Short Courses

Ticket Price: $39 advance; $44 on-site

Add your tickets when you register online or via the Attendee Service Center if you’re already registered.

In this short course, participants will explore the key features of assessments designed to elicit three-dimensional performances with an emphasis on fairly and equitably supporting diverse learners. Using research-based tools and processes, we will dive into examples of high-quality assessments and examine annotated examples of assessments. Walk away with a deeper understanding of the NGSS, what three-dimensional assessments “look like,” and concrete short- and long-term strategies you can use to transition your existing assessments. Bring materials to take notes. For more information, visit Achieve.org. Expect a 30-minute break for lunch on own.

Ticket Price: $44 advance; $49 on-site

Add your tickets when you register online or via the Attendee Service Center if you’re already registered.

Insects are amazing to foster inquiry and spur investigations in the classroom. Come investigate complete 5Es lessons that use insects as learning tools! In this hands-on/minds-on short course, participants will explore complete 5Es lessons that meet NGSS performance expectations for various grades K–4. Many of the lessons can be modified to fit different grade levels. With more than 900,000 insect species currently described, insects represent more than 50% of all animal life on Earth. In addition to their staggering diversity, insect biomass is equally impressive with recent estimates indicating that for every human on Earth, there are 200 million insects. With insects living practically everywhere, they have been called the most dominant group of animals on Earth. Yet, despite the complexity and evolutionary success of insects, public understanding and appreciation of insects and other invertebrates remains limited and views of insects can often be simplified into “beautiful” or “bothersome.” To address this lack of understanding and appreciation for insects and their relatives, we have worked to develop a plethora of 5Es lessons to integrate the study of insects into the elementary science classroom. Learn how to bring STEM to life with the wonders of a variety of species of insects! Find out how to set up a classroom enclosure for insects, how to acquire native species like termites and terrestrial isopods, and care for them, and explore scientific inquiry activities you and your students can perform! Bring your laptop/tablet.

Ticket Price: $64 advance; $69 on-site

Add your tickets when you register online or via the Attendee Service Center if you’re already registered.

Join us for this short course that will get you outside. Experience firsthand the fun and ease of participating in eBird, the largest biodiversity-related citizen-science project in the world, by going on a bird walk outside. Afterward, see demonstrations of the online tools and models eBird provides to engage students in graphing, mapping, and analyzing data to understand human impacts on bird populations. Leave with free curricula, a bird feeder, a new pair of Celestron binoculars, and the confidence to implement these teaching strategies. Be sure to dress for the weather as we will going outside for approximately an hour.