Many schools need high-quality units to meet their state standards, especially if they vary significantly from the NGSS. BSCS Science Learning has extensive experience with designing, and adapting Storylines units. Come to this session to apply a BSCS design tool that can be used for adaptation.

Please note: space is limited.

TAKEAWAYS:
Experience with a tool to unpack and compare 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 adapting HQIM in your local context.

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

Lessons will be share that use Disney, and other, analgies for the understanding and mastery of Periodic Trends learned in Chemistry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be able to use the information learned in these lessons and connect ideas to help students grasp understanding of a abstract concept.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Carny (Saint Joseph Academy: Cleveland, OH)

Engage in conversations for how to use the three dimensions of the NGSS and the NRC Framework, storylines, driving questions, and hands-on activities to engage students in science and engineering skills while making sense of how SOIL affects the food that we grow and eat in a new storyline unit.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will engage in activities that are part of a new storyline unit on how soil affects the types and quantities of food commodities grown. Topics include what is soil, the effect of soil on plant growth, movement of matter and energy through soils, and how to decrease human impact on soils.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Tobin (Stevenson High School: Gurnee, IL), Chris Embry Mohr (Olympia High School: Carlock, IL)

Want to complete rigorous experiments with your multilingual learners? Learn about successful strategies, scaffolds, and structures which can be used for all levels of learners, increasing accessibility and creating an environment where hands-on learning is not only possible, but preferred!

TAKEAWAYS:
English Learners are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. However, access to quality training in how to teach our ELs is limited. Through this session, educators will explore strategies and structures that can be used to better assist ther ELs in the scientific process.

SPEAKERS:
Kirsten Salonga (Justice High School: Alexandria, VA)

We will introduce our forthcoming NSTA book containing a collection of units and resources to help teachers engage students in three-dimensional learning through model-based inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about four chemistry model-based inquiry units for rigorous and equitable instruction. Developed with secondary science teachers, the session guides three-dimensional learning, anchoring phenomena, modeling, and scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Ron Gray (Northern Arizona University: Flagstaff, AZ), Todd Campbell (University of Connecticut: N. Franklin, CT)

How did humans turn a simple grass into a staple food crop? And, how are scientists working to ensure that corn can continue to feed billions of people as the world’s climate changes? In this new storyline on popcorn, students will think like scientists as they enjoy this yummy snack food.

TAKEAWAYS:
Explore a new storyline on popcorn that engages students in constructing explanations from evidence. Students investigate how teosinte evolved into one of the most important food crops on Earth-corn, as they learn about genetics and future evolution in order to meet the needs of a changing planet.

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

How do we know which students of our students are figuring things out that they care about? Which students are contributing to knowledge-building in small groups? Join us to learn about a simple approach to using data from exit tickets with research-based strategies to promote more equitable partici

TAKEAWAYS:
Making formative use of exit ticket data on student experience can help all students experience instruction as more relevant and coherent from the student perspective. Key to improvement is testing research-based strategies for promoting more equitable participation in class.

SPEAKERS:
William Penuel (University of Colorado Boulder: Boulder, CO), Melissa Campanella (University of Colorado Boulder: Baltimore, MD)

We will introduce our forthcoming NSTA book containing a collection of units and resources to help teachers engage students in three-dimensional learning through model-based inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn about four chemistry model-based inquiry units for rigorous and equitable instruction. Developed with secondary science teachers, the session guides three-dimensional learning, anchoring phenomena, modeling, and scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Ron Gray (Northern Arizona University: Flagstaff, AZ), Todd Campbell (University of Connecticut: N. Franklin, CT)

Integrating active reading and reflection strategies into STEM education is indispensable to nurture the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. By fostering deeper engagement, critical thinking skills, and interdisciplinary connections, educators can empower students to excel in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will dive deep into reading and reflecting. They WILL read and write. Not only will they develop skills to enhance their own practices of reading and writing, but they will engage in creating a reading and writing space for students to explore and engage in bringing curiosity to science.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Schneider (PAST Foundation: Columbus, OH)

Memes are a powerful learning tool, helping teachers assess understanding and drive deeper learning through Bloom’s taxonomy. Memes challenge students to articulate and audit their understanding through powerful puzzles. Explore how to use memes in your classroom as a formative assessment tool.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this session, participants will gain an introduction to memes as a learning tool, see good and bad examples of memes in learning, and explore three unique meme activities that can be used in your science classroom to support the development of NGSS Science and Engineering Practices.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Libov (CEO: Chappaqua, NY)

Why can mammals survive the first few weeks or months of life by only ingesting milk? But, what happens when someone is lactose intolerant? Why can lactose-intolerant people tolerate some dairy products? Explore the answers to these questions in a new unit storyline on MILK.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this new storyline on milk, students construct an explanation based on evidence for why dairy is an important source of food energy. Human babies double their weight during the first 6 months of life, yet some lose the ability to digest lactose. Fermentation is one way to solve this problem.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Tobin (Stevenson High School: Gurnee, IL), Chris Embry Mohr (Olympia High School: Carlock, IL)

Practice three structured talk routines while engaging in collaborative sensemaking around research that centers how students acquire the language of science and develop their science identity. (K-12th Grades)

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will walk away with insight into educational research and resources for planning and implementing well structured student talk as a tool to support science language acquisition and foster the development of students' science identity.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Johnston (Denver Public Schools: Denver, CO)

The burgeoning field of Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a hot topic in any educational setting. Join us to explore how CTE intersects with NGSS to provide students with dynamic skill-based opportunities, high-interest pursuits, and prepare them for success in today's ever-changing workforce.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discover practical strategies for bridging CTE and NGSS. We will demonstrate the development of integration tools that seamlessly align school district classes, post-secondary education, and NGSS’s three dimensions.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Richmond (Colorado State University/Thompson School District: Fort Collins, CO)

Explore and apply methods to restructure 3D HQIM assessments and grading guidance to efficiently and objectively grade student responses and offer clear, concise feedback. Participants will also engage with an evaluation tool to ensure that restructuring the assessments and grading guidance does not change the integrity, rigor, and 3 Dimensional quality of the tasks.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with an understanding of the process behind the LDOE/NSTA Partnership and explore practical strategies for using NSTA resources to build science leader capacity. Attendees will walk away with skills and tools necessary for restructuring the format and grading guidance of HQIM embedded assessments in a way that ensures maintenance of rigor and standards alignment.

SPEAKERS:
Jill Sutton (science teacher/instructional coach: Ruston, LA), Molly Talbot (Louisiana Dept. of Education: New Roads, LA), April Winstead (District K-12 Science Facilitator: Ruston, LA)

By 2025, it’s estimated that 463 exabytes of data will be created daily; that’s like 212,765,957 DVDs/day! How can our students know if the information they receive is credible? Generation Skeptics teaches the necessary skills with lessons and guest speakers. (www.generationskeptics.org)

TAKEAWAYS:
Generation Skeptics arms educators with free resources to instill skepticism in students. Recognizing the proliferation of misinformation, GenSkeps seeks to equip the next generation with the enduring principles of the scientific method and the importance of substantiating claims with evidence.

SPEAKERS:
Melanie Trecek-King (Thinking Is Power: Franklin, MA)

Through discussions and workshopping, participants consider ways to leverage the curriculum adoption process, including setting an instructional vision, developing criteria, and evaluating materials, to develop teacher leaders in science and support understanding of rigorous science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will develop a plan for using K-12 curriculum adoptions to develop teacher leadership, support deep professional learning around the NGSS/Framework, and increase stakeholder buy-in.

SPEAKERS:
Shannon Wachowski (EdReports.org: Lander, WY), Matthew Christiansen (Oceanside High School #7: Oceanside, NY)

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)

Louisiana leads the nation in coastal wetland loss. They also lead in approaches to address this crisis through development of updated five-year Coastal Master Plans. In this activity, participants take on the role of a regional coastal planner and put forth projects that seek to protect the coast.

TAKEAWAYS:
This is a hands-on, interactive activity that allows students to understand and address a complex environmental challenge while analyzing project costs and benefits. All tools represent real projects in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan and show future workforce opportunities.

SPEAKERS:
Dani DiIullo (Louisiana Sea Grant: Baton Rouge, LA)

Join our discussion on equitable science education, integrating sense-making pillars into culturally and linguistically sustaining practices. Engage with phenomena, student ideas, and disciplinary core ideas for meaningful learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
We offer a glimpse of science classrooms that are engaged in authentic, culturally sustainable experiences that foster sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Johanna Esparza (Assistant Professor of Practice: Brownsville, TX), Miriam Ortiz (Assistant Professor of Practice: San Benito, TX), Uma Ganesan (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley: Brownsville, TX), Zulema Williams (Assistant Professor of Practice: Brownsville, TX), Patricia Ramirez (UTRGV)

How do you teach logical writing? What structures do you use to support students who just “don’t get it” when constructing explanations? We’ll share our philosophy, graphic organizer, sample tasks, student work, manipulatives, connections to CCC’s, and a gradual release model that builds student pro

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will leave our session with a model of how to support struggling learners with constructing explanations for SEP6. This includes a graphic organizer that can be adapted for any topic area as well as a gradual release model of how we walk our students up to proficiency in constructing explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Andy Fitz (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Libertyville, IL), Josh Bozeday (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL), Kristy Wrona (Adlai E. Stevenson High School: Lincolnshire, IL)

Make your lessons more impactful by leveraging what students already think, believe and know. We all know that students have misconceptions, but guidance on how to work with them is sparse. They can be the greatest barriers to learning yet by embracing them, teaching can be much more effective.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will come away with classroom strategies that will improve science instruction by embracing students' misconceptions. Ideal for teacher trainers, coordinators, and specialists.

SPEAKERS:
Clayton Chamberlain (Utah State University: Highland, UT)

Presentation of a college course using convergence research to tackle the complex issue of wasted food, while emphasizing the integration of diverse perspectives to enhance student learning and problem-solving skills.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will understand how convergence research was used in the context of wasted food to support students’ learning and address complex problems through creative, multifaceted, and equitable solutions. They will also be empowered to leverage convergence research when addressing complex problems.

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

Core skills of Research, Oral and Visual Presentation, and Civic Action are integrated into a yearlong experience in numerous courses. Students choose relevant community issues to investigate and take action towards solving a problem. A symposium showcases project results at the end of the year.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees learn to implement research proposals, use formative checkpoints to manage individual progress, and analyze findings. Examples will be shared from physics, environmental science, and math courses. Discussion will include challenges and successes with the project and how to manage workload.

SPEAKERS:
Marci Harvey (University of North Carolina School of the Arts: Winston Salem, NC)

Want to implement an experiential laboratory-based neuroscience program at your school, as a stand-alone course or embedded within biology or anatomy and physiology courses? This session will share field-tested methods for students and faculty to explore this emerging science alongside one another.

TAKEAWAYS:
Neuroscience is a rapidly progressing field that captivates student interest and can create a model environment for students and faculty to learn alongside one another while fostering 21st-century skills including experimental design, scientific research, and interdisciplinary investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Hannah Sullivan (Mounds Park Academy: St. Paul, MN)

This session demonstrates how to have students recognize the importance of science as critical when advocating for environmental justice through air quality data.

TAKEAWAYS:
To foster student-centered community-based environmental science research by identifying relationships among environmental degradation, socio-economic level, and community health issues through air quality data.

SPEAKERS:
Stephen Farenga (Queens College, CUNY: Williston Park, NY), Salvatore Garofalo (Queens College, City University of New York: Mineola, NY)

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)

"Explore the chemistry behind crafting sodas in this engaging session! Students design, taste, and adjust their own beverages, relating to understandings of concentration, ratios, and pH."

TAKEAWAYS:
At our session, presenters will showcase an engaging chemistry project, empowering students to craft their own unique soda creations while reinforcing topics previously taught in first year chemistry.

SPEAKERS:
Matthew Ragusa (Neuqua Valley High School: Naperville, IL)

Leveraging their curiosity for doing science, shifting the work to students, and moving away from delivering content leads to better sense-making of physical phenomena. Rebuild your lesson sequences around student beliefs, doing science to collect evidence, and developing models collaboratively.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will discuss the advantages and challenges of not front-loading content for students, instead beginning with student beliefs. Discover how to revise lessons so students develop claims and improve ideas with evidence, eventually developing models based on observations rather than lecturing.

SPEAKERS:
Marci Harvey (University of North Carolina School of the Arts: Winston Salem, NC)

This 30-minute presentation will have participants consider and reflect on which student-driven lessons and assessments will yield the highest ROI on student engagement, relevance, and participation.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to create lessons and assessments that will appeal to and result in increased student engagement

SPEAKERS:
Dani Maloney (Mamaroneck High School: Stamford, CT)

Outcomes from a grant funded 4-day camp with 40 adolescent participants. Student research participation focused on critical marine science topics and careers. Session focuses on assessment of student sensemaking associated with a maritime biodiversity field study and coastal resiliency case studies

TAKEAWAYS:
Adolescents have strong knowledge base of research based field methods in determining biodiversity and unique perspectives and insight in tackling climate related challenges evident in engineering and policy scenarios focused on coastal resiliency.

SPEAKERS:
Timothy Goodale (Elizabeth City State University: Poquoson, VA)

Explore empowering environmental education for Indigenous students of a Native American science teacher whose hands-on science activities help confront colonial injustices, nurture healing from intergenerational trauma, and integrate sense-making into equitable, culturally sustaining practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
The session will unveil culturally sustainable science teaching practices of a Native American educator, enhancing sensemaking for students. Empowering all learners, these strategies transform science into an accessible journey, unlocking education's transformative power for Indigenous communities.

SPEAKERS:
Uma Ganesan (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley: Brownsville, TX)