Rising to the Challenge

Creating Equitable Opportunities During a Remote Learning Environment … and Beyond

Virtual Miniseries

Dec. 5 • Dec. 12 • Jan. 16 • Jan. 23

Join NSTA for this special four-part, interactive, virtual miniseries, which is jointly hosted by the Association for Multicultural Science Education (AMSE) and NSTA’s Committee on Multicultural / Equity in Science Education. Taking place in December and January, this miniseries is your source for the resources and best practices you need to support distance learning, in-classroom instruction, and hybrid teaching to specific student populations.

The one-price registration includes attendance to all four (4) parts of the miniseries. You can opt to attend all four of the two-hour Saturday sessions; drop in on one (or more sessions), or view them as your schedule permits.

Register Today

Dec. 5

Part 1

Addressing the Elephant in the Room

A Focus on Diversity and Equity Among Minority and Underserved Students in Geographic Locations

Saturday, December 5

11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST

This session focuses on equitable instructional strategies for teaching STEM to underserved populations.

Keynote Speakers

Melissa Collins

Melissa Collins has been an elementary school teacher at John P. Freeman Optional School in Memphis, TN, for 21 years, where she is constantly amazed by her students’ curiosity about the world around them. She is an expert in teacher leadership and voice, and she is an advocate for global learning, STEM education, and high standards. To help ensure that all children have access to a caring and committed teacher, she has mentored several teachers through the National Board process. Melissa is the recipient of several awards and honors, including the 2020 National Teacher Hall of Fame, 2020 Sanford Teacher Award, 2019 Harriet Sanford Award, 2018–2019 National Board Fellowship Program, the 2018 Global Teacher Prize Finalist (Top 50), the Queen Smith Award, the Stephen Sondheim Award, the Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the National Science Teaching Association Sylvia Shugrue Award, and the West Tennessee Teacher of the Year. She is a proud National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early Childhood Education.

Melissa Collins

A. Nico West, PhD, MD

A. Nico West, PhD, MD, is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). She earned BS degrees in both Biology and Psychology from the University of Memphis in 1999 and a PhD in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Program at the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2007, and she completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UTHSC in critical care–related respiratory physiology in 2010. She earned her MD in 2013 at the UTHSC College of Medicine. Dr. West is currently research faculty in the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Division at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center where she is developing her own research program in neurocritical care and is an investigator on research studies related to traumatic brain injury, social determinants of health, severe sepsis, COVID-19, among others in order to advance research in improving the care of critically ill children. She serves as the UTHSC Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship Research Director to recruit, advise, and mentor pediatric critical care medicine fellows in critical care–related research. She collaborates with the Center for Health Equity at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital to enhance community outreach, advocacy, education, and research in pediatric health disparities and social determinants of health. She is a recipient of the 2018 and 2019 Future Leaders Advancing Research in Endocrinology Fellowship award from the Endocrine Society to support her emerging research program intersecting traumatic brain injury and neuroendocrinology. Dr. West serves on local and national research committees; is an active member of the Endocrine Society, the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators Group, the Pediatric Neurocritical Care Research Group; and has authored and co-authored numerous publications. She is also a community and research mentor to undergraduate and graduate students. Among her mentees is Dr. Melissa Collins, STEM teacher at John P. Freeman K–8 Optional School. Dr. West is currently mentoring Dr. Collins in community-integrated STEM education development through the JPF STEM Club and STEM teacher outreach to improve student interest and growth in the STEM fields.

Nico West

Keyundah Coleman

Keyundah Coleman recently served as the principal of John P. Freeman K–8 Optional School in Memphis, Tennessee, which specializes in preparing students to do well with STEM-related projects while employing the latest in research innovation and designs and with the support of strategic community partnerships. As an 18-year veteran educator, he has worked in both the public and charter school sectors of education to improve the quality of educational services within marginalized urban communities.

Keyundah Coleman

Dyane Smokorowski

Dyane Smokorowski is a 2019 National Teacher Hall of Fame Inductee, 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year, and is currently serving as the coordinator of Digital Literacy in the Wichita Public Schools. “Mrs. Smoke,” as she is known to her students, believes in a project-based, student-centered classroom that helps students build skills in communication, planning, research, and project implementation.

Dyane Smokorowski

Dec. 12

Part 2

Designing for Equitable Sensemaking with Multilingual Learners

Saturday, December 12

11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST

NSTA has joined forces with WIDA in a new program, Making Science Multilingual (MSM), to work on increasing equity in science for the nation's most rapidly growing student group—multilingual learners. MSM co-leaders will share MSM's recently published Design Principles for Equitable Engagement in Three-Dimensional Science, and will engage participants in discussion of their application in both in-person and remote science instruction.

Keynote Speakers

David Crowther

David Crowther, professor of Science Education at the University of Nevada, Reno where he has worked for the past 25 years. Dr. Crowther is a past president of NSTA (2017–2018) and he is currently co-leader of the Making Science Multilingual (MSM) joint project with NSTA and WIDA.

David Crowther

Rita MacDonald

Rita MacDonald has worked in the field of educational linguistics since 2001 and has been part of WIDA’s Research and Development team at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research since 2012. Her work is focused on the equitable inclusion of multilingual learners in science, and she co-leads Making Science Multilingual, a joint program of WIDA and the National Science Teaching Association. Rita’s NSF-funded research to develop and pilot EL-inclusive STEM discourse support resources can be found at the project website: http://stem4els.wceruw.org/.

Rita MacDonald

Jan. 16

Part 3

All in the (Science) Family

Considerations and Strategies for Inclusive Science Teaching for All Students

Saturday, January 16

11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST

The "Science for All" movement was conceived to provide all students, regardless of background or characteristics, opportunities and access to science and science teaching. While progress has been made, there is still work to be done, particularly for students with disabilities. This workshop will provide considerations and strategies for teachers to support all students, including those with disabilities in all settings focusing on science literacy, collaborative teaching, strength-based instruction, and assessment.

Keynote Speakers

Jonte C. Taylor

Jonte C. Taylor (“JT”) is an associate professor of Special Education at Pennsylvania State University. His teaching and research interests focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education for students with disabilities and improving schoolwide and classroom environments for students, parents, and teachers. As a classroom teacher, he worked with students with behavioral challenges, autism, in juvenile justice settings, and with adults with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. JT is currently on the NSTA Special Needs Advisory Board and the president of Science Education for Students with Disabilities (https://www.sesdinfo.org/).

JT Taylor

Michele Koomen

Michele Koomen is a research professor at Gustavus Adolphus College. Her scholarly endeavors focus on inclusion and access in science classrooms, disciplinary literacy in science, citizen science in formal classrooms, and learning by underrepresented youth in science and math classrooms, including youth with exceptionalities.

Michele Koomen

Sami Kahn

Sami Kahn serves as executive director of the Council on Science and Technology at Princeton University where she works to promote scientific literacy for all through quality interdisciplinary course development, robust STEM education research, and creative programming. Her service to NSTA includes being author / coauthor of the NSTA Press It’s Debatable series; member of the Science & Children advisory board; past chair of NSTA’s Special Needs Advisory Board; past president of Science Education for Students with Disabilities (SESD), an NSTA associated group; and current coeditor of SESD’s, Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities.

Sami Kahn

Teresa Shume

Teresa Shume is an assistant professor in the School of Education at North Dakota State University. She holds a PhD in Teaching and Learning from the University of North Dakota, an MEd from the University of Utah, and undergraduate degrees in biology and education from St. Boniface University in Canada. Her teaching and research focus on science education, science teacher preparation, and inclusion of marginalized student populations.

Teresa Shume

Jan. 23

Part 4

Bringing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into the Forefront of Science Education!

Saturday, January 23

11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST

The dire conversations of the state of science education continue for the underserved populations that many educators teach. A pandemic creates even more of a sense of urgency as we reflect on the needs of minority, special needs, regionally and economically disadvantaged students, as well as students that communicate through multiple primary languages to identify opportunities, programs, and instructional components to help all students increase, maintain, and achieve success in our remote teaching environment.

Jan 23 info

Keynote Speakers

Alicia Conerly

Alicia Conerly is director of NSTA’s Multicultural/Equity Committee. Alicia has worked in education for over 12 years. She is a 2015 Shell Urban Science Educator Development Award Recipient, 2016 Shell Lab Challenge Grand Prize Award Recipient, and 2017 Mississippi Science Teachers Association Outstanding Informal Science Educator Award Recipient. In 2017, Alicia founded PUSH 4 Science Educational Services, LLC., and has served on several science award review panels both statewide and nationally. She has also served as both a mentee and mentor for the Smithsonian in conjunction with Shell at their annual STEM Education Summit. Alicia is also the first African American administrator at Monticello Elementary School.

Alicia Conerly

Sharon Delesbore

Sharon Delesbore (“Dr. D”) is president of the Association for Multicultural Science Education (AMSE), an Alliance of Affiliates (AoA) governance of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), and founder of Science Mama Enterprise. As a 20-year secondary school administrator, science instructional specialist, and middle school science teacher, Dr. D. has never lost her spirit of advocacy for equitable science instruction for all students of color, multicultural backgrounds, and varying economic status and opportunities. Her leadership within AMSE helps to provide educators with opportunities to present sessions at NSTA’s national and area conferences, focusing on topics of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access for all students desiring to learn about science. AMSE seeks to promote curriculum, instructional, and leadership development in science education with diverse teachers who educate diverse students.

Sharon Delesbore

Shell

Supported by Shell