Have you ever posed a scientific question to your students only to hear crickets? Have you ever planned an intriguing investigation only to have it flop because of lack of student engagement? In this session, science teachers will explore practical strategies to cultivate a classroom culture that inspires curiosity, fosters collaboration, and maximizes student engagement. Participants will learn how to create an environment where students feel valued, safe to take risks, and excited to explore the wonders of science. Through guided discussions, case studies, and hands-on activities, teachers will discover techniques to promote active learning, build a sense of community, and develop classroom routines that support inquiry-based and student-centered teaching. By the end of the session, educators will leave with a toolkit of strategies to strengthen student connections, enhance participation, and create a dynamic classroom atmosphere where students are motivated and eager to learn.
In this professional learning session, participants will explore the power of science notebooks as tools to deepen student sensemaking and engagement in the science classroom. Science notebooks offer students opportunities to document their observations, make connections, and reflect on their learning in ways that support critical thinking and collaboration. Through interactive activities and real-world examples, you’ll leave with ideas and resources to make science notebooking a meaningful part of your students’ learning journey. This session is ideal for educators seeking to empower their students as independent thinkers and problem solvers in the science classroom.
In this hands-on presentation, we will model the amount of water content in a cloud, formation of clouds in a container, and identify clouds in the sky. You’ll walk away with activities and resources you can use in your classroom. These lessons and activities can be used from the elementary grades to high school. Closely tied to the Wisconsin Science Standards, students make predictions, carry out investigations, use models, and construct explanations. I have used these activities in Earth and Space Science classes during the meteorology unit and in Weather & Climate classes while we are investigating the formation of clouds and precipitation. Time permitting, we will look into how reading the clouds in the sky and their movement can help in the weather prediction process and give us an idea of future weather patterns.
Facilitators will bring their 15+ years of background in science to help lead discussion in lab and investigation safety. In this session attendees will share ideas for science investigation facilitation. This will include informal exploration activities as well as formal and multiple day investigations. Ideas will be shared as to how to make classroom safety student centered. Attendees will also test their knowledge on best practices and apply new understanding of best practices to their science classroom by exploring science classroom safety plans.
Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is an emerging technology and important conservation tool of natural resource professionals used to monitor the presence or absence of species, such as invasive carp. This session will engage participants in portions of the field and laboratory experience and in the curriculum refinement process for utilizing environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect the presence of invasive carp in the Wisconsin River. When finalized, participants will receive the field and laboratory investigation protocols and additional educational materials. The curriculum is designed for middle and high school students. Participant objectives are to experience portions of the curriculum and provide critical feedback for refinement. This session connects to NGSS Science Practices 1 & 4 (Plan, justify, and carry out an investigation & Apply reasoning from evidence to support a claim) and Cross Cutting Concept 1 (Interpret cause and effect relationships.)
This project is a collaborative effort between the UW Madison Division of Extension, UW-Madison Genetics & Biotechnology Center, Freshwater@UW Collaborative, Wisconsin 4-H, Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, and the U.S. Geological Survey, and was made possible by a Wisconsin Sea Grant and Division of Extension Innovation Grant.
Time tends to be the limiting factor on how well a teacher can truly dive into using the NGSS standards. A flipped classroom can give time back to the class period and allow for more student collaboration in their learning. In my presentation, I will go over the key elements of managing a flipped classroom. These elements include: the pre-class learning and the technological logistics involved, how to hold students accountable for the pre-class learning, the way a teacher's role is shifted from direct instruction to facilitator, and how to fully utilize the freed up class time for group work, case studies, review activities, and hands-on learning. I will make sure to address the difficulties that also come with a flipped classroom. To keep this session interactive I will have audience members model numerous examples of the interactive review activities that I have used over the years.
After reading Ambitious Science Teaching in 2022, I began to approach my classes much differently. Ambitious Science Teaching is a methodology which encourages student engagement, discussion, problem solving, and modeling. As with any new pedagogy, the desire to implement change can be daunting. Do I need to start from scratch? Can I implement new methods, without having to find new curriculum and materials?
I say you can! Come and hear about my journey to implement Ambitious Science Teaching methodologies, increasing student engagement without completely reinventing the wheel. Student work samples will be shown, so you can get an idea of how implementation of these ideas has increased student achievement as well.
Teacher, Mentoring Coordinator, Shiocton High School
I'm interested in Physics and Chemistry instruction, as well as interesting ways to increase student talk and alternative assessment. I'm also a foodie and comic book nerd.
Thursday April 3, 2025 3:00pm - 3:50pm CDT
Thistle
