Conference Sessions

KSTA is proud to offer a variety of outstanding workshops and featured sessions.

All sessions will be held at the University of Louisville Event and Conference Center at Shelby Campus. Schedule is subject to change.

SESSION 1 - Friday, November 3 - 9:00AM - 10:00AM

TBD

Speakers: 

Grades: 

Carolina Biological Presents: Exploring OpenSciEd

Come experience a model lesson from OpenSciEd for Middle School and see how the new Carolina Certified Edition makes these high-quality instructional materials even better! Leave with classroom resources.

1. Experience the pedagogy of OpenSciEd through a model lesson

2. Learn ways to encourage equitable classroom discourse

3. Create a Driving Question Board to explore real-world phenomena

Speakers: Bonnie Embry

Grades: 6-8

Great Minds & PhD Science Presents: Shifting Gears in Science Education

Great Minds®, the public benefit corporation behind Eureka Math®, presents PhD Science® to support high-quality science instruction. In this session, participants uncover a different approach to teaching through the exploration of the instructional shifts as defined by the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards.  

Speakers: Raegan Johnson

Grades: K-5

Planning for Effective Three Dimensional Science Instruction

Helping students make sense of science means planning for high quality science experiences that engage students in all three dimensions of the NGSS. This session focuses on exploring the ASET 3D Mapping Tool as a mechanism for planning lesson sequences and units that integrate the Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas and Crosscutting Concepts as outlined in the Framework (NRC, 2012). The presenter will lead the participants in analyzing an existing 6-8 curriculum with respect to the related standards, phenomena, learning objectives, science practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. The session is concluded by sharing the lessons learned from researchers and practitioners who have used the 3D map in planning and revising NGSS-aligned science learning experiences. After working in small groups and engaging in whole group discussions, participants will walk away with an NGSS planning tool and tangible unit and lesson plan ideas linked with NGSS. Join three veteran science teachers as they share their experiences with this tool and the impact it has made in their classrooms.

Speakers: Stephanie Harmon, Morgan Taylor, & Elizabeth Stevens

Grades: 6-12

Any Questions? Strategies for Helping Learners Ask Questions.

Creating a culture that support questioning is critical in a phenomena-driven science classroom, however research suggests that questioning accounts for 60% of teachers’ classroom talk and less than 1% of student talk on average (Walsh, 2021). With intentional practice, students can learn the skill of questioning. Explore easy to implement strategies that have the potential to help students become better questioners.

Speakers: Martha Tudor, Green River Regional Educational Cooperative

Grades: K-12

Effective Assessments to Support Rigorous Elementary Student Thinking

The Kentucky Science Standards ask our students to engage in rich, rigorous thinking – including foundational thinking guided by both the set of science and engineering practices as well as the crosscutting concepts. The depth and quality of the targeted thinking increases substantially in rigor as our students progress to middle and then high school. In order to support the development of those rigorous thinking abilities in our elementary school students, strong well-developed assessments for learning can provide both teachers and students with actionable feedback to support ongoing student development. This session will explore resources and approaches for developing and evaluating high-quality multidimensional assessments to support student learning. In most cases, these assessments can be seamlessly embedded in the instructional flow so that, from the student perspective, there is no break or discontinuity between instruction and assessment.

Speakers: Tom Tretter, University of Louisville

Grades: K-5