2021 Annual International Conference

Science Education, a Public Good for the Good of the Public? Research to Empower, Evoke, and Revolutionize

The conference theme is a fitting call for this era of drastic change (e.g., population shifts, prominence of technology, disappearing economies) and daunting challenges (e.g., increased frequency of life-impacting natural and human-inspired disasters). It is a charge to conduct science education research for a socially just world.

Substantial progress towards a socially just world in which science education is a public good for the good of the public—a public inclusive of all desiring to partake—is elusive. A call for research to empower, evoke, and revolutionize may be heretical to those who believe western science, one foundation of science education, is a universal, objective body of knowledge immune to the frailties of humans who construct it and the sociopolitical contexts in which it is constructed. It may be unsettling for others who see science education strictly through an individual rather than group and complex systems lens and it may be disconcerting to those who adhere to presentism, an ahistorical view that exclusively attributes current conditions to the here and now.

Receptive or not, the drastic changes and daunting challenges at this time demand all hands on deck and warrant an equity- and equality-oriented criticality—an intentional, exacting examination to deconstruct and disrupt the status quo privileging a few in pursuit of a socially just world for the many.

The time for research to empower (envision beyond the existing boundaries), evoke (think and act boldly in times of ease and turmoil), and revolutionize (abandon the idea good intentions are enough and institute change to achieve equitable and equal outcomes) is now. It is this kind of research the 2021 conference aims to inspire.

Welcome Message from NARST President Eileen Parsons

Closing Remarks from NARST President Eileen Parsons

Additional Theme Information

NARST 2021 Virtual Conference Flyer.pdf286.04 KB

Plenary Sessions

Beyond Buzzwords: Reimagining the Default Settings of Science & Society

Plenary Session 1

Dr. Ruha Benjamin

Ruha Benjamin is a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and author of People’s Science: Bodies and Rights on the Stem Cell Frontier (Stanford University Press). She has studied the social dimensions of science, technology, and medicine for over fifteen years and speaks widely on issues of innovation, equity, health, and justice in the U.S. and globally.

Pre-Conference Workshops
April 5, 2021 Rethinking how you understand your data with R As science education researchers, we regularly rely on data to answer our research questions. Once we have collected data from teachers and students, there are a myriad of tools available to us to analyze it. However, these tools have certain affordances, and these affordances influence how we approach data analysis, or as Maslow put it: I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. Thus, tools make certain things not only very easy for us but they also filter other ways of approaching the data. To empower researchers to conduct the analyses they want to do and do so in a reproducible way, tools that are powerful but at the same time flexible are needed. The goal of this workshop is to help researchers to take the first step in this direction by introducing them to R, an open source software for data analysis. Maximum Attendees: 40 Fee: $0.00 Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 8:00am-12:00noon Eastern ____________________ April 5, 2021 Early Career Faculty Forum This year the forum will use a panel approach to introduce junior faculty members and post-doctoral fellows to peers, recently promoted colleagues, and prominent scholars. The forum will focus on the nuances of succeeding during the early career years as a faculty member. Our discussions will include issues of developing and maintaining a research agenda (e.g., publications & grant writing), adhering to teaching responsibilities, and effective ways for engaging in meaningful service experiences. In addition, the forum will explore many of the challenges of transitioning into new professional roles and maintaining balance in your life in the process. The Early Career Faculty forum will provide participants with a detailed examination of the many small nuances that impact the successful navigation of early faculty careers in science education. Maximum Attendees: 100 Fee: $0.00 Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 8:00am-12:00noon Eastern ____________________ April 5, 2021 Integrating Computational Thinking (CT) into Elementary Science Online and Face-to-Face: How to run a successful PD for pre-service and in-service teachers with a proven framework, tech tools, and strategies With the inclusion of computational thinking (CT) as a science and engineering practice in the Next Generation Science Standards, the demand for teacher knowledge of this emerging concept is growing. But, as many teacher educators and professional developers seek to present CT, relatively little research and guidance is available. During this hands-on workshop, participants will learn strategies to build robust professional development around integrating CT practices into inquiry-based elementary science lessons. Participants will be introduced to a CT framework designed for elementary science classrooms, experience tech tools that can be used to build successful PD activities, and collaborate to brainstorm adaptations for this model in their unique setting, whether with in-service teachers or as an extra curricular learning experience for pre service teachers. Maximum Attendees: 45 Fee: $0.00 Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 12:30pm- 3:30pm Eastern ____________________ April 5, 2021 Science education, a public good for the good of the public: Indigenous science education and research as place-based knowledge in the pandemics era of COVID- 19. This workshop will provide participants with an overview of issues faced by indigenous communities particularly in the current pandemic and/post-pandemic era. Such issues ranging from loss of traditional lands, resources, and language, to threats brought by climate change, COVID-19 to subsistence living, health and lifestyles, in general. A featured speaker presents Native American perspectives on Coronavirus issues and opportunities in science education and research. This is followed by conversations to conceptualize and implement meaningful, community engaged research in Indigenous settings to enact place-based knowledge and methodologies in combating the coronavirus. Maximum Attendees: 50 Fee: $0.00 Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 12:30pm-4:30pm Eastern ____________________ April 6, 2021 Pushing the Boundaries: Exploring the Potential of an Online Practice Suite to Support Elementary Science Teachers in Learning How to Engage Students in Argumentation In this workshop, we will introduce participants to a suite of practice-based activities that can be used for synchronous and asynchronous integration within online and face-to-face elementary science education courses. These activities are designed to help preservice teachers (PSTs) learn how to engage in one high-leverage teaching practice: facilitating argumentation-focused. The practice-based activities include: (1) interactive, online digital games that create targeted practice spaces to engage PSTs in considering and responding to students’ content focused ideas and interactions; (2) performance-based tasks that provide opportunities for PSTs to practice facilitating discussions with a group of five upper elementary avatars in a simulated classroom; and (3) a virtual reality environment that allows for verbal, textual, and non-verbal interactions between a teacher avatar and 24 student avatars in an immersive whole classroom environment. Maximum Attendees: 45 Fee: $0.00 Schedule: Tuesday, April 6 from 8:00am- 12:00noon Eastern ____________________ April 6, 2021 LARIG Pre-Conference Workshop: Empowering Latinx Graduate Students, Early Career Educators and Scholars in Science Education (Multilingual Workshop) Abstract This workshop aims to be an empowering space for Latinx other culturally and linguistically diverse scholars, educators and graduate students to identify the properties of effective a) mentorships b) research publications and c) tenure and promotion process from other successfully established scholars in the science education research community. Workshop panelists will present their research and experiences as Latinx in the field of science education to illustrate relevant examples of projects with Latinx peers and students. The session is also designed for new Latinx scholars and other culturally and linguistically diverse NARST members to establish supportive relationships with knowledgeable mentors and with each other, thus increasing their repertoire of strategies for successfully navigating academia. Attendees: 30 Fee: Students and Teachers: $0.00; Researchers and Professors: $25.00 Schedule: Tuesday, April 6 from 8:00am- 12:00noon Eastern ____________________ April 6, 2021 Equity and Ethics Preconference Workshop Through an equity and ethics lens, pre-conference workshop participants will engage in constructive and meaningful dialogue with leading science education scholars about strategies to develop critical and scientifically literate educators both within and beyond their classroom practice, research, and service. Additionally, we will discuss how to leverage our research to empower, evoke, and revolutionize communities as they participate in relevant and important science. Dialogue centered on equity, citizenship, privilege, access, and science education research between and among workshop participants and leading science education scholars will be facilitated through discussions. Maximum Attendees: 45 Fee: $0.00 Schedule: Tuesday, April 6 from 12:30pm- 4:00pm Eastern ____________________ April 9, 2021 Mindfulness Practices for Stress Relief and Self Care in the Time of COVID (duration: 90 min) Organizer: Paula Huffman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC Program on Integrative Medicine This Mindfulness workshop will: Develop strategies for using Mindfulness Techniques that can be practiced anywhere, anytime. Practice techniques that help to cultivate the ability to respond from a calmer baseline to daily life events. Learn ways to slow the ruminating mind, thereby decreasing catastrophic thinking and its effect on our overall well-being. Enhance stress resiliency as we develop techniques for intentionally focusing on positive and pleasurable life events.

Pre-Conference Workshops

April 5, 2021

Rethinking how you understand your data with R

As science education researchers, we regularly rely on data to answer our research questions. Once we have collected data from teachers and students, there are a myriad of tools available to us to analyze it. However, these tools have certain affordances, and these affordances influence how we approach data analysis, or as Maslow put it: I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail. Thus, tools make certain things not only very easy for us but they also filter other ways of approaching the data. To empower researchers to conduct the analyses they want to do and do so in a reproducible way, tools that are powerful but at the same time flexible are needed. The goal of this workshop is to help researchers to take the first step in this direction by introducing them to R, an open source software for data analysis.

Maximum Attendees: 40
Fee: $0.00
Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 8:00am-12:00noon Eastern

____________________

April 5, 2021

Early Career Faculty Forum

This year the forum will use a panel approach to introduce junior faculty members and post-doctoral fellows to peers, recently promoted colleagues, and prominent scholars. The forum will focus on the nuances of succeeding during the early career years as a faculty member. Our discussions will include issues of developing and maintaining a research agenda (e.g., publications & grant writing), adhering to teaching responsibilities, and effective ways for engaging in meaningful service experiences. In addition, the forum will explore many of the challenges of transitioning into new professional roles and maintaining balance in your life in the process. The Early Career Faculty forum will provide participants with a detailed examination of the many small nuances that impact the successful navigation of early faculty careers in science education.

Maximum Attendees: 100
Fee: $0.00
Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 8:00am-12:00noon Eastern

____________________

April 5, 2021

Integrating Computational Thinking (CT) into Elementary Science Online and Face-to-Face: How to run a successful PD for pre-service and in-service teachers with a proven framework, tech tools, and strategies

With the inclusion of computational thinking (CT) as a science and engineering practice in the Next Generation Science Standards, the demand for teacher knowledge of this emerging concept is growing. But, as many teacher educators and professional developers seek to present CT, relatively little research and guidance is available. During this hands-on workshop, participants will learn strategies to build robust professional development around integrating CT practices into inquiry-based elementary science lessons. Participants will be introduced to a CT framework designed for elementary science classrooms, experience tech tools that can be used to build successful PD activities, and collaborate to brainstorm adaptations for this model in their unique setting, whether with in-service teachers or as an extra curricular learning experience for pre service teachers.
Maximum Attendees: 45
Fee: $0.00
Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 12:30pm- 3:30pm Eastern

____________________

April 5, 2021

Science education, a public good for the good of the public: Indigenous science education and research as place-based knowledge in the pandemics era of COVID- 19.

This workshop will provide participants with an overview of issues faced by indigenous communities particularly in the current pandemic and/post-pandemic era. Such issues ranging from loss of traditional lands, resources, and language, to threats brought by climate change, COVID-19 to subsistence living, health and lifestyles, in general. A featured speaker presents Native American perspectives on Coronavirus issues and opportunities in science education and research. This is followed by conversations to conceptualize and implement meaningful, community engaged research in Indigenous settings to enact place-based knowledge and methodologies in combating the coronavirus.

Maximum Attendees: 50
Fee: $0.00
Schedule: Monday, April 5 from 12:30pm-4:30pm Eastern

____________________

April 6, 2021

Pushing the Boundaries: Exploring the Potential of an Online Practice Suite to Support Elementary Science Teachers in Learning How to Engage Students in Argumentation

In this workshop, we will introduce participants to a suite of practice-based activities that can be used for synchronous and asynchronous integration within online and face-to-face elementary science education courses. These activities are designed to help preservice teachers (PSTs) learn how to engage in one high-leverage teaching practice: facilitating argumentation-focused. The practice-based activities include: (1) interactive, online digital games that create targeted practice spaces to engage PSTs in considering and responding to students’ content focused ideas and interactions; (2) performance-based tasks that provide opportunities for PSTs to practice facilitating discussions with a group of five upper elementary avatars in a simulated classroom; and (3) a virtual reality environment that allows for verbal, textual, and non-verbal interactions between a teacher avatar and 24 student avatars in an immersive whole classroom environment.

Maximum Attendees: 45
Fee: $0.00
Schedule: Tuesday, April 6 from 8:00am- 12:00noon Eastern

____________________

April 6, 2021

LARIG Pre-Conference Workshop: Empowering Latinx Graduate Students, Early Career Educators and Scholars in Science Education (Multilingual Workshop)

Abstract
This workshop aims to be an empowering space for Latinx other culturally and linguistically diverse scholars, educators and graduate students to identify the properties of effective a) mentorships b) research publications and c) tenure and promotion process from other successfully established scholars in the science education research community. Workshop panelists will present their research and experiences as Latinx in the field of science education to illustrate relevant examples of projects with Latinx peers and students. The session is also designed for new Latinx scholars and other culturally and linguistically diverse NARST members to establish supportive relationships with knowledgeable mentors and with each other, thus increasing their repertoire of strategies for successfully navigating academia.

Attendees: 30
Fee: Students and Teachers: $0.00; Researchers and Professors: $25.00
Schedule: Tuesday, April 6 from 8:00am- 12:00noon Eastern

____________________

April 6, 2021

Equity and Ethics Preconference Workshop

Through an equity and ethics lens, pre-conference workshop participants will engage in constructive and meaningful dialogue with leading science education scholars about strategies to develop critical and scientifically literate educators both within and beyond their classroom practice, research, and service. Additionally, we will discuss how to leverage our research to empower, evoke, and revolutionize communities as they participate in relevant and important science. Dialogue centered on equity, citizenship, privilege, access, and science education research between and among workshop participants and leading science education scholars will be facilitated through discussions.

Maximum Attendees: 45
Fee: $0.00
Schedule: Tuesday, April 6 from 12:30pm- 4:00pm Eastern

____________________

April 9, 2021

Mindfulness Practices for Stress Relief and Self Care in the Time of COVID (duration: 90 min)
Organizer: Paula Huffman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC Program on Integrative Medicine

This Mindfulness workshop will:

Develop strategies for using Mindfulness Techniques that can be practiced anywhere, anytime.
Practice techniques that help to cultivate the ability to respond from a calmer baseline to daily life events.
Learn ways to slow the ruminating mind, thereby decreasing catastrophic thinking and its effect on our overall well-being.
Enhance stress resiliency as we develop techniques for intentionally focusing on positive and pleasurable life events.