St. Louis, MO
April 11-14, 2019
Conference Website
Every year the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) hosts a national conference on science education open to member and nonmember science educators. NSTA is committed “to promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.”
Thursday, April 11
Dragon Genetics and Other Powerful, Free Simulations for Biology Teaching
12:30 – 1:30 PM, Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, Mills Studio 6
Add some fire to your genetics teaching with Geniverse and Geniventure, two game-based units on dragons, genetics and DNA. These research-based genetics curricula from the Concord Consortium deepens students learning and engages them with all three dimensions of the NGSS. Bring cutting-edge technology and fun to your biology teaching with this and many other biology simulations. Leave with a free login and class account.
Teaching Environmental Sustainability Using a Free Place-Based Watershed Model
Carolyn Staudt, Steve Kerlin, Jerry Valadez
5:00 – 6:00 PM, America’s Center, Room 225
Model My Watershed is a free, web-based application that invites students to explore the condition of their local watershed with a scientifically valid watershed model.
Friday, April 12
Nurturing Computational Thinkers with a Technology-Rich Weather Curriculum
Carolyn Staudt, Tom Moher, Meridith Bruozas, Brenda Lopez Silva
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, America’s Center, Room 242
Find out how students can use computational thinking skills to manipulate computational weather models/simulations, engage in hands-on experimentation, and employ scientific language to explore relationships between weather variables.
Free Technology-Enhanced Curriculum for Exploring Real-World Phenomena from Molecules to Populations
Kiley McElroy-Brown, Frieda Reichsman, Alexa Warwick
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, Grand Ballroom F
Support student connections from genes, proteins, and cells to traits, individuals, and populations with an NGSS-focused approach for teaching and modeling phenomena in biology.
Argumentation and Modeling in Earth Science Using Free Online Modules
Stephanie Harmon, Amy Pallant
3:30 – 4:30 PM, America’s Center, Room 242
Discover free Earth system and environmental science simulations and curricula that focus on scientific argumentation when teaching topics such as plate tectonics, climate change, and hydraulic fracturing.
Pizza and Three-Dimensional NGSS Focus Group
6:00 PM, Pi Pizzeria, 610 Washington Ave.
Help yourself to a slice (or two) of pizza, learn about free NGSS simulations and curricula from the Concord Consortium, and provide feedback about what you need to implement three-dimensional teaching and learning in your classroom.
Saturday, April 13
Concord Consortium and NESTA Present: High-Adventure Science—Free Simulations Exploring Earth’s Systems and Sustainability Topics
8:00 – 9:00 AM, America’s Center, Annex
Explore free, NGSS-focused, classroom-tested curricula on climate change, freshwater sustainability, land use, and energy choices that address uncertainty as part of scientific argumentation.
NGSS@NSTA Share-a-Thon
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM, America’s Center, Hall 1
Learn about our InquirySpace, Next Generation Science Assessment, and Multilevel Computational Modeling projects at the NGSS@NSTA Share-a-Thon. Plus get tips and tools to implement three-dimensional performance expectations from NSTA’s NGSS Curators, NGSS writers, and other education experts. Leave with plenty of handouts and ideas you can use in your classroom right away!
Precipitating Change: Integrating Meteorology, Mathematics, and Computational Thinking
Carolyn Staudt, Meridith Bruozas, Tom Moher, Chad Dorsey
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Marriott St. Louis Grand, Majestic F
Help empower your students’ ability to understand and apply weather-related science and mathematics by employing core computational methods and thinking involving data, models, and prediction.
Concord Consortium and NESTA Present: GEODE: Transforming Geoscience Education with Interactive Models for Exploring Plate Tectonics
12:30 – 1:30 PM, America’s Center, Annex
Explore free, NGSS-focused, classroom-tested curricula and dynamic models on plate tectonics. Help students think about Earth the way geoscientists do.
Powerful, Free Simulations for Three-Dimensional NGSS Teaching
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM, America’s Center, Room 161
Come discover how free, NSF-funded simulations and curricula from The Concord Consortium can add all three dimensions of the NGSS to your physics, physical science, life science, and chemistry teaching, with emphasis on the science practices. Take away tips and resources to bring NGSS to life in your classroom!