On December 7, NSTA is offering a virtual conference designed to bring together some of the best thinkers in the field focused on learning and teaching by connecting in-school and out-of-school STEM experiences.

Why create collaborative STEM experiences? Because no one school, museum, organization, camp, or after-school program can give students and teachers the space, resources, and experiences that will motivate and challenge participants the way you can when school and outside groups work together. That’s why blended STEM learning experiences that connect in-school and out-of-school learning are a key recommendation in the recently released America’s Strategy for STEM Education.*

How Do You Start a Connected STEM Program?

Join NSTA for a virtual conference (Connecting In-school and Out-of-school STEM Learning and Teaching) to meet fellow teachers, STEM program managers, NSTA’s President, NSTA’s Executive Director, authors, and other experts in the field. Learn how they have created programs, what they recommend for those just getting started, where to find collaborators and funding, and ways to gain support for your ideas. Best of all, as you interact with presenters and fellow attendees during this conference, you’ll be expanding your network and meet people who you can count on for help along the way!

Why Learning and Teaching?

Teaching and learning are closely correlated, so good teachers generally make good learners, and vice versa. Throughout this virtual conference, participants will get a chance to see models of both roles, and learn to engage students with diverse learning styles. This matters because understanding how to involve all stakeholders, gain their attention, and keep them invested is critical for connecting in-school and out-of-school learning. And this type of collaboration will be of long-term importance to students (and to society in general), because it models and teaches the skills and working styles that will be needed for jobs of the future (the very near future).

And just as there are diverse learning styles, educators have diverse needs. Here are just a few of the reasons people tell us they sign up for virtual conferences:

• “I am a neophyte to STEM, but hope to implement a STEM club after school.”—Laura B.
• “[I want to] improve STEM and engage more students in STEM. “—Donald B.
• “NSTA Virtual Conferences are a wonderful way to do amazing Professional Development from the comfort of home.”—Dorothy G.
• “My biggest challenges have been projects that students are engaged in and ideas for k-2 students.”—Jeremy M.
•  “We are doing quite a bit of STEM work in our region and part of my job is working with administrators and teachers, district and community to help them get STEM education implementation going in our region.”—Georgia B.

Dorothy G. mentioned one of her favorite things about NSTA virtual conferences (comfort), so it’s worth noting that participants can log on from anywhere with an internet connection and interact with presenters and educators from across the country.

Ready to sign up for a day of impactful learning that will improve your teaching for a lifetime? Learn more about Connecting In-School and Out-of-School STEM Learning and Teaching; view the agenda; and discover who’s presenting.