Conferences

Baltimore Convention Center • 1 West Pratt St. • Baltimore, MD 21201

Mark your calendar for NSTA's first 2017 area conference—we'll be in Baltimore, Maryland!

Twitter hashtags: #NSTA17 (2017 conferences), #NSTA (all-purpose)

Session Proposals

Have an idea for an inspiring presentation or workshop on science education? You have until January 17, 2017, to submit a session proposal for the 2017 NSTA Area Conferences. Click here for information on our new guidelines for session proposals and to submit a session proposal today (deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM on Tuesday, January 17, 2017).

Proposal Review Timeline for 2017 Area Conferences

• Submission deadline: January 17, 2017
• Proposals reviewed in March
• Accepted sessions scheduled and acceptance e-mails sent in early spring

Conference Strands

To help you make the most of the professional development opportunities available at the Baltimore conference, the Conference Committee has planned the conference around three strands that explore topics of current significance, enabling you to focus on a specific area of interest or need.

Anchoring Our Natural Treasures Through Environmental Literacy

Today's students are tomorrow's leaders. It is imperative that they be equipped to rise to challenges, including preservation of natural resources, mitigation of air and water pollution, and adaptation to climate change. They must think critically and understand how their actions impact the environment. Engaging students in local action, research, or citizen science projects today fosters the environmentally literate leaders of tomorrow, who are connected to the world around them, and informed enough about the environment to be decision makers. In this strand, teachers will learn to elevate student experiences by partnering with informal educational providers, getting students outdoors, and participating in authentic research.

Tying the Knot: Coherence in 3D Science Learning

The Next Generation Science Standards emphasize three-dimensional learning to explain phenomena. Storylines and learning progressions are used within curriculum development and implementation to provide coherence within and across grade levels. Storylines help students connect activities, goals, and big ideas to make sense of the world. The three-dimensional learning view requires new assessment strategies and tools that provide feedback to support students' sense-making. Assessment, both formative and summative, is instrumental in supporting responsive instruction. In this strand, participants will learn to use storylines, find ways to adapt instruction using responsive strategies, and focus on learning progressions.

Charting the Course for Innovation

To develop innovative scientific leaders for tomorrow, we must foster creativity, academic risk-taking, and perseverance within ALL students today. The next generation science learning environment must engage students in authentic problem solving that respects diverse thinking. A classroom culture that celebrates diverse ideas and solutions is essential for an effective STEM workforce. Presentations in this strand will focus on problem solving in STEM that involve all students. Participants will investigate effective classroom examples supporting preK–16 student learning that involves engineering design projects, use of technology, and computer science.

Conference Committee Leaders

Mary C.H. Weller
Conference Chairperson
Secondary Science
Howard County Public School System
10910 Clarksville Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042

Asli Sezen-Barrie
Program Coordinator
Assistant Professor
Towson University/FCSM
8000 York Rd.
Towson, MD 21252

Mary Stapleton
Local Arrangements Coordinator
Director
Bioscience Education and Outreach
Towson University
701 E. Pratt St., Suite 200
Baltimore, MD 21202