Our brains are wired for stories. Stories make learning stick and can make science relatable and relevant to students’ lives. Stories in science are also shaped by both who is doing the telling and how they’re telling us about it. We want our students to have the opportunity to envision themselves as scientists. If a scientist looks like our students, speaks their language, struggles, and celebrates like them, then students begin to see science as a possibility for themselves—something to explore and enthusiastically engage with. To make science learning more story-driven and inclusive, Complexly and BioInteractive have teamed up to refresh Crash Course’s hugely popular YouTube biology series. The new series, produced fully in both English and Spanish, opens a window into the process of science, highlighting its collaborative, community-driven nature, through engaging stories of discovery by a diversity of scientists both past and present.

TAKEAWAYS:
We want our students to have the opportunity to envision themselves as scientists. If a scientist looks like our students, speaks their language, struggles, and celebrates like them, then students begin to see science as a possibility for themselves.

SPEAKERS:
Samuel Ramsey (Professor: Boulder, CO), Minerva Contreras (Graduate Student Researcher: La Jolla, CA)

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: Skokie, IL), Holly Hereau (NSTA: Lake Angelus, MI), Kate Soriano (NSTA: Jersey City, NJ)

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: Santa Cruz, CA)

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: OREM, UT), Julie Siebach (Alpine School District: Loveland, OH)

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)

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

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

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Susan Licher (Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Blacksburg, VA)

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

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

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

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Kimberley Astle (Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Vancouver, WA), Sharon Cates (Phenomenon Science Education: Greenfield, MA), Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Carrollton, GA), Leah Litz (Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium: Omaha, NE)

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)

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: University City, MO)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

With the transition to 3-dimensional learning and NGSS, is there still a place for dissections in the classroom? The answer is yes! As you dissect a frog, we will demonstrate how to integrate the 3 dimensions of learning while highlighting adaptations and the relationship between structure and function.

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Kopkau

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Experience how science lessons can be structured using teacher instructional slides, where students work in groups, with specific roles, to develop claims [about how motion energy moves and changes] based on evidence observed through hands-on experiences. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Cranford, NJ)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify

Elementary students deserve science! Experience a research-based approach to teaching science that leverages the mutually supportive aspects of phenomena-based science instruction and literacy. Explore how this approach can help you increase instructional time for science while making ELA gains.

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Everything is dependent on water. Explore several properties of this remarkable compound with tried-and-true phenomena. Learn multiple ways to model those phenomena using the Water Kit©.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Hutson (3D Molecular Designs: Westmoreland, KS)

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: Santa Cruz, CA), Michael Jabot (SUNY Fredonia: Fredonia, NY)

Activating Students' Ideas! is a one-stop professional learning experience that will inspire you to reimagine how you teach. This session discusses how two popular teaching resources can be used in tandem: (1) Uncovering Student Ideas formative assessment probes and (2) Explore-before-explain teaching. We show how simple shifts in arranging and combining activities help students construct knowledge while allowing you to put the three dimensions of the K-12 Science Education Frameworks into practice. The session includes: (1) A concise review of research on why the order in which you structure your lessons is so critical; (2) The critical planning considerations for becoming an “explore-before-explain” teacher; (3) Ready-to-teach lessons that use science phenomena as a hook to provide an interdisciplinary learning experience; and (4) Reflection questions will spark thinking throughout the sequencing process and help you develop the knowledge to adapt these concepts to you

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about a resource for formative assessment and explore-before-explain teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Brown (Fort Zumwalt School District R-II: Saint Charles, MO)

Participants will discover how argumentation can support the vision of inclusive instructional strategies across the curriculum. This session will anchor in learning theory and focus on student work examples, including graphic organizers and transcripts, that tell the story of an instructional sequence about pollinators. How the routines of science support learning for literacy and math will be investigated and made explicit. We’ll pull apart the underlying instructional practices evident in the student work for how to plan for engagement, elicit student ideas, support changes in student ideas, and press for complete explanations through argumentation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with an example of how to structure argumentation in the 4th grade classroom through observing student data organization and student discourse.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Roy (Science and Digital Learning Coordinator: Lincoln, NE), Miranda Orellana (Lincoln Public Schools: Lincoln, NE), Betsy Barent (Lincoln Public Schools: Lincoln, NE)

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 in the elementary school day-- building strong connections within young students' brains. Such rich and impactful experiences in student learning enhances the likelihood for students to make lasting connections with what they're learning every day. The Framework for K-12 Science in Education in conjunction with the NCSS C3 Framework is our basis for designing lessons and units. Presenters will model and help teachers brainstorm robust, integrated lessons with STEM, ELA, and social studies to improve student understanding in all subject areas as they gather, reason, and communicate connections in problem-solving STEM activities, fiction, informational text, writing, and simulated learning experiences– all capable of supporting each other.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the connections between NGSS, NCSS, and CCSS and the impact they can have on student learning with mindful integration of these subjects. Using a template to guide their planning, attendees will begin to practice integrating lesson/unit plans based on their own core requirements.

SPEAKERS:
Deborah Draper (Cedar Ridge Elementary School: OREM, UT), Julie Siebach (Alpine School District: Loveland, OH)

Supporting the teacher as the “designer” of science instruction is essential to cultivating a learning environment in the science classroom that leverages sense-making. Participants will learn about “look for’s” for high quality instruction, their implications for evaluation and the value of giving teachers both confidence and inspiration to innovate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Administrators will learn practical ways to support teachers in shifting instructional practices that support the demands of the NGSS.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Carrollton, GA), Michael Fumagalli (Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning: Glen Ellyn, IL)

Sponsoring Company: Stile Education

Join our session to learn strategies for teaching data analysis and modeling in line with the NGSS. Empower your students to analyze real-world data, create accurate models, and apply their knowledge with easy-to-implement techniques. Participate in and win CHARTY PARTY while enhancing your toolkit!

SPEAKERS:
Hailey Vogel (Head of Teaching and Learning: Los Angeles, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

In this workshop, participants interact with a 4th grade module to figure out how Balinese Rice farming has endured for 1,000 years. While exploring farming practices in Bali, participants uncover a new process for developing models in science.

SPEAKERS:
Sally Robichaux (Great Minds: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience a model lesson from OpenSciEd for Middle School and see how the new Carolina Certified Edition makes these high-quality instructional materials even better! Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

Seaworthy STEM in a Box activities were developed through collaborative efforts between STEM education specialists at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division and master teachers participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Albert Einstein Distinguished Education Fellowship Program. Seaworthy STEM endeavors to inspire and prepare the next generation of STEM professionals by supporting teachers’ efforts to engage students – from early childhood through high school – in more hand-on science inquiry and engineering design. Activities are organized around grade bands with Naval-relevant themes and involve simple phenomena that support student sensemaking around key science and engineering concepts. Our workshop will allow teachers to practice several hands-on activities from the Seaworth STEM suite and will provide strategies for classroom integration, including content selection, standards alignment, materials acquisition, and tips for classroom implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this hands-on workshop, teachers will explore several Seaworthy STEM in a Box activities and receive teacher background information on NGSS standards alignment, career connections, and relevant Naval and physical science concepts. Links to classroom-ready lesson materials will also be provided.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Klixbull (Penn State University: Lemont, PA), Tom Jenkins (National Museum of the United States Air Force: Fairborn, OH), Melissa Thompson (Department of Defense: Stevensville, MD), Suzy Otto (University of Missouri: Rolla, MO)

In order for teachers to support the three-dimensional learning of their students, they need high-quality professional learning (PL). This presentation outlines a PL approach that focuses on Ambitious Science Teaching (Windschitl, M. Thompson, J., & Braaten, M., 2018) as an approach to support teacher and student three-dimensional science learning. The PL model includes 4 PL sessions followed by 3 action periods to “try-on” strategies in their classrooms. During the PL sessions teachers experienced ambitious strategies as learners, connected theory to practice, collaborated meaningfully with colleagues, and reflected on their implementation of strategies. The sessions led to a change in teacher practice that was evident through the artifacts they collected. Teachers also made cross-curricular connections with many of the introduced strategies. This presentation provides suggestions for supporting teachers in implementing ambitious science teaching strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
The audience will walk away with a model for high-quality professional learning for teachers that supports student growth in three-dimensional science learning. The model can be implemented at the school, district, or cross-district level.

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

School and district leaders will learn about the variety of professional learning opportunities that NSTA offers, delivered in-person, online, and blended, that give their teachers the power to personalize their learning as well as the ability to learn with their peers. Presenters will share how to utilize NSTA's online learning resources to support in-person professional learning experiences. A few case-studies will be presented representative of different professional learning options available, including coaching, in-person workshops, online book studies, and district/school partnerships.

TAKEAWAYS:
School and district leaders will learn about the variety of professional learning opportunities that NSTA offers, delivered in-person, online, and blended, that give their teachers the power to personalize their learning as well as the ability to learn with their peers.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Owings Mills, MD)

This session will help administrators to answer: What should I see and not see in a 3-dimensional science classroom? How do I provide effective feedback to the teacher? How do I support instructional innovation as an instructional leader?

TAKEAWAYS:
Administrators will feel empowered to lead science instruction in their schools, even without a science background.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Fumagalli (Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning: Glen Ellyn, IL)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Discover new ways to help students think & work like scientists and engineers. We will model instruction and resources that support 3-dimensional teaching and learning including teacher instructional slides, student friendly materials, simulations, and student investigation sheets.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Cranford, NJ)

It is often thought that a makerspace activity is something that is nice to do with students, but not a necessity. Yet when makerspace activities are integrated into daily instruction, it can open many avenues that promote an inclusive classroom. This workshop will focus on strategies and ways to use makerspace to promote student voice and choice for areas of concept development, empathy-driven problem solving, and assessment. Participants will explore the key elements of makerspace and examine ways to use makerspace challenges to support sense-making. The discussion will also focus on the idea that makerspace activities can nudge all students to consider multiple ways of solving problems, thus enhancing their “out of the box” thinking. As part of this session, participants will explore different strategies in using makerspace to introduce a phenomenon, model a phenomenon, and assess students' understanding on three different dimensions of learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore makerspace challenges and activities as a means to provide student voice and choice in how they make sense of a phenomenon, a solution to a problem, and core ideas while demonstrating their understanding of core ideas as a means of assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Michele Detwiler (Gary Adult High School: Valrico, FL)

During this workshop small group work with pill bugs set the stage for exploring the SEP’s through a discovery-based investigation. An anonymous poll will be taken at the beginning of the workshop to identify JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) hurdles teachers are facing. During the investigation, technology and non-technology based methods will be explored. After the investigation, participants will share in a facilitated discussion on modes of dismantling barriers. Review handouts of SEP’s & CCC’s identified and applied during the investigation will compliment elementary level DCI’s. Discussion will drive beyond just the facts of finding an answer to the investigation question, but to take an examination into knowledge of helping illustrate how the SEP’s and CCC’s can serve as an entry point at the elementary level to build science literacy and help move us beyond just facts but deepen our understanding and discovery of the world around us.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers struggle with access and affordability when designing discovery-based investigations. With minimal to no cost, this ready-to-use complete elementary LS investigation will demonstrate ways to increase equity in science sensemaking practices through standards-based hands-on investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Burnett (American University: Washington, DC), Ollie Bogdon (Missouri Western State University: Trimble, MO)

Participants will explore the Authentic Literacy and Language (ALL) for Science curriculum framework and discover how the combination of guided science investigations, mini-lessons on science-based disciplinary literacy, and science inquiry circles can increase learner performance. They will receive and be guided through a sample lesson and a template they can use to develop their own lessons using this framework. Teachers who used lessons using this curriculum framework reported that children demonstrated increased engagement with lessons and improved their language skills as they began to read, write, and think like scientists. They also found that children performed better overall on assessments of science concepts, attributing the use of collaborative learning teams that build a community of science practice as a factor. Participants will receive access to the ALL for Science website where they can download FREE curriculum resources aligned with NGSS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will explore how they can create their own lessons unifying science investigations with science-specific disciplinary literacy using the ALLS framework to engage learners in the practices of science. Participants will receive the framework template and access to free resources.

SPEAKERS:
Jimmie Thomas (Baylor College of Medicine: Houston, TX)

The crosscutting concepts provide a consistent language for student communication. When teachers’ assessment prompts are designed with the crosscutting concepts, the focus of student thinking can be directed to key aspects of the phenomenon or, the system being investigated. Patterns may be used as evidence to support explanations or arguments for the causes of a phenomenon. Participants will explore the progression of Crosscutting Concepts throughout a student’s K-12 career. They will consider phenomenon and discuss several appropriate prompts that bring different CCCs to the forefront (patterns, scale, systems). Participants will review and evaluate sample prompts and responses which employ different crosscutting concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with resources that guide their development and use of Crosscutting Concepts to focus student sensemaking on assessments. These can be integrated with assessment prompts which are aligned to Science and Engineering Practices and Disciplinary Core Ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Sharon Cates (Phenomenon Science Education: Greenfield, MA), Leah Litz (Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium: Omaha, NE)

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

In this workshop, participants discover ways to prepare for collaborative conversations with strategies like targeted questioning, talk moves, and instructional routines. Participants then practice applying these strategies to promote effective science discourse in a three-dimensional classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sally Robichaux (Great Minds: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

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

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

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Take a deeper dive into understanding the importance of learning progressions in 3-dimensional learning using STC Middle School. Experience the importance of a coherent story line in student understanding. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

Sponsoring Company: hand2mind

Discover how to effectively use STEM Bins® as a foundational, developmentally appropriate form of engineering for elementary students. Learn simple ways to implement STEM Bins® for early finishers, enrichment, morning work, centers, makerspaces, and literacy and math extensions.

SPEAKERS:
Brooke Brown (Roosevelt Elementary School: Norman, OK)

Sponsoring Company: 3D Molecular Designs

Help direct student questions towards investigation and modeling several types of inheritance with the Chromosome Connection Kit©. Construct Punnett squares with gene sequences as alleles to connect the inheritance of traits to chromosomes at the molecular level.

SPEAKERS:
Ruth Hutson (3D Molecular Designs: Westmoreland, KS)

No one disputes the need for effective daily science instructions for elementary children, yet, only 20% of K-3 students and 35% of grades 4-6 students have access to daily science instruction, according to Cafarell, et.al. (2017). Elementary teachers are challenged to get in daily meaningful science instruction. There is a need to design science lessons that are powerful in impacting student learning and economize the curriculum time. The purpose of this session is to explore the “Workshop Model” instructional layout as a means to deliver meaningful science experiences. This model of instruction has a “tried-and-true” history in literacy and mathematics. The instructional model segments the time into 3 areas: opening, work session, and closing. The session will use a lesson on Earth’s Systems where students open the unit by observing a phenomenon, then move into stations or work sessions, and use student lead closing so students can formalize their understanding of the phenomenon.

TAKEAWAYS:
The workshop model isn’t just for math and literacy—elementary teachers can use this instructional approach to fit effective, engaging, hands-on science lessons into their daily instructional routine.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Bodner (Cobb County Schools & GSTA Board of Directors: Smyrna, GA)

The three presenters: a classroom teacher, a district science coordinator, and a state science supervisor, will share the different roles and perspectives we each hold in Kansas science education and how that has shaped our different paths to understanding NGSS through collaborative work with each other over the last 6+ years. We will highlight multiple resources that have helped our understanding and implementation of the NGSS in various contexts. During this session, resources will include: unpacking tools, administrative book studies, PLC guidance, and recommendations for how tools might be modified while maintaining integrity of the standards in different contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
The session will provide resources to collaborate with various stakeholders to improve capacity and efficacy with the NGSS. We will share processes for how we have unpacked the science standards which resulted in better understanding of classroom practices, instruction, & assessment across Kansas.

SPEAKERS:
Meg Richard (Piper School District USD 203: Wichita, KS), Stephanie Alderman-Oler (Kansas State Dept. of Education: Topeka, KS), Spencer Martin (Kansas City Kansas Public Schools: Kansas City, KS)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Dissect several mammalian organs and explore links between anatomy and physiology. Examine real-world examples while connecting structure with function of engaging organs including the cow eye, sheep heart, and bull testicle. Use these workshop objectives to bolster your 3-dimensiona instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Kopkau

First, participants will learn how to keep a worm safe and comfortable for handling. Then we will examine external structure, function, senses, and talk about how those connect to a worm's life style. We will even use flashlights to peek inside the worm to see their digestive system. Each activity will be tied to elementary NGSS on organisms, systems, environment, structure and function, and life cycles. The activities will come from my picture book, This is a Book to Read with a Worm (winner of the AAAS/Subaru Excellence in Science Books, 2020), but I will not promote the book. I just want to share the activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience a series of activities that will help them use earthworms as phenomena in elementary science. For each activity, we will discuss how to move from the specifics of worms into sensemaking on more general concepts that the worms illustrate.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Wheeler-Toppen (Author/ Staff Development: Atlanta, GA)

Join us to learn how to support student sensemaking in science class. We'll explore the importance of student discussion, share strategies for facilitating productive discussions, and provide tips for helping students make meaningful connections between their prior knowledge and new learning. Fishbowls and Reflections: Making space for all voices in discussions Using the fishbowl strategy, you can turn classroom discussions into an event where students all participate, actively listen and then reflect on the conversation. This strategy works really well for engaging students who are quiet as well as moderating students dominate the conversation. Building confidence in using scientific vocabulary Scientific vocabulary is the foundation for discussing and writing in the classroom but for many of our students vocabulary acquisition stops after initial use. Start your class with some vocabulary bell ringers to prepare them for the more challenging application activities ahead!

TAKEAWAYS:
Join us to learn how to support student sensemaking in science class. We'll explore the importance of student discussion, share strategies for facilitating productive discussions, and provide tips for helping students make meaningful connections between their prior knowledge and new learning.

SPEAKERS:
Ilana Saxe (The Lawrenceville School: Lawrenceville, NJ), Adrianne Toomey (Neuqua Valley High School: Naperville, IL), Rebecca Garelli (Arizona Science Teachers Association: Gilbert, AZ)

In this session, we'll explore the concept of sensemaking and how to create opportunities for students to make sense of the world around them through discussion. We'll also share some practical tips for facilitating student discussions. Using Booklets to Connect ELA and Science Primary (K-2) teachers already use booklets to teach reading. Why not use them to teach science and sensemaking? Booklets and lessons on different kinds of leaves (~ NGSS K-PS3-1) and sunlight (NGSS K-PS3-2) are shared. Tips and guidelines for producing booklets and lessons are included. Interactive Read Alouds and Imaginative Inquiry with Preschool Students This presentation discusses a series of interactive read alouds and subsequent activities that leveraged imaginative questions like "does earth feel?" and student initiations to engage preschool students in critical thinking, inquiry, and other skills for scientific exploration.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, we'll explore the concept of sensemaking and how to create opportunities for students to make sense of the world around them through discussion. We'll also share some practical tips for facilitating student discussions.

SPEAKERS:
Jan Weaver (Retired: Iowa City, IA), Joseph Spurlock (The Ohio State University: Westerville, OH)

Join us for a speed-sharing session on the innovative STEM ideas of students. This session is a great opportunity to learn from your peers and get inspired by the creativity of students.

You mean to tell me... Social media can improve [science] literacy?
Students already spend so much of their time on social media, so why not use it to our advantage? Learn strategies to increase literacy and engagement in science through the social media accounts of science organizations such as the ocean-drilling research vessel JOIDES Resolution.

Nature Journaling: 1 book, 5 ideas, 10 minutes
Be introduced to a free nature journaling curriculum and several activities to get started using nature journaling to enhance science notebook routines in your classroom. Tips will include ways to integrate the SEPs and CCCs , as well as math and ELA, with nature journaling.

TAKEAWAYS:
Hear from informal science educators about how they have incorporated these ideas into their programs and how you can do the same.

SPEAKERS:
Maya Pincus (Columbia University / U.S. Science Support Program: Palisades, NY), Dana Atwood-Blaine (University of Northern Iowa: WATERLOO, IA)

Join us for a speed-sharing session on how to use sensemaking and phenomena to engage secondary science students in learning. We'll explore the role of phenomena in sensemaking, share tips for selecting engaging phenomena, and discuss how to use sensemaking to support student learning. Using Images and Crosscutting Concepts to Cultivate Reasoning This session will incorporate sorting photos of different eyes to help educators and students explain their sorting choices by focusing on any of the crosscutting concepts to make sense of the images through that particular lens. Connecting precipitation chemistry to community: From modeling precipitation reactions to citizen science and service learning Presentation of lab-based modeling approach to precipitation (“double replacement”) reactions. Discussion of ways to integrate environmental science concepts, specifically biogeochemical cycles and water safety, into the chemistry curriculum. SPOILER ALERT! Avoiding Hazards to Students' Sensemaking and Authentic Science Learning "Spoilers" pervade entertainment news, social media, conversations . . . AND our science classrooms! Teachers must beware of spoilers that can sabotage, short-circuit, or short-change students' learning and sensemaking. Learn how to avoid spoilers and use alternative strategies to enhance lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
Join us for a speed-sharing session on how to use sensemaking and phenomena to engage secondary science students in learning. We'll explore the role of phenomena in sensemaking, share tips for selecting engaging phenomena, and discuss how to use sensemaking to support student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Summers (Project ECHO for Education: Albuquerque, NM), Aaron Musson (Omaha Public Schools: Elkhorn, NE), Daniel Bergman (Wichita State University: Newton, KS)

This session will introduce participants to NSTA instructional materials (lessons and units) designed for elementary classrooms. These instructional materials are designed around the critical aspects of sensemaking: students experience a phenomenon, engage in science and engineering practices and share ideas and 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). NSTA lessons and units provide opportunities for all students to engage in science learning that is meaningful to them.

TAKEAWAYS:
Phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional lessons and units provide students opportunities to actively try to figure out how the world works or design solutions to problems (sensemaking).

SPEAKERS:
Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Brooklyn, NY)

The main resource that will be shared is a poster that presents an overview of a case study completed as a part of the Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) Efficacy Study. The information shared will focus on the affordances of carrying the thinking from science to other parts of the school day and of using science-related texts for multiple purposes in literacy instruction. Overall efficacy study results will be shared. The url for finding the posted free ML-PBL OER curriculum resources will be provided, as well as information for learning more about ML-PBL. The case study has been published in a book of case studies, which will be mentioned (is shown in a section of the poster), but not promoted. Texts used to extend Grade 3 units will be available for attendees to review.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be exposed to free resources and ideas for selecting resources for literacy lessons that allow students to continue to fine-tune and extend the ideas they are developing in science class. Handouts with links to additional resources will be available.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University, Retired: Lansing, MI)

In this poster session, we highlight how two 5th-grade teachers of linguistically diverse students strategically used the Science and Engineering Practice of Developing and Using Models over the course of a physical science unit to increase opportunities for sensemaking with all students. First, we show sample models from multilingual learners across three time points in the unit: initial, revised, and final model. At each time point, we highlight what the teachers did to elicit and interpret student thinking. In particular, we share how “final models” can serve as a more authentic end-of-unit task when an iterative modeling process has been enacted. We describe how the teachers’ own perceptions of modeling changed over the course of the unit. As a result of heightened student sensemaking with the more iterative modeling process, the teachers shifted away from positioning models as products and toward positioning models as evidence of current and evolving sensemaking.

TAKEAWAYS:
By strategically allowing all students, particularly multilingual learners, to develop and use increasingly sophisticated models over time, teachers shifted away from “models as products” and toward “models as evidence of sensemaking.”

SPEAKERS:
Iovanna Williams (Science Teacher: Bronx, NY), Adriana Romanzo (Elementary Science Teacher: Brooklyn, NY), Abigail Schwenger (Research Associate: New York, NY)

This poster presentation will use the Krebs Cycle of Creativity as created by Dr. Neri Oxman as a framework for a new approach to interdisciplinary sciences. I will explore the intersectionality of art, science, engineering, and design. This will include how the synergy between these disciplines creates opportunities to study how art and design affect our behavior, how design and engineering impact utility, how engineering and science creates knowledge, and how science and art portrays information. I will use examples from my own classes to highlight how the Krebs Cycle of Creativity can provide a new lens to view interdisciplinary teaching in the science discipline. This will include examples of projects, teaching materials, and student samples. Visitors will leave with a tangible understanding of how their school can move away from the siloed STEAM approach and move towards a more holistic approach that connects the many different disciplines of science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Visitors will leave with a new lens to view interdisciplinary science teaching including examples of projects, teaching materials, student samples, and a tangible understanding of how their school can move away from the siloed STEAM approach and towards a more holistic take on teaching science.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Vorel (6th Grade Science Teacher: Webster Groves, MO)

Primary grades (K-2) are a challenge for science education. With the focus on basic literacy and math, there is little time for stand-alone science lessons. Here is one solution. Printable booklets are widely used to teach sight words (the top commonly used 100 words) or how to decode simple letter-sound relationships. With a careful selection of vocabulary words, they can also be used to introduce science ideas. The 5-part lesson 1) previews student ideas (models) and introduces vocabulary; 2) uses the booklet to get students to notice, wonder, and ask questions; 3) investigates a question from 2; 4) makes sense of results from 3 to build a shared model; and 5) assesses abilities to interpret new material using the model. The approach is illustrated with two booklets and lessons. One is on different kinds of leaves (~NGSS K-LS1-1) and one is on the effect of sunlight (NGSS K-PS3-1) which can tie into building a structure to reduce the warming effect of sunlight (NGSS K-PS3-2).

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to create or recognize science literature that clicks with a teacher focused on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Use that literature to craft a lesson that explicitly connects teaching ELA to student ideas, science ideas, science practices, and sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Jan Weaver (Retired: Iowa City, IA)

Participants will learn about the Authentic Literacy and Language (ALL) for Science curriculum framework and discover how the combination of guided science investigations, mini-lessons on Science-based disciplinary literacy, and science inquiry circles can increase learner performance. Teachers who used lessons using this curriculum framework reported that children demonstrated increased engagement with lessons and improved their language skills as they began to read, write, and think like scientists. They also found that children performed better overall on assessments of science concepts, attributing the use of collaborative learning teams that build a community of science practice as a factor. Participants will receive a sample lesson from the curriculum and access to the ALL for Science website where they can download FREE resources aligned with NGSS standards.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how the ALL for Science curriculum framework unifies guided science investigations and science-specific disciplinary literacy to engage learners in the practices of science. Educators will receive a sample lesson from the curriculum and access to free online resources.

SPEAKERS:
Jimmie Thomas (Baylor College of Medicine: Houston, TX)

Using a story, such as Fish in a Tree, that is already being used in the classroom as the structure and inspiration for STEM-related activities is one way to incorporate additional time into the week for STEM. Some of our school districts have 45 minutes every other week dedicated to Science, so the idea is to incorporate scientific thinking and activities into the Literacy and Math blocks through questioning strategies that are directly tied to the existing curriculum. Fish in a Tree is a perfect example of ways to incorporate science habits of mind from a non-science-specific book. In this poster session, we will look at the Mystery Boxes from Chapter 14 and look at ways students will discover, through observation, what is inside the box. I will provide some sample mystery boxes, as well as some questioning strategies to use if students get stuck and some ideas for things to contain within the mystery boxes for varied skill levels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to use mystery boxes to model the theme of persistence; to discover through observations other than sight; to determine what is contained within the box. Mystery boxes can be used with a variety of ages and skill levels as a way to encourage creative thinking and problem-solving.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Summers (Project ECHO for Education: Albuquerque, NM)

Coaching Science Olympiad 30+ years and my science teaching cousin still a rookie, we offer tips and tricks on team startup or management. Join us to hear how I took a tiny Nebraska school to win B and C Divisions at Regionals my first year at Arcadia. Having been a veteran coach at four public schools, this amazing educational science event molded careers for my students, cousin, and four children. My cousin started a team in western Nebraska which added travel challenges across our state. We will share ideas on how to manage 2 teams of 30+ students to compete in 24+ events that coaches rarely get to see. Nebraska coaches often make tests for 2 events in 4 time slots to judge. Balancing team preparation and meeting NGSS/state science standards is a challenge while teaching a full day with 3-7 preps. The NE Director asked me to mentor more S.O. coaches so here we are. Teachers will be enlightened with a poster, slide show, paper examples and 3-D visuals to help coaches find success.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain ideas to start their own Science Olympiad Team/s. How to select students for various events to earn team points in each, make user-friendly maps with schedules, reminders and information students can follow, and build unity by wearing team designed school shirts .

SPEAKERS:
Marie Wadas (Arcadia Public School: St. Libory, NE)

The NGSS and other standards based on the Framework of K-12 Education are quite complicated and often tricky to interpret. What teachers need is an easy-to-use reference guide to the standards, and since its release in 2014, the NSTA Quick-Reference Guide has become a perennial best-seller and an essential tool for many educators across the country. This session will be hosted by Ted Willard, the editor of the Quick-Reference Guide and formerly the in-house standards expert at NSTA. Ted will review the features listed above and how educators can use the Quick-Reference Guide to unpack the standards in their work developing curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Specifically, we will spend time exploring the crosscutting concepts in the standards using the tools and other resources in the Quick-Reference Guide.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to unpack the three dimensions using the tools and resources in the Quick-Reference Guide and will gain insights into the meaning of the crosscutting concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Ted Willard (Discovery Education: Derwood, MD)

Sponsoring Company: EARTHDAY.ORG

We will highlight the importance of climate education and present educators with strategies and resources to develop climate literacy and advocacy in their classrooms. We aim to inspire and support educators to increase climate education in their classrooms this year.

SPEAKERS:
Bryce Coon (EARTHDAY.ORG: Gaithersburg, MD)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Models such as diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations are helpful tools for representing ideas and developing explanations related to phenomena. This training will introduce educators to the ways in which models can be used to deepen student understanding of scientific concepts. Participants will also identify connections to the use of models in their instruction while examining their state standards and/or frameworks.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Thompson (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Grapevine, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

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

SPEAKERS:
Patricia Kopkau

Participants in this workshop will learn to plan and design a 5E unit and engage in an example 5E unit on the Isle Royale wolves. They'll explore the history of the wolf population, generate questions for a driving question board, and participate in hands-on activities that integrate science and engineering practices. Through data collection, analysis, research, and making claims supported by evidence, participants will learn how to effectively integrate the 5E model for inquiry-based instruction into their teaching practice. The workshop will also provide resources and strategies for differentiation and inclusion, making science accessible and engaging for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to effectively use the 5E model for inquiry-based instruction to engage students in science education. Gain strategies for designing and assessing instruction, and see how the 5E model supports student engagement, understanding, and achievement.

SPEAKERS:
Kara Ball (Teacher Created Material: Huntingtown, MD)

In this session, participants will experience and unpack the Phenomenon Questioning Technique and will be able to apply it in their classroom. Students observe a phenomenon and are given time to observe and wonder. In groups, students: - Ask as many questions as they can. - Don’t stop to discuss, judge, or answer questions. - Change any statements into questions. - Circle their best question. Remind students to think about what makes a good question as they make their choice (related to science, helps explain phenomena, able to be investigated or researched, etc.). - Share their questions on a “Student-Driven Question Board.” - ​​Using the commonalities, create one guiding question for the class. - Students reflect on how they did with questioning by way of the formative assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience and unpack the Phenomenon Questioning Technique and will be able to apply it in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Hadley (Little Creek Nature Area: St. Charles, MO), Rebecca Prokopf (Regional Curriculum Coordinator: Saint Louis, MO)

Learn to design moments people will remember and experiences that can have immediate impacts by adopting a human-centered mindset. Human-centered design thinking lets you better understand people's needs, motivations, and concerns to create highly-effective learning experiences for teachers and students. Implementing NGSS and three-dimensional teaching and learning requires ongoing support and high-quality professional learning opportunities for all stakeholders in science education. This session will explore how strategies and methods found in human-centered design can be leveraged to create professional learning to address the complexities teachers face in shifting practices to meet the vision of A K-12 Framework and the three-dimensional pedagogy of the NGSS. These strategies will enable designers to create inclusive spaces and environments to enhance professional development. Likewise, these strategies can be used by teachers to facilitate the student sensemaking process.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience practical human-centered design processes, methods, and tools used to deeply understand the people they are looking to serve and to continuously innovate solutions. Participants will leave this session equipped with strategies to design impactful learning experiences.

SPEAKERS:
Abby Tolley (Learning Analyst: Lafayette, IN), Brian Beierle (Relevant Classroom, a Division of Vivayic, Inc.: Wauwatosa, WI)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Experience the versatility of Wisconsin Fast Plants®. These quick-growing plants engage students and are ideal for all grade levels. Easily integrate Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Practices in life cycle, heredity & inheritance, variation & evolution, and environmental science.

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

Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking is unfamiliar to many science educators because they didn’t engage in this practice in their own K-12 careers. Join us as we venture together into the unknown (unfamiliar) using grade-appropriate elements of Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking to build pieces of disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts needed to explain an everyday phenomenon elementary students find curious and puzzling. Participants will reflect on what Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking is all about and how this practice relates to the practices of Developing and Using Models and Analyzing and Interpreting Data.

TAKEAWAYS:
Elementary students engage in Using Mathematics and Computational thinking everyday as they describe, make comparisons between, and test predictions about systems in the world.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Soriano (NSTA: Jersey City, NJ)

Explore one model of integrating climate literacy into the classroom using hands-on climate lessons. In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program. Through this program, the Climate Center hires and trains exceptional Gonzaga undergraduates to deliver high-impact climate literacy activities in elementary and middle school classrooms (grades K-8). The Climate Literacy Fellows help students understand how climate influences them and how they and society influence climate through hands-on, inquiry driven activities that center the NGSS standards and experiential learning. Our presentation would focus on the demonstrating one or more of the climate kits in action and opportunities for improvement, as well as suggestions for implementation in other places.

TAKEAWAYS:
The importance of a hands-on approach to engaging students with the process of science and understanding the broader context that climate change occurs in.

SPEAKERS:
Karli Honebein (Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment: Spokane, WA)

Students collaboratively figuring out phenomena or solutions is key to the NGSS. Teachers need tools to facilitate these discussions into academically rich experiences that support ALL students. Science investigations offer opportunities for engagement for all, but need to be guided expertly. Student engagement is critical for academic success, especially for our English Learners, Special Education, and Foster Youth. Science investigations offer a way to engage students at any level and keep them excited about learning. While working through phenomena, students need to crystalize their own thinking, then share these thoughts with others in order to fully develop them. To do so, certain academic language and terms must be used. Through the shared activity of investigating phenomena, students work through science concepts and use the needed science vocabulary. Teachers guide the discussions through scaffolded questions that facilitate student communication by clarifying their t

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to lead students to conceptual understandings by using discussion tools, academic language, and discussion routines that promote equity and engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Heather McDonald (Riverside Unified School District: Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Julia Smith (Riverside Unified School District: Riverside, CA), Shannon Dadlez (Riverside Unified School District: RIverside, CA)

Many educators do not utilize integrative STEM to its full potential. Integrative STEM benefits all students but can be especially impactful for gifted learners for whom academics come easy and struggling learners who constantly overcome failures. When STEM is done in homogeneous groups, students often contend with collaboration challenges and are forced to compromise. When working in heterogeneous groups, it is often the struggling students who are able to persevere in the face of failure and adversity that serve as leaders. In this session, attendees will be presented with the benefits of integrative STEM for their diverse learners. Examples of the positive impact it has on struggling learners and high achievers will be shared. Finally, attendees will leave with ideas about how to implement integrative STEM in their own classrooms based on their individual needs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how integrative STEM benefits all students when done collaboratively.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Neuman (University of Texas at San Antonio: San Antonio, TX)

Pre-K students have brains that are developing quickly and making rapid connections. This session explores sense-making and equitability in PreK, encouraging a love of learning in the young child. At McKissick Academy of Science and Technology, we utilize our Engineering Design Process to engage students in critical thinking, planning, revision, and communication through STEM. Our tools include: Project Lead the Way, Engineering is Elementary, Picture-Perfect STEM, Creative Curriculum, and our own teachers’ Project Based Learning units to further develop their brains. Our school believes in making learning equitable by providing access to STEM education for all our students; not just the upper grades. Join us for a session where you can walk away with some confidence to start your own units that will directly apply to your littles.

TAKEAWAYS:
The way STEM, and the EDP are embedded into Pre-K environments in our school meets the needs of early intervention and provides equitable access to education for children prior to beginning kindergarten.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Spearman (McKissick Academy of Science & Technology: Easley, SC), Brittany Clark (McKissick Academy: Easley, SC), Morgan Stancil (Teacher: Easley, SC)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience a model lesson from OpenSciEd for Middle School and see how the new Carolina Certified Edition makes these high-quality instructional materials even better! Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Cory Ort (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Questions are an important aspect of effective science teaching. This session will arm you with questioning strategies including SHARE (Wilcox et al., 2021) that use students’ responses to drive the conversation forward, in addition to convergent/divergent questions.

SPEAKERS:
Jesse Wilcox (University of Northern Iowa: Cedar Falls, IA)

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

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

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

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: Carrollton, GA), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Freeport, IL)

Sponsoring Company: Stile Education

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Kat Gentry (Head of Stile USA: Portland, OR)

Sponsoring Company: hand2mind

Unleash the power of wonder with phenomenon-based lessons that nicely integrate the 5E instructional model.  We’ll explore how each lesson evokes investigations to gain conceptual understanding, and it’s done in 30 minutes or less!

SPEAKERS:
Madison Evans (hand2mind: Vernon Hills, IL)

Sponsoring Company: TCI

Join TCI in this interactive session to learn how to integrate language skills while guiding students in developing their science knowledge.

What do we really want from our students? Ultimately we want our students to succeed and not feel intimidated by content. When students are leading contributors to their own learning, that has the potential to increase student engagement and academic success. In this session, two educators share their perspectives on implementing research in the classroom. They explore how curriculum could be used to increase student academic success and change students’ attitudes about science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore how curriculum could be used to increase student academic success and change students’ attitudes about science.

SPEAKERS:
Nina Blanton (Educator: Saint Louis, MO), Nicole Vick (Northwestern University: Avon, IL)

Using a story, such as Fish in a Tree, that is already being used in the classroom as the structure and inspiration for STEM-related activities is one way to incorporate additional time into the week for STEM. Some of our school districts have 45 minutes every other week dedicated to Science, so the idea is to incorporate scientific thinking and activities into the Literacy and Math blocks. Fish in a Tree is a perfect example of ways to incorporate science habits of mind from a non-science specific book. In this presentation, attendees will explore connections between the three dimensions of NGSS through the lens of literature, including the tools to create questioning strategies and prompts to incorporate into any book they and their students are reading. This session will provide attendees with the skills to take any reading and layer science and engineering into the context of the literature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take a deep dive into ways to incorporate aspects of three-dimensional science instruction through questioning strategies and activities using Fish in a Tree as the example literature. These strategies can be applied to any book you use with your students.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Summers (Project ECHO for Education: Albuquerque, NM)

In this interactive workshop, through the modality of dance class, participants engage in a inquiry-based, hands-on experience allowing independent and collaborative exploration of new content. Using peer conversations to deepen understanding, and a whole group debrief, participants naturally progress towards acquiring domain-specific terminology, culminating in a design challenge demonstrating application of knowledge. Analytical reflection of the experience, instructional approach, and supports, allows connections to participants’ own educational environments. Modeled after an inclusive framework, the experience demonstrates instructional strategies that support all learners while providing equitable opportunities for access to content. Including elements of differentiation, student choice, and the power of kinesthetic learning, the research-based experience builds knowledge while embracing and reinforcing key pedagogical ideas, reflecting best practices for science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience best practices for science instruction including elements like differentiation, student choice, the power of kinesthetic learning, and more, all wrapped up in a research-based instructional model using an inclusive framework approach.

SPEAKERS:
Isaac Stauffer (Amplify Science: Chicago, IL)

Explore topics such as how students make sense of the world around them, how to use phenomena to support student learning, and how to facilitate discussions that help students make sense of phenomena. We will also discuss the importance of science & engineering practices in the elementary classroom.

Inclusive Argumentation in the Elementary Classroom
Engaging students in arguing from evidence supports student sense making and the vision of inclusive instructional strategies. Come explore how students in a fourth grade classroom argue from evidence to figure out which organism was pollinating the moonflower which only blooms at night.

Putting it all Together with PBL
During this session, participants will discover how our school utilizes all resources to make PBL a learning experience like no other! Learn how our school collaborates with experts and stakeholders throughout the community to bring experiential learning to our students in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore topics such as how students make sense of the world around them, how to use phenomena to support student learning, and how to facilitate discussions that help students make sense of phenomena. We will also discuss the importance of science & engineering practices in the elementary classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey Roy (Science and Digital Learning Coordinator: Lincoln, NE), Miranda Orellana (Lincoln Public Schools: Lincoln, NE), Betsy Barent (Lincoln Public Schools: Lincoln, NE), Tyler Lappe (Instructional Coach: Cape Girardeau, MO)

Explore the concept of sensemaking in elementary science education! We will discuss how to help students make sense of scientific concepts by listening to their ideas, building on their prior knowledge, and providing opportunities for them to engage in inquiry-based learning. STEM group collaboration made easy Need a simple way to help your students collaborate during STEM challenges? Using this all-in-one graphic organizer, students have a way to organize their individual ideas while collaborating together. As a teacher, you can quickly see a small group thinking and planning through the entire process. Creativity: The Green Eggs and Ham Hypothesis This session will explore the Green Eggs and Ham Hypothesis (Tromp, 2016) and how constraints increase creativity in problem solving. Participants will learn how constraints changed a K-5 STEAM/Inquiry Lab and learn how they can use constraints to increase creativity in their classrooms. Students Teaching Students: Climate Literacy in the Elementary and Middle School Classroom The Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment has created the Climate Literacy Fellows, which hires and trains Gonzaga undergraduates to deliver high-impact climate literacy lessons and help students understand climate change through hands-on, inquiry driven activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore the concept of sensemaking in elementary science education! We will discuss how to help students make sense of scientific concepts by listening to their ideas, building on their prior knowledge, and providing opportunities for them to engage in inquiry-based learning.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren Kelly (Crowley ISD: Burleson, TX), Travis Wood (Fairport Central School District: Rochester, NY), Karli Honebein (Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment: Spokane, WA)

Join us for a speed-sharing session on the latest research in secondary science education and how it can be applied to the classroom. This is a great opportunity to learn about the latest research and how it can help you make a difference in your students' learning.

STEM IRL: STEM Trailblazers for children of color
Addressing inequity in STEM professions starts with exposing students to current minority trailblazers in the field. If students see successful people who look like them, they can begin visualizing themselves in those roles, which can ignite a spark of curiosity and lead to a future in STEM.

Curricular Interventions to Improve Rural High School Students' Relatability to Scientists
Scientist Spotlights homework assignments that feature non-stereotypical scientists can help students see their possible selves in science. Students that author assignments on diverse scientists improve their science identity more than students that complete teacher-authored assignments.

Connecting electrochemistry to materials science: From modeling redox reactions to exploring materials science with dye-sensitized solar cells
Presentation of lab-based modeling approach to metal-metal ion (“single replacement”) reactions. Discussion of ways to integrate materials science concepts, specifically electrochemical cells and dye-sensitized solar cell construction, into the chemistry curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Hear from experts in the field about innovative approaches to teaching science, as well as practical tips for improving your own practice.

SPEAKERS:
Christa Buccola Henriquez (MS 363 The Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence: Dobbs Ferry, NY), Fabiola Perez (Student: Edwardsville, IL), Maurina Aranda (Assistant Professor: Edwardsville, IL), Aaron Musson (Omaha Public Schools: Elkhorn, NE)

Sponsoring Company: Pivot Interactives

What do hands-on labs do well? What not well? Are you open to considering a paradigm shift? Come see how Pivot Interactives expands the options to implement phenomena, the science practices, feedback, and scaffolding easily across the learning cycle.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Friberg (Pivot Interactives: Minneapolis, MN)

Sponsoring Company: Phenomenon Science Education

You will do phenomenon based, 3D activities explicitly linked to the three dimensions and student-centered nature of K-12 Framework based science education. We show teachers how they can center science education on student investigation and explanation of a phenomenon with sensemaking strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Joshua Smith (Phenomenon Science Education: Orange, MA), Sharon Cates (Phenomenon Science Education: Greenfield, MA)

Sponsoring Company: PEER Physics

Join us for an interactive workshop to explore how science practices can be used to build a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. Participants will explore the PEER Physics Learning Cycle and gain access to a phenomenon-driven Waves unit for high school physics and physical science.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Quinty (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Kognity

Incorporating aspects of the NGSS into lessons can be difficult, daunting, and overwhelming. Join us while we break down how to understand, interpret, and model the application of three-dimensional learning into your instruction. Sponsored by Kognity for High School Science.

SPEAKERS:
Sasha Ferreira (Senior Curriculum Specialist: Jersey City, NJ)

Our EDP process and STEM practices provide students with words (to develop thinking, promote planning, etc.). We support our students with an equitable, safe, and developmentally appropriate environment to foster a place for students to learn, experience failed ideas, and move toward success.

TAKEAWAYS:
The way STEM and the EDP are embedded into Pre-K environments in our school meets the needs of early intervention and provides equitable access to education for children prior to beginning kindergarten.

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Clark (McKissick Academy: Easley, SC)

Primary grades (K-2) are a challenge for science education. With the focus on basic literacy and math, there is little time for stand-alone science lessons. Here is one solution. Printable booklets are widely used to teach sight words (the top commonly used 100 words) or how to decode simple letter-sound relationships. With a careful selection of vocabulary words, they can also be used to introduce science ideas. The 6-part lesson 1) practices noticing and vocabulary; 2) uses the booklet to get students to notice, wonder, and ask questions; 3) plans an investigation; 4) carries out an investigation; 5) makes sense of results, and 6) shares results with others. The approach is illustrated with two booklets and lessons. One is on different kinds of leaves (NGSS K-LS1-1) and one is on the effect of sunlight (NGSS K-PS3-1), which can tie into building a structure to reduce the warming effect of sunlight (NGSS K-PS3-2).

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to create or recognize science literature that clicks with a teacher focused on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Use that literature to craft a lesson that explicitly connects teaching ELA to student ideas, science ideas, science practices, and sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Jan Weaver (Retired: Iowa City, IA)

Within collaborative groups, team members work through age-specific engineering challenges based on the natural world. Participants engage in each step of the Engineering Design Process through free online Missouri Department of Conservation Discover Nature School curriculum. The Pre-K group will use recycled materials, creating bird feeders to test quantity and strength. The kindergarten group will create a model of a bear den, testing strength and weaknesses of weather conditions. The first grade group will analyze armor and behavior of living isopods, and research other common Midwest animals with protective layers. From this research, they will create their model and test its protective nature. Using seed dispersal as a phenomenon, the second grade group will model and test different seed dispersal methods as assigned for their specific seed to explore. Participants will share how to connect engineering and ELA within their classroom through supporting trade books.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through hands-on practice and application of the engineering design process, participants will engage in asking questions, building models to test shape and function of an object, and test and identify strengths and weaknesses within grade-level groups. Utilize local nature for engineering prompts!

SPEAKERS:
Gwendolyn Parrett (Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center: Kansas City, MO), Mary Beth Factor (Discover Nature School Curriculum Coordinator: Arnold, MO)

We believe lifelong learners are developed as a result of a strong early childhood foundation in problem-solving and sensemaking. This session documents a lesson in engendering, math, and problem-solving we developed with cereal box dominoes in our K-4 science class. The lesson included and engaged all students in saving, sorting, and creating a domino path pattern, as well as the community and surrounding city as churches, parents, apartment complexes, friends, and family saved boxes and eagerly anticipated the domino event.

TAKEAWAYS:
Session demonstrates how science is presented to K-4 students to both build a strong science foundation and competency in problem solving.

SPEAKERS:
Susan (Cee Cee) Cohen (Retired Teacher: Madison, WI)

Teachers who attend this session will learn ways to maximize student learning, success, and engagement through integration. The session will show how to blend the arts with science and other content areas. Participants will engage in visual/performing arts and science-integrated activities. We will then utilize identified learning standards and brainstorm/collaborate ways to integrate the arts. Participants will leave with ideas generated from educator collaboration, ready-to-use projects, and a fresh mindset on how to effectively integrate the arts and content areas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with ready-to-use projects, get access to arts integration material, and explore fun and simple ways to use invigorate your classroom with the Arts.

SPEAKERS:
Taylor Shaeffer (JTSD) (John Thomas School of Discovery Partner School: Nixa, MO)

Using inquiry as a platform to support young children’s creativity and engagement, this presentation will share some ideas for ways to incorporate STEM learning into children’s learning through play. We will share specific ways to encourage play through a variety of mediums with an eye on safety of materials and environments. Each example activity will recommend easy to obtain or recycled materials and activities with appropriate scaffolding to meet the needs of infants, toddlers and preK children. These activities will use an open-ended set of materials that can be revisited over time as the children grow and mature in their STEM understanding and confidence to move forward with their investigation.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this poster session, attendees will learn ways to meet the needs of infants and toddlers as they explore the materials around them. Attendees will take away specific activities and supplies for each ages (infants, younger toddlers, older toddlers, preK) while using a common theme of materials.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Summers (Project ECHO for Education: Albuquerque, NM)

Elementary teachers continue to struggle with “fitting it all in” when ELA standards are prioritized at the elementary level. While cross-curricular instruction is one strategy, there is often still a need to focus on the identified ELA competencies. This session will focus on strategies that easily cross over between science and ELA in order to better leverage instructional time. For example, a common strategy called “text to” helps students make connections as they read and make meaning from ideas in the text. By expanding this strategy with science content and investigations, students now add first-hand knowledge of a topic to their connection-making mental process. This strategy incorporates discourse strategies that are known to assist students in sensemaking. Research within the ELA side has supported the idea that the most logical place for instruction around reading and thinking strategies is within the content areas. Additional strategies will be shared and modeled.

TAKEAWAYS:
The session will focus on engaging participants in strategies that can easily cross over and place science at the forefront, and provide authentic topics around which to build both science concepts and ELA competencies, thus seizing the time to do science.

SPEAKERS:
Christine Anne Royce (Shippensburg University: Newburg, PA)

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

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

SPEAKERS:
Gina Tesoriero (Student / Educator / Researcher / Healer: New York, NY)

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)

OPENING: Define 'green school'; Introduce pillars; Provide examples; “Green Lens” Evaluation: Attendees rate their school for each pillar. 'Challenges' reflection for incorporating green schools practices. WHOLE-SCHOOL SUSTAINABILITY (WSS) & SHOW-ME GREEN SCHOOLS: Define WSS - work within campus, curriculum, culture. Show-Me Green Schools explained with video testimonials: Green Schools Quest (student-driven, project-based contest; community mentors assist lead teacher with project development & implementation); Missouri Green Schools (annual recognition for systems approach to WSS; roadmap for achievement); U.S. Depart. of Education Green Ribbon School Award (national award for demonstrated excellence & innovation of designated pillars); Green Schools Network BENEFITS: Increased job satisfaction, student engagement & achievement, better health for school community, social-emotional well-being; ADDRESSING CHALLENGES: Team development, staff collaboration, whole school support; CLOSING: Programs in US.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn what green schools are and how they benefit students, staff, and administration. Participants will walk away with some ideas for getting started, addressing common challenges, and connecting with green school teams in their state.

SPEAKERS:
Traci Jansen (Kirkwood School District: KIRKWOOD, MO)