Session Objectives: -Provide an opportunity for science education leaders to network and share ideas. -Identify critical issues facing science education and discuss potential solutions. -Inspire and motivate attendees to continue working to improve science education. The session will be held in a relaxed and informal setting. Attendees will have the chance to network and chat with other leaders in the field and identify pressing issues for groups of attendees to discuss. Presenters will facilitate small group table discussions on some of these critical issues. The session will be followed by a discussion period where attendees can share their thoughts and ideas that resonated most with their table groups.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will gain insights and perspectives from science education leaders from across the country. This will help them to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing science education today, and to develop strategies for improving science education in their own communities.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Weatherhead (National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA): Downingtown, PA)

Find opportunities to grow. Nurture your passion. Create your opportunities. Find opportunities to grow - I volunteered to serve on committees to evaluate and write curriculum. I went to meetings and conferences. I applied to help write the Next Generation Science Standards. Nurture your passion - I read journals and blogs, I asked questions, and I attended conferences even when my school district wouldn’t support me. I stretched myself. Create your opportunities - Stop waiting for the ‘right’ opportunities to present themselves. Reflect on HOW to turn your passion into opportunity. Share your dream with others. Find a mentor. My passion - my niche - is educating students and teachers about the science of food production. What’s your passion? What’s your niche? How are you going to conquer that mountain?

TAKEAWAYS:
Chris will share her winding journey through valleys and over mountains in search of her passion. She often struggles to find the confidence to step out into the unknown, but has found inspiration and encouragement from others along the way as she pursues her passion to make a difference.

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

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

Much of the work of an educational leader is really coaching adults. It’s important to know that adult learning is different. When educational leaders deeply understand what drives social behaviors, then we can reflect on how to approach coaching conversations to promote the targeted change in practice. To address this, participants will explore the domains of SCARF: a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. Participants will experience and practice the critical coaching skills of committed listening/listening with empathy and paraphrasing/fostering dialogue. Participants will leave with a coaching frame strategy to use in facilitating productive coaching conversations as they work to promote change in the educators they support.

TAKEAWAYS:
In short, adults learn differently than our students. So educational leaders need an aligned mindset and appropriate skills to coach science teachers through any change needed to improve.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Weatherhead (National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA): Downingtown, PA)

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)

Learn how one district moved from individual teachers' curriculum-based professional learning to adopting and implementing high-quality instructional materials in middle school classrooms district wide. Hear the story from different perspectives within our multi-tiered system.

TAKEAWAYS:
Practical guidance for moving your multi-tiered system forward with implementation of high-quality instructional materials.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Bacolor (Wayne RESA: Wayne, MI), John Tafelski (Assistant Superintendent: Allen Park, MI)

The session aims to enhance leaders’ knowledge and skills to become effective change agents within their organizations. By leveraging systems thinking, leaders will be better positioned to create systems conditions that support every child. This approach goes beyond isolated interventions, emphasizing the importance of systemic change to ensure lasting impact. This session offers an exceptional opportunity to explore the transformative potential of systems thinking and its practical application. The session will empower science leaders to apply systems-level thinking within their own educational settings. Leaders will delve into the features of systems change mapping, a powerful tool for disrupting the deprioritization of science in K-12 systems. By understanding the entry points and dynamics of one’s system, leaders can strategically identify and address the barriers that hinder equitable access to quality science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in applying systems-level thinking to their own contexts as a high-leverage strategy for driving equitable change, and will gain a deeper understanding of the features of systems change mapping for disrupting the deprioritization of science in K-12 systems.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Weatherhead (National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA): Downingtown, PA)

Shifts to 3D science standards require shifts in science teaching. Learn how to evaluate & support through the lens of your state science standards. Participate in discussions with instructional coaches and building administrators as we seek to support student sensemaking through observations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain strategies and resources to support your evaluation and instructional coaching cycles.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Bremen, GA)

Presenters will discuss how a partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the SIU STEM Education Research Center @ Carbondale, IL built a 100% IL-developed Science Assessment. There was a concerted effort by SIU to include willing and qualified IL educators to score constructed responses and item development. It proved to be a powerful professional learning experience. Participants improved their understanding of NGSS (Illinois Learning Standards in Science (ILS-S/NGSS) and classroom practices. Participants report this experience was rewarding personally and professionally, and their classroom instruction benefited students. We will present participant survey data and testimonials to support our claims. Teachers often say there is a lack of meaningful and rewarding NGSS/science professional learning opportunities. We found the Illinois Science Assessment Project is one of the few. We suggest other states, agencies consider the same.

TAKEAWAYS:
Meaningfully including in-service educators in developing your state assessment will transform the black box of large-scale summative assessment to a joint endeavor that will see teacher buy-in and professional development increase, and student learning and scores go up.

SPEAKERS:
ANGELA BOX (Southern Illinois University Carbondale: CARTERVILLE, IL)