Educator Event

Drawing upon AERA’s 2023 call for research proposals that “revisit consequential research with a focus upon equity, justice and opportunity” and “engage dialogically with communities” this working group roundtable brings together researchers studying the impacts of out-of-school programs for youth who are exploring alternatives to the ‘pipeline’ conception which has traditionally informed research and policy on STEM pathways. Critics of the ‘pipeline’ conception in STEM contend that the metaphor does not capture cultural or contextual features of marginalized students and groups, nor the systemic barriers to retention and full participation throughout different stages of education and career. This session examines research working with alternatives to the pipeline conception that represent inclusive, youth-centered means of understanding long-term participation in STEM.

Together, these papers signal the growing interest in taking critical stances on how multi-method mixed methods researchers work with marginalized communities, approach the research process, and use theories and research practices that are more culturally relevant and sustaining. There is a growing call for researchers to center justice and equity as an ethical and methodological imperative (Held, 2019). This paper explores what it takes to design and implement a systems change study that aims to utilize humanizing, values-based research practices and center the voices of professionals of color. This round table will explore the methodological decisions and moves of a research team and an evaluation team as a part of an NSF-funded project, Working Towards Racial Equity (WTRE), which aims to transform the field of environmental education (EE) by building the capacity of EE organizations to enact racially just systems change. We argue that centering the voices of EE professionals is critical to examining systems change work.

This five-day, summer workshop covers the Complete Series of the ABE curriculum, including an introduction to micropipettes and gel electrophoresis, plasmid digestion, plasmid ligation, confirmation of digestion and ligation via electrophoresis, bacterial transformation, colony PCR, and protein purification.

While the NGSS emphasizes the science and engineering practice of computational thinking, there is less familiarity and support for implementing this practice than other practices. In this session, high school biology teachers will learn how to promote computational thinking in their classrooms by engaging with a newly developed computer simulation.

High-quality instructional materials are essential for equitable access to science, but materials are only the start of the instructional journey! Examine the importance of YOUR role as a teacher in leveraging NGSS-designed curriculum to inspire your students to figure out phenomena.

How can a phenomena-based NGSS curriculum promote sensemaking in science and also support language development? See how embedded supports in well-designed instructional materials and teachers’ best practices can create a successful science learning environment for Multilingual Learners. Note: this is an Amplify Science exhibitor workshop.

How do we center students in NGSS units designed for a national audience? Join us to explore how a team of K-8 educators is developing resources and strategies that incorporate local phenomena, community needs, and the lived experiences of their students into their teaching of Amplify Science units.

Phenomena-based teaching and learning in science authentically lends itself to integration with other subject areas, yet each is often taught in silos. Explore models for content integration and tools used to support classrooms in a statewide elementary teacher project in Washington state.

Investigate phenomena and experience how students collect data, engage in sensemaking discussions, and construct explanations in FOSS lessons. Experience strategies that build student agency and promote scientific thinking and discussion by using science notebooks. Leave with instructional strategies to support you in your classroom.

Join us for a hands-on experience and discussion as we consider the assets of our diverse students and how to leverage their funds of knowledge in science and engineering. Receive a toolbox of strategies the FOSS Project developed for educators to support universal access and targeted instruction for students of all backgrounds and experiences.

Engage in activities using lasers and optical fibers and concepts of refraction and reflection in the FOSS Next Generation Waves Course for middle school. Explore the phenomena that allow information transfer by fiber optic technology, and identify connections to the three dimensions of NGSS.

Students need to experience and make sense of relevant science phenomena that connect to and define standards—a challenging task for teachers. Learn strategies for providing direct experience with phenomena, guiding students to constructing explanations, and developing models to explain everyday phenomena around them using the FOSS program.

The convergence of language, literacy, and science lands squarely in science and engineering practices. Engage in a hands-on learning experience and discussion as we explore strategies and tools that support student engagement in the practices and focus on critical literacy and language development.

Learn about free, research-based, effective resources to help your district build, tap, and deploy teacher leaders as a key strategy for quickly reintroducing and reinvigorating elementary science post-pandemic.

Experience a research-based approach to teaching science that leverages the mutually supportive aspects of science and literacy. Explore how this approach can help you increase science instructional time while meeting ELA goals. Note: this is an Amplify Science exhibitor workshop.

The NGSS Connections to Nature of Science emphasize that “science is a human endeavor.” This session will describe how this connection can be leveraged to highlight diversity and foster greater inclusion in the classroom. It will introduce resources highlighting the contributions of a greater diversity of individuals, teams, and communities than has been typically featured in science and present opportunities for all students to participate in science.

This workshop will engage teachers with sample assessments designed to assess 3D learning related to several middle school life, earth, and physical science NGSS PEs. The key features of each assessment will be highlighted to help teachers understand where each PE dimension is addressed, how to help their students navigate the prompts, and how to use this information to work with assessments in their own curriculum or to design their own.

What does it take to integrate content using science as the anchor? Teachers and educational leaders in Washington state are trying to figure out the answer. Join us to learn about the approach to advocating for change at different levels of the system, the challenges faced, and the lessons learned.

A free online resource titled “Science as a Human Endeavor” provides an avenue to address diversity, equity, and inclusion. Learn practical ways to use this resource in your 7th–12th grade classroom to highlight diversity in STEM and to invite all students to participate in science.

Join this STEM for All Multiplex panel as they explore how youth can be actively engaged as STEM change makers, advancing DEI and social justice while addressing critical STEM challenges.

Learn strategies for collaborative exhibit design through the Learning and Engagement Design (LED) framework featuring artifacts and design activities.

This two-day, weekend workshop for high school teachers covers the Abridged Series of the ABE curriculum, including an introduction to micropipettes and gel electrophoresis, plasmid digestion, confirmation of digestion via electrophoresis, and bacterial transformation.

This five-day, summer workshop covers the Complete Series of the ABE curriculum, including an introduction to micropipettes and gel electrophoresis, plasmid digestion, plasmid ligation, confirmation of digestion and ligation via electrophoresis, bacterial transformation, colony PCR, and protein purification.

Online professional learning community for all high school science teachers Enroll in a year-long online PL opportunity. Experience a lesson […]