Conference Strands
To help you make the most of the professional development opportunities available at the Portland conference, the Conference Committee has planned the conference around three strands of current significance, enabling you to focus on a specific area of interest or need.
Green science helps us identify issues and develop solutions for environmental sustainability. Topics include energy use, natural resource management, architecture, transportation, waste management, and manufacturing. This strand will help participants increase their understanding of scientific inquiry, related social challenges, interactions within the ecosystem, and various aspects of science and technology.
Elementary educators report that they feel least prepared to teach physical science. In order for teachers to examine students’ ideas and ways of thinking, teachers need an understanding of the misconceptions that students bring to the classroom and the confidence to ask students higher-order questions. This strand will improve participants’ understanding of scientific inquiry and the nature of science within the context of physical science concepts, including force and motion, magnetism and electricity, and properties of matter.
All K–12 teachers search for opportunities to emphasize interrelationships among content areas. Science provides an excellent venue for promoting student achievement in reading and writing. Student success and real-world applications in science require literacy skills.
For a list of sessions for each strand, click on the links above.