Harnessing students’ innate curiosity about the natural world and desire to protect it can be done with hands-on classroom activities that build STEM skills, increase environmental literacy and show sustainable paths forward. In this session, the presenter will facilitate a series of interdisciplinary lessons that involve collecting and analyzing data, creating 3D models and working collaboratively on solving authentic problems. Raise environmental literacy while creating a 3-D model of land use, engaging in a simulation of carrying capacity in a habitat, and using engineering skills in experimenting ways to clean up a local river. The presented lessons are designed to deepen students’ understanding of “Earth and Human Activities” (ESS3) and Ecosystems (LS2) with several Cross-cutting Concepts (Patterns; Cause-and-Effect; Scale, Proportion and Quantity; Systems and System Models; Stability and Change). Participants will receive lesson plans, data sets and links to digital tools.
Kevin will share NGSS-aligned resources for teaching climate change, vaccines, and evolution. We'll discuss strategies to teach them to students in ways that will be approachable for all. We'll also discuss how to support general media literacy for students - weeding out the fuzzy from the evidence-based. Finally, we'll discuss the psychological barriers that make people want to believe certain things and keep them believing it despite the evidence. It's important to note that private school teachers also teach these topics!
Science Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Dr. Anderson currently works as the Science Education Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). He enjoys helping educators improve science programs and instruction to support all students in making sense of the world and solving problems. Previously, he... Read More →
We will share examples of and have time to work on storyline-based pedagogy. We'll pull form Illinois Storylines, OpenSciEd, and anything else new coming out (hoping on BSCS). It will be interactive, not just listening to us go blah, blah, blah. While it will be the culminating session of the Storylines Book Study this year, people who were not a part of that can still attend and will find it just as valuable. We'll also be drawing from the book, Ambitious Science Teaching.
Science Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Dr. Anderson currently works as the Science Education Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). He enjoys helping educators improve science programs and instruction to support all students in making sense of the world and solving problems. Previously, he... Read More →
Quality literacy and science instruction make a powerful pair. Students have much to gain from classroom instruction that intentionally integrates science and literacy in a way that builds towards rigorous outcomes in both content areas. In this session we will share resources and ideas from a new science leadership tool, hosted by DPI, for implementing quality literacy and science instruction together. Discuss the roles of multiple stakeholders, learn from evidence-based accounts of best practices, and consider the common barriers and pitfalls of integrated instruction.
Science Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Dr. Anderson currently works as the Science Education Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). He enjoys helping educators improve science programs and instruction to support all students in making sense of the world and solving problems. Previously, he... Read More →
Thoughtful systems are essential for elementary science programs. Science leaders from across the state worked to develop a series of Science Leadership Tools to help districts consider ways to implement quality science instruction. Join us to learn about and discuss these five new tools; Developing a Vision, Elementary Materials Selection, Assessment and Reporting, Scheduling, and Connecting Science and Literacy.
Science Coordinator, Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools
I am the Wisconsin Rapids K-12 Science Curriculum Coordinator for 50% of my job and the other 50% is teaching Physics. I am also an adjunct faculty in Physics with Mid-state Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids.
Science Education Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Dr. Anderson currently works as the Science Education Consultant at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). He enjoys helping educators improve science programs and instruction to support all students in making sense of the world and solving problems. Previously, he... Read More →
Delve into the fascinating world of protein structure and function, focusing on the principles of protein folding and the critical role of active sites in enzymes. Participants will explore these complex topics through hands-on molecular models. This session will feature our Amino Acid Starter kit and a first look at the newly redesigned Acetylcholinesterase Active Site Model!
I was a classroom teacher for 25 years. I am now the National SMART team coordinator and Science Educator for 3D Molecular designs.In my free time, I am an avid fisherman and obsessive vinyl record collector.
