Virtual Events and Webinars

Scheduled and Recent Events

Science and Engineering Education as a Foundational Focus for High Quality Teaching and Learning in Preschool and the Elementary Grades: Past, Present, and Future Directions

Monday, July 14 2025
4-5 pm EDT / 3-4 PM CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Science-Engineering_Education

The world should be a place of wonderment and satisfaction for young students as they explore, investigate, discover, and solve problems that are meaningful to them. Despite their natural curiosity and goal-directed motivation to make sense of their world as budding scientists and engineers, there is still too little research, and educational support and practices leveraging the power of science and engineering as a foundational focus for preschool and elementary school teaching and learning. I will review the long-term, considerable national efforts to make science and engineering a greater focus of preschool and the elementary grades and the research evidence on how science and engineering can improve classroom interactions between students and teachers and support learning across multiple domains of development. Future directions will focus on efforts to align both instruction and assessment from preschool into the elementary grades including the work of the recently funded Elementary Science R & D Center, Center for Advancing Elementary Science through Assessment, Research, and Technology (CAESART).

Speakers:
Daryl B. Greenfield, PhD., University of Miami

Graduate Student Committee - Career Steps Webinar Series #1

Friday, July 25 2025
2-3 pm EDT / 1-2 PM CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Career-Steps-Series1

Navigating the transition from graduate studies to a fulfilling career can feel overwhelming. With countless possibilities - academia, industry, government, non-profits, and beyond - graduate students often find themselves uncertain about which path to pursue or how to begin. The Graduate Student Committee recognizes this challenge and is proud to introduce the Career Steps Webinar Series, an engaging, monthly webinar series designed to illuminate multiple career trajectories, offer practical guidance, and foster meaningful connections within the NARST community. This webinar series features accomplished PhDs and seasoned NARST members who have traversed the journey you are beginning. By sharing their personal stories - complete with challenges, pivotal moments, and unexpected opportunities - our speakers bring to life the myriad routes to career success. More than mere inspiration, these sessions provide concrete strategies, resources, and networks you can leverage as you craft your own path. After all, one connection meaningful connection can be the spark that redefines your career trajectory.

Speaker:
Warren Vineyard, Skagit Valley College

Seeking funding for STEM centering LGBTQ+ Work

Monday, July 28 2025
12-1 pm EDT / 11am - 12 PM CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/STEM-Centering-LGBTQ-Work

This panel discussion will focus on informing and supporting members in pursing funding through the QTPIE organization

Speakers:
Colby Tofel-Grehl, Teachers College Columbia
Sara Porter, Teachers College Columbia

Translanguaging in Different Multilingual Science Education Contexts

Tuesday, August 12 2025
10am-12pm EDT / 9 am – 11 am CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/MultilingualContexts

This event focuses on the exploration of translanguaging as a practice in science education. Invited speakers will showcase example projects from three global/international research teams. These teams will address various topics related to translanguaging in multilingual science education contexts, funded by national and international agencies. The first team will present their work that centers on creating learning environments that allow elementary-aged emerging multilingual students to draw on their conceptual knowledge and translanguaging practices to engage with science. Their work also explores how to support both pre-service and in-service teachers in recognizing and building on students’ sense-making strategies as valuable intellectual contributions in science learning. This project involves researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States of America. The second team will discuss their research focusing on how multilingual students can use both their home languages and the language of instruction to enhance science learning. It explores how allowing students to draw on their full linguistic repertoire leads to deeper understanding and engagement in the classroom. The team also examines teachers' attitudes toward translanguaging, advocating for more inclusive language practices that support both learning and students’ linguistic identities. The second team consists of researchers from University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The third team will highlight how translanguaging along with social mediation can leverage student discursive identities in science classrooms. The team examines translanguaging by teachers and students in a variety of science classrooms in Lebanon where the language of instruction is English and the home language is Arabic. They provide a comparison of learning environments where translanguaging is encouraged and those where instructors strictly adhere to the foreign language. This team consists of researchers from Ohio University, and Texas Christian University, United States of America. This event will provide a platform for participants to share their experiences and insights from integrating translanguaging into science education. The goal is to facilitate a rich exchange of ideas, strategies, and best practices among science educators and science education researchers worldwide.

Group Host: NARST International Committee

Speakers:
Christelle Fayad, Texas Christian University
Arif Rachmatullah, SRI International

Graduate Student Committee - Career Steps Webinar Series #2

Friday, August 29 2025
2 pm EDT / 1 pm CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Career-Steps-Series2

Speakers:
Collins Moga, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Alexander Eden, Florida International University

Science Denial and Disinformation: Teaching and Learning in Uncertain Times

Wednesday, September 17 2025
3–4:30 pm EDT / 2 – 3:30 pm CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Denial-and-Disinformation

This panel--co-hosted by JRST and guest editors (K.C. Busch and Doug Lombardi)--will feature authors from the JRST Virtual Special Issue Learning and Teaching in Times of Science Denial and Disinformation. As science education researchers and practitioners face growing challenges related to misinformation and erosion of public trust in science, this event brings together contributors to share key insights and implications from their published work. The synchronous session will include brief presentations by selected authors followed by a moderated discussion, and will be video recorded and available for asynchronous viewing after the event. This event aims to provide an opportunity to reflect and engage in critical dialogue around the role of science education research and practice in times of information uncertainty and evolving perspectives on the usefulness of scientific practices to facilitate the collective good.

Speakers:
K.C. Busch, North Carolina State University
Doug Lombardi, University of Maryland

CADASE Virtual Mentoring Sessions: Supporting Scholars Across Career Stages

Monday, September 22 2025
1-2:30 pm EDT / 12 – 1:30 pm CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/CADASEVirtSess-Supporting-Scholars

Join the Continental and Diasporic Africa in Science Education (CADASE) RIG for an engaging 90-minute virtual mentoring event focused on supporting scholars navigating academic and professional growth. Whether you are finalizing your dissertation, seeking your first faculty position, or navigating mid-career transitions and solid teaching experiences, this event is designed with you in mind. Participants will pre-register to attend two out of three themed sessions, each offering timely insight and direct mentorship. The research reports, “We recognize that labels such as marginalized, underrepresented, minority, diverse, and scholars of color can be problematic for how we frame identity issues in the academy” (Malacca, M. R. & Mensah, F. M., 2012). “The questions, methods, and methodologies in science teacher education vary and add much to the field’s evolving understanding of research and what is gained in understanding issues and questions to promote science teaching and learning” (Mensah, F. M. & Chen, J. L., 2022). “Existent research indicates that postsecondary Black faculty members, who are sorely underrepresented in the academy, especially in STEM fields, assume essential roles; chief among these roles is diversifying higher education” (Parsons, E. R. et al, 2016). The format of the webinar: 1) Introduction of speakers & the purpose of CADASE from CADASE Special Administration Chairs; 2) 25-minute session of all three topics; 3) Break (Five minutes); 4) 25-minute session of all three topics; 5) Closing remarks from webinar participants and CADASE Chairs. Topics include: 1) Publishing and Junior Faculty Mentoring, focused on manuscript writing and establishing a publication pipeline, facilitator Dr. Felicia Mensah; 2) Job Market and Early Career Mentoring, covering networking, job listings, and career possibilities both within and beyond academia, facilitator Dr. Malcolm Butler; and 3) Current Challenges in Academia and Mid-to-Senior Faculty Mentoring, centering conversations on institutional climate, sustainability, and navigating complex academic landscapes, facilitator Dr. Mary Atwater.

Speakers:
Rona M Robinson-Hill, Ball State University/CADASE Chair
Dr. Jonathan Hall, California State University, San Bernardino/CADASE RIG Chair

Graduate Student Committee - Career Steps Webinar Series #3

Friday, September 26 2025
2 pm EDT / 1 pm CDT

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Career-Steps-Series3

Speakers:
Collins Moga, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Alexander Eden, Florida International University