The effects of Western science subculture on indigenous students implore us to get to know our students better by exploring culture in the science classroom. Participants will engage in conversation, reflection, and examination surrounding culture in the classroom as well as create a culturally responsive practice action plan.
Speaker: Molly A. Wolk, Doctoral Student, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Students will research bees, their roles as pollinators, and learn how their dinner plate would change if we don’t solve the declining bee population through problem-based learning.
Speaker: Brittney Oden, Special Ed Teacher, Rhodes Junior High School
Session Topic:
Life Science
Session Type:
Hands-On Workshop
Track:
Hook ’em for Life: Sustaining Science Teaching and Learning
Experience engaging activities that allow you to take young children outside and easily integrate, art, music, science, math, and social studies while using NGSS science practices. Handouts.
Speaker: Jim McDonald, Professor, Central Michigan University
Literacy for science within science investigations is an important way to engage students in doing science. Gathering data and information is important for meaningful science reasoning and important for student writing and speaking. Gain strategies and resources to engage students in Gather, Reason and Communicate Reasoning lessons that actively engage students in investigations with meaningful writing components.
Speakers: Brett Moulding, Director, Partnership for Effective Science Teaching and Learning Michele Snyder, Science Curriculum Advisor, Arkansas Dept. of Education Candace Penrod, Science Supervisor, Salt Lake City School District
Critical-thinking strategies will be shared to engage students in critical thinking for evaluating claims, with evidence, using the familiar context of food.
Speaker: Debra Spielmaker, Professor & Graduate Program Director, Utah State University
We will discuss the positive self-efficacy arising in STEM courses for youth who participated in an informal citizen science project and share websites with participants interested in doing this with their own students.
Speaker: Mary Hedenstrom, Graduate Assistant, University of Minnesota
Session Topic:
General Science Education, Informal Science Education
Make the conceptual leap from 2D to 3D and make teaching
topography, topographic maps, and topographic profiles a concrete, engaging,
hands-on learning experience.
Speaker: Richard Jones, District Director XVI, University of Hawaii-West Oahu
Engage students with activities using real science issues and questions. We will explore lessons and data-collection tools and methods to answer student-driven questions.
Speaker: Jodie Harnden, Teacher, Sunridge Middle School
Citizen science provides an accessible way to facilitate student science investigations and engaging STEM learning. Students making citizen-science observations ask questions through curiosity and interests.
Speakers: Elizabeth Mulkerrin, Director of Education, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium James Blake, K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist, Lincoln Public Schools Jennifer Fee, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Session Topic:
General Science Education, Informal Science Education
Explore instructional resources, collaboratively developed by NSTA and WIDA, to support multilingual learners’ engagement in three-dimensional science, while seamlessly integrating language development.
Speakers: David Crowther, Professor of Science Education, University of Nevada, Reno Rita MacDonald, Language Researcher, Wisconsin Center for Education Research Jennifer Wilfrid, Research & Development, WIDA Consortium
De-tracking secondary science classes can be a benefit to
all students. Come learn about the research and discuss differentiation tools to
make de-tracking more successful in your school.
Speaker: Shea Wickelson, Chemistry Teacher, Salt Lake Center for Science Education
Attention will be paid to content literacy strategies to enable K–8 students to read science text and visuals with understanding, and to communicate concepts, observations, and investigative findings orally and in writing. Handouts.
Discussion centers on tools to properly analyze Black
students’ scientific work to determine if the misconceptions and
misunderstandings are a learning issue or language issue. This workshop focuses
on the use of language to reduce the ethnic achievement gap in
science.
Speaker: Jonte' Lee, Secondary High School Teacher, Woodrow Wilson High School
What makes it rain? M&Ms versus Skittles? Baking
soda versus baking powder? Free online lesson plans of hands-on activities and
animations help your elementary students build foundational concepts in
chemistry.
Speaker: James Kessler, Manager, Office of K-8 Science, American Chemical Society
Discover resources designed to engage elementary
students in hands-on STEM experiences programming drones and robots to model
modern food production practices in high-tech agriculture.
Speaker: Lynn Wallin, Education Specialist, National Center for Agricultural Literacy
Session Topic:
Engineering-Technology-and the Application of Science
Using a data-generating simulation for microevolution,
learn how to lead students through an analysis of raw data to draw explanations
supported by evidence.
Speaker: Kristen Dotti, Academic Dean/IB Biology Teacher, Verde Valley School
Learn about Argument-Driven Inquiry and how it can help students learn how to use disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices to explain natural phenomena.
Speaker: Jonathon Grooms, Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Pedagogy, The George Washington University
Session Topic:
Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science
Capitalize on natural human curiosity by presenting
science lessons via captivating stories, mysterious demonstrations, and
student-produced inventive models.
Feeling overwhelmed by all there is to see and do at an
NSTA conference on science education? Join us for an interactive exploration
through the program, the conference app, and NSTA’s social media. By the end of
the session, you will know just how to get the most from your conference
experience in addition to building new networks with science
colleagues.
Speaker: Christine Anne Royce, NSTA Retiring President, and Professor and Co-Director of MAT, Shippensburg University
The development of CRISPR as a gene editing tool is one of
the most exciting biotechnology breakthroughs of the past decade. Now you can
incorporate this amazing technology into your classroom. We will review the
biology behind CRISPR-Cas technology and examine the use of gene therapy to
treat a patient suffering from cystic fibrosis. You’ll design guide RNAs to
target a mutation in an essential gene, and then use electrophoresis to analyze
pre-prepared DNA after CRISPR treatment.
Speaker: Kelly Barford, Edvotek Inc.
Session Topic:
Engineering-Technology-and the Application of Science, Life Science
What does pH actually measure? In this investigation, you
will measure pH indirectly using indicators and absorption using the Lab-Master.
Using their data, participants generate a graph of absorbance versus pH. This
graph can be used to determine the pH of solutions, within the measured pH
range. Join us for this activity from The Natural Approach to Chemistry
program.
Speaker: Andrew Uy, Science Teacher, Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Uncover students’ conceptual understanding of atoms,
molecules, and compounds using NGSS science and engineering modeling
practices. Explore chemistry topics in polarity, pH, density, solubility,
bonding, and much more with three-dimensional teaching and learning
manipulatives! Make learner thinking visible through student-centered
simulations of dissociation and neutralization. Great formative assessment
probes provided!
Speakers: Tim Herman, MSOE Center for BioMolecular Modeling Gina Vogt, Secondary Education Program Manager, 3D Molecular Designs
Session Topic:
Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science
In order to interact and apply Newton’s laws of motion via potential and kinetic energy, participants in this short course will design a model roller coaster using foam tubes and marbles that works reliably and safely. After teams design their roller coaster, they will evaluate the efficiency of their coaster and write a report of their findings as a student would. Lastly, participants will discuss how the workshop applies directly to the 5Es Learning Cycle and NSTA’s Matrices (science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts). Other aspects and theories of the lesson will be discussed through Kagan Cooperative Learning structures.
Speaker: Sharda Jackson Smith, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education, University of South Carolina Upstate
Integrating effective collaboration techniques promotes
a teacher’s ability to hear student responses and assess student thought
processes all while allowing students to learn from one
another.
Speaker: Stacia Hottle, Science Department Chair, Tampa Preparatory School
Mireya Mayor’s life has been a wild ride. This talk follows
her winding life journey—from a first-generation Cuban-American girl on the
streets of Miami, to NFL cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins, to finding a love
for anthropology and pursuing a doctoral degree, to discovering a new species of
lemur on the island of Madagascar, becoming a Fulbright Scholar and National
Geographic’s first woman wildlife correspondent, and the grueling adventure of
motherhood.
Mireya believes that the first step to getting people to
love and protect the planet is to open their eyes to the parts of it they hadn’t
known before. That’s why she shares her journey with anecdotes from her
distant explorations of South America, Africa, and Madagascar, recounting behind
the scenes explorations and exciting scientific discoveries. As an advocate for science and education, her passion is both inspiring
and contagious. Her aim is to inspire teachers and students, particularly
women and girls, to pursue their passions in the sciences, because “you ask
people to name a female explorer, and they’re pretty hard-pressed.”
NSTA wishes to thank National Geographic Learning |
Cengage for sponsoring this
speaker.
Speaker: Mireya Mayor, Primatologist and National Geographic Explorer
We distill water to purify it, or so we think. So why does the
clear distillate from apple cider smell like apples? Join us and find out! Using
a clever test-tube distillation apparatus, we will distill the essence of
vanilla and the scent of mint…and even show you how to make brandy from wine! Distillation
is a crucial process in chemical engineering and technology, yet few
students ever get to explore the process.
Speaker: Andrew Uy, Science Teacher, Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Help! The principal has been murdered in the art room!
Your students become crime scene investigators as they walk into a murder scene.
Inspect the location of the murder using blood spatter analysis and then catch
the criminal with DNA fingerprinting. This exciting workshop will include ways
to incorporate biotechnology and gel electrophoresis into your
classroom.
Looking for lab activities that work every time, not
just periodically? Explore easy, engaging, and safer chemistry activities that
will produce a reaction in your students. Whether you’re new to chemistry or
feeling out of your element, you’ll learn new ways to create excitement with
hands-on labs, demonstrations, and digital content.
Scientific argumentation is more than filling in boxes.
Experience how students grapple authentically with competing claims, evaluate
evidence quality, and are supported in the struggle to make their reasoning
clear—all with examples from the newest curriculum from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence
Hall of Science, designed from the ground up for
NGSS.
Speaker: Leslie Stenger, The Lawrence Hall of Science
Learn how to encourage the development of your students’
skills in analyzing and interpreting authentic scientific data. Students can
develop their scientific practice skills with free digital media tools and
resources from PBS LearningMedia, produced by WGBH in collaboration with NASA
and other partners. In addition to adapting videos, images, and interactives,
the project features an innovative approach to incorporating data visualizations
and computer simulations into instructional experiences.
Come see Simulation Curriculum’s award-winning Starry
Night! Classroom-ready NGSS lessons for all grade levels engage
students with interactive simulations, as well as current astronomical
phenomena. Now running in the browser using all platforms, including
Chromebooks.
Speaker: Herb Koller, Consultant, Simulation Curriculum Corp.
Explore a new, atomically accurate model of
double-helical DNA that can be untwisted into the familiar two-dimensional
ladder and separated into two single strands to model the processes of
replication and transcription! Engage students with manipulatives that allow
them to convert deoxyribose to ribose sugars and generate the universal currency
of energy, ATP.
Speakers: Tim Herman, MSOE Center for BioMolecular Modeling Gina Vogt, Secondary Education Program Manager, 3D Molecular Designs
Session Topic:
Engineering-Technology-and the Application of Science, Life Science, Physical Science
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.
Explore how instructional sequences designed around
real-world problems can lead students to figure out phenomena using the three
dimensions of science and engineering. Leaders from UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall
of Science will showcase an example from the Hall’s research-based pedagogy and
curriculum.
Speakers: Sophia Lambertsen, The Lawrence Hall of Science Leslie Stenger, The Lawrence Hall of Science
Don’t think you have the nerves for physiology? Learn
about easy, hands-on activities you can use to explore homeostasis, reflexes/
reactions, and responses to stimuli. The activities are suitable for all grade
levels.
Neuroscience is one of the
fastest growing science fields. Bring it to your classroom by making your students neuroscientists for
the day! Explore the neurodegenerative disorders Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s.
First, we’ll run a genetic analysis on a family who may carry the Huntington
gene using PCR and gel electrophoresis. Then, we’ll run an ELISA to explore the
biology behind Alzheimer’s disease.
Speaker: Kelly Barford, Edvotek Inc.
Session Topic:
Engineering-Technology-and the Application of Science, Life Science
Glowing cats? Personalized medicine? Designer babies!
Empower and prepare your students to think critically as modern biology
revolutionizes medicine, industry, and human lives. Learn from a leader in
biotechnology education how to build your bioscience lab program step-by-step
with equipment, supplies, and student credentials.
Speaker: Damon Tighe, Curriculum Training Specialist, Bio-Rad Laboratories
What is the difference between subscripts and
coefficients? What does “balancing” a chemical equation mean? Many students have
trouble with these fundamental concepts in chemistry. If a student does not
fully understand the chemical formula, then moles, reactions, and stoichiometry
are hopelessly confusing. Join us for some elegant, intuitive, and
well-differentiated lessons that allow students of all levels to master the
chemical formula and thereby move confidently into a deeper understanding of
chemistry.
Speaker: Andrew Uy, Science Teacher, Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Session Topic:
Engineering-Technology-and the Application of Science, Physical Science
Students develop a model for an ecosystem and then introduce a new species to explain how this new component in the system affects the flow of energy and cycling of matter throughout the ecosystem. This activity provides an opportunity to assess student work related to MS-LS2-3.
Speaker: Tracy McCabe, Teacher, Oak Crest Middle School
Transforming bacteria with plasmids that express
brightly colored or fluorescent proteins is an unforgettable way to teach the
central dogma of molecular biology. Why not take it a step further and see the
art your students can create using their transformed bacteria? Join us for tips
and tricks to maximize classroom success and to dust off your painting skills!
Artistic? Our favorite designs will win a free kit.
Experience how students use models, analyze data, and
gather evidence from text to figure out ideas about structure, function, and
adaptive traits, to inspire their biomimicry designs. Join a hands-on dive into
Amplify Science for Grades K–5, a new NGSS-designed curriculum from UC
Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science.
Speaker: Sophia Lambertsen, The Lawrence Hall of Science
