cubes.png
NOS Puzzle Print.png
NOS Story Cards.pdf

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

The Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry are important topics that should be explicitly taught to students, because research tells us that students do not implicitly pick up on the ideas of NOS through just engaging in science. They must engage in direct conversations and activities that address what Science is and how it operates. These conversations should be grounded in accessible phenomena and activities so every student has the opportunity to develop their understanding. The NOS is foundational to being able to engage effectively in science and understanding science at is most basic and conceptual level, as emphasized by the K-12 Framework and NGSS. This session will share some simple activities through rotation stations that can quickly be used throughout the course of a science class to help students discuss and engage in ideas about the Nature of Science.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. It is important to explicitly teach the nature of science to students; 2. The nature of science should be presented in an accessible way to all students; and 3. Attendees will walk away with activities they can use in their class immediately to teach the NOS.

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

Developing Storylines from a Compelling Anchor

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 3501 D



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Link to the Session Slides

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

N/A

TAKEAWAYS:
Presenting a compelling phenomenon or design challenge requires framing a question and choosing material carefully. Building a storyline requires testing out a launch of a unit to anticipate student questions about it, and first identifying what students will figure out in each lesson of a unit before it occurs.

SPEAKERS:
Bill Penuel (: Boulder, CO)

Wonder EVERY Day: Creating a Culture of Sensemaking

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2101


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

In this session, teachers will explore the concept of wonder and how it can be applied to teaching and learning. Through activities and discussion, teachers will gain an understanding of the importance of wonder in the classroom. Educators will also learn how to embed wonder into their lessons through creative strategies, such as using hands-on activities, engaging visuals, and technology-based activities, focusing deeply on making space for student sensemaking and exploration. Additionally, teachers will explore how to connect wonder to curricular standards and create lesson templates that promote exploration and discovery. Teachers will also reflect on what they have learned and brainstorm ways to implement a culture of wonder in their classrooms. AND HAVE A GOOD TIME DOIN' IT

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the session understanding how sensemaking is supported through our NGSS standards. They will have time to explore and understand methods that inspire student thinking and wonder.

SPEAKERS:
Jacey Suda (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO), Hannah Buckner (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO)

Supporting Meaningful Sensemaking Before, During, and After Science Investigations

Thursday, October 26 • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2201


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

The purpose of this session is to engage participants as learners in the process of making sense of a phenomenon through engaging in scientific practices. The modeled lesson provides attendees with a shared learning experience similar to that of a typical science classroom, seeded with instructional strategies designed to support their sensemaking before, during, and after an investigation. Attendees will be introduced to a phenomenon, provided materials to carry out an investigation, given a model scaffold to record their thinking, and a talk tool to support equitable idea sharing and listening. They will reflect on their experience as learners, debriefing sensemaking strategies, and using the four attributes of sensemaking (phenomena, science and engineering practices, student ideas, and science ideas) to reflect on the model lesson and their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a greater understanding of how key science practices work in tandem to support student sensemaking and will experience tools like model scaffolds, driving question boards, and talk tools designed to support learners in explaining phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Alex Gerber (Instructional Specialist: University City, MO), Heather Milo (Washington University in St. Louis: St. Louis, MO)

Physically Active Modeling For Comparing States of Matter

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2104 A



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Ideal Gas Law Students as Particles Activity Handout.docx
Physically Active Modeling Ideal Gas Laws Lesson Plan.docx
Physically Active Modeling States of Matter (1).pptx
Physically Active Modeling States of Matter Blank Handout NSTA 2023 .docx
Physically Active Modeling States of Matter Slides Handout NSTA 2023 KC.docx
QR Code Physically Active Modeling For States Of Matter NSTA 2023.png

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

This activity has students/participants act as particles. To start, participants are given baseline information about how attractive forces between particles can vary from very strong to negligible, & that particles are always in motion. Participants then split into three groups, strong, moderate, & weak forces. To model very strong forces participants link arms at the elbow, for moderately strong forces they hold hands, & for weak/negligible forces they can only hold each other’s pinky fingers. Participants start far apart & move very slowly to model a very cold temperature. At this speed, all of the participants are able to catch onto each other & form an organized structure (solid). With each iteration the participants move faster; this results in the weak-force group not being able to form a structure (gas), the moderate-force group being clumped together but not organized (liquid), & the strong-force group still being able to form an organized structure (solid).

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will not only know the properties of solids, liquids, and gasses, but will be able to give in-depth explanations as to WHY the properties are different by behaving as the particles at different temperatures and with different attractive forces.

SPEAKERS:
Clark Ellis (The Kinkaid School)

Exploring Practices, Nature of Science, and Science in Society: Analyzing Historical Primary Sources from the Library of Congress

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2102 B



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
CCC One Pager
How to use primary sources in the science classroom, phenomena and cross cutting concepts focus
Historical continental drift newspaper headlines
Historical continental drift newspaper headlines
Human Ferris Wheel primary source
Human Ferris Wheel primary source
Library of Congress Connecting List
List of primary sources we used for our opening activity, with urls to access.
NOS One Pager
How to use historical primary sources in the classroom...nature of science focus.
Primary Source Analysis Tool and Guide
Primary Source Analysis Tool and Guide
Ptolemaic Universe Primary Source
Ptolemaic Universe Primary Source
Using Historical Primary Sources in the Classroom Presentation
Using Historical Primary Sources in the Classroom Presentation

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Digitized versions of Thomas Jefferson’s weather journal, Robert Hooke’s first drawings of cells, photographs from the Dust Bowl, and historic newspaper accounts of electric cars all provide opportunities to understand how scientists and engineers think, practice, and apply scientific principles in the real world; how scientific ideas evolve over time; and how science and engineering are related to society. The Library of Congress has millions of free primary sources online. This workshop will focus on how analyzing such sources can help K-12 teachers meet standards and teaching goals, particularly around the nature of science, practices of scientists, and how science, technology, and society interact. Library education experts will facilitate hands-on activities using primary sources and share ways teachers nationwide have used them. Participants will also leave with strategies for using primary sources to develop critical thinking skills and highlight interdisciplinary connections.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to access millions of free digitized primary sources and practice hands-on strategies for using them to promote critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of real-world scientific practices, the nature of science, and connections between science and society.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsey Beeghly (Einstein Fellow: Altamonte Springs, FL), Michael Apfeldorf (Library of Congress: Washington, DC)

Building Data Literacy One “Block” at a Time

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2202



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Session resource document

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Data literacy is integral to students engaging in real-world science and NGSS practices. However, it can be challenging to design data experiences that help students to develop deep understanding of data. The Building Blocks for Data Literacy (Hunter-Thomson & Schauffler, 2021) offers a developmental approach to the design of data experiences: Get Data, Explore Data, and Infer Meaning From Data. Each realm is further broken down into the functions that students should be encouraged to do with data. Session participants will experience a typical path through the data journey, including the opportunity to see how the decisions that we make as educators can shape what students take away from the data experience. Our focus in this session will be at the elementary grade level, but the Building Blocks are a continuum across the K-12 grade span. This work complements the ADVizE grant project (NSF #2142692), which supports the integration of data skills into preservice STEM Methods courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain an understanding of the way data literacy can be developed developmentally across the realms of Getting Data, Exploring Data and Inferring Meaning from Data.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC), Michael Jabot (SUNY Fredonia: Fredonia, NY)

Cracking the CER Code: How a Mi-STAR Lesson Can Help Your Students Construct Explanations and Argue from Evidence with Confidence

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2102 A



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
Cracking the CER Code Handout
Cracking the CER Code Slides

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Mi-STAR is a program at Michigan Technological University dedicated to quality NGSS-aligned curriculum since 2015. We listen carefully to teachers and respond with support. One of the struggles teachers mention most often is in scaffolding students to write CERs and arguments. In our presentation, we propose an addition to the traditional template: the scientific principles, which are then combined with evidence in the reasoning statement. Later, we add another part: a space for using persuasive writing to construct an argument. We model activities from our 5E lesson throughout. Teachers collaborate to create CERs, and to evaluate arguments written by others. Then, they construct their own arguments using a productive talk routine and persuasive language prompts. Participants gain confidence in supporting students to construct explanations and arguments, as well as get first-hand experience with a lesson, tools, and activities they can take back to their classroom for immediate use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with clear and concise definitions of reasoning, explanations, and argumentation, along with a lesson plan, activities, and templates to help students define and construct all three in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Jenne VandePanne (Michigan Technological University/Newaygo Public Schools: Newaygo, MI), Chris Geerer (Mi-STAR: , MI)

I’ll Have Another Drink…And Another…And Another... A 3-D Lesson to Investigate and Make Sense of the Drinking Bird Phenomenon

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2103 B


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

The drinking bird is a classic heat engine toy that has been featured in popular culture. Although the cause-and-effect relationship for this phenomenon is clear, the mechanism for its repetitive movement is puzzling for most students. In this workshop, participants will use investigative and sensemaking practices to explore the drinking bird phenomenon. This interactive 3-D lesson is in alignment with the goals, standards, and practices of the NGSS. In addition, tips to enhance the development and use of student explanatory models will be featured.

TAKEAWAYS:
Workshop participants will experience an interactive and engaging three-dimensional lesson that is in alignment with the goals and practices of the Next Generation Science Standards. In addition, tips to enhance the development and use of student-created explanatory models will be featured.

SPEAKERS:
Bryan Horan (Northport - East Northport UFSD: Northport, NY)

Classroom Discourse for Sensemaking Through the Crosscutting Concepts

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 3501 B


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

This is session #2 in the NSTA Professional Learning Committee's CCCs Conference Course and is designed to support K-12. Attendees will explore the Framework progression documents to understand what is appropriate for their grade level. They will learn about and engage in hands-on activities paired with talk strategies and protocols that focus classroom talk on making sense of observations and data using the Crosscutting Concepts. Attendees will have the chance to talk with fellow participants about how they might use these strategies and tools in their classroom or role and how they can be differentiated to be used at different grade levels. Participants will leave with a virtual toolbox of resources they can take home and apply right away in their sphere.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with discussion strategies and tools they can implement right away in classrooms to support student discourse and sensemaking anchored in the Crosscutting Concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association), Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA)

Teaching Climate Fact through Climate Fiction

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2105


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Participants will experience the potential of teaching climate science through the lens of writing climate fiction. We will learn about the history of the science fiction genre as well as the newer subgenre of climate fiction ("CliFi") and note key contributions to science through innovative and speculative thinking made possible through literature. Participants will experience a crash course version of a unit in which students write a climate fiction novella integrating NGSS and CCSS for Science and Technical Subjects which will spur their curiosity in what “could be” with regard to climate science solutions. Participants will dive into aspects of unit facilitation of the writing and reading processes and leave with a framework for K-12 implementation as well as publication pathways. This experience can be personalized to meet student need through Universal Design for Learning strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through implementation of a climate fiction writing unit, teachers can introduce skills and habits of mind that support youth innovation in addressing climate issues.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Lark (Kognity: Stockholm, 0)

I've Got Good News and Bad News: You're Warm-Blooded!

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Marriott Downtown - Big Joe Turner A


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Homeothermic, or warm-blooded, animals have several game-changing advantages compared to ectothermic, or cold-blooded creatures. Yet in the real world of Nature, nothing is free, and a price must be paid for these advantages. In order to supply all cells with oxygen and fuel, warm-blooded animals require an enormous blood supply and an efficient circulatory system with a 4-chambered heart at the center of it all. In this session, participants will work with research-generated data to build a mathematical model that allows them to estimate their own blood volumes. In addition, we will look at metabolic data comparing warm and cold-blooded animals, and the oxygen requirements of each. Finally, we will evaluate the food input requirements of warm-blooded animals in cold environments compared to warm environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Being "warm-blooded" brings both good news and bad news for an animal. In this session, attendees will calculate their blood volume, why a 4-chambered heart is needed to move all that blood around, and how the circulatory system is the key to unlock all of these physiological phenomena!

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens (Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls, SD: No City, No State)

Space Telescopes: How they work, and how to simulate them in your classroom

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Marriott Downtown - Julie Lee


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

An extension of our previous NASA/JWST ambassador and NSTA workshops, this session empowers educators with deeper understanding of orbiting observatories and provides an inherently engaging hands-on activity which works from pure STEM/STEAM fun to serious exploration of multi-wavelength astronomy. We provide gel filters that participants use with their phones to capture monochrome images at three wavelengths (630nm, 530nm & 470nm for red, green and blue). Participants then open their images in a free, browser-based image processing app to combine them into a "color" picture. This locks in an understanding of how "color" results from image processing. Then, participants choose NASA image files from an archive and repeat the process -- only now, they are assigning RG&B to wavelengths that are not actually visible to the eye. The tool we use includes both presets to make this fun as an introductory activity, and an array of math-driven functionality for deep dives into image processing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn to process multi-wavelength image sets to create color images from space telescopes and your own devices. This leads to a deeper understanding of space-based astronomy and how space telescope images are made – and provides a classroom activity that is fun, rich, and economical.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Kaiser (Academy of Information Technology & Engineering: Stamford, CT), Vincent Urbanowski (Academy of Information Technology & Engineering: Stamford, CT)

Is Bigfoot Among Us? Follow the Evidence to Combat Pseudoscience

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Marriott Downtown - Basie Ballroom B


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

Show Details

Science is often portrayed as conducted in a simple linear way (i.e., the scientific method). But this is rarely true in actual scientific practice. Instead of a step-by-step series of actions, science is conducted more cyclically, with scientists working back and forth between pursuing exploration and discovery, assessing benefits and outcomes, and developing analysis and feedback. At the core of this process is evidence, against which ideas in science are constantly tested. Evidence is what drives all scientific understanding. By examining environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from areas where recent Bigfoot sightings have occurred, participants can provide students with a logical and rational way scientists can use evidence to dispel the pseudoscience of cryptozoology. Upon completing this activity, attendees can apply their new knowledge to how eDNA is currently used to identify viruses and diseases in wastewater. Resources: https://ncse.ngo/supporting-teachers/classroom-resources

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore and appreciate the importance of evidence to the scientific process by taking a deep dive into an NGSS storyline sequence developed to help students understand that science must be substantiated by multiple lines of evidence to be accepted by the scientific community.

SPEAKERS:
Blake Touchet (National Center for Science Education: Oakland, CA), Ericca Thornhill (Mizzou Academy: Columbia, MO), Lin Andrews (Independent Contractor: Springfield, PA)

Help Me Make Sense of This!!! Sense-making Tools for Physics

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Marriott Downtown - Lester Young B



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Sense-making in science - Workshop Materials
Workshop slides Sample activities and student work samples, organized by topic Source list for relevant lab equipment

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Explaining phenomena (e.g. “Why do I feel heavy in an elevator?”) requires sense-making of complex physics ideas and mathematical representations. Teachers will “wear a student hat” to explore visualization and writing strategies through active participation. First, we’ll explore the modeling practice of diagram and chart representations (e.g. energy bar charts). They’ll try using our “More is L.E.S.S.” (Model, List variables, Equations, Substitute & Solve) tool on engaging energy problems with a get-up-and-move “World-Café” collaborative learning strategy. In the second half of workshop, teachers will use informal writing. They’ll practice “Write a Story” in which they are given a representation (e.g. energy pie chart or equation) and they write a question. We’ll facilitate an interactive Gallery Walk to share additional writing activities: See/Think/Do; Annotated Derivations; Sticky Summaries, What’s Wrong With It, and One-Pagers). The “gallery” will include student work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use visual representations, informal writing activities, and collaborative structures to help students explain physics phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Jaimie Foulk (Rock Bridge High School: Columbia, MO), Karen King (Physics Teacher)

The Cell Game

Thursday, October 26 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Kansas City Marriott Downtown - Mary Lou Williams



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STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Over the course of the last five years I have developed an engaging resource based card game to teach the cell. I grew disillusioned the projects and activities that we were currently doing as it didn't get to the heart of the parts of the cell. The Cell Game fixed that. In one class students compete to build different organelles that require resource cards. By having more organelles, your cell becomes more complex. The students LOVE the cell game and clamor to play it at lunch after being exposed to it. I'd love to share it with other teachers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Build a cell. Divide. Grow. Get excited about cell microbiology!

SPEAKERS:
Jason Zackowski (Science Curriculum Lead)

Making Sense of Data Through the Crosscutting Concepts

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 3501 B


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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This is session #3 in the PL Committee CCCs Pathway and is designed to support K-12. Participants will explore the Framework progression documents to understand what is appropriate for their grade level in relation to the Crosscutting Concept of Patterns. They will learn about and engage with a few effective instructional strategies, including the I2 Strategy from BSCS (Identify and Interpret), and how to use a “slow reveal” approach to help students make sense of data and graphs. Attendees will also have the opportunity to explore a variety of online sources for obtaining data for students to analyze and interpret. Participants will leave with a virtual toolbox of resources they can take home and immediately apply in their classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with sensemaking strategies for engaging students in the Science and Engineering Practice of Analyzing and Interpreting Data, through the lens of the Crosscutting Concept of Patterns, that can immediately be implemented with students!

SPEAKERS:
Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Olympia, WA), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association)

Infographics: Increasing Visual Literacy

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2103 B



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Infographics: Improving Visual Literacy Participant Handout
This link provides access to this session's participant handout.
Infographics: Improving Visual Literacy Presentation Slides
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STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Students today are exposed to an information-rich environment that is inundated with visual images. Likewise, science relies heavily on the use of visuals to present technical information. Instructional strategies will be shared that use infographics to engage students with the science and engineering practices to make sense of complex information quickly and clearly. Participants will experience a “think-aloud” to extrapolate information from an infographic and work through an evaluation tool to determine its scientific credibility. In addition, they will learn ways to incorporate infographics to spark debate, construct a scientific argument using the claim-evidence-reasoning framework, and complete a problem analysis to find a solution to an everyday problem. Finally, resources will be shared in how to develop student-created infographics.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn instructional strategies to support student sensemaking through the use of visually-rich infographics. This includes using science and engineering practices to analyze and interpret data, construct explanations, and engage in argument from evidence in secondary classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Tina Hovance (Katy ISD: Katy, TX)

Science Journals That WORK

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2205



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Science Journals that WORK!

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Are science journals getting in the way of your students learning? Are they becoming just "another" thing we have students do in their everyday routine? Time to spice up those science journals! Join us as we explore the science behind journals and notebooks, discuss best practices for science journaling, and highlight resources that work. Don't let journaling get in the way. Embrace student's writing and learn how to make science journals work for you. Participants will learn how to set up science journals at the beginning of the year, do different experiments and activities to show how to use science journals, and review best strategies to use for student learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
How do you introduce journals, organize, maintain, scafforld, etc., while teaching students to use it as their own personal tool? Teachers would walk away with a better understanding of how to make journals meaningful to students and help me see/understand their learning.

SPEAKERS:
Joe Shaughnessy (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO)

From Student to Inventor: How to Get Started

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2103 A


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Are you ready to start inventing with your students but don’t know how to start? Do you have students with innovative ideas who need help protecting those ideas? Intellectual property can be a complex and often confusing topic, but it's essential for students to understand how to protect their own ideas and creations. Many teachers recognize the need to help their students protect their ideas and inventions when they work on science and engineering projects, but may not have a background in IP or the resources to teach it effectively. This presentation will provide an overview of how to teach IP and invention education in science classrooms, with a focus on practical and hands-on activities that engage students. Participants will leave with resources and ideas for incorporating invention education and IP into their own classrooms.This presentation is suitable for science teachers of all levels, from elementary to high school. No prior knowledge of IP is necessary.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with resources and ideas for incorporating invention and intellectual property education into their classrooms. This presentation is suitable for science teachers of all levels, from elementary to high school. No prior knowledge of IP is necessary.

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Hoppe (STEMisED, Inc), Kathleen Lanman (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Alexandria, VA)

Why are oysters dying and how can we use chemistry to protect them? Using chemistry to solve ESS problems

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Marriott Downtown - Basie Ballroom A



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NSTA23 KC - C.4 Chemical Reactions in our World Webinar September 2023 (1).pdf
Additional materials may be found using the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AIM1naKisNQng5r-fuUrs-FEUEhlrync?usp=sharing

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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OpenSciEd Chemistry units use a justice-centered storyline approach to help students figure out answers to their questions. The central focus of the Oysters unit is food sovereignty engineering design: how can people reclaim important foods that they’ve lost due to colonization and ecosystem disruption? In this session, participants will experience portions of the unit’s anchor in “student hat” before reviewing the unit as a whole in teacher hat. Participants will see how students develop engineering design solutions using NGSS-aligned chemistry and Earth and space science models and practices including the carbon cycle, acid-base interactions, reversible reactions, and stoichiometry (scale, proportion, & quantity). These lessons include testing pH of various solutions and concentration; using mathematical thinking to inform design solutions; and identifying how humans have impacted the carbon cycle.

TAKEAWAYS:
This unit supports students as they figure out understandings of reversible reactions through explaining changes in ocean chemistry to engineer solutions to prevent oyster die offs. Participants will see how students build these ideas and develop mathematical thinking throughout the unit.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Vick (Northwestern University), Kerri Wingert (Good Question Research: Boulder, CO)

5D Assessment: Using student interest & identity to design meaningful, phenomenon-driven tasks for students

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 3501 E


STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Interest and identity are key for supporting meaningful science learning for students (NRC, 2012), yet traditional secondary science assessments do not invite students to bring their sensemaking repertoires and interests to assessment tasks. This session shares a research-driven, “five-dimensional” (5D) process for assessment design that grounds students’ interests and identities as co-equal dimensions to the 3 NGSS dimensions. Participants will use 5D Assessment tools to create more meaningful and equitable assessments that better leverage the assets that students bring and support students as knowers and doers of science. Participants will examine features of meaningful, phenomenon-driven assessments and adapt a community survey tool they can use in classrooms to elicit information about their students’ interests and identities. We will share how they can use this information to guide the development of a “5D” assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators engage with the 5-D Assessment Project's tools to elicit and use information about students' interests and identities to design meaningful, phenomenon-driven assessment opportunities. Work with examples of meaningful assessment aligned to the elements of the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Abraham Lo (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Sara Cooper (Contextus)

Exploring Sound Waves Using The Human Body & Simple Instruments

Thursday, October 26 • 2:20 PM - 3:20 PM

Kansas City Convention Center - 2102 B



(Only registered attendees may view session materials. Please login with your NSTA account to view.)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12EMQcx20vFs6XNBkoL-vsq2PosR1Dt2V

STRAND: Students and Sensemaking

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Slides with diagrams of the anatomy of the larynx are shown with the parts & functions being described to participants. As the anatomy is being taught there will be breaks for participants to talk to each other while feeling their throats, chest, nose, mouth, jaw, etc to feel the vibrations & notice how damping the vibrations changes how participants sound to themselves & others. Next, videos of an opera singer in an MRI machine are shown to see the anatomy in action. After this whistles, & recorders will be passed out for participants to play the same note but hear the difference in sound. A visualizer showing the relative amplitude of each frequency is used as participants play so they can see that each instrument creates its own unique set of waves in addition to the fundamental tone that is being played. The process is repeated for multiple singers that are singing the same note.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to use direct instruction, demonstrations, and short activities to explain the basics of how human voices are able to produce sound, why each person/instrument has a unique sound, and why your voice sounds different to you than it does on recordings.

SPEAKERS:
Brendan Emig (Middle/Upper School Choral Director: Houston, TX), Clark Ellis (The Kinkaid School)