The next NSTA virtual conference (STEM Today For a Better Tomorrow) is happening Saturday, April 25, 2015, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET. Participants will follow one of three strands (Elementary, Secondary, or Administrator)—or mix and match sessions if they prefer—and do the following:

• Learn from STEM educators who are implementing STEM programs and activities
• Meet and network with other teachers and administrators interested in STEM
• Learn about post-conference, STEM-related opportunities available via NSTA

Leaders to Learn From

What’s the best thing about this virtual STEM conference? The people, of course! Meet a few of the presenters, and get a sense of why this unique online learning environment is the perfect way to understand the role that STEM education plays for students interested in pursuing STEM careers. 

Barrington Irving became the youngest person to fly solo around the globe. On his 97-day journey, he flew 30,000 miles in a single-engine plane called Inspiration. Irving’s educational initiative, the Flying Classroom (launched in 2014 from Washington, D.C.), will embark on two more rounds of Flying Classroom expeditions in the U.S. and abroad in September 2015 and 2016.  

“Can’t wait to share my story of how STEM changed my life when I thought football was everything. From the football field, I now explore the world as a record-setting pilot and continually discover amazing careers within STEM.”

Laura Mackay is a science coach and magnet liaison at an elementary STEM magnet program at Ed White Elementary in El Lago, Texas.

“Creating a new STEM program at a school is a difficult process; there is so much information, it’s hard to know where to start! I know I was overwhelmed trying to figure out how to build capacity in teachers to create a new STEM program. Even though I had helped design a gifted magnet school and a two-way immersion magnet program, STEM seemed very different. But I learned that the process of building capacity in teachers to change a school is basically the same. So, now I look forward to sharing an easy way for administrators to structure a process that allows teachers to build a program that best suits their students’ needs. The goal is to get others involved in learning and creating so that the workload is shared. This process works with building any type of new initiative in a school, not just a STEM program.”

Brenda Wojnowski is CEO and president of WAI Education Solutions, an education-focused consulting firm geared toward non-profit, school system and university clients.

“The webinar Celeste Pea and I are presenting highlights professional development models and approaches used by several states and districts to significantly improve teaching and learning in one or more areas of STEM education. The goal for each model or approach is to develop teachers’ and students’ knowledge and skills, and, ultimately, to improve student achievement in STEM education.We are excited to share this information and hope many educators will find it useful.”

Eric Brunsell is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the Excel Center at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.

“I am excited for the STEM Virtual Conference for many reasons. Interest in STEM education is high, but often these discussions are isolated or result in new programs or courses. If we really want to have a positive impact on students’ understanding of STEM disciplines and careers, the efforts need to be made in our core academic areas. So, what does STEM mean in a traditional middle or high school science classroom? I will share some structures and examples during my session. I also hope that there is a rich and active discussion.”

Jim O’Leary is the Maryland Science Center’s lead space science and astronomy specialist and has hosted a radio program for 12 years on the local NPR affiliate, examining the latest developments in space science and astronomy.

“I’m really looking forward to sharing the great images of the Hubble Space Telescope and the science behind them. Hubble is coming up on 25 years in space and has taken thousands of spectacular images and taught us new things about the universe. I know these images can inspire students to wonder about the cosmos and even pursue STEM careers. And being in Baltimore, we’re thrilled to be the home of the Space Telescope Science Institute, where all of Hubble’s science takes place.”

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

2015 STEM Forum & Expo

• Minneapolis, May 20–23

2015 Area Conferences

• Reno, October 22–24
• Philadelphia, November 12–14
• Kansas City, December 3–5

One Last Look at #NSTA15 Chicago

To see more from the 2015 National Conference on Science Education in Chicago, March 12-15, please view the #NSTA15 Facebook Album—and if you see yourself, please tag yourself!

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Science and literacy are inherently linked in so many ways. Just as a matter of practice, scientists must possess great proficiency in reading dense, data-filled texts. They must be expert technical writers who can describe their proposed studies for funding considerations, detail their experimental protocols for their peers to replicate, and summarize their work for general audiences. More crucial to furthering the study of science, they must be confident in their abilities to argue from evidence, both orally and on paper, or, in the parlance of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), they must be able to “obtain, evaluate, and communicate information” and “engage in argument from evidence.”

For some time the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has recognized similarities in the ways in which both reading and science are taught and has advocated the powerful reciprocal value of linking science and literacy in the classroom. As reported in Science for English Language Learners, “science and language become interdependent, in part because each is based on processes and skills that are mirrored in the other. These reciprocal skills give teachers and students a unique leverage: by merging science and language in the classroom, teachers can help students learn both more effectively.” This conclusion was drawn while studying the integration of learning English as a second language and the learning of science (see also Teaching Science to English Language Learners). However, the mutually beneficial outcomes have held true with native speakers as well. Using literacy teaching strategies during science instruction “not only provided teachers with tools for guiding students’ interactions with texts and with physical inquiry, but also motivated students to engage with the texts and provided a window into student thinking” (Linking Science and Literacy).

Equally compelling is the research supporting the use of science to pique the interests of reluctant readers, particularly with regard to nonfiction texts. As the authors of Inquiring Scientists, Inquiring Readers assert, “Scientific inquiry provides an authentic context for reading, writing, and dialogue. Having a compelling reason to read a book, record observations, and communicate with others increases students’ motivation to engage in nonfiction reading.”

Perhaps most noteworthy for time-strapped teachers, science is the perfect vehicle for imparting not just science knowledge but also reading and even math. The tremendous popularity of our Picture-Perfect Science program, “Teaching Through Trade Books” column, and annual list of Outstanding Science Trade Books are testament to that!

As educators, we are cognizant of the deep connections between science and literacy. However, we need to draw those connections for our students. We need to help them appreciate the ways in which language and scientific literacy open up the world to them. Literature and science—and for that matter, philosophy and the arts—offer different vantage points from which to tackle some of the same phenomena.

Take, for example, an enduring challenge for physicists, a problem known as “times’ arrow,” the fact that “all the equations that best describe our universe work perfectly if time flows forward or backward.”(Alan Alda launched a competition that encouraged middle school students to explore this very question and required them to communicate their scientific ideas in a clear and engaging manner.) A contemporary summary is in a recent Scientific American article. As I read the essay, I recalled the opening lines from T.S. Eliot’s “Burnt Norton”:

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future
And time future contained in time past.

Eliot wrestles with time as an abstract concept, exploring our perceptions and their implications with subtlety and nuanced diction instead of as equations. Still, he uses literature as a mechanism for approaching an everyday phenomenon, time, in much the same way a scientist uses an equation or model to describe the world. Neither the poet nor the physicist can offer a definitive answer, but their perspectives are equally valuable as catalysts for deeper thought.

In other words, the connection between science and literacy can be simple, elegant, two different approaches to marveling over the same phenomenon. Reading, writing, and science (not to mention math, social studies, music, and art) play equally important roles in preparing our students to be thoughtful and responsible world citizens. Our parsing of knowledge into subjects typically demands that we teach these subjects as disparate lessons, but provides even more reason to help students make those important connections, such as that between literacy and science. After all, what is science but a tantalizing story of discovery and prediction that unfolds as generations of thinkers encounter phenomenon, seek explanations, and communicate their findings?

David Evans is Executive Director of the National Science Teachers Association

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

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