By Guest Blogger
Posted on 2016-03-12
#NGSSchat is coming to Nashville, as part of the NSTA National Conference on Science Education! Join us Thursday, March 31, at the Omni Nashville in the Legends C room at 8 Central Time, or virtually via Twitter. It’s going to be a vibrant, collaborative night. I’m so thrilled to be one of the people spearheading this event, and can’t believe how my experience with this community has grown in just 2 short years. It speaks volumes to what science teachers can do when they put their heads together.
When I attended #NSTA14 Boston, I first discovered the power of Twitter and Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). I started exploring the world of Twitter chats and quickly realized how sharing my work and exchanging ideas with others would help me grow professionally. I stumbled on #NGSSchat, where I found my tweeps—people who share similar struggles and triumphs from around the country on the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). A few weeks before #NSTA15 in Chicago, I started thinking to myself: I can’t wait to finally meet some of these great people I have been exchanging ideas with online! But how? I exchanged messages with Fred Ende and Trish Shelton (the brains behind #NGSSchat) and we brainstormed around gathering a group live for #NGSSchat the Thursday we were at #NSTA15. Mind you, this all happened a month before the conference where rooms are booked years in advance and there was no space to be found. We managed to persuade a hotel to give us a space for free (we are teachers after all) with WiFi so we could make it happen. The invitation was issued during the chat prior to the conference and then waited wondering will anyone show up?
As the organizers, Adam Taylor and Trisha Shelton, set up laptops and piped in Fred Ende via a Google hangout, they all started to arrive. The room was humble, with only a few tables and a projected image of the chat on the wall. There was an audible buzz and energy that comes when you gather science educators together. There were pockets of learning groups around the room; some teachers wanted help and support in how to engage in a chat, others were introducing themselves to each other and sharing their excitement over sessions they had attended that day. When the chat began we all broke out devices and it was wonderful to see people jumping in to help those new to chats be successful as they tested the waters. Ted Willard, Phillip Bell, Joe Kracijk, and Stephen Pruitt showed up and the group was excited that people from NSTA, higher education, and Achieve were joining our conversation. It is validating for us as educators when those at a higher altitude see the work we do as inspiring and important. After the chat ended the group stayed for a while to mingle, discuss, and connect.
The connections made on that day have continued to grow the #NGSSchat community and have spawned new efforts like the #Sci4AllSs book study, the leveled chats (#elNGSSchat, #msNGSSchat, #hsNGSSchat) as well as @NGSStweeps to continue the learning throughout the year in a variety of ways. I learn something new and have new questions to explore each time I am able to join #NGSSchat or meet up with my “NGSStweeps” when they are nearby. As educators, we strive to leave students with powerful questions to answer and find meaning collaboratively and independently. Shouldn’t you do the same for yourself as an educator?
If you are attending #NSTA16 in Nashville I encourage you to join us on Thursday, March 31, at the Omni Nashville in the Legends C room at 8 Central Time to meet and exchange ideas. Introduce yourself to another educator and connect, each of us has something to share. For those who are not coming to conference, join us online by following #NGSSchat on Twitter at 8CT (9ET). I promise you will leave with new colleagues in your PLN, new questions to ponder, and an excitement to continue the work you do each day.
And yes… there is some truth to the rumors that FLAT FRED will be making an appearance. Follow me @Jaclyn Austin to find out what else we have in store for Nashville’s #NGSSchat!
Jaclyn Austin is a resource teacher for secondary science with Howard County Public Schools, Maryland, and a board member of the Maryland Association of Science Teachers.
Register to attend #NSTA16 Nashville here—and don’t forget, NSTA members get a substantial discount!
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2016 National Conference
2016 STEM Forum & Expo
2016 Area Conferences
Follow NSTA
By Korei Martin
Posted on 2016-03-11
Elementary science teachers will find an impressive array of Elementary programming at NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education, taking place in Nashville, March 31–April 3! Dive in on day one and learn more about engineering in the elementary classroom with Christine Cunningham’s Mary C. McCurdy Lecture: Integrate to Innovate: How Classroom Engineering Develops “Habits of Mind” That Empower Student Performance. Feeling even more adventurous? Put your cape, cowl, or utility belt on and become superhero in the Science and Superheroes: Integrating Science and Literacy Learning with Active Role Play and Comic Books session, which combines science and literacy for a fun time of learning for students. Check out the events below to get a sense of what we’ve got in store, and browse all the sessions here (more than 1000 of them!) to see what you can do in the elementary science classroom.
Teaching to Learn: An Elementary/Postsecondary Collaboration to Improve K–16 Science Teaching and Learning
The Living Classroom: Turning Your Curriculum into an Outdoor Adventure Through Learning Gardens
Mary C. McCurdy Lecture: Integrate to Innovate: How Classroom Engineering Develops “Habits of Mind” That Empower Student Performance
Using Creative Nonfiction to Integrate Writing and Science into the Elementary Classroom
Science and Superheroes: Integrating Science and Literacy Learning with Active Role Play and Comic Books
Elementary Extravaganza
Organizations participating in the Elementary Extravaganza include:
Elementary Teacher Survival Kit
Register to attend here—and don’t forget, NSTA members get a substantial discount!
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2016 National Conference
2016 STEM Forum & Expo
2016 Area Conferences
Follow NSTA
By Korei Martin
Posted on 2016-03-10
The maker movement will be strong at #NSTA16 this spring. At NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education, taking place in Nashville, March 31–April 3, DIY science teachers will be showing off their best strategies for getting students into building and learning from models, robots, and more. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in (no sitting around in these action-packed sessions). You’ll be building inexpensive structures to better understand DNA structure and replication and get to tinker with motors to learn to help your students better understand the fundamental concepts of magnetic and electromagnetic fields. No matter if you’re just starting out in the Maker movement or you’re a seasoned pro, you’ll find the resources and tools that you need. Check out the seven sessions below to get a sense of what we’ve got in store, and browse all the sessions here (more than 1000 of them!) to see who’s showing you how to turn your education space into an interactive Maker Space.
Featured Speaker Presentation: The Tinker.Make.Innovate. Program
Build, Program, and Control with K’NEX Education’s New Robotics Building System
Use Robots to Engage Elementary/Middle School Students with Hands-On Project Based Learning
Building an Electric Motor the STEM Way with CPO’s Link™ Learning Module
Challenge Your Students to Make Motors
Apply the Science of Energy, Motion, and Friction
Lift Weight and Produce Electricity with the Power of Wind
Using Models and Motion for Teaching DNA and Protein Synthesis
Register to attend here—and don’t forget, NSTA members get a substantial discount!
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2016 National Conference
2016 STEM Forum & Expo
2016 Area Conferences
Follow NSTA
By Korei Martin
Posted on 2016-03-10
Implementing a quality STEM education program requires creative approaches. But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. At NSTA’s National Conference on Science Education, taking place in Nashville, March 31–April 3, you can find and take home some great STEM Ed tools for use in your classroom and schools. Challenge your students to become CSIs and find fingerprints and blood spatters using STEM techniques or have Hollywood come to you in the Body of Evidence: A Forensic Science Mystery session. Teach your students physical science concepts using K’NEX or CO2 cars. No matter where you are in your STEM program, you’ll find colleagues in Nashville who are successfully using tools and can share solutions that will take your program to a new level. Check out the 10 sessions below to get a sense of what we’ve got in store, and browse all the sessions here (more than 1000 of them!) to see who’s offering the tools you need to succeed!
Teaching STEM Using Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
STEM Infographic Use, Analysis, and Production for Higher Scientific Literacy in the Classroom
Build, Program, and Control with K’NEX Education’s New Robotics Building System
Body of Evidence: A Forensic Science Mystery!
NMEA Session: Starting a STEM Program in Your School on Next to Nothing
Engineer Excitement in Your Classroom with a Carolina STEM Challenge®
Science of Speed: The Fusion of Competition, Creativity, and STEM Learning
Solving the Mystery of STEM Using Forensic Science
Teach STEM Content and Spark Science Career Interest with Free Online Games
Flinn Scientific’s STEM Design Challenge™ “Build-It-Yourself” Lab Project
Register to attend here—and don’t forget, NSTA members get a substantial discount!
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
Future NSTA Conferences
2016 National Conference
2016 STEM Forum & Expo
2016 Area Conferences
Follow NSTA