Archived Webinars

For any webinars after April 2021, they are housed on our brand new Learning Center. Check it out here.

"Integrating Science and Language for All Students with a Focus on English Learners" April 22, 2021 NSELA MEMBERS, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS. In collaboration with the New York State Education Department, the New York University team developed a series of seven webinars and topic briefs to describe how to integrate science and language in instruction and assessment for all students with a focus on English learners. Taking the perspective of science disciplines, the series offers a detailed explanation of how science and language instructional shifts are mutually supportive of each other to promote both science and language learning with English learners. The series is timely, as academically rigorous science standards are currently being implemented across the nation. The purpose of this presentation is for participants to explore how this webinar and brief series can support the implementation of the science standards and how science and language educators can use the webinar and brief series with various stakeholder groups. Speaker: Okhee Lee, professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University 

"Teaching K-12 Science and Engineering During a Crisis" March 3, 2021. NSELA MEMBERS, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS. The COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in widespread and ongoing changes to how the K–12 education system functions, including disruptions to science teaching and learning environments. In early September, 2020, the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released Teaching Science During the COVID-19 Pandemic, to offer guidance to science educators as they take on the challenge of adapting instruction to these challenging times. The guide aims to describe what high quality science and engineering education can look like in a time of great uncertainty and to support practitioners as they work toward their goals. This session will provide an overview of the key principles in the guide and engage participants in a discussion of how these principles can guide the difficult decisions they are making day to day as they navigate complex blends of virtual and in-person learning environments.​

"Louisiana Remote Learning Adaptations for OpenSciEd and inquiryHub Biology" November 16, 2020 - NSELA MEMBERS, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS. Is your district interested in resource adaptations for remote instruction? Learn how Louisiana is supporting teachers and students in accessing high quality science curricula in remote learning settings.In this webinar, we walk you through the design considerations for the Louisiana Distance Learning Guidance for OpenSciEd and inquiryHub Biology and the supporting resources. We shared side-by-side comparisons of the original curriculum design and the virtual adaptations that best illustrate the implementation of the design considerations.

"Distance Learning Strategies for Sensemaking" October 21, 2020 - NSELA MEMBERS, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS. School is underway in most parts of the country. Whether you are teaching in the classroom, distance-learning environment, or combination of the two, our goal remains the same – provide ALL our students opportunities and access to science learning. In this web seminar, participants will experience distance-learning strategies that support all students in actively trying to figure out how the world works, or “sensemaking”, in the context of a NSTA Daily Do lesson. We’ll reflect on the four critical aspects of sensemaking and leverage digital tools, likely familiar to your students, in innovative ways to support collaborative engagement in the science and engineering practice to build understanding of science ideas needed to explain how or why phenomena occur. 

"Coaching Teachers in NGSS" Monday, September 14th, 2020 - NSELA MEMBERS, CLICK HERE TO ACCESS. This webinar chronicled the 3+year journey of successes and missteps of one science instructional coach from NGSS novice to three-dimensional capacity-building in a large urban district. There were opportunities to collaborate as we think about supporting teachers in the NGSS and consider the current status of science education around the Framework for Science Education. Speaker: Spencer Martin Ed. S., Curriculum Instructional Coach: Secondary Science, Apple Teacher

"Staying Grounded when Teaching Remote" May 12, 2020 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS This webinar talks about resources to support educators in staying grounded in the best practices of science teaching and learning while they shift to remote learning during school closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources are aligned to the routines and elements of student-driven storyline instructional models that are central to OpenSciEd, inquiryHub Biology, and NextGen Storylines materials. These resources are a collaborative effort of the University of Colorado, The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas, and OpenSciEd and were informed by feedback and guidance from educators.

"Reimagining the Possibilities" May 5, 2020 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS How can we reimagine science learning in a way that that makes sense during the pandemic? How can we help teachers and families keep learning going in a meaningful way? This webinar examines some tools that do just that. Speaker: Kathy Renfrew, is an experienced elementary teacher/educator who has been privileged to hold many roles in her career. She was an elementary teacher who moved to the Vermont Agency of Education as the Elementary Science Assessment Coordinator. 

NSELA "Coffee Talk Webinar" Apr. 20, 2020 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS The world and its educators and students currently find themselves in unprecedented circumstances. The importance of science as a human endeavor is clear and staying connected during these difficult times is crucial. Join NSELA Board and Committee members for a coffee talk to learn more about the NSELA mission, professional learning offerings, and upcoming webinars. This will also be an opportunity to engage in a generative conversation and to share ideas for supporting science learning and staying connected to staff and students during school closings and beyond.

"Supporting Shifts in Science Teaching and Learning in Five Dimensions" Feb. 24, 2020 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS Douglas Watkins, Denver Public Schools High-School Science Curriculum Specialist shares his experiences in developing, contextualizing to local infrastructure, and applying an observation and evaluation tool that promotes instructional coherence and a shift toward the vision described in A Framework for k-12 Science Education across the district. Douglas shares a process for designing and implementing a 5-dimensional context-aligned teacher observation tool.

"The 2018 NSSME+: Implications for Science Education Leaders" Nov. 12, 2019 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
Eric R. Banilower is a Vice President at Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) in Chapel Hill, NC, and has worked in education for over 25 years. His career started as a high school physics and physical science teacher. During that time he participated in the California Scope, Sequence, and Coordination project developing curriculum and assessment materials for the California science reform project. Mr. Banilower joined HRI in 1997 and has worked on a number of research and evaluation projects, including the evaluation of the National Science Foundation’s Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement program. 

"Is Science Enough?" Oct. 29, 2019 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
Dr. Carolyn Landel, Managing Director, Charles A. Dana Center, University of Texas at Austin; Shelly LeDoux, Ed.D., Professional Learning Facilitator, K-12 Services, The University of Texas at Austin | Charles A. Dana Center and Nicole Martin discuss how districts around the country are desperately seeking high-quality instructional materials that translate the NGSS into a coherent set of learning experiences to support student learning of the content. 

FREE - "Discussing the Round One Units Launch" with OpenSciEd Executive Director, Jim Ryan August 29, 2019
NSELA and OpenSciEd Excutive Director, Jim Ryan presented Discussing the Round One Units Launch Originally hosted on August 29, 2019, video playback is now available for the public!

"Makerspaces, Fab Labs & STEM Labs: Safer Designs and Practices!" May 30, 2019 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
NSELA, Dr. Ken Roy, and Dr. Tyler Love presented Makerspaces, Fab Labs & STEM Labs: Safer Designs and Practices! Originally hosted on May 30, 2019, video playback is now available for NSELA Members.

"Phenomenal GRC Lessons" Webinar April 23, 2019 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
Speakers: Kenneth Huff and Brett Moulding
A Framework for K-12 Science Education, the Next Generation Science Standards and state standards based on the Framework, describe science learning expectations in terms of three-dimensions - practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. In this webinar, participants will be introduced to the science performance sequence of Gather, Reason, and Communicate Reasoning (GRC) and will develop a deeper understanding of the role of phenomena in engaging students in science performances. The GRC instructional sequence is an effective approach to facilitating three-dimensional student science performances. GRC provides a structure for instruction consistent with the research in how students learn science. Webinar participants will learn about a website with vetted GRC lessons for each K-12 grade-level NGSS standard. The webinar will help participants gain useful insights into the recently released NASEM report Science and Engineering Grades 6-12: Investigations and Design at the Center. This report provides a meaningful description of how to achieve classroom instruction consistent with the Framework.

"STEM For All Students" Feb. 14, 2019 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
NSELA and Okhee Lee are pleased to present STEM For All Students. This webinar focused on science instruction using the Framework and NGSS. This approach will be more relevant to those states that have adopted or adapted the NGSS.

"Science Professional Learning Standards: A Tool for Designing, Supporting, and Evaluating Professional Learning" Jan. 10, 2019 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
A compelling webinar on January 10th featured the new Science Professional Learning Standards developed by the Council of State Science Supervisors. Join Brett Moulding and Cathy Mackey to learn more about how this guiding document can help professional development leaders design and implement high quality opportunities for educators.

"Three Dimensional Learning Using Data Collection Technology" Nov. 6, 2018 NSELA MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
Vernier and NSELA conducted a joint webinar: Data logging allows students to collect experimental data quickly and efficiently so that classroom emphasis can shift to more important functions - asking new questions, extending experiments, and analyzing results using appropriate mathematical tools. Many studies that can’t be done with traditional experimental equipment become possible with the right tools. This webinar will emphasize how technology can assist teachers in the development of three dimensional classroom activities. Presenters: David Carter, STEM Training Director, Vernier, Ann Hammersly, Consultant, Vernier, Gary Myers, Director of Outreach and Business Development, Vernier

This joint webinar features Achieve, CSSS, and NSELA and discussion a system of assessments. Presenters: Aneesha Badrinarayan, James Blake, Kevin Anderson, and Sara Cooper.

This presentation was lead by Michael Novak (Northwestern University) and Misty Richmond (Chicago Public Schools) sharing the work they have done creating and implementing 3Dimensional Storylines. Presenters: Aneesha Badrinarayan, Achieve, James Blake, NSELA, Kevin Anderson, CSSS

New computer-based assessments move beyond multiple-choice questions to those that assess student understanding and thinking. Using interactive simulations in classroom instruction can help schools and districts prepare to meet the challenges of the new standards and assessments. Presenters: Pam Larson, Professional Development Director, ExploreLearning and Laura Chervenak, VP of Professional Development, ExploreLearning 

The new federal education law – the Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA – includes a significant shift of decision-making to the state and local levels, and provides states and districts with flexibility to set new policy and funding priorities. District leaders nationwide are now determining their priorities under ESSA, informed by their state plans, and how they can best take advantage of the new federal education law. ESSA offers schools and districts the opportunity to rethink programs and support better student outcomes in science. Presenters:  Michael Lach, Director of STEM Education and Strategic Initiatives at UChicago STEM Education and the Urban Education Institute of the University of Chicago, Jodi Peterson, Assistant Executive Director of Legislative and Public Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and Dr. Missi Zender-Sakach, NSELA President.