Students must use discourse to engage with the Science and Engineering Practices, but what if students do not speak the language of instruction? Learn specific strategies and supports to create a welcoming environment for student language use and acquisition in inquiry-based science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will experience the instructional practices designed to support language use for newcomer students in inquiry-based science. They will leave with ready-to-use strategies to implement in their classroom or district to support students who do not speak the language of instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Kori Milroy (Chicago Public Schools: Chicago, IL), Chantell Windham (Chicago Public Schools: Chicago, IL), Niranjani Prabhakar (Chicago Public Schools: Chicago, IL), Sarah Millette (Chicago Public Schools: Chicago, IL)

Use A-I to create a fictional planet in order for students to make connections between settling on a foreign planet and early American civilization of Jamestown. How will you choose where to settle? How will your colony be sustainable? How do you ethically interact with native species?

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees are going to learn how to utilize A-I by exploring settlement on a fictional planet mirroring Jamestown addressing sustainability, ethical interaction with natives, citizen science, robotics, and lessons for Earth's care.

SPEAKERS:
Jesse Wren (Riverfield Country Day School: Tulsa, OK), Lisa Robinson (4/5 Grade Educator: Bixby, OK)

Investigating the motion of a pendulum will help your students understand gravity's effect on an object and Newton's First Law of Motion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be able to relate pendulums to Newton's first law of motion and determine how the motion of the pendulum is related to its length.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Diane Smith (Wells Academic and Performing Arts Complex: Flowood, MS)

Immerse yourself in two intermediate grade units on Weathering & Erosion and Earth's Systems which integrate algorithmic thinking and student-generated models using block coding. Project {FUTURE} has co-designed CS-integrated curriculum units with teachers in CT and WI, available as OER.

TAKEAWAYS:
Our CS and Science integrated units are ready to use and benefit student learning in both areas. By building algorithms and programs, students model Earth System relationships in novel ways. Likewise, applying CS concepts in the context of science enhances meaning, rigor, and engagement.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Scianni (Milwaukee Public Schools: Milwaukee, WI), Christine Thorp (Teacher: Wallingford, CT), Darcy Ronan (Sacred Heart University: Fairfield, CT)

Participants are invited to attend this session to engage in problem-posing, STEM-infused, standards-aligned mathematics and science activities. Learn strategies for helping students make real-world math and science connections, promote positive identities, and relate to real-life situations.

TAKEAWAYS:
The purpose of this session is to provide participants with an opportunity to learn strategies for purposefully infusing STEM in math and science instruction. Participants will explore standards-aligned activities and resources that promote the SEPS, the SMPS, and cross-curricular connections.

SPEAKERS:
Latrenda Knighten (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Baton Rouge, LA)

Participants will engage in dynamic, hands-on science and technology activities, merging STEM concepts with popular children's books. Discover how interactive STEM and literacy activities can support and encourage the development of STEM career pathways in young learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will connect impactful STEM activities with children’s literature. They will be shown ways to strengthen equitable learning outcomes and foster excitement for career exploration. Educators will have the opportunity to explore lessons and will leave with materials for their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Clint Coleman (Louisiana Board of Regents: New Orleans, LA)

No curriculum is perfect out of the box. Explore how one district utilized a local frog expert to enhance a newly adopted curriculum. Let hands-on lessons inspire you to find your own Frog Guy, place student inquiry at the center, and go beyond a guest speaker. Extend your storyline and engagement!

TAKEAWAYS:
After a learner-lens experience with frogs, participants will gain insights in identifying areas within a unit storyline and developing customizations aligned to the NGSS and teaching practices to reach all learners. Participants will then have time to apply this process to their own organization.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Perrelli (STEM Instructional Coach: No City, No State)

Engage in hands-on exploration of a place-based drone curriculum co-developed with tribal communities for elementary students in Alaska. Access the free student and teacher lesson plans and educational videos, and identify place-based drone applications for your community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will don "student hat" to participate in a hands-on lesson about how drones fly, learn how to access a suite of free resources for teaching about drones, and also learn tips for STEM curriculum co-production by Indigenous and Western institutions.

SPEAKERS:
Mariah McNamara (Education Specialist: Fairbanks, AK), Lori Schoening (Geophysical Institute: Fairbanks, AK)

This immersive and engaging workshop is designed to empower and cultivate teacher leaders in science education. It will provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective leaders in their schools and communities, driving positive change in science education.

TAKEAWAYS:
One key takeaway related to leadership in science is the importance of raising awareness of implicit bias in science education. Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that influence our perceptions and actions, often leading to inequities in educational settings.

SPEAKERS:
Dr. Kay Williams (KEDE Educational Business, LLC: Woodstock, GA)

Merge reading and engineering with STEM activities inspired by classic read-alouds, saving time and increasing engagement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Discover three engaging read-alouds and three complimentary STEM activities that encourage curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Terra Tarango (Van Andel Education Institute: Grand Rapids, MI)

Collaborating with regional workforce enhances the depth of career-focused education, forging valuable connections for both sides. Explore how the LASTEM initiative seamlessly integrates career exploration across K-20 classrooms, empowering learners with practical skills and real-world insights.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave equipped with the knowledge of key contacts within corporations for effective outreach projects. Additionally, they'll grasp the significance of aligning lesson plans with career exploration to deepen student comprehension.

SPEAKERS:
Clint Coleman (Louisiana Board of Regents: New Orleans, LA)

Introducing Sprocket: Powered by Educurious! Sprocket is a free platform with OER project-based learning science courses for educators everywhere. Created by researchers, experts, and educators, Sprocket is now part of Educurious. Join us for a guided tour of Sprocket’s courses and online community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sprocket is the world’s only OER platform providing access to evidence-based, full-year, project-based learning courses at no cost. Participants will learn how to navigate Sprocket, access the curriculum, and connect with an online community of colleagues and collaborators.

SPEAKERS:
Adrian Baez-Alicea (Educurious Partners: Portland, OR), Hanna Jaramillo (Educurious Partners: Kirkland, WA)

Personal narratives bring topics to life. With a booklet available as a free download, engage critical thinking skills with astronaut personal narratives. Compare and contrast rocket designs and basic data. Based on learning that takes place, design a rocket with at least 1 innovative feature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will examine a set of rockets and data on performance. They will select a feature to design to improve performance and explain why they made the design changes they chose. Through this, they learn how to engage students with engineering design principles.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Boulden (Warner University: Frostproof, FL)

For this workshop, you will see how to develop an engineering unit for elementary students where they are challenged to use recyclable materials to build skyscrapers, bridges, and other structures. Try your own skill in building structures using easily accessible materials.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will learn how to develop an engineering unit for elementary students where they design and build their own skyscrapers and bridges. Relevant videos will be shown and student work will be showcased.

SPEAKERS:
Joan Gillman (The Browning School: Teaneck, NJ)

Strong winds generated by hurricanes and tornadoes can lift the roof off a house. A model for the engineering design process that integrates the NGSS three dimensions will be used to design a better roof.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to address the NGSS student performance expectation: 3-EES3-1 Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Ostlund (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX)

Join us as a young scientist to investigate different sounds and how and why they occur. Using simple tools, engage your curiosity about the phenomena of sound as you delve into sensemaking to figure out what causes sound to occur, and how you can stop, start, and change sound.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engage in teacher play, investigate making sense of how sound is made, how to change sound, how to create your own song with rubber bands and a simple board, plus explain all of it with your own words/drawings. First 50 participants will leave with rubber bands, a simple board, and an investigation idea.

SPEAKERS:
Lisa Chizek (Iowa State University: Toledo, IA)

You will learn how to use MFLOW, a web-based programming platform that makes it extremely easy to play with sounds and create sound compositions while learning the basics of programming. You will gain access to an NGSS-aligned curriculum to support students with coding and sound engineering.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn how to use MFLOW to sound engineer and code your own sound or music composition. Also, you will learn how to engage your students with coding through engineering design challenges.

SPEAKERS:
Alec Barron (UC San Diego)

Discover how the fusion of circuitry and spatial concepts, in illuminating a piece of art, impacts student innovation in STEAM Education. This session will explore the intersection of art and science with practical strategies to promote student accessibility and understanding of STEAM concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will create illuminated artwork using a simple circuit (copper tape, LEDs, coin battery). They will reflect and gain insights on how to make complex concepts accessible, blending STEAM and Maker Education that will foster inclusive learning for all students.

SPEAKERS:
Merinda Baker (Engagement Manager: Atlanta, GA)

This session highlights cultural dimensions of meaningful science learning. It showcases a powerful instructional technique for formative assessment called “self-documentation”—where students collect information related to a particular theme or topic in their everyday lives.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers learn how to promote equity by focusing on learning and teaching as an inherently cultural process. They develop a shared understanding of how cultural formative assessment can reveal the interests, experiences, and identities of students.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Tiffany Neill (OpenSciEd: New York, NY), Ximena Gallegos Gutierrez (PhD student, Learning Science and Human Development: Seattle, WA)

Dr. Michael Hammond-Todd (Utah Tech University) will be presenting the (STEAM)2 - STEAM Squared model of lesson design for formal and informal K-12 educators that connects the STEM curriculum to inclusive practice by combining STEAM with NASA's Artemis 2 Program in a very interactive workshop.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants and STEM educators will be able to use the (STEAM)2 model to explore NASA's Artemis 2 program within the context of inclusive lesson design based on the contextual factors and diversity of their learners. You will also be able to explore this model within your own educational ideas.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Hammond-Todd (Utah Tech University: Nanaimo, BC)

Force and motion, simple machines & energy transfer are just a few of the science topics that students learn as the build their own interactive roller coaster projects.  Using just paper, tape and scissors, we will show you how to easily include this fun educational hands-on activity in your class.

TAKEAWAYS:
Hands-on, engaging projects can be done with easily accessible inexpensive supplies. It does not have to cost money to do intereactive experiments

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Sevin (Isidore Newman School: New Orleans, LA), Godwyn Morris (Dazzling Discoveries / Skill Mill NYC: New York, NY)

Make the literacy connection to science with fairy tales. Join us as we explore activities that integrate multiple content areas with an emphasis on writing across the curriculum. You will even have a chance to engineer a house for a pig.

TAKEAWAYS:
This workshop has been designed to show educators: -how to become advocates of literacy for elementary science and engineering -to provide connections between science and literacy and -to learn strategies for actively engaging all learners.

SPEAKERS:
John Hutchens (Ruth Patrick Science Education Center: Aiken, SC)

Seaworthy STEM in a Box revolutionizes PreK-12 STEM education with Department of Navy and NGSS aligned activities, fostering science inquiry and engineering skills. Designed for versatility, these kits and curriculum accommodate various grades and settings. Session lead by DON staff/ STEM educators.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover how to seamlessly integrate Navy-aligned STEM activities into diverse educational environments. With expert-led workshops and comprehensive resources, educators can cultivate problem-solving skills in students, empowering them for future success in science and engineering.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Thompson (Department of Defense: Stevensville, MD), Nathan Diehl (Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division: Boyds, MD)

Join Louisiana teachers and state leaders in an immersive science experience that will unlock strategies for nurturing the brilliance and strengths of K-2 students and cultivate a strong science foundation.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, teachers will experience an anchor phenomenon as a student and will consider practical strategies for how phenomenon-based, three-dimensional instruction can support K-2 students sensemaking in science. Participants will receive tips on how to advocate for more time on science in K-2.

SPEAKERS:
Garelyn Adam-Dinet (Teacher: Marrero, LA), Molly Talbot (Louisiana Dept. of Education: New Roads, LA)

Session participants will experience the immersive Half-Earth Project map to explore our planet's richness and fragility. Then, they will learn to utilize ARC-GIS Story Maps to transform scientific content and data into compelling narratives suitable for non-formal and formal environments.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, attendees will be introduced to RC-GIS Story Maps and learn to create simple, learner-centered resources. They will also receive materials to support the continued application of this tool and facilitate student-created content.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Lannoye-Hall (Detroit Zoological Society: Huntington Woods, MI), Jocelyn Miller (E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation: Chapel Hill, NC)

Discover the seamless integration of science and literacy by fostering a love for nature and enhancing student learning. Gain practical strategies for engaging young learners and promoting environmental awareness in the classroom while incorporating nature studies and sustainability themes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will leave the session equipped with a toolkit of practical ideas, lessons, and resources to seamlessly integrate environmental science and literacy instruction, fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world and nurturing a lifelong passion for conservation.

SPEAKERS:
Alexis Tharpe (ODU Research Foundation TCEP: Norfolk, VA 23508, VA), Venicia Ferrell (Research Assistant Professor: Norfolk, VA)

Participants will explore hands-on stations as they use inquiry analysis tools to dive into phenomena, primary sources, and discovery boxes about the coast. Participants will share, engage, and connect with multiple strategies and PreK-2 resources to use to analyze coastal phenomena.

TAKEAWAYS:
Inquiry-based teaching focuses on moving students beyond general curiosity into the realms of critical thinking and understanding. We must encourage our students to ask questions and support them through the investigation process, understanding when to begin and how to structure an inquiry activity.

SPEAKERS:
Noelle Carter (Chief Curriculum Officer: Orem, UT), Betsy Glisson (Studies Weekly: Dublin, GA)

Computational thinking (CT) and engineering offer students problem-solving skills and foster innovation. This session will provide educators with the knowledge and resources needed to integrate CT and engineering into their STEM curriculum.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of CT and engineering strategies for integrating these concepts into their STEM classrooms. They will feel empowered to equip their students with the problem-solving skills necessary for success in an increasingly technology-driven world.

SPEAKERS:
Katherine Mathias (John Kerr Elementary School: Winchester, VA), Ch'Loris Clemons (John Kerr Elementary School: Winchester, VA)

Are students struggling to master academic language in Science? Get students listening, speaking, reading, and writing using academic language. Participants will engage in a science-focused Talk Read Talk Write using vocabulary/visuals within the 5E model to support Emergent Bilingual/all students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn how to incorporate Nancy Motley’s Talk Read Talk Write approach within the 5E Model, how to incorporate vocabulary-focused structured conversations based on visuals, and how to differentiate for students to improve Science Literacy.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Gibson (Seidlitz Education: Plano, TX)

Explore how student self-assessment can transform STEM learning by empowering learners to reflect on and take charge of their educational journey. Gain practical strategies and tools to implement this effective approach in your classroom, enhancing engagement and understanding.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn to implement student self-assessment techniques that boost independence, deepen understanding, and increase engagement in STEM subjects.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Mawn (Roxbury High School: Succasunna, NJ)

Through this workshop, participants will learn what is necessary to establish, organize, and facilitate an interactive, hands-on environment for elementary students, whether in the STEM lab setting or the general education classroom while participating in engaging standards-based activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
STEM instruction is vital to the elementary experience, and students at this level should be engaged in hands-on, standards-based activities to be prepared for their future.

SPEAKERS:
Troy Russell (E. R. Dickson Elementary School: Irvington, AL), Maegan Gayle (Mobile County Public School System: Mobile, AL)

Discover NASA's Astro Camp Program: free STEM resources and lessons on space exploration. See how one school created a week-long, community-building STEM Challenge for Pre-K to 5th grade, reinforcing the S.E.P.s and sparking interest in NASA careers.

TAKEAWAYS:
NASA’s ASTRO CAMP Community Partners Program provides collaboration opportunities for youth service organizations, museums, libraries, and schools interested in presenting NASA’s ASTRO CAMP activities in their community with training and resources provided by NASA ACCP specialists. Free resources.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Sevin (Isidore Newman School: New Orleans, LA), Jennifer Williams (Isidore Newman School: Belle Chasse, LA)

Forrest Bird is the inventor of the first convenient and reliable, low cost, mass-produced medical respirator. Join us in this workshop as we model hands on activities to get your students excited to learn more about respiratory system basics as well as invention education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students are less likely to be what they cannot see. Everyone can be an inventor and diverse inventor stories and activities with a transdisciplinary approach can aid elementary educators in creating high-quality, equitable learning experiences even with constraints to "Science time."

SPEAKERS:
Kathy Hoppe (STEMisED, Inc: Rio Rico, AZ), Christine Lawlor-King (MIT, InventEd, Invention Convention, STEMisED: Manchester, CT)