The first step toward a cleaner tomorrow is to raise awareness about the plastic waste crisis, and small-scale recycling is a possible solution. Learn how IN MOCEAN and its Recycling Fleet are collaborating with others on a local level to set up micro recycling workspaces around the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn about IN MOCEANs global project and of the possibilities and potential of small scale recycling. With information about the process of plastic recycling and how anyone can get involved, one might be interested in setting up a recycling workspace in a school or community.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Zaidlicz Everett (Teacher: Barrington, NH)

Sponsoring Company: Retro Report

Discern how to use short-form documentary films in the Environmental Science classroom to drive the inquiry process. Explore Retro Report’s free, high quality instructional resources. Retro Report is an independent, nonprofit, non-partisan news organization.

SPEAKERS:
Jeremy Wang (Saint Thomas More Catholic School: Saint Paul, MN), Derek Dubossi (Laguardia High School: New York, NY), Filiz Yargici (Retro Report: New York, NY)

In this session, participants will explore ecology, conservation, and the cultural significance of the diamondback terrapin in the Chesapeake Region through an integrated Indigenous and Western scientific curricular framework that was designed for, and tested in, science education methods courses.

TAKEAWAYS:
Integrating Indigenous Knowledges into science teacher education reframes science and science education to highlight scientific practices that prioritize ecocentrism, ethics, and interconnectedness and fosters culturally responsive and inclusive environmental literacies among science teachers.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Green (University of Maryland, College Park: Arnold, MD)

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games

Come play Global Warning, a cooperative board game from Adventerra Games. Learn how to work together to solve local and global climate problems, and learn strategies to mitigate climate change. Workshop includes results from a new Michigan State study of learning gains associated with this game.

SPEAKERS:
Bryan Mundell (Founder: Paradiso, Switzerland), Peter White (Associate Professor: East Lansing, MI), Sue Mundell (Adventerra Games North America: Boston, MA)

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Learn how to facilitate simple hands-on photosynthesis experiments with wireless sensors. Help students collect and analyze carbon exchange data from plant leaves in real-time! Dispel student doubts in their understanding of photosynthesis and respiration.

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: Edvotek

Unlock biology's mysteries with model organisms! Join our workshop to learn how to culture and study C. elegans in your classroom laboratory. Explore heavy metal effects using a simple locomotion assay. Integrate STEM concepts, data collection, and statistics for an enriching learning experience.

SPEAKERS:
Danielle Snowflack, PhD (Edvotek Inc.: Washington, DC), Brian Ell (Edvotek Inc.: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: Terra Science and Education

Spend a week learning how to set up and run a Bahamas trip. Snorkeling and evening classes mirror the trip you can run for students. The goal is to gain the knowledge and skills needed to work with Terra to run a program that is safe, exciting, and rigorous. Room and board is free for all attendees

SPEAKERS:
George Wolfe (Retired: Walworth, NY)

Explore a college course on wasted food and societal impacts, highlighting student-centered learning and sensemaking through transformative journeys toward sustainable practices. Build your Insights into teaching and course evaluation methods to understand the effectiveness of course design.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave the session with an understanding of how a course design focused on sensemaking can enrich student learning and, additionally, how this approach allows students to become central to their own educational experiences, fostering deeper comprehension and active engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Pete Locher (Graduate Research Student: Charleston, SC)

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!

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Join us as we explore a lesson sequence that utilizes multiple BioInteractive resources to explore the phenomenon of tusklessness in elephant populations. We'll model how to have students explain the effects of a selective pressure on the Gorongosa elephant population.

SPEAKERS:
Dionne Reid (Teacher - Science: Pembroke Pines, FL)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Participants will make and use alginate beads containing algae and alginate beads containing yeast. They will learn how the beads can be used to model the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

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

Sponsoring Company: Texas Instruments

A decomposing corpse is found in a field. Four possible missing persons fit the description. But who is it? Using clues near the scene will help determine identity. Forensic anthropologist Diane France helped to develop this free middle school and high school forensic science lesson.

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)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Scientists collect data to create models and develop solutions. We'll explore free HHMI BioInteractive resources that ask students to analyze authentic data in order to connect how climate change impacts coral bleaching and understand the effects of increasing global temperatures.

SPEAKERS:
Chi Klein (Saint Stephen's Episcopal School: Bradenton, FL), Cathy Sammons (Teacher: Lexington, KY)

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! Explore how organisms find food and interact. Discuss how these two hands-on activities can be applied to younger students: How creatures find food, and to older students: Social behavior and inter-species interactions.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon (Watauga High School: Blowing Rock, NC)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Do your students struggle with constructing scientific explanations? We'll explore free BioInteractive resources featuring authentic data about the evolution of Caribbean anoles and discuss how students can utilize multiple sources of evidence, such as phylogenetic trees, to support their claims.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Eberhard (St. Clair High School: Saint Clair, MI), Dionne Reid (Teacher - Science: Pembroke Pines, FL)

Are you looking for ways to make your Introductory/General Education College Science Classes more engaging for students? Join your colleagues as they share how they have put research into practice in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Put research into practice as you experience these engaging, relevant, and real approaches to teaching non-majors.

SPEAKERS:
Richard Jones (University of Hawaii-West Oahu: Kapolei, HI)

Sponsoring Company: Gardyn

Hydroponics is the future of food production! Come learn the basics of hydroponics and how Gardyn towers can enhance your classroom experience, while being on the cutting edge of technological trends. Most importantly, learn how to integrate hydroponic gardening into your curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Alicia Kuntz (Niles Community Schools: Buchanan, MI), Renee Egan (Gardyn Workshop Presenter/ 7th Grade Science: ACWORTH, GA)

Sponsoring Company: PASCO Scientific

Learn how to facilitate simple hands-on photosynthesis experiments with wireless sensors. Help students collect and analyze carbon exchange data from plant leaves in real-time! Dispel student doubts in their understanding of photosynthesis and respiration.

Looking to incorporate local phenomena into your curriculum? Hear how a diverse group of Louisiana teachers working with subject matter experts engaged in a NOAA BWET funded project to examine environmental indicators through place-based learning. Gain access to the lessons these teachers created.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will gain an overview of the Louisiana phenomenon, environmental proxies and scientific concepts teachers examined as well as themes that emerged throughout the project while gaining access to the LSSS and NGSS aligned lessons these teachers created.

SPEAKERS:
Dani DiIullo (Louisiana Sea Grant: Baton Rouge, LA), Alvera McMillan (Louisiana Sea Grant: Saint Francisville, LA)

Sponsoring Company: HHMI BioInteractive

Extreme climate events are driving evolutionary changes in anole lizards! Use BioInteractive resources to help students develop data literacy skills in analyzing data from the primary literature and practice writing scientific explanations about how climate affects gene pools.

SPEAKERS:
Mark Eberhard (St. Clair High School: Saint Clair, MI)

Explore two museum-school partnership models that integrate best practices in outdoor and environmental education to connect urban K - 8 students to place-based learning through teacher professional development and direct student engagement both in the classroom and outdoors.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will dive deeper into the ways these programs allow schools to partner with cultural institutions, connecting them to resources and building teacher capacity through supported outdoor experiences, to connect K-8 students with the nature in their neighborhood and city.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Siska (Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum: Chicago, IL)

In this session, participants will explore strategies for fostering emotional engagement among undergraduates on climate change. Through social-emotional learning, we learn how mindfulness activities, videos, and readings deepen emotional connection and enhance understanding of climate science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will grasp using mindfulness, videos, and readings to engage undergraduates on climate change emotionally and cognitively. They will gain strategies for integrating SEL into teaching, empowering students to deepen environmental connections and climate literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Gayle Buck (Indiana University Bloomington: Bloomington, IN), Tajinder Saroya (Graduate Student: Bloomington, IN)

The purpose of our research is to investigate how educators’ experiences in field studies with community partners can inform a transdisciplinary STEAM educational program based on a curriculum of place. Our project considers varying perspectives of place and land as it informs STEAM TEd programming.

TAKEAWAYS:
This research has the potential to inform future STEAM teacher education and K-12 teaching and learning that integrates STEAM pedagogies, Indigenous knowledges and place/land-based transdisciplinary curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Kevin O'Connor (Mount Royal University: Calgary, AB)

Immerse yourself in sustainable entrepreneurship with our student-run apiary venture! Majors from across campus collaborate to produce honey and bee-inspired products, while also providing pollinator education. From pure honey to eco-friendly beeswax goods, experience interdisciplinary teamwork.

TAKEAWAYS:
The student-forward approaches that are often the focus of the Scholarship of Teaching attempt to shift the well-entrenched paradigm of college teaching. Unfortunately, faculty have yet to break free from the maxim of “we teach the way we were taught” to “we teach the way that we learn”. Learn how.

SPEAKERS:
Patrick Krantz (Westminster College: New Wilmington, PA)

The Water Replenishment District (WRD) manages and protects the local groundwater resources for a little over four million residents. WRD's free Education Programs allow residents and educators to learn and familiarize themselves about the importance of water in our region.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will be able to learn how to contact their local water agency for free resources and/or field trips that educate students about the importance of water.

SPEAKERS:
Monica Sijder (Water Replenishment District: Huntington Park, CA)

Interested in new ways to teach science process skills and the nature of science? Consider visiting this poster that showcases an elementary after-school club where third-grade students learn and explore birding on their school grounds.

TAKEAWAYS:
The research will highlight aspects of birding relevant to all grade levels and include creative ways to utilize place-based learning that is applicable within the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Ann Catherine Cox (Carrollton Elementary School: Carrollton, VA), Rachel Gisewhite (The University of Southern Mississippi: Long Beach, MS), Stacey Britton (University of West Georgia: Roopville, GA)

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)

In NYC, a nonprofit offers Science education for underserved communities, integrating Spanish language. They engage students in hands-on activities through afterschool programs, fostering cultural pride and preparing them for future careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science education combined with Spanish language instruction in NYC's out-of-school programs for underserved communities boosts academic achievement and cultural pride, preparing students for future success in STEM fields.

SPEAKERS:
Luz Angelica Velasco Vela (BioBus: new york, NY)