JoinPLI #1
National Conference in Atlanta • March 22-25, 2023
Half-Day Workshop
Capturing the Brilliance of Children and Strengths of Teachers Through Justice-Oriented Elementary Learning Materials
Preconference • Wednesday, March 22 • 12:30 - 3:30 PM
Facilitators: Shelly LeDoux, Carla Zembal-Saul, Heidi Carlone, Miranda Fitzgerald, Tia Madkins, Mary Starr, Mike Ryan, Molly Ewing, and TJ Heck
$75
Conference registration is required to attend.
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About the Session
The Consortium for Open Equitable Science Education in Elementary (COESEE) is creating open education science learning experiences that more flexibly use time, while re-envisioning critical components of phenomenon, embedded ELA resources, equity, professional learning, and assessment. Elementary science learning demands the investigation of phenomena across time - weeks and months, not days -to use data and first-hand experience to see patterns, trends, and eventually build concepts. Our place-based Weather and Climate units in kindergarten and third grade require the collection, documentation, and analysis of weather data over many months to 1. observe patterns in the data, and 2. ask and answer highly-relevant questions about those patterns that can only be investigated over time. We will share one of our place-based, multiple-month units and unpack the ways exemplar units help to redefine elementary science learning experiences to elevate the brilliance of students and strengths of teachers. Participants will engage with materials developers and diverse and accomplished elementary science scholars and have an immersive experience wearing both their teacher and student hats.
Each session in this PLI strand will elevate Recommendations from the NASEM consensus report “Science and Engineering in Preschool through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and Strengths of Educators (2022).
Shelly Ledoux
Shelly oversees the Dana Center’s Professional Learning & Implementation Team and the technical assistance the team provides to K–12 and higher education administrators, teachers, faculty, and student support staff. In this role, Shelly provides leadership, continuity, and guidance to ensure students have equitable access and opportunity to succeed in modern mathematics and science pathways. Shelly and her team provide resources, tools, and services at scale to institutions, districts, and systems to promote cross-grade and cross-sector alignment, development of strong leadership and instructional practices, and implementation of proven and equitable practices in mathematics and science education.
Carla Zembal-Saul
Carla is the Kahn Professor of STEM Education at Penn State University. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside preservice and practicing K-5 teachers in a variety of contexts to support their learning about how to engage children in science discourse and practices as part of their meaningful learning. Her research investigates teacher learning associated with this work. Carla is a NSTA Fellow and served as a member of the consensus committee for the NASEM Brilliance and Strengths report.
Heidi Carlone
Heidi is the Katherine Johnson Chair in Science Education at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She is a former high school science teacher and current teacher educator and educational researcher who works alongside teachers to make science and engineering more humanizing and equitable. Dr. Carlone co-founded the STEM Teacher Leader Collaborative, a grassroots network of 200+ elementary teachers designed to cultivate their collective empowerment as STEM leaders and advocates. She served on the consensus committee for the NASEM Brilliance and Strengths report.
Miranda Fitzgerald
Miranda is an Assistant Professor in the Reading and Elementary Education department. She investigates the integration of meaningful uses of multimodal literacy and science instruction, especially in the context of project-based learning, and strategies to support pre- and in-service teachers to enact ambitious and equitable instructional practices in elementary literacy. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she teaches courses on elementary literacy assessment.
Tia Madkins
Tia is an assistant professor of STEM Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to earning her doctorate at UC Berkeley, she taught elementary students and worked as a teacher educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Madkins’ research focuses on teachers’ development of antiracist teaching dispositions and use of equity-focused teaching practices in PK-20 STEM learning environments for minoritized learners.
Mary Starr
Mary is the Executive Director of the Michigan Mathematics and Science Leadership Network. She has supported the design of science curriculum for the last two decades and is always looking for ways to refine materials to provide students with the best possible learning experiences. She has also written middle school project-based science instructional materials, PBIScience.
Mike Ryan
Mike is a retired senior research scientist at Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing. Prior to that, Mike taught both earth and physical science at the secondary level. His expertise is in the design and use of project-based learning curriculum and strategies to develop both student and teacher understanding in STEM. He was the co-PI or senior personnel for 13 NSF and NASA funded K-12 research projects investigating: project-based learning and instruction; engineering and design; sustainability computer science; and bio-inspired design. He has designed, facilitated and coached hundreds of teacher professional learning initiatives, but most often he is the one learning.
Molly Ewing
Molly works within local and state educational systems to foster equity and access for all students in science. Using current research on science teaching and learning, Molly designs, develops, and facilitates professional development for science teachers and leaders. By collaborating with districts and states, she helps to address their specific concerns at a system level and capitalizing on their unique resources.
TJ Heck
TJ began her education career as a middle school science teacher on the South Eastern sea islands in 2007. After involvement in several curriculum and assessment research and design projects, she led the development and implementation for Michigan’s NGSS-aligned state summative science assessment. TJ designs professional learning for science teachers, leaders, and researchers to develop science assessment tasks for state and district use. TJ earned her Doctorate from Michigan State University in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education at Michigan State University. Her passion for equitable education stems from her earliest teachers – her mother, a dance teacher and her father, a theatre professor. She attributes her love of science to a 6th grade teacher who ensured his students found beauty in the “messiness” of science.
Continue Your Learning
Conference Course
A conference course is a series of sessions—presented by a group of leading experts in an intentional order—to deepen your knowledge of effective research-based approaches about a specific topic. Conference courses are complimentary to all registered attendees. Attendees who complete a conference course earn a completion certificate, which can be submitted for clock hours or continuing education credits.
Conference Course
Brilliance of Elementary Students
Thursday • 1:00-2:00 PM
Assessment Systems to Build Children’s Learning Stories
Speakers: TJ Heck and Molly Ewin
Thursday • 2:20-3:20 PM
Finding and Using Interesting and Relevant Phenomenon and Design Problems in Elementary Science Learning
Speakers: Mike Ryan, Mary Starr, Molly Ewing, Shelly Ledoux, and Carla Zembal-Saul
Thursday • 3:40-5:00 PM
Science as Social Justice: Expanding What Counts as Science
Speakers: Heidi Carlone, Tia Madkins, and Carla Zembal-Saul
Friday • 1:20-2:20 PM
Read Aloud as Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Integration
Speakers: Miranda Fitzgerald, Tia Madkins, Katherine Pfeiffer, Amy Quinn, and Mary Starr
Friday • 2:40-3:40 PM
Supporting Productive Adaptations in Instructional Materials through Professional Learning
Speakers: Carla Zembal-Saul, Heidi Carlone, Mary Starr, and Shelly Ledoux
Friday • 4:00-5:00 PM
Podcasts as Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Integration
Speakers: Marshall Escamilla and Mike Ryan