NSTA Engage: Spring21 - Sessions

Spark Discovery and Invention

Learn more about FREE curriculum modules from the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention that promote the engagement of all students in science and engineering! Modules were co-developed by Western Washington University and the Bellingham School District.

Takeaways: Learn more: 1. about the world-class collection of electrical engineering artifacts, such as Edison's first light bulb and early prototype electrical devices, available to educators (including virtual collections) at the SPARK Museum; 2. about FREE curriculum modules aligned to the NGSS that engage students in the engineering design process while learning about energy; and 3. ways that engineering can be made relevant to students from diverse backgrounds, interests, and abilities.

Speakers

Debi Hanuscin (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA), Bridget Dahlman-Oeth (Western Washington University: Bellingham, WA), Abby Russell (SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention: Bellingham, WA)

Presenter Materials for this Session:

Increasing Equity in Science Through Collaboration and Conversation

Learn how Culturally Responsive Teaching strategies engage elementary students in inquiry and modeling while fostering student agency and developing 21st-century skills.

Takeaways: Participants will: 1. learn Culturally Responsive Teaching strategies that increase student participation and engage them in learning around the NGSS; 2. learn how collaboration to model phenomena can support English Learners by providing equitable opportunities in science education while helping students develop their voice and fostering student agency while fostering 21st-century skills; and 3. be invited to reflect on how to develop student agency whether teaching in-person or in distant learning.

Speakers

Jennifer Trochez MacLean (Gates Street Elementary School: Los Angeles, CA)

NSTA Press Session: All Students' Ideas Matter

Inclusive approaches to teaching and learning include probing questions that all students can relate to, that provide multiple entry points for engagement, and that create a desire to want to figure it out. Learn how to use the Uncovering Student Ideas probes and strategies to support a classroom where all students' ideas matter!

Takeaways: 1. Learn about a resource for formative assessment; 2. Explore key points from research on learning that support using formative assessment probes; and 3. Gain new strategies for eliciting all students' ideas and building a classroom culture where everyone's ideas matter.

Speakers

Page Keeley (The Keeley Group: Fort Myers, FL)

Science for Social Justice: A Four-Part Framework for Equitable Instruction

Join us as we outline and present classroom applications of a four-part framework for equitable science instruction incorporating issues of identity, diversity, justice, and action.

Takeaways: 1. How to use the four-part framework (identity, diversity, justice, action) to incorporate issues of social justice into classroom practices or science curricula; 2. How the four domains of social justice meet the call for equitable instruction outlined by the NGSS appendix “All Standards, All Students”; and 3. How to empower students to explore scientific issues and their personal identities within the scientific community.

Speakers

Sarah Redick (The Ohio State University: Columbus, OH), Laura Blue (John Sells Middle School: Dublin, OH)

Instructional Strategies to Support Multilingual Students' Sensemaking Through Science and Engineering Practices

Explore a set of in-person and distance learning instructional strategies to support multilingual students' sensemaking through science and engineering practices.

Takeaways: 1. To support equitable science instruction, all students must have their voice heard and be provided opportunities for rich sensemaking through science and engineering practices; 2. Multilingual students are a diverse group of students with a wealth of knowledge that need to be leveraged in the science classroom; and 3. In real-time, teachers can utilize a set of instructional routines for distance and in-person learning to support their multilingual students' sensemaking through science and engineering practices.

Speakers

Samuel Lee (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA), Karina Mendez Perez (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX), Sage Andersen (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX), María González-Howard (The University of Texas at Austin: Austin, TX)

NSTA Press Session: All Students' Ideas Matter

Inclusive approaches to teaching and learning include probing questions that all students can relate to, that provide multiple entry points for engagement, and that create a desire to want to figure it out. Learn how to use the Uncovering Student Ideas probes and strategies to support a classroom where all students' ideas matter!

Takeaways: 1. Learn about an NSTA Press resource for formative assessment; 2. Explore key points from research on learning that support using formative assessment probes; and 3. Gain new strategies for eliciting all students' ideas and building a classroom culture where everyone's ideas matter.

Speakers

Page Keeley (The Keeley Group: Fort Myers, FL)

Raising the Bar for At-Risk Youth

It is a challenge to work with at-risk youth. Our discussion will center on successful strategies for motivating, assessing, and nurturing the science mind of students.

Takeaways: 1. Strategies for motivating at-risk youth in the science classroom; 2. Examples of adaptations of assignments for at-risk youth; and 3. Aligning building relationships with building a growth mindset with at-risk youth.

Speakers

Nadene Klein (Daniel C. Oakes High School: Castle Rock, CO)

Combating Ableism in the Biology Classroom by Teaching Disability as a Natural Form of Human Variation to Promote an Inclusive Classroom and School Environment

Unsure how to address disability in biology? Learn models of disability, identify ableism, and learn how to accept disability as a natural form of variation.

Takeaways: Attendees will: 1. be able to identify and remedy common examples of ableism, while learning about the beliefs and practices of the ability-inclusive mindset to promote an inclusive classroom and school environment; 2. be provided a set of slides that teach how disability is a natural form of human variation, the other above concepts in the context of a biology lesson on the natural sources of variation (meiosis, mutation, sexual reproduction); and 3. learn about the positives and negatives of the social, medical, inspirational, and social justice models of disability.

Speakers

John Gensic (Penn High School: Mishawaka, IN), Lainey Bristow (Penn High School: Mishawaka, IN), Katy Fattaleh (The Nora Project: Highland Park, IL)

Equity and Belonging Through Modified Biology Storylines

Explore strategies to modify storylines that increase belonging. We'll share testimonies from biology and special education teachers who have implemented storylines to bring NGSS and equity to students with learning needs.

Takeaways: Participants will be able to: 1. recognize barriers to students' success and implement strategies via storylines to remove those barriers and promote equity in the classroom; 2. modify storyline activities as we discuss and work through the modification process with biology and special education instructors to explore best practices; and 3. identify how storylines develop academic identity for students in the science classroom.

Speakers

Lisa Pavic (Glenbrook South High School: Glenview, IL), Madeline Thomas (Glenbrook South High School: Glenview, IL), Sarah Davis (Glenbrook South High School: Glenview, IL)

Presenter Materials for this Session:

ASTE-Sponsored Session: The Birth of a Movement

How did the Environmental Justice movement begin? Come discover how science inquiry and justice-oriented practices support teachers and students as changemakers in their communities.

Takeaways: Attendees will learn: 1. that research supports connecting science content and opportunities for students to serve their communities as an essential facet of culturally relevant science instruction; 2. how to support students’ and teachers’ understanding of systemic inequities through science practices; and 3. how to create a critical inquiry instructional case study for students engaged in virtual or face-to-face instruction.

Speakers

Lenora Crabtree (The University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Charlotte, NC)

Spreading and Retaining Black Girl Magic in STEM Classrooms and Beyond

Learn strategies to be more culturally responsive from an equity framework to not only retain but spread Black girl magic in STEM in school settings!

Takeaways: 1. The school-based and classroom-based factors that are contributing to Black girls starting off with the highest interest in STEM but resulting in the lowest retention of STEM; 2. The seven elements of the ICUCARE equity framework in the classroom; and 3. Three to five strategies (to then develop and apply) for providing learning experiences in the school setting that empower our Black girls to remain in STEM.

Speakers

Princess Francois (Math, Engineering, and Science Academy: Brooklyn, NY)

Making Science Inquiry Work for Emergent Bilinguals

Learn how the language and structure of your inquiry activities can produce roadblocks for emergent bilinguals, and how subtle shifts dramatically increase engagement and success.

Takeaways: 1. A resource versus-deficit perspective and building lessons around abilities; 2. Breaking down language barriers in student-student collaborations through effective modeling; and 3. Using multiple representations in science, utilizing emergent bilingual's strength with translanguaging.

Speakers

Christopher Moore (University of Nebraska Omaha: Omaha, NE)

Teaching About the Intersections of Biology, Race, and Racism: Strategies and Resources

We’ll explore the intersection of racism, the construct of race, genetic variation, and the history of science to support biology educators through our new curriculum.

Takeaways: 1. Race is a socio-political construct with deep implications, but race is not a good surrogate/proxy for biology; 2. Understanding human genetic variation can disrupt the idea of biologically meaningful “races"; and 3. Race is not a risk factor for health disparities (but racism is).

Speakers

Hanako Osuga (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center: Seattle, WA), Jeanne Chowning (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center: Seattle, WA)

DNA Exonerations: Using DNA to Exonerate the Wrongfully Convicted

This session will provide an overview of our restructuring of a popular biology lab, DNA forensics, covering the same skills but using wrongful conviction cases.

Takeaways: 1. How DNA technology can be used not only to identify criminals but to exonerate the wrongfully convicted; 2. How DNA technology can be presented in the classroom in a social context that can open discussions about issues like mass incarceration and the presumption of guilt; and 3. How population genetics underlies identification using DNA.

Speakers

Hanako Osuga (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center: Seattle, WA), Jeanne Chowning (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center: Seattle, WA), Gretchen Kraig-Turner (Burlington Edison High School: Burlington, WA), Jason Foster (Evanston Township High School: Evanston, IL)

NARST-Sponsored Session: Affirming Science Experiences in a STEM-Focused Urban High School

“When the learning experience is fun and sometimes a challenge, that intrigues me.” Participants will engage with materials/activities that advance a scientifically and culturally responsive perspective that is affirming for racial, ethnic, and linguistically diverse high-achieving students.

Takeaways: Participants will learn about: 1. science classroom cultures that are affirming and inclusive; and 2. hands-on STEM experiences that promote strong science identities.

Speakers

Noemi Waight (University at Buffalo, SUNY: Buffalo, NY), Jennifer Tripp (University at Buffalo, SUNY: Buffalo, NY)

ASTE-Sponsored Session: Balancing Act: Bridging Content Pedagogy with Equity Issues in Methods Courses

This session will bring together science teacher educators to share strategies and resources to support the professional development of preservice middle and high school teachers.

Takeaways: 1. Perspectives on balancing science content, pedagogical content knowledge, and methods in courses for preservice science teachers; 2. Strategies for addressing issues of social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in preservice science education courses; and 3. Ideas for adapting these content and practices for face-to-face, hybrid, and online delivery in courses.

Speakers

Stephanie Philipp (The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Chattanooga, TN), Ryan Summers (University of North Dakota: Grand Forks, ND), Xinying Yin (California State University, San Bernardino: San Bernardino, CA), Lauren Angelone (Xavier University: Cincinnati, OH), Phillip Boda (The Learning Partnership: Western Springs, IL)

Gender-Inclusive Biology Curriculum: Small Tweaks and Big Shifts

Integrate gender diversity into your teaching for accurate, inclusive, NGSS-focused, and future-ready biology lessons! Participants will explore our free framework, example lessons, and resources.

Takeaways: 1. Biology teaching presents many opportunities to teach about gender, sex, and sexuality; 2. We can support our LGBTQ+ students and all students by discussing gender-diversity in an evidence-based, ongoing, and positive way; and 3. Gender-inclusive teaching creates opportunities to engage in the NGSS science and engineering practices.

Speakers

Sam Long (Jeffco Public Schools: Westminster, CO), Lewis Maday-Travis (Academy for Precision Learning: Seattle, WA), River Suh (Leadership High School: San Francisco, CA)

Bringing Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Place-Based STEM Projects

Explore with Indigenous Knowledge Keepers how and why to include Indigenous Ways of Knowing and voices in your place-based STEM projects.

Takeaways: With guidance from an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper: 1. gather examples of, and reasons for, looking at NGSS PEs, DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs through the complementary lens of Indigenous Ways of Knowing, which we call Indigenizing STEM; 2. create an ancestral land acknowledgement statement, with instructions, that can be used at your school, organization, or project site; and 3. create an honoring (blessing) protocol from the Indigenous perspective that acknowledges the respected human-environment relationship. This protocol could be done on the land of STEM project before changing or taking from the ecosystem.

Speakers

Laura Arndt (Global GreenSTEM: Franktown, CO), RunningHorse Livingston (Mathematize, Inc.: Madison, WI), Pte Ska Hinapa Wi Poor Bear (Indigenous Educator and Knowledge Keeper: Denver, CO)

Let Them Learn: Dyslexia in the Sciences

Explore the tools and technology that will level the playing field for 15 to 20% of the population—those students with dyslexia—and lead to a more inclusive classroom.

Takeaways: 1. Learn the truth—separate the myths from the facts about dyslexia; 2. Learn the tools—Find out what these students need to be successful in the sciences; and 3. Level the playing field—see how using these tools can lead to a more inclusive classroom for all your students.

Speakers

Andrea Reaka (Harris-Stowe State University: Saint Louis, MO)

ASTE-Sponsord Session: Mill Mothers' Lament: Employing 3-D Learning to Support Justice-Oriented Science Teacher Education

Investigate an historic epidemic that disproportionately impacted persons experiencing poverty 100 years ago. We'll use materials designed to support preservice and inservice teachers’ critical science consciousness.

Takeaways: Attendees will learn: 1. that making connections between science and systemic inequities explicit is a culturally relevant practice; 2. how exploring systemic inequities through science practices, disciplinary content, and crosscutting concepts supports teacher candidates’ critical consciousness development; and 3. how to create a critical inquiry case study around an issue of interest in their own instructional context.

Speakers

Lenora Crabtree (The University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Charlotte, NC)

Queer Your Classroom: Supporting LGBTQIA+ Students

Queer people have been and are still marginalized in science. Come learn simple tricks and strategies to affirm and represent queer students in your classes.

Takeaways: Attendees will learn: 1. how to affirm and represent queer identities so students feel safe, supported, and inspired to engage in science concepts like their non-LGBTQIA+ peers; 2. methods to create classrooms that not only acknowledge but also celebrate the diversity of our students to make the classroom safe for all; and 3. how to make simple yet impactful changes to their current curriculum (with access to a shared Google Drive of curated resources) and interactions with all students, queer and not.

Speakers

Jamie Kubiak (Park East High School: New York, NY)

Building the Foundations for an Equitable and Inclusive STEM Program

This session will provide a framework for how to develop a STEM program. The presentation will include an example of a STEM strategic plan that promotes equity and inclusion.

Takeaways: Session participants will learn: 1. a process for developing STEM curricula and programming; 2. how to begin to address equity issues; and 3. methods for including student voice and agency into a STEM program.

Speakers

Carol Larson (Christel House Academy: Indianapolis, IN), Naomi Nelson (Christel House Academy: Indianapolis, IN)

NSTA-WIDA Session: Creating Equitable Science Instruction for Multilingual Learners

This session will utilize the design principles for engaging multilingual learners in 3-D science to create engaging and equitable learning experiences for ALL students, but especially MLLs.

Takeaways: 1. Examine a set of principles co-developed by NSTA and WIDA and discuss how these "show up" in classroom; 2. Explore ways to help a linguistically diverse group of students engage together in sensemaking discourse; 3. Explore the role of modeling as a sensemaking support in linguistically diverse classrooms; 4. Learn about WIDA’s four Language Practices to authentically engage ALL students in using language for sensemaking; and 5. Learn how the Teacher Discourse Moves and Student Discourse Moves facilitate the exploration and transformation of science understanding.

Speakers

David Crowther (University of Nevada, Reno: Reno, NV), Rita MacDonald (Wisconsin Center for Education Research: Madison, WI)

Engaging Nature Through Multiple Lenses

Bring science processes and SEL alive using wonder and the natural world. Free online resources help in-person or virtual teachers access nature with students.

Note: If you are able to watch this short video "Pocket Worlds" BEFORE the session, it will be beneficial to you. 

Takeaways: Participants will: 1. learn how to access and use a suite of free web-based resources designed to promote discovery learning in nature; 2. experience the lesson individually and discuss it with colleagues to make meaning and increase relevance for both teachers and their students; and 3. share and discuss applications for using these tools for discovery learning in their own setting.

Speakers

John DiDiego (Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont: Townsend, TN)

ASTC-Sponsored Session: Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in STEM

Do you care about inspiring girls to pursue STEM careers? Then join us to learn about the IF/THEN Collection designed to help ensure equitable gender representation in STEM! The IF/THEN Collection is the world’s largest FREE library of images, videos, and other content portraying women in STEM.

Takeaways: Participants will: 1. learn about the background and purpose of the IF/THEN Collection; 2. learn how to use the IF/THEN Collection to support STEM learning programs; and 3. get hands-on experience utilizing assets from the IF/THEN Collection.

Speakers

Jessica Hay (National Girls Collaborative Project: Seattle, WA)