Welcome to My Classroom is a program sponsored by NSTA’s International Advisory Board and is intended primarily for international participants to view science classrooms. This year, trip participants will visit Maple Richmond Heights Elementary School or Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience. Participants will be split into groups where half will visit the elementary school, and the other half will visit the college preparatory school. Time has been set aside for participants to observe and interact with teachers and students at their selected location.
Those with W-1 tickets will visit Maple Richmond Heights Elementary School, a grades 3–6 elementary school in which teaching and learning is focused by using the “School As Museum” metaphor to organize classroom projects. As students take on the role of curator and designer for their own museum exhibits, they are able to go in-depth into science and social studies units. Students and teachers choose the focus questions for their research allowing instruction to be differentiated naturally. The research process extends children’s opportunities for reading and writing across the curriculum. Creating exhibits based on this research and interpreting them for visitors provides an embedded way for students to demonstrate what they know and for teachers to assess their learning. For more information, visit Maple Richmond Heights Elementary School’s website.
Meet your educational trip leader at the Convention Plaza entrance of America’s Center at least 15 minutes before departure time.
Welcome to My Classroom is a program sponsored by NSTA’s International Advisory Board and is intended primarily for international participants to view science classrooms. This year, trip participants will visit Maple Richmond Heights Elementary School or Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience. Participants will be split into groups where half will visit the elementary school, and the other half will visit the college preparatory school. Time has been set aside for participants to observe and interact with teachers and students at their selected location.
Those with W-2 tickets will visit Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, an innovative, college preparatory school with high expectations of its academic team and student body. With a highly diverse learning community, the grades 9–12 school strives to achieve excellence by engaging in student-centered, experiential learning; integrating effective instructional technology; and using collaborative, real-world learning experiences. For more information, visit Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience.
Meet your educational trip leader at the Convention Plaza entrance of America’s Center at least 15 minutes before departure time.
Room: Regency B, Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch
By Separate Registration Only
Participants deepen their understanding of three-dimensional teaching and learning by focusing on developing storylines and learning how to use their resources to support broader implementation efforts in their schools and districts. Click here for more information and to register.
The question, “What does STEM look like in the classroom?” typically prompts a wide variety of responses. In their book, Designing Meaningful STEM Lessons, Jackie Speake Dwyer and Milton Huling propose a solution to this question: StEMTify your lessons! Science standards in all states have consistent big ideas—it is how we teach and frame the content that makes a significant difference in student learning and retention of important science concepts. The authors’ goal is to help teachers increase the efficacy of their current science lessons by substituting the StEMT process into already existing lessons to ensure real-world application using mathematics and engineering design. Click here for more details.
Speakers: Milton Huling, Curriculum Specialist, Polk County Public Schools Jackie Speake Dwyer, Independent Education Consultant, Learning Sciences International
Students engaged in authentic three-dimensional learning benefit from teachers who are practitioners of science—curious and reflective individuals participating in their own sense-making as they guide students in doing science. This PLI engages participants in the role of true practitioner, experiencing the feeling of “not-yet-understanding” during the investigation of three Earth systems problems. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to integrate Earth science into an interdisciplinary curriculum and how to mentor students during authentic investigations. Click here for more details.
Speakers: Mary Colson, Science Teacher, Horizon Middle School Russell Colson, Professor of Geology, Minnesota State University Moorhead
Are you planning to adopt new science instructional materials for your district or school? If so, you know this is an important, but challenging process. Claims about the standards alignment are common in materials, but which ones will really help teachers hone their craft? With new science standards, limited resources, and diverse student needs to consider—where do you even begin? NextGen TIME includes a suite of tools and processes designed to guide your deep dive into next generation science and to support you in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of new materials. The full process of NextGen TIME is often spread out over an extended period of time, but this professional learning experience will ground you in the core processes while helping you see through alignment claims. You will learn to identify important qualities necessary in instructional materials that are designed for the NGSS or other standards rooted in A Framework for K–12 Science Education. Click here for more details.
Speakers: Jo Topps, Regional Director, K-12 Alliance/WestEd Jody Bintz, Senior Science Educator, BSCS Matt Krehbiel, Director, Science, Achieve, Inc.
Selecting an anchoring phenomenon that meets standards and is compelling to all students is one of the most challenging aspects of three-dimensional science curriculum and assessment. In this PLI, participants engage in a systematic process of analyzing the standards, brainstorming candidate phenomena, soliciting student input, and developing explanatory models of phenomena in order to select an anchoring phenomenon for a sequence of instruction. Click here for more details.
Speakers: Brian Reiser, Professor, Northwestern University Allysa Orwig, Teacher, Curriculum Designer, Denver Public Schools William Penuel, Professor, Learning Sciences & Human Development, University of Colorado Boulder Katie Van Horne, Research Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder Tara McGill, Curriculum Development Specialist Douglas Watkins, HS Science Curriculum Specialist, Denver Public Schools Michael Novak, Senior Curriculum Developer, Northwestern University
By Registration Through SESD Science educators, special education teachers, parents, and administrators—come learn and share information and strategies for teaching science to students with disabilities. Science Education for Students with Disabilities exists to advance science teaching, curriculum development, and opportunities for inclusion in STEM for students with disabilities. To register, please contact Rachel Zimmerman-Brachman at Rachel.zimmerman-brachman@jpl.nasa.gov. For further information, visit www.sesd.info.
