This unit helps students develop an understanding of the elements of evolution by natural selection and learn to apply that understanding to protect populations endangered by urbanization. Students learn through modeling, reading and discussing adaptations of published scientific studies of nonhuman populations impacted by urbanization. They develop criteria for designing urban systems that protect populations from the harmful effects of fragmentation in urban systems and evaluate proposals for development in a real US city.

TAKEAWAYS:
Leave motivated to use OpenSciEd’s storyline to teach the elements of evolution by natural selection using real-world examples. Students will learn how their understanding of biological concepts can be used to design more sustainable systems that benefit the human and more-than human world.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Krauskopf (University of Wisconsin-Madison: No City, No State), Wayne Wright (NSTA: McLean, VA), Kate Henson (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO)

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)

After the pandemic, we wanted to bring in as many hands-on, real-life chemistry experiences to our students as possible. After watching labs through a screen and sending materials home, our team had a new passion to get as many labs and investigations in as possible! What that passion evolved into was working on non-traditional assessments that required students to plan and carry out an experiment for an assessment in addition to the labs during class time instead of the traditional “in your seat” with paper and pencil assessment. We wanted to give our assessment meaning and bring purpose back to the labs. Presenters will share several different formats that we have tried as we went through year one of implementing SEP3 Planning and Carrying Out an Investigation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Presenters will share how they developed non-traditional assessments related to SEP3 Planning and Carrying Out Investigations in their standards-based grading chemistry curriculum. Presenters will share recommendations/challenges for teachers to think about as they implement SEP3 in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Nathan Gustin (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Karen O'Connor (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Ashley Rose (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), John Deppong (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Kristen One (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

Students and educators must remain connected to, and motivated by, the elements of their world that not only spark curiosity and generate wonder but are real. Students care deeply about the environment, climate change, food insecurity, and sustainability. A sustainable and resilient future will only be achieved if we begin to make sense of these challenges in smaller, coherent investigations; starting in our science classrooms. An enormous piece of the sustainability puzzle lies within sustainable food systems. Food production and agriculture provide limitless opportunities for students to explore phenomena among the interactions of living things and the earth’s systems. Further, the practice of agriculture, since its origins, has been a continuous series of design challenges to cultivate nature for the needs of humans. This presentation provides a lens through which students and educators can find opportunities to spark inquiry and solve real-world problems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will see successful examples of authentic phenomena and problems found within food and agricultural systems that are relevant to all students. We will demonstrate how all three dimensions of NGSS are used to make sense of these real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
John McNamara (Wash. State Academy of Sciences), Brian Beierle (Relevant Classroom, a Division of Vivayic, Inc.: No City, No State)

This session will introduce participants to a lesson designed to introduce high school students to cutting-edge research on planetary science. The lesson is designed around the critical aspects of sensemaking: students experience a phenomenon, engage in science and engineering practices, and share ideas to build and/or apply disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts needed to explain how or why the phenomenon occurs. Sensemaking is in the vision of A Framework for K-12 Science Education -- “the doing of science and engineering is highlighted as a strategy that can capture students’ interest in science and motivate their continued study.” (A Framework for K-12 Science Education, pp 42-43). JHU Wavelengths lessons co-designed by NSTA and Johns Hopkins University provide opportunities for all students to engage in science learning that is meaningful to them.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Johns Hopkins Wavelengths lesson introduced in the session provides opportunities for secondary students to learn about cutting-edge planetary science research and figure out science ideas related to earth and space science, and physical science.

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

Models engage students, promote critical thinking, and help students connect abstract concepts to real-world phenomena. This session will promote using the science and engineering practice of developing and using models as a technique to explore concepts, promote sense making, and demonstrate student understanding. Presenters will include modeling techniques that have been successfully used in both rural and urban chemistry classrooms to help students better understand complex concepts within storyline units. The use of simulations, hands-on activities, physical manipulatives, drawings, and technology will be demonstrated. The benefits of models used as an equitable tool will be examined using student data and examples. Sample chemistry storylines will be used to show how student coherence builds throughout the unit with the use of models. Strategies for teachers will be provided to help students develop better models, and a discussion of formative assessment value will be stressed.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with various modeling strategies to implement into their chemistry courses. This will promote student sensemaking and more equitable evaluations of student ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Jones (Ogallala High School: Ogallala, NE), Christine Gustafson (Millard South High School: Omaha, NE)

My first years of teaching Physics at Title 1 schools in Memphis were challenging. Many of my students were very behind, especially in math. However, I developed 5 strategies to make learning physics accessible and they completely transformed my classroom. 1. “Building Block” Method The biggest breakthrough in my classroom was breaking long problems down into building blocks. I will show how to do this with a sample forces unit. 2. Pre-manipulated equations I will share an equation sheet that shows all forms of each equation. It is a game-changer for students who struggle with algebra. 3. Setting-Up for Success I will model a consistent way to help students stay organized on different types of problems. 4. Simplifying Motion I will illustrate how to solve motion problems using simpler notation and simpler equations. 5. Simplifying Circuits I will show how to use the “routes method” so students can solve most circuits in a more conceptual way.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will come away from this session with strategies that they can immediately implement in their classrooms to make physics more accessible and engaging, especially for their lower-level learners.

SPEAKERS:
Jack Replinger (FormerTeacher / Founder: , WA)

Explore the comprehensive assessment system that accompanies the OpenSciEd high school program. This comprehensive system includes opportunities for formative, summative, self, and peer assessment. The session will guide participants through the multiple assessment types and will explore in depth electronic exit tickets and transfer tasks. Electronic exit tickets give teachers an opportunity to formatively assess students' three dimensional thinking at key points in each unit. Transfer tasks are summative assessment opportunities that give students an opportunity to transfer what they have learned in the unit to a novel scenario. Both of these assessment opportunities include teacher and student routines to support student thinking and instructional action.

TAKEAWAYS:
In OpenSciEd HS, the assessment system is structured to support teachers in assessing all three dimensions of the NGSS through formative, summative, peer, and self assessment opportunities.

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

Building classroom culture is essential for students to collectively make sense of phenomena. Students need to buy into the idea that each of their ideas is crucial for pushing the class forward. In this session, we highlight strategies for co-creating community agreements. We also report on challenges we have encountered in our classrooms, which strategies we have found to be successful, and which tend to turn students off. We highlight how, as culture challenges arise throughout the year, we can return to these community agreements to reground our classroom. The facilitator will begin the session with a brief overview of OpenSciEd’s view of the teacher's role in instruction and community-building, which will then be followed with a guided panel featuring experienced teachers in using storylines, and finally open Q&A.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will understand how community agreements and other strategies are used in OpenSciEd and other high school classrooms to support collective and equitable sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Dan Voss (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Kerri Wingert (Good Question Research: Boulder, CO), Rachel Patton (Denver Public Schools), Nina Blanton (Educator: , MO), Calvin Atkins (Bellingham High School: Bellingham, WA), Sarah Evans (Olathe South High School: Olathe, KS)

Join us for a chance to learn about the value and how to implement K-12 STEM innovative programs with hands-on learning strategies utilized to motivate engagement. NSTA administered programs are included from: the Army Educational Outreach Program, NSTA Teacher Awards, Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to enhance student STEM engagement through the use of NSTA-administered programs.

SPEAKERS:
Acacia McKenna (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

The NSTA Atlas of the Three Dimensions maps out learning progressions based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The 62 maps in the Atlas organize all of the elements from standards on a particular topic (e.g., modeling, patterns, or definitions of energy) on a single page. The elements from grades K–2 are at the bottom of the page, and those from grades 9–12 are at the top. Arrows connect elements to indicate how ideas in a particular topic build on each other and how elements in different topics connect to one another. Studying the maps in the Atlas and the additional resources in the appendixes can provide educators with new insights about the standards. This session will provide an overview of how to read a map, the other features of the Atlas, and how educators can use this powerful navigational tool to develop and implement curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to read the maps and use other tools in the Atlas to understand and interpret standards, and plan instructional sequences as part of their work in curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard (Discovery Education: Silver Spring, MD)

The Next Generation Science Standards promote students doing science. Being able to assess them while they are engaged in the "doing" is essential. Attendees will take a deep dive into the SEPs and learn how to create rubrics that they can use to assess the SEPs while walking around and observing students as they work. The result? Higher student engagement and less papers to grade. This session is led by Dr. Carol Baker, NGSS Writer.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will create a rubric that can be used in their classroom to authentically assess the SEPs.

SPEAKERS:
Carol Baker (NGSS: Orland Park, IL)

I will take participants through my process of crafting sets of formative multiple choice questions that each use 2 of the 3 dimensions of NGSS, so that all dimensions are addressed. I will also show my process for refining free response questions to get the exact responses I am looking for and that allow for an ease of grading and seeing students’ understanding. I will provide examples from my own classroom & direct them to where they can find more examples from various storylines. As an iHub Chemistry writer, I learned to write 3-D multiple choice formative questions. An assessment graduate course taught me how to write quality distractors to see limits of student understanding and get useful feedback data. I merge these 2 in my own classroom to create assessments to get to what my students know. I will share my learning from these trainings and more to set teachers on the path to quality 3-D classroom assessments.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to craft three-dimensional assessments, multiple choice, and free response. Using quality distractors in multiple choice formatives allows you to pinpoint student misconceptions. Free response questions direct students to the specific response you want so that grading goes quicker.

SPEAKERS:
Sarah Evans (Olathe South High School: Olathe, KS)

Food is a basic necessity of life, yet in the United States there are over 6,500 food deserts affecting 19 million people. Food deserts are geographic areas that lack access to affordable, healthy food options. During this session, participants will engage in conversations for how to address this inequity with students as they engineer food producing hydroponic systems. The Hydroponics storyline is the third in a series being developed by a group of 25+ educators from the midwest 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. Specific emphasis is placed on developing skills related to the Scientific & Engineering Practices and building Crosscutting Concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about a new storyline on hydroponics that explores food deserts which are geographic areas that lack access to affordable, healthy food options. Attendees will discuss one option for addressing this inequity with students as they engineer food-producing hydroponic systems.

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

Participants will gain experience evaluating student learning across the three dimensions using authentic student work samples. Discussion will focus on lesson-level three-dimensional performance expectations and what counts as evidence of student understanding for the three dimensions targeted by the assessment task. We will also use data collected from these student work examples to identify patterns/trends teachers can use to inform instruction to ensure all students have access to science learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants gain experience using the NSTA Student Work Analysis Protocol (open educational resource) and can share the protocol and application with colleagues in their school/district.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Bremen, GA), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Arlington, VA)

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

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

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

Making the move from a traditional grading system to a standards based grading system can be an overwhelming task. It was especially challenging for two of Stevenson High School’s largest teams: AP biology (10 teachers) and accelerated chemistry (18 teachers). We will share how we came up with our standards and our success criteria for teaching skills and scoring student work. We will also share how those standards and success criteria have changed over the last four years. Attendees will be able to view our assessments, look at student work, and then score sample assessments. Presenters will also share several different calibration strategies that have worked for our larger team, ranging from Google jamboards, Google slides, and Google forms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a scaffolded way to determine the skills they want to assess in their course and how they can begin to develop success criteria. Attendees will also take away some strategies for how to calibrate their scoring.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen One (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Nathan Gustin (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Karen O'Connor (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

OpenSciEd Chemistry units use a storyline approach to help students figure out answers to their questions in a three-dimensional, coherent, and equitable way. In this session, participants will experience that approach firsthand as they engage with the unit’s anchor in "student hat", experiencing the content as students do in the classroom. Participants will also see how students develop understanding of atomic structure and electrostatic forces through a coherent series of investigations. These investigations include using a Kelvin water dropper and everyday items to reason about static electricity; using simulations and physical models to build understanding of atomic structure and charge transfer; measuring forces of attraction and repulsion to derive Coulomb's Law; and measuring electric current in solutions of different salinity to determine how salts are able to conduct electricity in aqueous solution.

TAKEAWAYS:
This unit supports students as they figure out understandings of atomic structure, charge, and the role of matter, forces, and energy in lightning. Participants will see how students build these ideas through a series of investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Dan Voss (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Kerri Wingert (Good Question Research: Boulder, CO), Rachel Patton (Denver Public Schools)

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)

I will walk the audience through a landing page of my scale development for grading based off of Marzano’s book of scales for NGSS. I will explain how to convert the 0-4 grade into percentages for conventional grading systems. I will walk them through how to allow students to self-assess their knowledge gain based on objectives and putting those objectives into ladders of curriculum sequence. I will also explain how to use benchmark sheets for the Science and Engineering Practices that match their SEP part of the scale. I will also share the books and websites I gained my knowledge from, so attendees can develop their own mental model of the system for Standards-Based Grading and Learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will walk away with a landing page that lays out a system that can be your starting point into SBG & L in the three dimensions, with many resources contained within.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Gall (North Bend Central Junior/Senior High School: North Bend, NE)

As a district, we have worked to ensure that all courses have three dimensional standards. We currently teach all of the NGSS standards by the completion of sophomore year. Our freshmen physical science course teaches the physical science standards and one-half of the earth science standards, while our sophomore biology course teaches the biology standards and the other one-half of the earth science standards. To meet the rigor of NGSS, our elective courses such as Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, Earth Science, Forensics Science and Plants and Propagation have all built upon the NGSS standards in content, along with identifying Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts. Our goal would be that participants would leave with a process in which they could do the same. Our process has been influenced by the 5 tools training as well as many of the NSTA publications designed to lead teachers and teacher leaders in standard development.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a process for creating elective standards that are three-dimensional.

SPEAKERS:
Teresa Bender (Omaha Northwest High School: No City, No State), Jennifer Rhine (Omaha Public Schools: Omaha, NE)

The Framework requires that students engage in three-dimensional sensemaking around phenomena. In OpenSciEd units, this begins with the anchor lesson, in which students engage with a phenomenon in supported ways before generating the questions that drive the unit. Many teachers wonder how we get students to ask questions that align with the learning goals of the unit. In this session, participants will see for themselves how crosscutting concepts can appear in student questions and how those questions are motivated in the lesson. The presenters will discuss the important role crosscutting concepts play in supporting students' question generation, and participants will have an opportunity to see how students' initial questions and key crosscutting concepts continue to play a prominent role in sensemaking later in the storyline.

TAKEAWAYS:
Instruction can be designed so that crosscutting concepts are both a tool for student sensemaking as well as a desirable outcome. In particular, crosscutting concepts can help students ask questions that will be productive throughout a storylines unit.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Mills (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Jamie Noll (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Dan Voss (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL)

Our science department began transitioning to a standards-based grading system during the 2018-2019 school year with all courses using standards-based grading in 2020-2021. We teach the Physics and AP Physics 1 courses and will share our experiences preparing for and implementing standards based grading in both of those courses. Our department uses the science and engineering practices as the standards on which we score student proficiency. Our session will outline our philosophies on grading and reporting, our journey into and through standards based grading, and provide practical resources and tips on how to implement standards based grading in a 3D classroom. We plan on sharing our scaled learning skills on which we assess proficiency as well as our success criteria. We will share examples of assessments along with associated student work. Our session will allow time for small group discussions as well as a Q&A portion.

TAKEAWAYS:
How do you implement SBG in a physics course? In an AP course? How do you weave in the SEPs, DCIs, and CCCs? We’ll answer these questions and more while we share our philosophy, formative and summative assessments, sample student work, tips and tricks to make it work, and what to avoid.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Fitz (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Josh Bozeday (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Kristy Wrona (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

Many scientists argue that we live in a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene – named because human activity has become the most powerful driver of global change. That sounds intriguing… but what does it actually mean? Which human activities are driving global change? What changes are these drivers causing? How do those changes affect the biosphere? Interestingly, answering these questions – even in a brief presentation that restricts the number of drivers of change to a handful – often seems to “take the edge off” ideological bias that stubbornly impedes communication about the significance of climate change and other global change phenomena. This approach is also more scientifically accurate than ascribing all threats to ecosystem functions and biodiversity exclusively to climate change. As global human population rises toward 9 billion, understanding the multiple ways that our activities affect the biosphere is essential for efforts to find a safe operating space for humanity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Human-biosphere interactions offer relevant narratives and conceptual frameworks that integrate cause and effect; systems and system models; structure and function; and stability and change.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine (Science Writer and Producer: Concord, MA)

This is a full tour of an astronomy research project done through NITARP (NASA Infrared Teachers Archive Research Program), which pairs Caltech astronomers with STEM teachers for authentic research using data from various observatories. The project presented here is a search for Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in IC417 (the “Spider and Fly”) nebula. We’ll share how candidate objects were found, how object lists were generated and downloaded, how objects were identified and confidence values assigned. We’ll share how to make and interpret color-color plots, color-magnitude plots, spectral energy distribution plots and more. Most importantly, we’ll share how the astrophysics of star formation reveals itself in spectral data. And how confounding factors, such as dust in the interstellar medium, also show up in the data and can be compensated for. By attending this presentation, educators will be able to share a truer picture of the work of astronomers with their students.

TAKEAWAYS:
The participants will step through an entire astronomical research project from inception through data gathering, data vetting and processing, results, and publication. This will deepen the participant’s understanding of research and equip them to bring astronomical research to their school.

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

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)

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

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

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

Many students experience high school science without considering the interconnectedness of different domains. By leveraging the Energy and Matter crosscutting concept and uniting this lens with a forces perspective, we consider how a Matter-Energy-Forces (MEF) triangle can help students apply core principles of physical science across multiple domains. We explore the MEF triangle’s use in three different units that highlight Earth and Space Science alongside Biology, Physics or Chemistry to make explicit connections to the crosscutting concept of energy and matter and core life and physical science Disciplinary Core Ideas. Examples include fires, polar ice melt, tectonic plate motion, and meteors. We also consider how this tool could be useful for students over the course of many units and how it can increase access to more difficult life and physical science concepts through the use of this routine. Participants will practice applying the MEF triangle to phenomena in their contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
The Framework calls for “a common use of language about energy and matter across the disciplines in science instruction.” The MEF triangle uses cues and prompts to draw attention to interactions between matter, energy, and forces to help students make sense of complex phenomena across domains.

SPEAKERS:
Whitney Mills (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Jamie Noll (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Dan Voss (Northwestern University: Evanston, IL), Diego Rojas-Perilla (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO)

Since the first interplanetary probes were launched, the data that have been returned by these probes have been both fascinating in the insight they have returned, but daunting in their sheer volume, making their use by classroom teachers limited. Yet engagement with planetary phenomena rarely cease to generate “wows” among students. A free software package, JMARS, allows GIS-based imagery and chemical data for planetary bodies to be accessed to address the questions of classroom-based investigations. This presentation will show how JMARS, coupled with the broad range of Mars rover photography (Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance) available online, can be used to design virtual field trips on Mars, and mesh with the NSTA Sensemaking framework by generating student questions about another planet, as if they were standing on it themselves. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop device and download the software appropriate to their computer at https://jmars.asu.edu/.

TAKEAWAYS:
Space exploration seems to be an abstract concept to many students, so placing them as close as possible to the available data, including not just images but chemical and physical information as well, allows them to gain a deeper understanding of Earth phenomena and processes.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Pyle (James Madison University: Harrisonburg, VA)

Come see a successful online professional learning model that promotes collaboration around universal problems of practice. Each session allows educators to learn about new strategies implemented in classrooms, debrief in job-alike roles, share resources, and develop a plan to refine their practice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain access to tools and resources for use in classrooms from both a teacher and instructional coaching role, as well as work on how they might make use of these resources for their own learning, learning within their own PLCs, or to develop a community of their own.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Johannsen (Southeast Polk High School: Pleasant Hill, IA), Jason Martin-Hiner (Keystone Area Education Agency: Elkader, IA)

We’re all passionate about science, and part of that passion stems from the fact that no other discipline is exploring the entire physical universe and making sense of our world. No other discipline can make predictions as accurately as science can! It’s so powerful and engaging that some misunderstand it and use it for purposes it isn't intended to be used for. Some even manipulate our students’ misunderstandings of what science is, creating enough confusion that our students believe in junk science, disinformation, or even deny science! As science educators, we sometimes get distracted by all the minutia on our plates and do not directly incorporate the NGSS Appendix H: Understanding the Scientific Enterprise in our work. Students find joy in “debunking” bad science and become future citizens who can sniff out scientific misinformation. We'll enhance activities with the scientific thinking that is developed from a deeper understanding of the nature of science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Become familiar with NGSS Appendix H and use it to enhance your classroom activities to develop sensemaking skills that help your students to identify logical fallacies and misinformation that are used in sloppy science, disinformation, and science denial in their everyday experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Ericca Thornhill (Mizzou Academy: Columbia, MO)

The need for student identification and belonging in the scientific community begins in the biology curriculum. This requires the use of scientific practices to facilitate sensemaking that supports equitable classroom practices and equitable science content and pedagogy. This presentation provides examples of engaging phenomena that highlight the lived experiences and narratives of diverse scientists and that supports meaningful inclusion in the classroom. This presentation also focuses on the rationale and benefits to teachers and students for developing equity-mindedness for meaningful inclusion. These lesson ideas and strategies are supported by the three dimensions of the Next Generational Science Standards. Attendees will learn how to help students engage in critical thinking skills, learn science, and build understandings related to the social and cultural nature of science. Connections to the three dimensions of STEM will be made. This presentation draws funded projects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use engaging phenomena from diverse scientists alongside inquiry and argumentation to engage in scientific practices and scientific text, supported by the NGSS three dimensions of STEM. Connections to Common Core and equitable classroom practices are made.

SPEAKERS:
Catherine Quinlan (Howard University)

This presentation will focus on how our STEM education center educated students and the public about the upcoming solar eclipses. Presenters will share how the Center incorporated sensemaking through the phenomenon of solar eclipses by engaging students with the SEPs of modeling and constructing explanations. The outreach will primarily focus on standard MS-ESS1-1, but the goal of the outreach aligns with the goals of the Framework to educate all students in science and engineering and to provide foundational knowledge for our future scientists, engineers, technologists, and technicians. Attendees will engage in an activity that they can share with their classroom in order to safely view the 2024 solar eclipse, including the creation of a solar eclipse viewer. Presenters will also share teaching strategies that make use of modeling and online simulations for eclipses. Time will be included for participants to share their own ideas of effective solar eclipse teaching strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will take away ideas for educating their classes about eclipses and ideas for educating the public on what causes eclipses and how to view them safely. This information will be a result of our STEM education center's eclipse outreach and its effectiveness.

SPEAKERS:
Alice Steimle (Director: University, MS), Christian Clark (University of Mississippi: University, MS)

A sure-fire way to engage your class is to try to turn your concepts into a game! I have been running a Hogwart's House Cup challenge for 8 years and, for many students, it is the highlight of my students' semester. In short, students are sorted into one of the four Hogwart's Houses and they compete against the other houses for the cup! It seems simple, but it's so much more than that! I'll go through how I set it up, all the tips and tricks that I've learned along the way, and how easy it would be to do it in your class, with your subject, for your grade level. Friendly competition is a great motivator, as well as teaching kids to work together as team. It's the perfect blend of leadership and engagement!

TAKEAWAYS:
Gamification is difficult without a blueprint. This session will give you the blueprint for Hogwarts.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Zackowski (Science Curriculum Lead)

The unique nature of this presentation leverages the extensive knowledge and experience of both a chemistry and a biology educator (who is also a research scientist) to show how teachers can use biotechnologies, such as DNA Fingerprinting and CRISPR Cas-9, to motivate student exploration while expanding their chemistry knowledge and inspiring them to pursue research. This topic is particularly important because CRISPR Cas-9 is at the forefront of medical breakthroughs such as CAR-T cell cancer treatments and gene therapy. Unfortunately, this topic has not yet been used to its full potential in the classroom. This presentation will raise awareness among teachers of how to explain and utilize biotechnologies in various ways. Specifically, this session will show how to use chemistry to explain CRISPR Cas-9 while emphasizing the six elements of life, functional groups, and macromolecules (using hands-on molecular models) to leverage sense making to explain these complex processes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to excite students to learn and apply Chemistry necessary to understand the latest breakthroughs in biotechnology such as DNA Fingerprinting and CRISPR-Cas9. This presentation will showcase the crosscutting concept of systems and system models.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Allison (Dawson Education Service Cooperative: Arkadelphia, AR), Patrycja Krakowiak (Biology Instructor: Hot Springs, AR)

In this session, we will introduce teachers to a standards-unpacking document Kansas Department of Education is developing to provide teachers with unpacked standards and ideas to guide NGSS planning. Using appendices E (K-12 DCI), F (K-12 SEP), and G (K-12 CCC) from the NGSS Framework supports vertical alignment of each of the three dimensions which allows teachers to identify the grade-band aligned experiences that students need in order to reach the full level of the standard through three-dimensional sensemaking. We will use the tool to identify what is new and unique to the focus grade-band to ensure grade-level appropriate learning experiences and expectations. We will show teachers how the unpacked standard tool promotes using their own students’ interests and experiences to plan to incorporate local phenomenon as a key part of three-dimensional sensemaking. We will provide teachers with access to and/or copies of the standards unpacking tool.

TAKEAWAYS:
We share a tool used to unpack standards for foundational concepts & key experiences that students need to make sense of all three dimensions of a standard. Participants will be able to consider their own students’ interests and identities to plan to support sensemaking for their student population.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Alderman-Oler (Washington High School: Kansas City, KS), Sarah Evans (Olathe South High School: Olathe, KS)

Goodbye, grading labs and lab reports -- Hello, lab practicals! Come learn how we’ve planned, implemented, and graded lab practical assessments in our SBG AP Physics 1 course. They are quick, individual, hands-on, aligned to science and engineering practices, and appropriate for an AP course.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will share how we’ve developed non-traditional lab assessments related to each unit in our standards-based grading AP Physics 1 curriculum. Presenters will share examples, recommendations, and challenges for teachers to think about as they implement lab practicals.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen One (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Kristy Wrona (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)