WSST Conference 2025

The Physics Classroom is a one stop shop. It is an interactive up to date text book, it has on line lab simulations, it has differentiated progressive on-line concept builders, it has a test generator that can grade, it ties in with Modeling Curricullum, ACT Prep sections, Lesson plans for all levels of Physics including beginning teachers, video tutorials, it is continually being improved and updated, and all this for much cheaper than any textbook on the market. This presentation will demonstrate the diverse set of learning tools that TPC has for teaching Physics and Chemistry. While TPC is always free, the low fee of using the Task Tracker system to monitor student progress will be emphasized only because it is a great tool and gives you more time to do what you love...helping students learn! TPC has a diverse set of tools and resources that litteraly cover almost every aspect of teaching Physics and is progressing to providing Chemistry rources too. The presenters will be the Owner/Software designer Trevor Fayas and a regular classroom teacher who uses it.

Are you new to the WSST Conference? We’re excited to have you join us! To help you make the most of your experience, we invite you to a special Newcomers’ Welcome session where you can learn the ins and outs of the conference.
This session is designed to help you:

• Navigate the conference schedule and key events
• Connect with fellow educators and network with ease
• Discover tips for maximizing your professional development experience
• Get answers to any questions you may have

Whether it’s your first time attending or you’re returning after a while, we’re here to ensure you feel welcomed and well-prepared. We look forward to meeting you and making your WSST experience unforgettable!

We’re excited to invite you to the WSST Retirees Meet & Greet, a special gathering to reconnect, share stories, and celebrate the lasting impact of science educators like you!
Come enjoy a relaxed atmosphere where you can:

• Reconnect with fellow retired educators
• Share your experiences and wisdom with current members
• Learn about opportunities to stay involved with WSST

Let’s celebrate the incredible community you’ve helped build and continue inspiring the next generation of science educators. We can’t wait to see you there!

Discuss and share samples of various fermented beverages/foods and smoked meats. Designed to be a social gathering for those to share samples and ideas with fellow fermenters and meat smokers.

This session focuses on empowering educators to teach climate change in a locally relevant, meaningful way by leveraging the Wisconsin Climate Hub as a resource and connecting climate educators across the nation. Participants will explore how collaboration among state leads fosters state-specific climate education while offering opportunities for nationwide connections. The session will begin with a discussion of the challenges and opportunities in teaching about climate change, followed by a deep dive into the Wisconsin Climate Hub—a platform designed to support educators with credible, engaging resources, lesson plans, and professional development opportunities. Attendees will be guided through a walkthrough of the Hub, including its navigation tools, state-specific resources, and pedagogical support articles. The session will also provide an opportunity for educators to create accounts, explore resources, and share their discoveries with peers. Key topics will include Earth Day, math integration, plastic pollution, and climate education for younger students. Finally, attendees will be introduced to the free SubjectToClimate courses available to educators, empowering them with additional tools to enhance their climate education curriculum. The session aims to foster collaboration, build knowledge, and inspire action in the classroom.

Learning Objectives:
1. Reflect on the challenges and opportunities of teaching climate change.
2. Navigate and utilize the Wisconsin Climate Hub for state-specific resources and professional development.
3. Engage in hands-on exploration of resources, with an emphasis on pedagogical strategies and local context.
4. Discover additional tools and courses to enhance climate education in the classroom.

Join us for a roundtable discussion centered around Physics, Physical Science, or teaching in general. Have ideas to share? Great! Have questions you need help with? Bring them! Looking to connect with Physics teachers and grow your network? Fantastic!

Are you looking at making your lessons impactful? Are you struggling to find good graphs to help your students practice? You can generate real world graphs that will paint pictures for students. Using these tools, students can make their own weather predictions, discover real time weather information, and verify weather data after weather events. You will learn how to make your own weather collection tools and have students gather real time weather data to compile over time. Help prepare students for the ACT by having them analyze data from one of the most difficult graphs to read, the SKEW-t. By reading this graph, students can analyze the weather at your school and determine the cloud heights, whether it will precipitate, what kind of precipitation, and whether severe weather is on its way. Students will also be able to explore various climates around the country and around the world by analyzing these graphs and comparing them to other regions. The weather in Wisconsin is drastically different from Saudi Arabia. Come explore how students can read graphs for real.

In today’s diverse classrooms, science teachers must support students learning English as an additional language while fostering their scientific curiosity. This interactive presentation, designed for middle and high school science teachers and support staff, offers a practical approach to meeting this need. Through empathy-building activities, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges multilingual students face, and they’ll leave with actionable tools, resources, and strategies to create a more inclusive learning environment.

Instead of an abstract discussion on ideal solutions, this session is grounded in reality—focused on changes you can implement in your classroom next week. Participants will explore targeted methods for making science and engineering practices accessible, build a network of like-minded educators, and engage in a sample lesson designed to show how phenomena-based teaching can naturally support multilingual learners. Join this session at the 2025 Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers convention to enrich your teaching toolkit and inspire your multilingual students to thrive in science!

We will share the research trajectory of a program developed to support multilingual learners to demonstrate their evolving learning in science and spend time looking at examples of the assessments we developed. Participants will discuss the design principles involved in accessible assessments and how to leverage them to develop more robust academic language over time. Participants will leave with 3D assessments and grading rubrics ready for their middle school classrooms, as well as research-based strategies for adapting their existing assessments for struggling readers and English Learners.

Many science educators are using existing High Quality Instructional Materials developed outside of Wisconsin and want to adapt them to be more relevant for our students. Finding the time and resources to make adaptations that do not change the trajectory of the existing storyline can be challenging. During this presentation we will consider the rationale for changing storylines, examine cautions of equating “local” with “relevant” phenomena, and discuss options for the most realistic places to spend our efforts to adapt existing materials to make them more relevant for our students. Suggestions are research-based with recommendations from professional developers.

Join us this July at the 1200-acre property at Lowenwood in Land O' Lakes, WI. Fuel your drive to deliver high-quality science learning experiences. Dig deeper into what three-dimensional, phenomenon-based instruction looks and feels like. Experience first-hand the type of sense-making intended with the Next Generation Science Standards. Most importantly, recharge your passion by reflecting on the impact that you are having and connect with like-minded science educators from around the state.

Join us for a collaborative session designed specifically for teachers new to AP Biology (less than five years of experience). This discussion-based session will provide an opportunity to share resources, strategies, and insights while reflecting on what has worked well and what challenges you’ve faced in teaching AP Biology. Topics will include navigating the course framework, engaging students in challenging content, managing labs, and preparing for the AP exam. Bring your questions, ideas, and experiences to contribute to a supportive community of educators eager to grow together. Whether you're refining your approach or looking for new tools, this session is an opportunity to connect with and learn from and with your peers.

We will explain how educators can sign up and become a Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education Member. We will explain all the benefits of being a member. We will also explain all the free things you are entitled to as a member. After the first year you renew as a member for free annually. There are stem kits, Lessons for your classroom, free teacher orientation flights.

Lessons have NSSG objectives and areas listed. Our goal is to get teachers teaching aerospace education lessons to give students a taste for learning more about aviation. We have frees stem kits and lessons for their classrooms. We try to show them how they can maximize their efforts in getting stem kits. We also demonstrate the ease in which you can get free materials and a flight in a Civil Air Patrol plane.

We explain how you pay only once, and can then sign up annually free of charge every year after the first year. We also like to give Teachers Airplane rides. When you get a chance to fly it becomes an experience you want to share with your students.

Calling all EARTH SCIENCE teachers to a round table discussion session to collaborate, share resources and build future connections! We will explore different phenomena based storylines in Earth science, focusing on those that are free to teachers and learn how to join online communities for questions, modified documents and so much more! Bring your computer and any resources you would like to share, as well as gain access to many free resources and google drives for teaching hands on Earth science at any level!