The present-day Gulf of Mexico has long been known for its amazing diversity of sharks, rays, and skates. Join the Dauphin Island Sea Lab to learn a little known fact: Alabama leads the nation in extinct and extant shark species! Learn about and "dig" through coastal Alabama's geologic history!

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about the paleontological history of northern Gulf of Mexico sharks, and why Alabama is a hot bed of past and present shark species, while giving attendees a chance to be amateur paleontologists by sieving their own northern Gulf coastal sands for evidence of this diversity.

SPEAKERS:
Greg Graeber (Dauphin Island Sea Lab: Dauphin Island, AL)

Sponsoring Company: Simulation Curriculum

Unlock the cosmos for your classroom with our tailored workshop for teachers! Discover teaching methods, explore resources, and delve into the latest astronomical discoveries. Gain confidence and tools to ignite students' curiosity about the wonders of the universe, fostering a passion for science.

Photons of electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths are collected by telescopes and processed using computers. Scientists use image analysis software to analyze the data and construct unique models of the data, including stars and galaxies, while maintaining the integrity of the underlying data.

TAKEAWAYS:
All our knowledge of stars and galaxies is determined by spectroscopy - the analysis of radiation emissions, including radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, gamma and X-ray. Knowledge of spectroscopy is essential to understanding the processes producing the individual wavelengths.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young (NSO/NASA: Laughlin, NV)

How do scientists study Earth’s historical climate? Are ice cores the only source of data? The fossil record can provide insight into cyclical changes in Earth’s climate. Teamwork, data analysis, and more scientific skills are used to analyze fossil data to study ocean temperature and level changes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive hands-on activities that use fossil evidence which indicates changes in ocean temperatures and levels, showing fluctuations in Earth’s climate over time. Activities can be easily modified based on the needs of the teacher and grade level.

SPEAKERS:
Sabrina Ewald (The University of Texas at Austin: Cedar Park, TX)

Dr. Michael Wysession, NGSS co-author and geophysics professor, will explore ideas for using recent NASA and NOAA data for recent extreme-weather-related phenomena, such as heat domes and severe flooding, to anchor storylines that make climate science relevant and engaging for students.

TAKEAWAYS:
The 2023-2024 severe weather events, analyzed with NASA and NOAA data, can drive climate-related storylines that can engage students and prepare them for assessments for the HS-ESS2-4 and HS-ESS3-1&5 performance expectations, covering climate systems, natural disasters, and environmental justice.

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

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Participants will examine how models can be used 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 a balloon model will be used to support universe expansion.

SPEAKERS:
Crystal Risko (Carolina Biological Supply Co.: Burlington, NC)

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)

This project incorporates into astronomy, physics, and engineering classes as students take on a current real-world career-based project: figuring out how to land on the Moon. Students utilize different STEM fields and communicate to solve a problem with hands-on exploratory learning methods.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will takeaway a plan to integrate current events and a real-world project into multiple disciplines. Whether attendees are looking for an idea to integrate into one class or many, they will see different learning methods and ideas to apply this project to their own classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kelsey Jacobus (New Trier High School, Winnetka Campus: Winnetka, IL), Joe Morales (New Trier High School, Winnetka Campus: Winnetka, IL), Hanna Cohen (New Trier High School, Winnetka Campus: Winnetka, IL)

The Environmental Institute of Houston monitors sites along the Galveston and Matagorda Bays in Texas to evaluate change in the bay’s ecosystems over time. Participants will utilize Team-based Learning (TBL) strategies to consider and apply data-informed evidence to real-world scenarios.

TAKEAWAYS:
Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a structured method of authentic inquiry grounded in relevant and significant real-world scenarios. Participants will take away from this session strategies and resources for TBL that they may use immediately in their own course.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Metoyer (Environmental Institute of Houston at University of Houston Clear Lake: Galveston, TX)

Learn a possible pathway for facilitating your science department's transition from traditional grading to standards-based grading. See examples showcasing the integration of the SEPs to guide instruction and assessment, and foster your students' journey toward mastering essential science skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will see how the SEPs can be used to frame standards-based instruction and assessment in an authentic way. Participants will gain insights from specific examples of rubrics, success criteria, practice, and assessments that have been classroom-tested in biological and physical science classrooms.

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

Dr. Michael Wysession, NGSS co-author and geophysics professor, will explore fascinating Earth and space science (ESS) storylines of how geologic events such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and climate swings have shaped the rise and fall of civilizations and altered human history.

TAKEAWAYS:
The unusual and sometimes bizarre history of human impacts from geological events provides engaging phenomena and storylines that help students understand not only the impacts of natural disasters (NGSS HS-ESS3-1) but the potential impacts of human changes to Earth’s surface (HS-ESS3-4/5/6).

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

This session will provide strategies on Teaching with Primary Sources in the science curriculum to promote student inquiry and discourse, critical thinking and analysis and the understanding of scientific history.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in teaching strategies that exemplify how analyzing primary sources can support critical thinking and the scientific method of observation, hypothesizing, and analysis.

SPEAKERS:
Dat Le (Arlington Public Schools: Arlington, VA)

Sponsoring Company: Simulation Curriculum

"Dive into Earth's wonders! Our Earth Science workshop for teachers offers hands-on activities, expert insights, and teaching strategies to inspire curiosity and deepen understanding. Join us in exploring the dynamic systems of our planet!" Geology, Meteorology, Climate, Physical Geography!

Come have fun collecting real data to investigate the relationship between altitude and pressure using a micro:bit and a Grove sensor. We will walk through the Python code, collect the data and investigate the relationship through mathematical models, squeezing as much as we can out of our work.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience the marriage of science and mathematics by using the micro:bit and a Grove sensor to collect real pressure data to analyze. We will spend time creating and using mathematical models so that we can better understand the relationship between altitude and pressure.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Pennell (High Point University: High Point, NC, NC)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Join us for a demo of our database of 1,300+ educational resources from NOAA. We host ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, and climate resources. Tour our lesson plans and activities and ask us your questions. Learn more at noaa.gov/education/resources. This session is appropriate for K-16 educators.

SPEAKERS:
Bekkah Lampe (NOAA Office of Education: College Park, MD), Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD)

Make molecular and mineral crystal models using very simple units of origami. Then work as an individual or a group to bond the units together to make inexpensive & amazing molecular models for chemistry and minerals for earth science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will create basic paper origami models that easily demonstrate mineral crystal structure, hardness, bond strength, & Cleavage/Fracture. Each person creates a unit, then groups bond units together to form crystals. Chemistry bonding modeling is also part of this session.

SPEAKERS:
David Ebersole (Greece Athena Middle School: Caledonia, NY)

Come see how we use a 5E lesson with geologic maps, many of which are free online, to help students determine plate boundaries. We also highlight nature of science with Marie Tharp and her discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Finally, we will discuss sense-making and model-building strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will take away a complete 5E lesson on plate boundaries using freely available maps. Participants will also take away strategies for developing student sense-making and model-building.

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

Produce a public release image of a supernova remnant using NASA X-ray data both by hand and with Js9 web-based imaging software with this STEAM activity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Scientists learn about astronomical objects from the light they produce. Colors in images are based on data from this light and are used to highlight different features.

SPEAKERS:
Pamela Perry (Lewiston High School: Brunswick, ME)

Discover how sensemaking mini-projects can be used to engage students in the world around them. Learn how using non-traditional assessments helps students with obtaining and communicating high-level information. Strategies for assessment development will be shared with an emphasis on SEPs and CCCs.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover strategies for authentic assessment of high-level concepts through phenomena-based mini-projects. Explore pre-developed earth science projects and student examples showcasing mastery of science and engineering practices. Gain tips for crafting NGSS-aligned assessments.

SPEAKERS:
Lauren LaSota (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Tower Lakes, IL), Molly Sponseller (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

Learn how friendly competion gets students thinking, designing, and bulding levees. You can use the levees throughout the semester to teach succession, erosion, evaporation, and even about levees themselves.

TAKEAWAYS:
Hands on learning is easy and fun to do in the classroom. Learn how to tie in one lesson to many diffferent lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Melancon (Lafayette High School: Lafayette, LA)

Sharing free Department of Defense and US Space Force online resources around careers and space science topics. Will have a "light saber" circuit make or take kit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sharing free Department of Defense and US Space Force online resources around careers and space science topics. Will have a "light saber" circuit make or take kit.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Novak (AFRL STEM Academy: Albuquerque, NM)

Density of Stellar Materials is a hands-on interactive workshop that focuses on understanding density and volume, through a series of practical tests, working out the simulation of stellar materials low and high density as they undergo the life cycle of stars.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to collect data through measurement and use number skills in a practical context. This workshop incorporates math and science comparing the results with observational surveying.

SPEAKERS:
Vernita Adkins (LSU-LIGO Physics and Astronomy Demos (LLPAD): Baton Rouge, LA)

Experience two instructional routines supporting the integration of NGSS Crosscutting Concepts; learn how these routines can be used to foster belonging in science classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn the steps for how to facilitate instructional routines that encourage student thinking and discourse, using CCCs to support sense making of phenomena and promote a sense of belonging in science classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Joy Otibu (Mott Hall Bronx High School: Bronx, NY), Charles Link (DeWitt Clinton High School: Yonkers, NY), Dora Kastel (New Visions for Public Schools: New York, NY)

And imagine futures better. Pair dreams, plans, strategies, and goals with climate science in this expansive lesson that utilizes computer simulations and the principals of climate literacy to expand students’ views of what is possible and build system understandings of the climate crisis.

TAKEAWAYS:
Build confidence in helping students personalize what climate modeling means for their own life.

SPEAKERS:
Luke Gliddon (Teacher: Minneapolis, MN)

Learn how to engage your students with the rich phenomena that stars and exoplanets can provide through the use of a free high school ESS unit that received an NGSS Design Badge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will deepen their understanding of how to use phenomena-driven three-dimensional instruction to attend to student interest and relevance, and develop a clear vision for how to use argumentation to teach ESS concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Devin Foschi (New Visions for Public Schools: New York, NY), Charles Link (DeWitt Clinton High School: Yonkers, NY)

Why labs play a crucial role in every science class. Fellow teachers will discuss the advantages and disadvantges to labs in the class. We will discuss how to successfuly conduct labs in the ENVS classroom for very little money.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get fellow teachers' advice and wisdom on how to successfully conduct a lab in the ENVS classroom - plus a list of cheap or free labs that you can do on a whim.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Melancon (Lafayette High School: Lafayette, LA)

If “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” what data can we examine to escape this fate? Paleobiologic data can help students gain insights into climate change, the potential of a 6th mass extinction, and the enduring discourse around human equality and race. Come learn how.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain insight into how paleobiology offers a unique opportunity for students to engage with historical science and to access and apply real data to issues that they care about. The presentation will offer a sample course outline, resources, and the rationale for their use.

SPEAKERS:
Kenneth Schopf (The Winsor School: Boston, MA)

Attendees learn about a project based learning activity revolving around earthquake proof structures. Students design a miniature earthquake proof skyscraper using real engineering techniques to be tested on a shake table. Two real shake tables and real student examples will be shown.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees learn about implementing a project-based learning activity in HS Earth Science. Students investigate how natural disasters impact human populations, and apply engineering principles to develop earthquake resistance skyscrapers. Learn how we built a shake table to test these structures.

SPEAKERS:
Aaron Dose (North Polk Community School District: Alleman, IA)

This session provides best practices in secondary STEM education. We share our approaches to equity-centered, cultural responsiveness teaching. As former middle and high school science teachers, who are now university faculty, participants will interrogate trends in effective science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to identify strategies for continuous improvement in secondary science instruction that center culturally responsive instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Anita Sanyal (University of Maryland)

Learn how two technology-enabled learning resources from the Smithsonian – Spectrum Lab and DIY Planet Search – engage high school physics, chemistry and earth science students in relevant and compelling multidisciplinary investigations of light, color, and alien worlds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away strategies for equity that amplify opportunities for students to experience “connected” science learning — connected to their own prior knowledge, connected to their everyday lives, connected to other disciplines– through free Smithsonian DataLabs instructional materials.

SPEAKERS:
Erika Wright (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Fitzwilliam, NH), Mary Dussault (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian: Cambridge, MA)

The Earth2Class (E2C) Program at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory enables secondary school students and teachers to access cutting-edge research by world-class geoscientists. This free program is provided through hybrid (on-campus) and zoom formats. I will describe its assets and availability.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students and teachers can learn about cutting-edge geposcience resesources.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Passow (Dwight Morrow HS (retd): Englewood, NJ)

A unique and open-ended STEM investigation that incorporates absolute and relative dating techniques, anomalies, historical context, volcanoes, solar proton events, energy cycles, Earth systems, terrestrial events, and supernovas by analyzing 430 years of Earth history from 1562 to 1992.

TAKEAWAYS:
In constructing knowledge, there is no definitive answer, only plausible conclusions based on constructing, analyzing, and comparing data and research from multiple disciplines. This investigation provides a better understanding of the scientific process of developing models and defending results.

SPEAKERS:
Donna Young (NSO/NASA: Laughlin, NV)

NSF’s NOIRLab’s Teen Astronomy Café – To Go! program brings students the excitement of scientific discovery by exploring astronomical data. Learn how students can hunt for brown dwarfs and planets in the outer solar system using the citizen science project Backyward Worlds. Laptops are encouraged.

TAKEAWAYS:
By exploring the Teen Astronomy Café – To Go! program designed to support the NGSS, participants will learn about the resources available to introduce astronomical data analysis their classrooms and help students develop critical thinking and data literacy skills.

SPEAKERS:
Robert Sparks (NSF's NOIRLab: Tucson, AZ)

Learn fun and rewarding labs that can be completed in 50 minutes or less. These labs can be adapted to many different learning levels including; SPED, ESL, and gifted.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will get a list of Environmental Science labs that can be completed in less than 50 minutes. Plus complete a hands on lab that brings a bit of competition into the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Rachel Melancon (Lafayette High School: Lafayette, LA)

This is a hands-on interactive workshop that focuses on understanding multimessenger astronomy by the use of the four senses: sight, smell, touch, and sound.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain an understanding of the increasing significance of multimessenger astronomy and how it aids astronomers in their observation of the universe through the coordination of information from different sources like light, gravitational waves, neutrinos, and cosmic rays simultaneously.

SPEAKERS:
Vernita Adkins (LSU-LIGO Physics and Astronomy Demos (LLPAD): Baton Rouge, LA)

Full inclusion of students with disabilities in STEM involves both accommodation strategies for students and universal design of instruction that enhances learning for all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Universal design of instruction makes science lessons accessible to students with special needs as well as mainstream learners.

SPEAKERS:
Lyla Mae Crawford (University of Washington: Spokane, WA)

This poster presentation will showcase best practices to address that “all forms of energy production” have “risks as well as benefits.” The free, online Switch Classroom provides non-partisan content in this critical area of NGSS instruction. Adaptable for grades 4-12.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn practical strategies to teach energy source pros/cons aligned with NGSS, fostering equity and inclusion in STEM classrooms while empowering students as informed decision-makers for a sustainable future.

SPEAKERS:
Lynn Kistler (Switch Classroom: Pittsburgh, PA)

Leveraging guided inquiry strategies we will support educators' interactions with the National Association for Geoscience Teachers' Teach the Earth resource collection. Our goal is to discover new ways to bring Earth & Space Science into the other disciplines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to navigate the Teach the Earth collection, identify multiple resources that support their curriculum, and share ideas on more effective ways to integrate ESS in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses.

SPEAKERS:
Cheryl Manning (OrbWeaver Consulting, LLC: EVERGREEN, CO)

Experience the free Verizon Innovative Learning Lab VR app - Visceral Science - along with hands-on supportive learning activities about space science. Discover strategies to incorporate VR as a teaching tool in limited-resource classroom settings with students of diverse backgrounds.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to use the Visceral Science app as an opportunity for novel learning of space science. Discover how to effectively use limited virtual reality resources in a large classroom setting.

SPEAKERS:
Andrew Bundas (Senior Planetarium Educator: TOLEDO, OH), Mariam Khella (STEM Educator: Jersey City, NJ), Brandon Daniels (Liberty Science Center: Jersey City, NJ)

This workshop will introduce attendees to a localized OpenSciEd unit designed to help 9th graders understand why New Orleans floods so frequently from everyday rainstorms. We will engage in student hat to investigate one of the causes of this issue and reflect on implications for other classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to use modeling to draw conclusions about complex environmental science ideas that are relevant to students’ everyday lives. They will leave with a unit storyline and ideas for how to apply these strategies in different contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Anderson (Ripple Effect), Lindsey Mohan (BSCS Science Learning: Burnet, TX)