JoinShould I present at a conference?
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2016-05-25
My colleagues and I recently attended an NSTA conference. On the way home as we discussed what we learned, they suggested I share some of the successful activities I do in the classroom, but I’m not sure that others would be interested. Plus, I’d be really nervous doing a presentation, and I’m not sure how to go about submitting a proposal. Can you talk me into this? —J., California
I think your colleagues have done a good job to get you to consider presenting, since you’re asking me about it! So I’ll add to the pep talk based on my experience.
Even though teachers spend all day every day in front of students, we get nervous in front of other adults. This is normal. But I’ve found most conference participants are attentive and courteous to the presenters.
Teachers like to hear about practical, classroom-tested activities and strategies. They like to see examples of student projects and ideas they can use without special funding or complicated materials. And they really like hearing from colleagues who “walk the walk.” It sounds like you have ideas that would be worth sharing.
If the topic you choose is specific to your school, try to show how it could be adapted to other schools, grade levels, or geographic regions. Think about what format would work best for you: lecture, discussion, hands-on activities, demonstrations, or a combination of these.
Interacting with others is an important part of conferences, so I often include activities that foster discussion among participants, such as a bell-ringer question, a think-pair-share, or a gallery walk following a small group discussion. Doing an activity and then debriefing on the science or pedagogy behind it can help people develop the confidence to implement it themselves. Allow enough time for questions or comments during the presentation or at the end.
Conference proposals are typically due well before the conference to provide the organizers with time to select and schedule the sessions. See the guidelines and deadlines at Presenting at NSTA Conferences. Conferences usually receive more proposals than there are time slots, so follow the guidelines to improve your chances of being selected. Choose a topic that relates to the conference theme and the Next Generation Science Standards, if applicable.
Rather than using reams of paper handouts, many presenters share a brief outline and direct participants to a website with other resources. If you do need large handouts or materials for a hands-on activity, consider shipping them to your hotel ahead of time if you’re getting to the conference by plane or train. Use a wheeled suitcase to transport materials to and from the conference venue.
If you co-present with colleagues (and it sounds like you have colleagues who could be recruited), determine who will do each part and how to transition between presenters. Before the conference, do a dress rehearsal to finalize the time and flow of the presentation. Perhaps you could do this at a faculty or department meeting to get feedback from other teachers. Think of it as a formative assessment!
Most organizations do not compensate presenters and require conference registration. Be sure you and your co-presenters can get release time for the conference and ask if the school can assist with expenses.
Presenting at a conference is a professional accomplishment and a form of professional development. In addition to adding the conference to your vita, prepare a brief summary to share with your school administrators or for the school newsletter and ask about getting professional education credit for your experience.
Don’t give up if your proposal is not accepted. (I have a folder full of “we’re sorry” notes). It’s a challenge for the program committee to review and prioritize thousands of proposals. You can revise the proposal and resubmit at a later time or to a different conference.
My worst nightmare came true one year when I was assigned a Sunday morning slot at an NSTA conference (at least I was not in the same time slot as Bill Nye!). I worried if anyone would come. My nerves calmed when I realized there was a nice-sized group. In fact, I have yet to attend a Sunday session at an NSTA conference that was not well-attended. The preparation and anxiety were all worth it when several participants came up afterwards to say, “This is exactly what I need!
My colleagues and I recently attended an NSTA conference. On the way home as we discussed what we learned, they suggested I share some of the successful activities I do in the classroom, but I’m not sure that others would be interested. Plus, I’d be really nervous doing a presentation, and I’m not sure how to go about submitting a proposal.
NSTA President Carolyn Hayes Says Thank You to Our Volunteers
By Guest Blogger
Posted on 2016-05-23
On behalf of the staff of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and our leadership team, I would like to thank the following members of our Board, Council, Standing Committees, Advisory Boards, and Panels whose terms of appointment end on May 31, 2016. NSTA has been busy this year promoting the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, working on the NSTA Strategic Goals, and helping me to promote my theme: Developing Creative Attitudes in Science. NSTA is very fortunate to have dedicated members who volunteer their time to promote NSTA and its mission. I am honored to have worked with all mentioned below as we advocate for science educators and build new leaders. So to all of you on the list below, I say “Thank You” and I look forward to working with you in new capacities in the years to come.
Retiring Committee, Advisory Board, and Review Panel Members
College: Sally Harms, Sarah Haines, Christie Orlosky, Cindi Smith-Walters
Coordination: Kelly Price, Christopher Duvall, David Miller, Matthew Stolz
High School: Beverly DeVore-Wedding, Sharla Dowding, Karen Higuera, Brian Olsen
Informal: Stacy Glatz, Miriam Musco, Kelly Riedinger
Middle Level: Fran Hess, John Milam, Kitchka Petrova
Multicultural: Margaret Helen Carter, S. Maxwell Hines, Sami Kahn
Preschool-Elementary: Conni Crittenden, Jessica Fries-Gaiter, Jessie Kelly
Preservice: David Crowther, Cynthia Gardner, Kira Heeschen, Chris Ohana, Michael Troop
NSTA Teacher Accreditation: Cathy Gardner
Prof Development: Julie Luft, Christopher Soldat, Eric Walters
Research: Pamela Auburn, Anne Farley Schoeffler, Lise Whitfield
Audit: Paul Keidel
Awards: Linda Kennedy, Karen Nesbit, Jennifer Pritchard, James Puckett, Pat Shane
Budget: Susan Koba
Nominations: Bonnie Brunkhorst, Sharla Dowding, Herbert Dyasi, Barbara Pietrucha, Julie Thomas
Advisory Boards
Aerospace: David Black, Caroline d’Otreppe, Pamela Evans
Conference: Monica Ellis
Development: Barbara Pietrucha
International: Kathleen Horstmeyer, Teresa Kennedy, Edarlin Pagarigan, Kathryn Elkins
Investment: Jean May-Brett, Joseph Holm
JCST: Megan Litster, Barry Thompson
NSTA Reports: Mike Szydlowski, Barbara Thorp, Susan Locke
Retired: Susan Clay, Joyce Gleason, Deb Wickerham
Science and Children: Neporcha Cone, Wendy Frazier, Terri Hebert
Science Matters: Stephen Bartlett, Michelle Brand-Buchanan, Jean May-Brett
Science Safety: Theresa Curry, James Kaufman
Science Scope: Ekka Bowling, Kelly Chaney, Karen Jo Matsler
Special Needs: Jennifer Purcell-Coleman, Melissa Sleeper, Cheryl White
Technology: Gregory Benedis-Grab, Stephen Bock, Ben Smith
TST: Michael Brinkman, Carrie Jones
Urban Science: Selina Bartekls, Trudy C. Giasi, Michael Matthews
CBC: Conni Crittenden, Delene Hoffner, Linda Schoen Giddings
New Science Teachers: John Clark, Sumi Hagiwara, Michael Lowry
Shell: J. Carrie Launius, Ruth Ruud, Tamica A. Stubbs
NSTA members who are interested in volunteering for a position on one our committees, advisory boards, or review panels can find more information on our Committees page online.
Dr. Carolyn Hayes is the president of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). She began serving her one-year term on June 1, 2015. Dr. Hayes is a retired high school biology teacher from Greenwood, Indiana. Hayes earned a B.S. degree in biology from Indiana University in 1973, a M.S. degree in secondary education from Indiana University in 1976, and an Ed.D. in secondary education and biology from Indiana University in 2005.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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On behalf of the staff of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and our leadership team, I would like to thank the following members of our Board, Council, Standing Committees, Advisory Boards, and Panels whose terms of appointment end on May 31, 2016.
The Maker Movement for All Learners
By Guest Blogger
Posted on 2016-05-21
All students can benefit from the Maker Mindset, which encourages students to believe they can learn to do anything. The Maker Movement is a resurgence of creating and making things by people of all ages and backgrounds. Learning through “making” can happen across a range of contexts and curricular areas and can be leveraged for inspiration and powerful student engagement.
Making can happen in a variety of places that might be labeled “maker spaces,” such as libraries, classrooms, museums, homes, or garages. But they don’t have to be labeled spaces—innovation and creating can happen on a table in a classroom. Some maker spaces may have the newest technological toys such as a 3D printer or laser cutter, but this is also not necessary; the focus in this design learning is not on the tools but on the process and product.
This approach is close in heart to the constructivist- and constructionist-based design work that focuses on engaging participants in learning content and process. This work provides students the opportunity to experience the hands-on intersection of critical thinking, engineering, computer science, circuitry, art, math, technology, and innovation.
Building Up to the Maker Movement
I have been a special services teacher and a regular classroom teacher for total of 31 years. I worked as an Einstein Fellow in DC at the National Science Foundation in 2012–2013 and became very involved with the Maker Movement in that year. I now work as a Science Technology Engineering and Math Outreach Coordinator and work with students and teachers doing STEM activities with a Maker emphasis, sharing all I learned in my fellowship as well as in my classroom practice. I have been extremely impressed with the enthusiastic participation of the students and teachers that I have worked with in the past two years in this role.
In these experiences, I have seen that students who have learning challenges are as engaged and as successful as any other learner, and often have unique and innovative perspectives and solutions to the design task at hand. Classroom teachers are excited to see their students’ involvement and investment in this learning as well. I work with the teachers and students for one to three sessions and provide the materials for the times I am there. I offer ideas and resource lists for teachers to follow up with and also give students (at the students’ request) sources where they can get materials for continued making. It is amazing how contagious learning through making can be for everyone!
There are many ways to do this in a low–tech, low budget, with an easy-access on ramp to making. Two books I highly recommend to get you started are:
- Invent to Learn, Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom by Sylvia Libow Martinez and Gary Stager, Ph.D. (Chapter 14, Resources to Explore, gives you sources by topics and is worth the price of the book alone!)
- The Art of Tinkering, by Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich. (This is put out by the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and they have a great website: http://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/projects )
I wish you a happy final stretch of the school year and an exciting launch into or continued endeavors with Maker education. It is a fantastic way to ignite learning in our classrooms and beyond. The intellectual development that happens through direct, hands-on experience with creating and tinkering is empowering and something we can offer all students!
Author Sheryl Sotelo is a STEM outreach coordinator and educator in Alaska; contact Sotelo at sherylsotelo@gmail.com. This blog is part of a series being published by NSTA’s Special Needs Advisory board, the charge of which is to “Advise NSTA standing committees and NSTA headquarters regarding support for members with special needs and for teachers of students with special needs; make recommendations to the Executive Director and the Board of Directors regarding issues and projects related to special education.” Teresa M. Fulk is the board chair and can be contacted at fulkt@gcsnc.com with questions about the work NSTA does with this community.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
5th Annual STEM Forum & Expo, hosted by NSTA
- Denver, Colorado: July 27–29
2017 Area Conferences
- Baltimore, Maryland: October 5–7
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin: November 9–11
- New Orleans, Louisiana: November 30–December 2
National Conferences
- Los Angeles, California: March 30–April 2, 2017
- Atlanta, Georgia: March 15–18, 2018
- St. Louis, Missouri: April 11–14, 2019
- Boston, Massachusetts: March 26–29, 2020
- Chicago, Illinois: April 8–11, 2021
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Legislative Update
ESSA Webinar and Rally on Capitol Hill
By Jodi Peterson
Posted on 2016-05-20
Update on Every Student Succeeds Act
Almost 200 teachers and science leaders tuned into the NSTA Learning Center webinar last week on the new federal education law (ESSA), co-hosted by NSTA and the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA). You can find the powerpoint from the webinar here and learn more about the new federal education law here.
As states gear up for implementation of ESSA, more heated debate around the regulatory language for ESSA’s supplement-not-supplant provision, which says that federal Title I funds for low income students must be in addition to, and not take the place of, state and local spending on K-12. (Drafts of the regulations are in circulation, however the Department of Education (ED) is expected to officially release regulations for comment on accountability, state plans, supplement-not-supplant and assessments this summer.) Education Week reports that a recent Congressional Research Service report on ED’s proposed regulations are outside of the statutory language that ESSA allows.
Republicans (and unions) are concerned that ED officials would violate the new law by requiring districts to use a school-level test of expenditures to show compliance with supplement-not-supplant, which could ultimately mean monitoring teacher salaries when calculating how much schools receive. Many Democrats believe this provision will provide an important tool to ensure the new federal law provides equity. Senator Lamar Alexander, a chief architect of the new federal education law, recently said that the Education Department has been “deceitful” in trying to force equity through implementation of the new education law.
Ed Groups Rally for ESSA Title IV Block Grants
NSTA joined over 75 organizations last week for a press conference and rally on Capitol Hill urging Congressional appropriators to fully fund Title IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Congress authorized this flexible ESSA block grant, known as Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant, at $1.65 billion for FY 2017. Congressional appropriators are now working to provide funding amounts for this and other FY2017 federal education programs. The Title IV grants will provide funding to districts for activities in three broad areas:
1) Providing students with a well-rounded education (e.g. college and career counseling, STEM, arts, civics, IB/AP)
2) Supporting safe and healthy students (e.g. comprehensive school mental health, drug and violence prevention, training on trauma-informed practices, health and physical education) and
3) Supporting the effective use of technology (professional development, blended learning, and devices).
Specifically, in regards to the use of Title IV A funds for STEM, districts and states can use grant monies to expand high-quality STEM courses; increase access to STEM for underserved and at risk student populations; support the participation of students in STEM nonprofit competitions (such as robotics, science research, invention, mathematics, computer science, and technology competitions); provide hands-on learning opportunities in STEM; integrate other academic subjects, including the arts, into STEM subject programs; create or enhance STEM specialty schools; integrate classroom based and afterschool and informal STEM instruction; and expand environmental education.
Myra Thayer, Prek-12 Science Coordinator, Fairfax County Public Schools, was NSTA’s guest speaker at the press event. She told participants that “Providing students with hands-on learning opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), increasing access for underserved students, and integrating afterschool STEM experiences with classroom-based learning will improve instruction and student engagement in these fields. It’s critical that Congress fully fund the ESSA Title IV-A, Student Support and Academic Enrichments Grants, so that all students have access to quality STEM programs, and to a variety of health and safety programs, diverse academic courses, and modern technology.”
At the press event/rally the group also released individual letters from state and local groups in Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Washington, seeking full funding for this grant.
In addition to seeking funding for Title IVA at $1.65 billion NSTA, the STEM Education Coalition and 85 other organizations, is asking Congress to
- Provide $2.250 billion for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Title II Supporting Effective Instruction State grants. This program provides support for teacher quality improvement initiatives, including professional development and teacher leadership.
- Support the proposal of $100 million for the new Computer Science for All Development Grants.
- Provide $10 million for a STEM Master Teacher Corps which was authorized through Section 2245 of ESSA. This program would help cultivate teacher leaders in STEM subjects and promote the sharing of best practices across the teaching professions.
These programs will be part of the FY2017 Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bill. Advocates expect to see some Congressional action on this bill in mid-June. Stay tuned.
Jodi Peterson is Assistant Executive Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. e-mail Peterson at jpeterson@nsta.org; follow her on Twitter at @stemedadvocate.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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Update on Every Student Succeeds Act