Conference Strands
To help you make the most of the professional development opportunities available at the Cincinnati conference, the Conference Committee has planned the conference around three strands of current significance, enabling you to focus on a specific area of interest or need.
Do your students really understand science? Will they be able to apply the science concepts they have learned in your classroom to future decisions? Research indicates that a strong connection between instruction and embedded assessment promotes conceptual u nderstanding and increases student achievement.
Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources significantly impact the economic vitality of our communities. The study of energy sources improves students’ ability to use scientific inquiry, make informed decisions, and face various science and technology-related social challenges.
Science is a way of understanding the natural world and relies on the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and evidence-based decisions. An understanding of the nature of science requires an understanding of its essential components—the way that scientific knowledge is produced and the attitudes and abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry. Science is not based on myths, personal beliefs, religious values, superstition, or authority, all of which may be personally useful and socially relevant, but not scientific. This strand will focus on the nature of science with an emphasis on discriminating between what science is and what it is not.
For a list of sessions for each strand, click on the links above.