The goal of this session is for participants to be able to feel confident and competent with incorporating multiple SEPs into everyday sensemaking lessons in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience a hands-on lesson that walks them through the basic steps of how to lead a sensemaking lesson that incorporates multiple SEPs.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Schumann (Katy High School: Bellville, TX), Elizabeth Morris (Katy ISD: Katy, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Earth faces pressing challenges: rising temperatures, extreme weather, resource strain, and pollution. Unfairly, students must tackle these, but solutions exist. Teachers play a vital role in providing students with academic tools, fostering confidence and hope for them to shape a sustainable future

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

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Decode concealed clues and unveil invisible evidence using spectroscopy! This demonstration will cover how students can use the Go Direct® SpectroVis® Plus Spectrophotometer and Vernier Spectral Analysis® app to capture and identify the spectra for invisible ink in a note left at a crime scene.

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

Sponsoring Company: Amplify Science

Through reflecting on our own personal ‘why’ for teaching science, we’ll consider how to spark a love of science for the next generation of solution seekers. Using exemplar activities and teacher moves, explore ways to celebrate student thinking, be responsive, and promote deep scientific thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Cross (Albert Einstein Academy Middle School: SPRING VALLEY, CA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Arts integration is a holistic approach that enables students to access the curriculum while developing scientific skills needed for the twenty-first century. Learn how poetry, music, storytelling, drama, visual art, and creative movement can be meaningfully embedded within the science curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Walters (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience the Carolina Certified Version of OpenSciEd for Middle School and High School. See how the new Carolina Certified Edition enhances these high-quality instructional materials and makes OpenSciEd even better! Leave with classroom resources.

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

Sponsoring Company: BIOZONE Corporation

Step-through BIOZONE's activities and learn how to utilize our unique pedagogical approach to engage students and streamline lessons. See how to integrate BIOZONE'S rich collection of digital assets into your lessons. Attendees receive a FREE print title & 90 day digital access to a title.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Stilwell (BIOZONE Corp.: Naples, FL)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Learn fun strategies for using informational texts to support your young learners’ sensemaking. Investigate supports with these texts that help students gather more information, use new vocabulary, and experience new ways of talking about their ideas about the world of science around them.

SPEAKERS:
Jen Gutierrez (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Experience how embedding literacy supports for reading, writing, and academic discourse in 3D teaching and learning promotes sensemaking and science understanding for ALL learners! Learn how the BSCS Anchored Inquiry Learning instructional model embeds literacy supports throughout cycles of inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
The research-based BSCS Anchored Inquiry Learning instructional model succeeds the 5Es and embeds literacy supports for reading, writing, and academic discourse in conjunction with science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts to promote students in figuring out key science ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Cynthia Gay (BSCS Science Learning: Steamboat Springs, CO)

This session presents a unique approach to teacher-led professional learning communities, leveraging data-driven inquiry cycles to identify, test, and refine solutions to common problems of practice around science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore the creation and facilitation of teacher-led professional learning communities, which leverage Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) learning cycles to address problems of practice within their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Seabloom (Chicago Public Schools: Chicago, IL)

A showcase of creating dynamic spreadsheets that provide instantaneous, differentiated feedback to students as they learn or practice new content independently or in small groups. This method amplifies confidence for students of all abilities and frees teachers to assist those most in need.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will make use of existing, free, and relatively ubiquitous digital spreadsheets in making presentations for new content. The use of this tool makes practicing content and skills helpful, engaging, and memorable. Educators will create their own spreadsheets for a lesson in their content.

SPEAKERS:
Sean Regan (Framingham High School: Westborough, MA)

Many schools need high-quality units to meet their state standards or localize phenomena. BSCS Science Learning has extensive experience with designing, adapting, and localizing. In this session, apply a BSCS design tool, and learn about a suite of tools to use for large-scale design or adaptation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience with a tool to unpack target standards by clarifying key ideas, listing prerequisites and challenges, and considering what students should “figure out” and not just “learn about.” Consider and share how to apply tools and processes for designing and adapting HQIM in your local context.

SPEAKERS:
Jean Flanagan (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Elaine Klein (BSCS Science Learning: Houston, TX)

In today’s fast-paced world, chronic stress is common, but your mind and body can pay a high price. Learn to recognize overwhelming stress—and what you can do about it. Most importantly, learn how to use the power of your senses to relieve stress on the spot and stay calm, productive, and focused.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to manage stress.

SPEAKERS:
Azra Chughtai (NSTA: McLean, VA)

The INSPIRE program is a professional learning opportunity aimed at increasing diversity within the geosciences. This is accomplished through inclusive pedagogies: specifically scaffolding support for student executive functioning skills and self-regulated learning cycle in inquiry activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about student executive functioning skills, the self-regulated learning cycle, and ways to incorporate their support into their planning and teaching praxis. Participants are asked to bring an example of an inquiry activity (lab, or otherwise) to work with during the session.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Anne Mollica (Teacher/ Science Pedagogy Specialist: Astoria, NY)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Scientific perspectives and data should help economic decisions, guide government policy, and improve health. Yet denial of science is everywhere. Evolution. Climate change, Vaccination. GMOs. We will analyze the causes of science denial, and discuss what can educators can do about it.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine (Savvas Learning Company: Concord, MA)

Sponsoring Company: Legends of Learning

Forget boring! Ignite learning with Legends of Learning's Game Based Adventures! Embark on an immersive learning experience. Active, engaging, unforgettable. Unleash the learning within!

SPEAKERS:
Sean Reidy (Legends of Learning: Laurel, MD), Jonathan Gerlach (Legends of Learning: Laurel, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Join our interactive science workshop where literacy meets exploration! Immerse yourself in a world of discovery as we blend scientific concepts with the power of language. Through engaging activities, see how students will not only unravel the wonders of science but also enhance their literacy skills. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Cranford, NJ), Dr. Sarah Glassman (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Wondering how to get started with Vernier technology? Explore three of our most common sensors for chemistry, biology, and physics and learn about resources and support available to you from Vernier. Walk away with data collection tips and best practices to incorporate in your classes.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR), Josh Ence (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: BrainPOP Science

Looking to help students develop science inquiry skills and think critically about scientific concepts? Join our session on Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER), the framework that helps students make sense of the world around them and leave with an in-depth understanding and practical strategies.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Stocz (BrainPOP: New York, NY)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Get a close look at the pedagogical strategies of a highly acclaimed Earth Science book. Developed by the American Geoscience Institute, this book relies on student-centered activities, students doing science! Take part in several activities and connect with other earth science teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Gary Curts (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify Science

How do we uncover and leverage the wealth of background knowledge and experiences students bring to science classrooms? Join UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science for strategies and examples of how student-centered experiences can spark curiosity, empower students, and lead to deeper learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Curley (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Daniel Alcazar-Roman (University of California, Berkeley: Belmont, CA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Come learn how to use effective literacy strategies so that students can better understand science content. Student understanding and critical-thinking skills will improve with these techniques. Join our constructivist approach that promotes literacy in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Thompson (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Simulation Curriculum

Teach astronomy and space science using the most effective and recognized tool available - Starry Night. We invite teachers to see our newest, browser-based NGSS aligned edition. We'll show the lessons, exercises, simulations and interactions along with the assessments and teacher materials.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Goodman (Simulation Curriculum: Hopkins, MN)

Calling all Science Supervisors, department heads, principals, school coordinators. Please join us for a roundtable discussion on curriculum, resources and supervision of science departments. Participants will be adding to and have access to a shared Padlet full of various ideas and resources!

PAEMST Awardees are invited to a celebratory reception of the 40th anniversary of the PAEMST award. Come and meet your fellow alumni!

Sponsoring Company: BrainPOP Science

Modern science education goes beyond memorization and traditional experiments. Educators now aim to cultivate transferable skills for students to thrive beyond the classroom. This requires an approach where students engage in a multidimensional world of inquiry, activating their curiosity and empowering them with critical scientific and data literacy skills. Join the discussion on the evolving landscape of science education to meet enhanced standards.

SPEAKERS:
Tim Powers (BrainPOP: New York, NY), Harshil Parikh (Tuva Labs Inc.: New York, NY), Kathy Perkins, PhD (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO), Hannah Bonville (BrainPOP: New York, NY)

Sponsoring Company: TCI

This workshop offers a unique opportunity for educators to gain practical insights into integrating literacy skills within the science curriculum. Attendees will leave with tangible strategies and tools to enrich their teaching practices, fostering a more engaging learning experience for students.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Kumar (TCI: Mountain View, CA)

In this session, Colorado District Science Leaders are invited to attend our March meeting. During this time, we will network and share ideas regarding the implementation of three dimensional learning in your school, site, and/or district.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, Colorado District Science Leaders are invited to attend our March meeting. During this time, we will network and share ideas regarding the implementation of three dimensional learning in your school, site, and/or district.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Agoos (Colorado Department of Education: La Veta, CO)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

In the STEM classroom, an effective teacher selects actions that have an impact on student achievement. Come learn about the 15 STEM Teacher Actions to enhance your instructional practices and achieve improved student achievement.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Campana (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Discover new ways to help students think and work like scientists and engineers. Through a hands-on lesson, we will model instruction and resources that support 3-dimensional teaching & learning including teacher instructional slides, student friendly materials, simulations, & student investigations

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

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discover the newest STEM solution from Vernier, built to teach and engage students in 3D science! Vernier Connections is a web-based platform that equips teachers with hands-on lessons. We will feature a lesson demonstrating the design & structures that make Connections a must for the STEM classroom

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

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Learn how to enhance students’ overall communication in and out of the science classroom throughout their learning. Delve deeper into topics that include listening using classroom norms, strategies that help students with short response, and how to enhance students’ use of CER!

SPEAKERS:
Brian Klaft (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

Join us as we review the parameters of three-dimensional assessments and practice screening assessments for three-dimensionality. In this session, we'll brainstorm ways to work with system leaders to strategically plan around curriculum embedded assessments and uncover supports for every child.

SPEAKERS:
Madeline Cronk (Great Minds: Washington, DC)

Take a deep dive into the practice of developing and using models! We’ll explore how creating and using models help students build science ideas and can support students’ in developing and writing explanations. Experience the power of building science ideas together as part of a learning community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Developing models individually, in groups and as a class makes all students essential members of the knowledge-building community.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Freeport, IL), Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Brooklyn, NY)

Get acquainted with OpenSciEd HS, from the anchoring phenomena to the curricular routines to assessment.

TAKEAWAYS:
OpenSciEd HS's storyline approach, curricular routines, student discourse strategies, and assessment systems work together to help students build equitable science learning experiences.

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

Figuring out phenomena engages students in the nature and process of science through the integration of all three dimensions. Observe how scientists investigate a question. Then use a web tool to illuminate the nature and process of science and apply to any lesson or phenomenon in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to use the Science Flowchart interactive journaling tool to illuminate the dynamic nature and process of science, and how to apply the tool to any phenomenon or lesson in their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kirsten Smith (Pound Middle School: Denton, NE), Lindsey Roy (Science and Digital Learning Coordinator: Lincoln, NE), Betsy Barent (Lincoln Public Schools: Lincoln, NE)

Research suggests that most teachers will leave the profession within 5-years. This presentation will share tips to help science teachers stay enjoying teaching! This session could prove helpful to any new or preservice teacher, teacher mentor, or anyone who wants a new perspective.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with tangible practices to implement in their lives as a teacher! I will offer tips that worked for me, discussing topics like the school social environment, the lingo of education, using district resources, combating burn out (preemptively and practically), and more!

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Christie (Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology: Conyers, GA)

This session will offer practical and adaptable examples of formative classroom assessment techniques that could be incorporated into any science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will present formative assessment techniques that attendees can take back to their classrooms and use immediately.

SPEAKERS:
Tyler Buchan (Salisbury Composite High School: Edmonton, AB)

Sponsoring Company: TCI

Join our session to learn how to harness the power of three-dimensional Performance Assessments! Beyond evaluating learning, these assessments offer students a meaningful context to demonstrate understanding. Explore the role of performance assessments in teaching core science concepts effectively.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Kumar (TCI: Mountain View, CA)

In this session, Colorado educators will have the opportunity to participate in a structured forum to share their experiences in implementing three dimensional learning and instruction as outlined in the Colorado Academic Standards for Science.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, Colorado educators will have the opportunity to participate in a structured forum to share their experiences in implementing three dimensional learning and instruction as outlined in the Colorado Academic Standards for Science.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Agoos (Colorado Department of Education: La Veta, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discovered new-to-you Vernier sensors in your classroom or storage? Join our beginner-friendly, interactive workshop to help you understand how to assess, calibrate, and start using hands-on Vernier solutions. Explore our suite of sensors and how they work with our Graphical Analysis app.

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

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discover hands-on approaches to STEM learning that equip middle schoolers for high school and beyond. Attendees will explore updated activities with the Vernier Go Direct® temperature, light, force, and gas pressure sensors to model real-world phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR), Josh Ence (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: BrainPOP Science

Revitalize student engagement in science inquiry! Join our session on scaffolding Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) experiences. Empower students to think critically, make sense of the world, and leave with practical strategies for a deeper understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsie Stocz (BrainPOP: New York, NY)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Models are tools for representing ideas and developing explanations related to phenomena. Models can be used to deepen student understanding of scientific and math concepts. You will identify connections to the use of models in your instruction while examining your state standards and/or frameworks.

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

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: The NEED Project

Inquiry-based, hands-on STEM and critical thinking activities that help students to develop a comprehensive understanding of energy, electricity, hydropower, and emerging ocean technologies.

SPEAKERS:
Vernon Kimball (NEED Facilitator: Manassas, VA)

Sponsoring Company: BIOZONE Corporation

BIOZONE's innovative worktext approach delivers flexible, engaging, student-centred resources. Learn how our titles integrate into our digital platform and how the Teacher Toolkit helps teachers plan, deliver, and assess. Attendees each receive a FREE print title & 1-year digital access to a title.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Stilwell (BIOZONE Corp.: Naples, FL)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Investigate strategies and ideas for using informational texts in science. As students obtain, evaluate, construct explanations, and communicate information about the world around them, engaging with informational texts is critical for building this background knowledge and supporting sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Marmolejo (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Sponsoring Company: hand2mind

Finding time to teach science can be one of the most difficult tasks for an elementary teacher. Come experience how to engage students in phenomena-based learning in just 15-30 minutes a day using the 5E model.

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Goerig (hand2mind: Vernon Hills, IL)

Engaging in culturally responsive teaching requires that teachers shift their perspective by building relationships within the communities they serve. We present cases of science teachers who partner with communities to design curricula that affirm the assets of students while aligning with the NGSS.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about ways to meaningfully connect with communities outside of school to critique systems of oppression in science education and shift deficit perspectives. Participants will be empowered to advocate for their communities and engage in transformational teaching practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Spencer (Illinois Regional Office of Education: Bloomington, IL)

What is the connection between coherent instructional sequences from the students’ perspective and equitable access to science learning? Learn how coherent storyline units support students’ genuine engagement and perseverance as they work to explain a complex phenomenon over the course of a unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Storyline unit Instructional routines provide a coherent path from students’ questions about a phenomenon to the explanation or model of that phenomenon.

SPEAKERS:
NSTA Online Advisors (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Holly Hereau (NSTA: Lake Angelus, MI), Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Brooklyn, NY)

With support from a sponsored organization and the DoD, DoD STEM Ambassadors are prepared to promote equitable education in their communities. Resources and strategies will be shared to encourage other teachers to utilize DoD STEM resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how DoD STEM Ambassadors increase STEM education and opportunities for disadvantaged students in their communities. Presenters will review DoD STEM resources and show how attendees can also serve their classrooms to close the achievement gap, with support from DoD STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Botello (Byron P. Steele II High School: San Antonio, TX), Josephine Mesina (International High School at Largo: Bowie, MD), Thanh Le (Montebello High School: Glendale, CA), Nicole Rosen (The Ingenuity Project: Baltimore, MD)

Learn from our experience as a math and a science teacher collaborating together to give our students an interdisciplinary learning opportunity so that you can start your own plan. We will share the logistics from this authentic inquiry-based project and you’ll hear testimonials from our students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be provided with one way to overcome logistical challenges inherent with interdisciplinary collaboration at the secondary level, including differing rosters and schedules. Furthermore, attendees will have the opportunity to start their own plan for their own interdisciplinary project.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Schneiderwind (Daniel C Oakes high school: Castle Rock, CO), Nadene Klein (Daniel C. Oakes High School: Elizabeth, CO)

A tour of the key debates that are happening in science education in the UK will be provided. The impact of these issues across different age-phases, on differing stakeholders and how they have shaped the curricula that can be found in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be outlined.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the key debates in education within the UK and compare and contrast these with their educational setting.

SPEAKERS:
Alex Sinclair (Senior Lecturer: HAMPTON, 0)

Get acquainted with New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas (NSTA District - 13 members) Science Teacher Association Officers and conference attendees. Learn what each state is doing to advance Science and STEM engagement in K - 16 settings.

The NSTA Research Division cordially invites all members - researchers AND practitioners- to join us for a discussion of the relationship between research and practice and how NSTA can best foster that.

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Students can become crime scene investigators analyzing and defusing a “bomb” using their knowledge of half-lives! Attendees will use the Vernier Go Direct® SpectroVis® Plus Spectrophotometer to gather decay data and apply mathematical thinking to determine when the device was set to detonate.

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

Sponsoring Company: Estes Rockets

This session highlights a model rocket mission simulation where students work together to complete a successful launch of the New Shepard rocket. Students consider thrust, altitude, and velocity to determine the best engine for the launch.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Freyschlag (Estes Industries: Colorado Springs, CO), Kristen Yip (Club for the Future: Seattle, WA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Have you wanted to implement a Project-Based Learning unit in your classroom? Equity through Science Education (ESE) provides interdisciplinary science units for Grades 6-8. Experience hands-on lessons that deepen sensemaking for ALL students.

SPEAKERS:
Pam Richards (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

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: LaMotte Company

Water is the single most valuable resource essential for life on Earth, yet is subject to increasing scarcity, pollutants, and overuse. The Tapwater Tour curriculum makes the real world connection between the phenomena explored in the lesson and actual hands-on laboratory activities.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans (Kent County High School: Worton, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Penda Learning

Penda is a high-quality, gamified intervention and instructional resource that is phenomena-based and 3-D with tools for differentiation and is engaging for all students. Customizable reports and assessments assist with progress monitoring. Penda is handcrafted for NGSS, Texas TEKS and FL SASS.

SPEAKERS:
Mindy Pearson (Penda Learning: Ruskin, FL), Taylor Willis (Penda Learning: Tampa, FL), Kathryn Kypreos (Penda Learning: Savannah, GA)

This session will provide a brief overview of the basic science behind global warming and its consequences, plus discussion of how we can in principle achieve a “post-global warming” future in which today’s children will someday be able to talk about global warming as a problem of the past.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to teach global warming science without “gloom and doom” — and without provoking parents — by inspiring students to envision a post-warming future.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Bennett (Big Kid Science: Boulder, CO)

NextGen TIME is a free suite of tools and processes that supports districts in preparing to evaluate instructional materials for quality and design for the NGSS. This collaborative process helps you plan for next steps, including customization to improve student outcomes and effective implementation.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how NextGen TIME supports the evaluation of current instructional materials to strengthen their design for NGSS, and how NextGen TIME tools and processes can serve as critical components of curriculum-based professional learning. You’ll walk away with free access to NextGen TIME resources.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Gomez Zwiep (BSCS Science Learning: Long Beach, CA), Jenine Cotton-Proby (BSCS Science Learning: Waldorf, MD)

Each will identify grade level, core disciplinary ideas (science content standards), Science & Engineering Practice and Crosscutting concepts. Participants will leave with lessons plans, websites, grants ideas and other resources. Over 14 PAs will bring best practices from their varied expertise.

TAKEAWAYS:
K-12 teachers will leave with lessons plans, websites, grant ideas, and other resources from Presidential Awardees.

SPEAKERS:
DeLene Hoffner (Retired & eleSTEMary: Colorado Springs, CO)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

High-quality investigations of science phenomenon are the perfect foundation for meaningful learning experiences that bridge content areas. Join us as we explore how to use science as an authentic context to motivate, review, and expand student’s knowledge and practice in English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, the Arts, and more! You’ll leave with practical strategies to apply in your own lessons as well as planning tools to help your grade level team brainstorm new applications.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Forsythe (Texas State University: San Marcos, TX)

The NSTA provides in-person, online, and blended professional learning experiences for cohorts of K–12 educators. All programs engage educators with digital resources, virtual programs, the larger community, and expert staff. Depending on your choice of services, NSTA membership is also included.

TAKEAWAYS:
District and school 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 enhance their learning as well as the ability to learn with peers. Membership included for most services.

SPEAKERS:
Flavio Mendez (NSTA: Owings Mills, MD), Tricia Shelton (NSTA: Clarksville, TN)

CANADIAN DELEGATES WHO ARE ATTENDING THE NSTA NATIONAL CONVENTION ARE INVITED TO AN INFORMAL SOCIAL. PLEASE JOIN US AND SPEND SOME TIME NETWORKING AND GETTING TO KNOW OTHER TEACHERS FROM ACROSS OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

Come network with your fellow Colorado Science educators and representatives from many Colorado Science Education Organizations, including CAST, CSEN, CSC, CAEE, CDE and others!

This meeting is open to NMLSTA members and those invited by a current board member.

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

The DQB is an essential tool used throughout OSE units to generate, keep track of, and revisit student questions around the anchoring and related phenomenon. Join the collaborative fun finding ideas for developing, maintaining, and revisiting this exciting representation of students’ learning.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Klaft (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Ever wondered where to find FREE Federal STEM education resources that can provide authentic learning experiences for your K-12+ students? Join Federal agencies, including but not limited to the Dept of Education, NASA, NOAA, EPA, NIH, USGS, USPTO and NSF to learn more & to receive a resource guide!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about FREE K-12 STEM learning resources offered by federal agencies. In addition, teachers will engage in two-way conversations with federal representatives about the STEM resources, programs, and opportunities that are available and leave with a one-page resource guide.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Nickelsen (Forest Service/ Natural Inquirer: Bogart, GA), Rachel Crowley (NIGMS, National Institutes of Health: Silver Spring, MD), Eleanour Snow (U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA), Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: College Park, MD), Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD), Miranda Fike (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center: Huntsville, AL), Jorge Valdes (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Alexandria, VA), Patti Curtis (U.S. Department of Education: Washington, DC), Melissa Anley-Mills (U.S. EPA: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

How do you enhance critical thinking skills in your classroom? Using research-based instructional strategies, we will model ways to create a classroom learning environment and culture where thinking is valued.

SPEAKERS:
Zipporah Miller (Educational Consultant: Bowie, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Find out how you can set up simple circuits in a safe, effective way! We’ll walk you through guided-inquiry simple circuit lessons, with attention to both the student experience and the teacher’s view. You’ll be able to customize the lessons to feature the sensors and software you already have!

SPEAKERS:
Josh Ence (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR), David Carter (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: ExploreLearning

This interactive session will explore a digital interface that develops models to capture students' thinking when designing and testing solutions to real-world problems. We will immerse ourselves in solving a puzzling STEM Case to develop a model and use it to optimize a solution.

SPEAKERS:
Carrie Adler (ExploreLearning: Silver Spring, MD), Lauren Schetne (ExploreLearning: Heber City, UT)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Models are tools for representing ideas and developing explanations related to phenomena. Models can be used to deepen student understanding of scientific concepts. You will identify connections to the use of models in your instruction while examining your state standards and/or frameworks.

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

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Come experience a model lesson from OpenSciEd for High 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: Simulation Curriculum

See our newest Interactive Anatomy & Physiology curriculum where we'll demonstrate its latest lessons, simulations and interactions. Correlated to standards with LMS compatibility and free resources make this edition the most effective, interesting and engaging for instructors and students alike.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Goodman (Simulation Curriculum: Hopkins, MN)

Sponsoring Company: LaMotte Company

Participants will learn how to use simple unit dose tablet reagents to assess water quality. Discover lesson ideas to turn your students into citizen scientists and advocates for their local watershed. Hands-on activities, curriculum connections and assessment ideas will be provided. Take aways.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Evans (Kent County High School: Worton, MD)

The water-flea, Daphnia, is a charismatic model organism in the life sciences. They are easy to find in lakes/ponds and to care for, making them great for classroom investigations. Here we present two interconnected curriculum units exploring the effects of pollution on Daphnia and their ecosystems.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to facilitate NGSS-aligned, inquiry-driven classroom investigations with Daphnia. We will share two examples of interconnected investigations based on our current work as science graduate students at the University of Illinois. Curriculum materials will be provided.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Wilson (PhD Student: Urbana, IL), Barbara Hug (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Champaign, IL), Jeannette Cullum (Graduate Student: Urbana, IL)

Little is known about how the framing of phenomena impacts students’ interest and sense of relevance. We share findings from a study where we asked students to rate how relevant and interesting they found four phenomena either described using an engineering, a local, a neutral, or a justice framing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Framing a phenomenon as an engineering design problem, a social or environmental justice issue, a local event, or a neutral problem influences students' perception of interest and relevance, which can influence how they engage as learners.

SPEAKERS:
Diego Rojas-Perilla (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO), Zoe Buck Bracey (Senior Science Educator and Director of Design for Justice: Colorado Springs, CO), Jamie Noll (BSCS Science Learning: Evanston, IL)

Participants will use activities that work in CP and Honors Biology to help students decide whether and how we should genetically modify corn. Materials can be integrated into DNA (genes), evolution (artificial selection), and/or ecology (environmental impacts of GMOs).

TAKEAWAYS:
Teach kids to make informed decisions about GMOs. Learn to scaffold group argumentation and CER skills in this unit. Students work in teams to discuss data and create a speech about how we should deal with this complex issue. This curriculum closed the gap between our CP and Honors students!

SPEAKERS:
Lindsey L'ECUYER (Andover High School: Andover, MA)

Deep dive into phenomenon-based learning! In this immersive workshop, participants will experience phenomena, collaborate with other educators, and develop a toolkit of ways to captivate students’ curiosity. Instructors will model examples and offer time to connect around ways to elevate engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will walk away with an understanding of how phenomena can drive high-quality instruction, and a real-time toolkit of resources to support them moving forward. Using the Next Generation Science Standards framework, teachers will collaborate around student engagement in a meaningful and authentic way.

SPEAKERS:
Pam McWilliams (Cherry Creek Schools: Aurora, CO), Rebecca Rolater (Cherry Creek Schools: Aurora, CO)

Presenters organize around four main ideas for departmental, building, and/or district-level professional learning. Topics include equitable classroom practices, lab safety, book studies, and incorporating SEPs, CCCs, and sensemaking in science instruction (including NSTA PLUs and courses).

TAKEAWAYS:
How to organize good in-district and in-building professional learning opportunities while leading as department chair, science administrator, or teacher (leading from the middle); and how to "shoehorn" these opportunities into any available time for all grade 6-12 science subjects.

SPEAKERS:
David Jacob (Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES: Yorktown Hghts, NY), Harry Rosvally (Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES: Yorktown Heights, NY)

Through a hands-on lab investigation, students will explore landfill mining as a practice for the recovery of non-renewable resources and as a means to reclaim landfill areas for alternative uses. Students will learn about benefits, drawbacks, and steps involved in landfill mining.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through a hands-on lab investigation, students will explore landfill mining as a practice for the recovery of non-renewable resources and as a means to reclaim landfill areas for alternative uses. Students will learn about benefits, drawbacks, and steps involved in landfill mining.

SPEAKERS:
Stephanie Burns (Connetquot Central School District: Baiting Hollow, NY)

Our brains and our students' brains are programmed to engage with stories. This is true not only for the stories of STEM discoveries and history but also for broader applications. Engagement, understanding, and even classroom culture all benefit when the instructor becomes the storyteller.

TAKEAWAYS:
Come learn how to find, cultivate, create, and deliver the stories embedded within your content area with a published author and 16-year science educator. Also, learn techniques for adding story where it might not seem apparent and building the story of your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Matt Brady (Atkins High School: Winston-Salem, NC)

There is no shortage of jaw-dropping discoveries made from meteorites. Known as the “poor man’s space probe” most meteorites come from the asteroid belt. Now that we have actual material from a known asteroid we better sharpen up about meteorite science, because we’re going to need it.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the exciting history and evolution of meteorites science through meteorite falls and discoveries. 500 years ago to the most recent meteoritic events, the science just keeps pouring out of these enigmatic rocks from space. Meteorites are the foundation for sample-return missions.

SPEAKERS:
Martin Horejsi (University of Montana: Missoula, MT)

Science and math are the “bookends” of STEM education. Integrating science and math should be seamless, natural, and painless. Come join the fun as we collect and analyze an AVALANCHE of data as we work together to make hands-on, inquiry-based instruction one of your go-to strategies!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience the power of having students collect and analyze their own data, while learning strategies for the effective science-math integration and collaborative instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens (Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls, SD: Sioux Falls, SD)

Learn how to formatively assess students in different ways using data and plan meaningful active learning experiences with interactive notebooks based on that data. You will explore various formative assessments from a student's lens.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how formative assessments can be used in their classroom and plan using the provided science planning protocol, creating a final product.

SPEAKERS:
Chrissy Brouwer (School District of Osceola County: Saint Cloud, FL)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Join our interactive science workshop where literacy meets exploration! Immerse yourself in a world of discovery as we blend scientific concepts with the power of language. Through engaging activities, see how students will not only unravel the wonders of science but also enhance their literacy skills. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Cranford, NJ), Dr. Sarah Glassman (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: InnerOrbit

In this session we’ll provide concrete strategies to use throughout each of your units to help students engage with phenomena and sensemaking consistently, so they can more confidently approach the phenomena-driven tests or new units of instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Giulia Mota (InnerOrbit: Thousand Oaks, CA), Brendan Finch (InnerOrbit: Thousand Oaks, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Come join us to look at helping elementary students shift from learning about to figuring out. Meaningful conversations and ideas about what that might look like with 3-dimensional teaching and learning.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Marmolejo (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT), Jen Gutierrez (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Join us for this hands-on session. We will make low-cost, time efficient models you can easily pre-assemble or that your student will enjoy building for an active learning experience.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Espinosa (Savvas Learning Co.: Paramus, NJ)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Come learn how to use effective literacy strategies so that students can better understand science content. Student understanding and critical-thinking skills will improve with these techniques. Join our constructivist approach that promotes literacy in the science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Heather Thompson (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Inspire your students’ curiosity about the world around them through hands-on activities using Vernier Go Direct® sensors. See how age-appropriate, sensor-based experiments teach students about data collection and analysis, encourage inquiry, build STEM literacy, and boost test scores.

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

Sponsoring Company: Imagine Learning

Discuss strategies to support STEM classroom experiences that position all students as thinkers and problem-solvers, reflect on peer experiences as you consider your own implementation of ideas that ensure the inclusion of all learners in authentic STEM focused tasks, and identify success criteria.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Biadasz (Senior Product Marketing Manager: Scottsdale, AZ)

Sponsoring Company: Amplify Science

How do we know if the science instructional materials we’re using will lead to student learning gains? Explore the teacher moves and student investigations in the approach developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science that are proven effective to lead to positive impact on science learning.

SPEAKERS:
Suzanna Loper (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA), Daniel Alcazar-Roman (University of California, Berkeley: Belmont, CA), Leslie Stenger (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Santa Rosa, CA)

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific

Middle Schoolers lover Hands-on Science! Flinn Scientific presents a variety of easy to perform and exciting demonstrations. Come see Flinn’s new demonstrations and some of your old favorites—all guaranteed to make your science classroom come alive. Handouts provided for all.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Saddler (Flinn Scientific, Inc.: Batavia, IL)

Sponsoring Company: BIOZONE Corporation

Discover BIOZONE’s new platform that combines digital replicas of our highly acclaimed print titles together with Presentation Slides , 3D models, and curated videos - thereby providing powerful options for delivering your high school science programs. Attendees each receive a FREE 1-year licence.

SPEAKERS:
Kim Stilwell (BIOZONE Corp.: Naples, FL)

Do you or the educators you work with have questions about what science teaching and learning look like in classrooms implementing your state standards? Join us for a session where you will receive support to lead this module using classroom video of contemporary research-based teaching in action.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will build an understanding of sensemaking and receive a toolkit to lead this session with other educators.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Mathews (NSTA: Skokie, IL), Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Brooklyn, NY)

Working meeting for the NSTA Early Childhood and Elementary Science Committee. Early childhood and elementary educators are welcome to join us if they are interested in learning about this NSTA standing committee and the work we do.

The NSTA Sensemaking Tool can be used in coaching cycles that support implementing high-quality instructional materials. Gain experience using the tool to identify sensemaking “look and listen fors” in classroom observations and how to use those observations to facilitate productive discussions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Use the NSTA Sensemaking Tool to support productive coaching cycles.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Soriano (NSTA: Jersey City, NJ), Emily Mathews (NSTA: Skokie, IL), NSTA Online Advisors (NSTA: Arlington, VA), Holly Hereau (NSTA: Lake Angelus, MI), Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Brooklyn, NY)

Join us to learn engaging and creative assessment strategies for your classroom. Move beyond multiple choice tests and challenge your students to apply their learning in new ways. Learn how you can use Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, EdTech Platforms, Google Forms and more to assess student progress.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn and practice with several creative assessment strategies to assess student learning. The emphasis of these strategies is to get students to apply what they have learned and communicate effectively, while giving teachers quality data on their progress towards learning goals.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Freyschlag (Estes Industries: Colorado Springs, CO)

Participants will engage in a hands-on activity and a series of investigations to consider how fresh cheese is made (anf how this relates to science topics like pH and solubility). This activity will be delivered at ~grade 9, but can easily be scaled up or down to accommodate grades 5-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about what components in milk make up curds and how they chemically change during curd formation and get resources that facilitate eliciting student prior knowledge, making observations, asking questions, and constructing claims based on evidence.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Strangfeld (Harvard University: Cambridge, MA)

Annual luncheon for Presidential Awardees and guests.

Learn how to implement a Quick Quiz system to provide consistent and timely feedback to your students, as well as guide your instruction. Students can replace formative Quick Quiz scores by showing mastery by the Summative assessment. Stop checking homework, and start Quick Quizzing!

TAKEAWAYS:
Use daily formative quizzing to allow teacher and students to understand where they are in the learning process, and to drive instruction. We will share our system for making this easy on both teachers and students, and detail how a redemption policy makes these Quizzes a true Formative assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Kimberlee Freudenberg (Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory: San Francisco, CA)

This action research investigates the impact of job-embedded professional learning (focused on using science and literacy strategies in the science classroom) on the performance and achievement of students, and the effectiveness of the science teacher.

TAKEAWAYS:
The key takeaways will include a suite of strategies and interventions that can be implemented district-wide or at the classroom level. These strategies focus on the intersection of science and literacy, and how they interplay in the science classroom and curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Marissa Murdock (Dekalb County School District: Conyers, GA)

The poster will highlight and discuss some of the valuable technology resources that played a key role in allowing teachers to provide students with an equitable learning experience during the pandemic and how they can continue to be utilized as we return to the post-pandemic classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
The poster will discuss strategies using tools such as Classkick, Gimkit, Blooket, and Edpuzzle to differentiate instruction in the classroom while encouraging persistence and achievement in students.

SPEAKERS:
Selene Verhofstad (Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship: Pasadena, TX), Faryal Shaukat (Dobie High School: Houston, TX)

The TeachEngineering Digital Library is a free, online collection of K-12 curricular STEM resources. Our goal is to help educators put the ‘E’ in STEM— by making applied science, technology, and math come alive through engineering design and design thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
TeachEngineering provides 1,850+ free STEM curricular resources focusing on hands-on, standards-aligned activities for K-12 students.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Kracha (Teach Engineering), Dua Chaker (Teach Engineering: No City, No State), Ellen Parrish (Teach Engineering: ERIE, CO)

Explore 10 strategies to cultivate an immersive classroom measurement climate full of application opportunities that reinforce scale, proportion, and quantity. This poster shares solutions to build all students proficiency as they apply the International System of Units (SI) measurements in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
It’s easy to learn and teach the metric system. Participants will identify how to obtain a free NIST SI Teacher Kit, supplemental learning activities, and other digital resources.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Benham (National Institute of Standards and Technology: Gaithersburg, MD)

We will share strategies and outcomes from our experience in restructuring biology classes to focus on competency-based learning and student voice and choice. We will offer takeaways for educators to reimagine their classrooms as communities built on student agency and competency-based learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Competency-based learning and student agency in the classroom have positive impacts on academic success and mental health. Science educators can move towards this model in a way that is feasible and accessible.

SPEAKERS:
Ashton Trawinski (Upper School Science Teacher: No City, No State), Megan White (Forsyth Country Day School: Lewisville, NC)

Student engagement has been linked to increased persistence in STEM. In this poster presentation, I will share the results of my research on the effects of integrating course-based research experiences into high school biological science courses on student engagement in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
The main takeaway from this session is that integrating course-based research experiences into the curriculum is important in STEM courses, as it can lead to increased student engagement, which is associated with persistence in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Shawndra Fordham (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus: Highlands Ranch, CO)

Deep dive trainings in strategic communications; focused on the use of digital and social media tools to reach broader audiences and on persuasive writing tips and techniques. Trainings will be followed by a panel of state teams who completed the trainings and are using the skills locally.

TAKEAWAYS:
Skills to effectively advocate for K12 science via digital and social media tools and techniques for securing OpEd/LTE and blog placements.

SPEAKERS:
Josh Parrish (Collaborative for Student Success: No City, No State), Julia Rothenberg (VP, Digital strategy, GMMB: Washington, DC), Eric Rosenberg (EMR Content + Communications Inc.: Arlington, VA), Adam Ezring (Collaborative for Student Success: Washington, DC)

Let's face it, science often takes a backseat to math! Change the conversation with ideas to support integrating science curriculum and find funding for authentic learning experiences. Help get your topics more recognition and revitalize the most hated subject in school, math!

TAKEAWAYS:
Discuss successful steps taken to integrate curriculum, fund activities, and even co-teach ES, biology, chemistry, and STEM topics with math teammates. Walk away with lesson plans you can take to your math department to model the process.

SPEAKERS:
Scarlett Lyon (STEM Outreach Coordinator: New Bern, NC)

Learn quick activities to engage students using collaborative structures that require little planning, but provide big results.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how quick activities increase engagement and collaboration and will plan their implementation for an upcoming lesson.

SPEAKERS:
Chrissy Brouwer (School District of Osceola County: Saint Cloud, FL)

Explore the importance of reflective thinking, skepticism, and the tools for critical inquiry as emphasized by Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit. This session guides educators in fostering students' intellectual curiosity and equipping them with survival skills for the information age.

TAKEAWAYS:
Equip yourself with strategies to foster reflective and skeptical thinking in students, empowering them with Sagan's nine components of critical inquiry, ensuring they navigate the information glut with discernment.

SPEAKERS:
Nathan Lang-Raad (Author, Speaker, Educator: Limerick, ME)

Engage in hands-on, critical thinking, and math-savvy activities that will help students distill a somewhat complex topic and understand how the consumption of energy sources relates to climate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Lessons aimed for students to understand more about energy, carbon dioxide, climate, and climate change with regard to their personal energy choices as well as a global perspective – recognizing choices made in the U.S. have an impact on the global environment.

SPEAKERS:
Vernon Kimball (NEED Facilitator: Manassas, VA)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discover solutions for phenomenon-driven middle school curricula, including materials developed by Vernier for OpenSciEd. Bring 3D learning to life with sensor-based experiments such as Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis in this interactive session tailored for educators adopting NGSS standards.

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

Sponsoring Company: Mosa Mack Science

You’ll learn how to choose and implement the best science phenomena. You’ll also receive free access to Mosa Mack Science phenomena lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Elisabeth Johnson (Mosa Mack Science: Fairfield, CT)

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: Amplify Science

Unlock the powerful connections between science and literacy to improve learning outcomes in both disciplines. Experience how literacy-rich NGSS-designed learning sequences from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science are synergistic with language comprehension goals from the Science of Reading.

SPEAKERS:
Alestra Menendez (Amplify: Fairfield, CA), Rebecca Abbott (The Lawrence Hall of Science: Berkeley, CA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Have you wanted to implement a Project-Based Learning unit in your classroom? Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) provides interdisciplinary science units for Grades K-5. Experience hands-on lessons that are enjoyable and intellectually satisfying for the teacher and students.

SPEAKERS:
Pam Richards (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Estes Rockets

Join us to learn engaging and creative assessment strategies for your classroom. Move beyond multiple-choice tests and challenge your students to apply their learning in new ways. Learn how you can use Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, EdTech Platforms, Google Forms and more to assess student progress.

SPEAKERS:
Nicole Freyschlag (Estes Industries: Colorado Springs, CO)

Consider how instruction can support students in making positive changes in their communities. Explore how in OpenSciEd HS, students use science ideas and practices to make sense of design problems that emerge from complex systems at the nature-human divide.

TAKEAWAYS:
NGSS-designed instruction that is oriented toward justice can not only teach students to understand the natural world, but broadens their perspectives on how humans fit into natural systems, what constitutes science, and what they can accomplish using science.

SPEAKERS:
Zoe Buck Bracey (Senior Science Educator and Director of Design for Justice: Colorado Springs, CO), Jamie Noll (BSCS Science Learning: Evanston, IL), Diego Rojas-Perilla (BSCS Science Learning: Colorado Springs, CO)

NGSS includes standards for engineering. Many small schools don't have the resources for high-tech maker spaces, so we meet those standards using common, inexpensive materials. Come see how we make it work!

TAKEAWAYS:
Engineering doesn't have to be complicated, and it doesn't require high-tech tools and equipment. We can engineer solutions to world problems using simple household materials.

SPEAKERS:
Vanessa Ueltzen (Walther Christian Academy: Chicago, IL)

This session is intended for secondary science teachers with multilingual learners (MLLs). MLLs bring important science ideas that contribute to learning. This session will emphasize meaningful language instruction for all students and provide ideas for how to support emergent multilingual students.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will engage with meaningful examples of teaching techniques to support higher-level thinking for all students, especially multilingual learners. These examples can be implemented in any secondary science classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Amber Snapke (Middle School Science Curriculum Developer: Issaquah, WA), Angela DiLoreto (Bellevue School District: Bellevue, WA)

Come learn how easy, important, and fun it is to collect and analyze data as a part of good, solid, responsible science education. Integrating science and mathematics isn't just a good idea, it is essential for today's STEM learner. Today's technology makes it quick, easy, fun and meaningful!

TAKEAWAYS:
ALL attendees will be active participants in the data collection activities in this session. But collecting data will not be the greatest takeaway. Rather, instilling confidence in ALL attendees to perform mathematical analysis of the data will be the main goal of the session.

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens (Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls, SD: Sioux Falls, SD)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Learn about transitioning HS science courses to phenomenon-based instruction putting students at the center of the learning process. See how students develop explanations for phenomena by doing the science! Experience how OSE can be used to achieve the goal of moving to 3-dimensional instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Bahr (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Come meet your fellow educators in District XIV (Colorado, Utah, and Arizona)!

Society for College Science Teaching Business Meeting for members and interested educators in higher ed.

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Learn how Scientists Circles support equitable and meaningful classroom discussions. Create opportunities in your lessons in which all students’ thinking, experiences, and ideas for further exploration can be leveraged for building a culture where students are positioned as knowers and thinkers.

SPEAKERS:
Brian Klaft (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT), Jen Gutierrez (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

One of the biggest shifts involved with the continued implementation of NGSS standards is the movement to incorporate more phenomena-based and problem-based learning. To help prepare students for their next steps in school, students need to be doing science and seeing how it fits into their lives.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Padilla (retired: Athens, GA)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) is an acclaimed and highly successful instructional strategy changing how students understand scientific concepts and write explanations for phenomena. Experience how CER supports multiple elements in your science and math classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Walters (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Knowledge is the food of the soul, and these real-world food chemistry experiments cover complex concepts using science that students can see and understand. Attendees will use Vernier Go Direct® pH and CO2 Gas Sensors to explore the differences between baking soda and baking powder.

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

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discover the newest STEM solution from Vernier, built to teach and engage students in 3D science! Vernier Connections is a web-based platform that equips teachers with hands-on lessons. We will feature a lesson demonstrating the design & structures that make Connections a must for the STEM classroom

SPEAKERS:
Lori Anderson (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR), Josh Ence (Vernier Science Education: Beaverton, OR)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Discover new ways to help students think and work like scientists and engineers. Through a hands-on lesson, we will model instruction and resources that support 3-dimensional teaching & learning including teacher instructional slides, student friendly materials, simulations, & student investigations

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

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

While graphs are essential for organizing and making sense of data, students often struggle with scaling, axes and understanding variables. Come join this engaging session to see how we break down these concepts through movement and discover how students can have fun with motion sensors by capturing data and creating their own graph. Watch as understanding scales up when learning becomes a dynamic experience!

SPEAKERS:
Erick Archer (Texas Instruments: Dallas, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Aauti School

Curious about how AI can help you provide timely feedback to your students? Have you wondered how AI can help you create engaging learning experiences?? Join us during this session to see how Aauti School can automate your grading process, generate rich content, and much more!

SPEAKERS:
Robyn Cook (Aauti School: Stanwood, MI)

Sponsoring Company: Flinn Scientific

Let Flinn help you develop as a teacher. Whether this is your first-year teaching, or your first-year teaching science, this session will show you how to do science safely that will lead to better student outcomes.

SPEAKERS:
Jillian Saddler (Flinn Scientific, Inc.: Batavia, IL)

Learn how to use the NSTA Student Work Analysis tool and protocol to evaluate students’ three-dimensional learning. We’ll focus our discussions on what counts as evidence of students’ ownership of targeted elements of the three dimensions and how to use collected student data to inform instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to evaluate students’ three-dimensional learning using the NSTA Student Work Analysis tool and protocol.

SPEAKERS:
Kate Soriano (NSTA: Jersey City, NJ), Kristin Rademaker (NSTA: Freeport, IL), Zoe Evans (Bremen City Schools: Carrollton, GA), Patrice Scinta (NSTA: Brooklyn, NY)

Discover a 360-degree VR intervention implemented in inclusive biology classrooms, showcasing significant score differences between students with and without disabilities. Gain insights into data analysis, limitations, practice implications, and future research plans.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with the six free resources used in the study and expectations to support their use in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Shalece Kohnke (Auburn University: Auburn, AL)

While it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress at work and home, there are steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly and function effectively.

TAKEAWAYS:
Tips on how to relieve pressure and regain control.

SPEAKERS:
Azra Chughtai (NSTA: McLean, VA)

Join us to explore how our science Teacher Leader Institutes empower educators to excel in subject matter knowledge, pedagogical skills, and leadership acumen. Discover the transformative impact of this initiative on educational capacity and professional growth.

TAKEAWAYS:
During the session, participants will discover how the Teacher Leader Institute was created using freely available resources and how it has been improved over time as new groups join and more professional development opportunities are introduced.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Weatherhead (National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA): Downingtown, PA), Kammas Kersch (Chester County Intermediate Unit: Downingtown, PA)

Practice activities with simple materials exploring the EM Spectrum and explanatory models that illustrate real world space science applications. Learn about the Virtual Astronomy Academy program.

TAKEAWAYS:
Practice "Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning," and a gallery walk of student work to review models; practice collaborative learning to investigate filters and wavelengths. Attendees will also learn how to join NASA's Virtual Astronomy Academy professional development program.

SPEAKERS:
Ann Marie Dubick (Cherokee County School District: Smyrna, GA), Coral Clark (SETI Institute: Agua Dulce, CA), Jenny McCall (Winburn Middle School, Fayette County Public Schools: Nicholasville, KY), P Harman (Pamela Harman: PACIFICA, CA), Brittany Chase (Mahone Middle School: Kenosha, WI), Milo Maughan (Utah State Board of Education: Salt Lake City, UT), Diane Ripollone (Cardinal Gibbons High School: Garner, NC)

Integrated science? Teach NGSS-focused geology, ecology, biology, engineering, and physical science through real-world problems. Access rubrics, guides, lesson plans, timelines, and other ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Using a thematic approach to integrated science truly integrates the disciplines, making it highly engaging by giving students real-world applications of the content. The NGSS does not have a set of "integrated science" standards, yet aligning this course to the NGSS is possible!

SPEAKERS:
Vanessa Ueltzen (Walther Christian Academy: Chicago, IL)

Food is a powerful tool to teach science: it’s approachable, accessible, & relevant to students and can give them agency in how they make sense of science & how it relates to them. But classrooms aren’t kitchens- how can we harness the power of food in a traditional classroom & why should we do it?

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in an investigative, food-based mini-lab and learn from teachers about how they have used food-based labs in their classroom with different classroom parameters, and why it was worth it. This lab will be at a high school level, but this can easily be adapted to middle school.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Velasquez (Allium Montessori School: Cambridge, MA), Shawn Boggs (Bullitt Lick Middle School: Shephersdville, KY), Meredith Moore (The Field School: Washington, DC), Kate Strangfeld (Harvard University: Cambridge, MA)

This presentation is aimed at providing an overview of the six tenets within the Cultural Wealth Model, each including activities and strategies that can be implemented within the classroom to promote social justice, equity, and cultural relevance.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation will provide teachers with resources to begin constructing culturally relevant lessons with ease, while building community in the classroom and resisting oppressive structures within education.

SPEAKERS:
Maizie Dyess (Graduate Assistant: Las Vegas, NV)

In this engaging session, you're invited to delve into the fascinating world of neuroscience as it relates to the art and science of effective teaching and learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation goes beyond theory to provide you with practical strategies and evidence-based techniques that can be integrated into your teaching methods.

SPEAKERS:
Martha MacKay (Science Teacher: Emporia, KS), Erica Huggard (Biology Teacher: Emporia, KS)

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Classroom communities make sense of what’s being investigated through discussions; it’s key to ensuring all students’ ideas are shared and valued. This session focuses discussion types used to help draw out student ideas, negotiate and refine them, and support communicating in scientific ways.

SPEAKERS:
Jodi Bahr (Activate Learning: Greenwich, CT)

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Techniques such as CRISPR, mitochondrial transfer, and mRNA therapeutics have opened up new frontiers for genetic manipulation, bringing with them new possibilities that can energize the biology teaching. We will examine how these powerful techniques work.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Miller (Brown University: Providence, RI)

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: Texas Instruments

Lab preparations can be challenging, and in the hustle of setup and procedures, our education goals may sometimes get overshadowed. Join us to explore strategies for a more streamlined and efficient approach to labs, reducing stress while enriching the outcomes for your students. Let’s lean into the idea of lean practices and discover how they can positively impact the learning journey!

SPEAKERS:
Erick Archer (Texas Instruments: Dallas, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Stile Education

Discover the transformative power of Driving Questions Boards in assessing student understanding. This session explores innovative strategies beyond traditional scoring, offering educators dynamic tools for capturing the depth of student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Shawna Jensen (Stile Education: Portland, OR)

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Let’s explore several intervention strategies to help struggling students in STEM. Move beyond differentiation and scaffolding. Come learn other proven intervention techniques to help students. Let’s modify our traditional outreach to connect with students so that they gain greater understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Campana (Accelerate Learning, Inc.: Houston, TX)

Sponsoring Company: Propello

PBAs can not only assess multiple standards at once, but help students build valuable communication and presentation skills. Learn how to easily incorporate this powerful learning tool into your classroom practice.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Thayne (Lead Program Manager, Science: Murfreesboro, TN), Julie Waid (Propello: Denton, TX)

To ensure a resilient future, we must engage students with phenomena and problems found in food systems and agriculture. This session explores how food and agriculture connect to students’ lives and presents a highly relevant and authentic science context immersed in the Three Dimensions of NGSS.

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

SPEAKERS:
Brian Beierle (Relevant Classroom, a Division of Vivayic, Inc.: Wauwatosa, WI)

How much blood do you have in your body? Why do you need a four-chambered heart? Why do you need to eat more in the winter? Why don't you see very many cold-blooded animals at high altitudes in Colorado? Join us for this session and discover the answers to life's pressing physiological questions!

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

SPEAKERS:
Jeffrey Lukens (Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls, SD: Sioux Falls, SD)

Looking for a new tool to help students accurately evaluate science-related media? Join NCSE to explore this technique that allows students to examine the worth of the media content, inspect data legitimacy, and make sense of graphical analysis, all while evaluating the emotions the media elicits.

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal of this session is for participants to move past functional data literacy to critical data literacy. Students will learn to evaluate data-based claims for various types of bias, intent, and misleading data representations, in addition to basic strategies for understanding data.

SPEAKERS:
Wendy Johnson (National Center for Science Education: Grand Rapids, MI), Lin Andrews (Independent Contractor: Wichita, KS)

Looking for ideas to ensure sensemaking access for all students? Participants will immerse in science lessons to explore numerous scaffolding strategies and ideas. The facilitator and participants will model how to allow every student to engage in rigorous science tasks.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for scaffolding instruction that allows students access to rigorous science tasks in whole group, small group, and individually. They will leave with ideas for planning/implementing equitable sensemaking so that every student in their classroom can engage.

SPEAKERS:
Anthony Goad (Hamilton County Schools: Hixson, TN)

This session explores techniques for creating learning environments that foster deep-level thinking and support students with applying ideas to new contexts. Participants will explore questioning strategies and teacher moves that can build classroom cultures that value learning above knowing.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will leave with teacher moves and questioning strategies to support students with thinking more deeply and critically about disciplinary core ideas. Attendees will experience what it looks like to take the role of a facilitator rather than a lecturer.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Berk (Arcadia High School: Scottsdale, AZ), Kali Hines (High School Science Teacher: Holyoke, CO)

Hands-on workshop highlights considerations of water use and equity. Uses anthropology, geosciences, and environmental sustainability principles to discuss water equity and incorporating these concepts and disciplines into science education. Bring a laptop/tablet to fully participate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will investigate the ethnohistoric context of water ownership, access and use in their regions, and practice how to unpack the complex topic of water equity and incorporate various aspects into activities that address the learning objectives of their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Sharon Bywater-Reyes (Associate Professor of Geoscience: Greeley, CO), Sarah Johnson (Wild Rose Education: Carbondale, CO), Chelsie Romulo (Associate Professor of Geography, GIS, and Sustainability: Greeley, CO)

Social Emotional Learning is a proven strategy to improve student learning outcomes, reduce negative behaviors such as bullying, and create positive classroom communities. But what does this look like in science class? Come learn how to use free lesson plans to incorporate SEL into your class!

TAKEAWAYS:
You will walk away with a library of free, ready-to-use SEL lessons to teach skills such as self-awareness, relationship skills, positive decision-making, and more while introducing students to a variety of STEM professions!

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Noffsinger (STEM Magnet Lab School: Westminster, CO)

Where do you start a new school year? How about an introductory unit that will engage your students in the basic tenets of Scientific Literacy? This workshop will engage participants in hands-on activities aimed at laying the foundation for Scientific Literacy through inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away 5 activities that immerse students in Scientific Inquiry in ways that may not seem very "sciencey" but will build foundational skills in Scientific Literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Vanessa Ueltzen (Walther Christian Academy: Chicago, IL)

NSTA’s Informal Science Committee invites you to explore two of Denver’s most exciting informal science venues! This event is Friday, March 22 from 5:30 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. and is FREE for conference attendees and family members with an NSTA conference badge. Registration is required https://www.nsta.org/national-conference-science-education-denver-2024-special-events

TAKEAWAYS:
Formal and informal science educators alike will have the opportunity to network and learn while they enjoy exploring the Zoo and Museum.

Join middle level educators and enthusiasts for a social hour. Meet old friends and make new ones! NMLSTA officers and board members will be there to answer questions you may have about the organization.

Calling all yoga enthusiasts! Regardless of whether you’re a newbie or veteran, join yoga teacher, Azra Chughtai, RYT, for a warm-up with breathwork; hatha yoga (gentle stretching exercises to wake up the body); and, of course, meditation for relaxation and de-stressing. Beginner friendly!

TAKEAWAYS:
Recharge: Energizing and Stress Relief.

SPEAKERS:
Azra Chughtai (NSTA: McLean, VA)

The Exploratorium, located in San Francisco, CA, is a hands-on science museum. If you can't visit the museum in person, join us at NSTA Denver to explore a few of our hundreds of online hands-on science activities, known as Science Snacks.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will discover a wealth of online resources available through the Exploratorium Teacher Institute.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Muller (Exploratorium: San Rafael, CA)

Connected Science Learning (CSL) is one of five journals produced by NSTA and is the perfect place for informal science educators to publish their work or serve as a peer reviewer. Attendees will learn about the journal's author guidelines and peer review process from the journal's field editor.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about NSTA's journal Connected Science Learning and how it is a great resource for the informal science educators – especially those that collaborate with schools and teachers. Information about writing and peer reviewing for CSL will be provided.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Murphy (Science from Scientists: Barnes, WI)