Virtual Events and Webinars

Virtual Events and Webinars

Scheduled and Recent Events

 

Behind the Editor's Desk: Learning to Publish and Review for JRST

October 29 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET (2 hrs)

Learn how to publish and review for JRST!

Meet Your Speakers:
Dana Vedder-Weiss, JRST
Edna Tan, JRST
Matt Kloser, JRST
Elif Ozulku, JRST
Gur Arie Livni Alcasid, JRST

Hosted by: JRST Editorial Team

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

The Web of Intersectionality: A reflective tool for exploring identity - Part Two

October 30 2026
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET (2 hrs)

This two-part virtual workshop explores identity formation, intersectionality, and the impacts of structural power on research and practice through creative expression. Participants will move from abstract theory into something more tangible. Through physical crafting and collaborative inquiry, participants will investigate how privileged and marginalized identities manifest in their practice as a researcher or educator.

Attendees will be guided through four phases across the two sessions: contextualizing intersectional frameworks, grounding identity through hands-on creative expression, navigating critical interruptions, and synthesizing practical applications. By the end of the two-part workshop, attendees will be able to: (1) deconstruct traditional identity models by weaving a multi-dimensional identity web; (2) analyze how shifting environments or policies alter identity relationships over time; (3) evaluate dimensions of privilege and marginalization in daily professional practice; and (4) adapt the framework to facilitate critical identity dialogues at their home institutions.

Meet Your Speakers:
Alisa H. Chung, Purdue University
Kaley Mumma, Purdue University
Catlin M. Goodwin, University of Arkansas
Tiffany A. Marzolino, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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

Career Steps Webinar Series #16

October 30 2026
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET

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 organizes 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.

Each session features accomplished professionals who share their academic and career journeys, offering practical advice, personal insights, and lessons learned along the way. Beyond providing career information, the series creates an opportunity for students to explore future possibilities, connect with experienced professionals, and gain the confidence and inspiration to pursue their own career goals.

Meet Your Speaker:
Charlton McIlwain, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement and Development; Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication

Hosted by: Graduate Student Committee

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Graduate_Student_Career_Steps_16

Award Talk: Questions Evolve, Purpose Endures: A Commitment to Meaningful Student Learning

November 9 2026
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

This presentation reflects on my research and service to NARST, guided by a central question: How can we better understand and support students' learning of complex and abstract scientific ideas? My early research examined students’ alternative conceptions and explored how ontological category shifts, analogies, and modeling approaches could support the construction and restructuring of their mental models. Seeking insights beyond cognitive assessments, I investigated facial expressions during counterintuitive phenomena. Decision tree analyses identified micro-expressions of surprise, sadness, and disgust during conceptual conflict as indicators associated with a greater likelihood of conceptual change.

My broader research in assessment and instruction subsequently prompted questions about how AI could help assess scientific explanations and examine conceptual sequencing in textbooks. Recent work explores machine learning for automated scoring and topic modeling of chemistry textbooks to inform assessment and instructional design. Throughout this journey, findings have inspired new questions, while meaningful student learning has remained central. I have learned to evaluate methods not only for the evidence they provide, but also for how that evidence can inform teaching and support students’ conceptual understanding and scientific modeling.

Guided by the Confucian principles of (education for all, without discrimination) and (tailoring instruction to individual learners), I remain committed to equitable, student-centered science education. Drawing on my NARST service, I conclude by reflecting on how professional collaboration and sustained collective effort can strengthen connections between research and practice and advance inclusion within the science education community.

Meet Your Speaker:
Mei-Hung Chiu, National Taiwan Normal University-Graduate Institute of Science Education

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Award_Talk_Mei-Hung_Chiu

Award Talks: Who is Doing the Educating? 
Rethinking Research on Museum Educators and Science Communicators
Toward Meaningful Science Teaching and Learning: A Personal Research Trajectory

November 10 2026
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Who is Doing the Educating? Rethinking Research on Museum Educators and Science Communicators (Megan Innes)
Museums are important sites for science learning, but research has often focused more on audience learning rather than on the people who make those experiences possible. What do we know about the educators, scientists, and science communicators who design programs, facilitate learning, build relationships with communities, and translate science for public audiences? And what do we still need to understand about their experiences, practices, identities, and professional contexts? In my NARST Early Career Research Award talk, I will highlight some of my current research with the people who teach in museums and other informal learning environments. We will discuss gaps and opportunities for further research including the opportunity to spend more attention on informal science educators not simply as program implementers, but as learners, professionals, relationship-builders, and leaders who shape how science is experienced by the public.

Toward Meaningful Science Teaching and Learning: A Personal Research Trajectory (Li Ke)
What makes science learning meaningful to students, and how can classroom experiences connect disciplinary practices with students’ lives, communities, and ways of knowing? In this NARST Early Career Research Award talk, I reflect on the evolution of my research program through these questions. I begin with my work as a graduate research assistant on two large-scale projects examining how to support students’ modeling practices aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). My research then extended into the context of socio-scientific issues (SSI), including the COVID-19 pandemic, where science connects more directly to personal and societal decision-making. I next highlight my current work on teacher co-design with a focus on students’ data practices around wildfires. I conclude with discussing future directions, including arts-based modeling, the integration of translanguaging and modeling for multilingual learners, and international comparative work in science teacher education examining how teachers learn to enact reform pedagogies in relation to local social, political, and cultural contexts.

Meet Your Speakers:
Megan Ennes, Ph.D. (she/her), Associate Curator of Museum Education, Museum Education Research Group, Florida Museum Natural History, University of Florida

Li Ke, Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University of Washington College of Education

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Award_Talk-Megan_Ennes_and_Li_Ke

AI4STEM Education Center's Distinguished Guest Speaker Series: Advancing AI in Science Education

November 12 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

How is artificial intelligence reshaping the goals, practices, and possibilities of science education, and how can we ensure that these changes remain responsible, equitable, and human-centered?

This Distinguished Guest Speaker Series hosted by the AI4STEM Education Center brings together leading scholars featured in the book Advancing AI in Science Education: Envisioning Responsible and Ethical Practice, edited by Xiaoming Zhai and Kent J. Crippen. Across a series of engaging presentations and conversations, chapter authors will share cutting-edge research and practical insights into how AI is transforming science teaching and learning.

Speakers will explore topics such as AI-enhanced science literacy, scientific inquiry, teacher learning, instructional materials, assessment, and the preparation of students for an AI-infused world. The series will also examine critical questions involving fairness, transparency, privacy, accountability, scientific integrity, and the preservation of human judgment. Designed for researchers, educators, students, developers, and others interested in the future of science education, the series provides an opportunity to engage directly with prominent scholars and consider how AI can serve as a meaningful partner rather than a replacement in teaching, learning, and scientific practice.

Meet Your Speakers:
Kent Crippen, Xiaoming Zhai, and Okhee Lee

 

Hosted by: AI4STEM Education Center's Distinguished Guest Speaker Series: Advancing AI in Science Education

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/AI4STEM_Education_Center_Guest_Speaker_Series

Teaching Science to Deaf Students: A Mixed-methods Investigation of Teacher's Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Reimagining Science Teacher Learning through Core Practices of Storyline Instruction

November 17 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 PM

Teaching Science to Deaf Students: A Mixed-methods Investigation of Teacher's Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Scott Cohen)
Recent research highlights the necessity of integrating research-based practices in science teaching within deaf education to equip teachers with resources and materials to enhance science instruction in deaf education. This study employed a mixed method explanatory sequential design to assess the current state of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) on teachers' professional knowledge and skills in science teaching with deaf students. Utilizing the Refined Consensus Model (RCM) of PCK, the study empirically examined how teachers leverage content and pedagogical knowledge to support deaf students' conceptual understanding in science classroom. The PCK Grand Rubric was instrumental in developing research instruments and analyzing data. A survey disseminated to qualified participants yielded thirty responses, forming the basis for a rubric on collective PCK in teaching science to deaf students. Additionally, two survey participants were selected for case studies involving interviews and observations to evaluate their personal and enacted PCK with the rubric. Findings revealed a diverse range of knowledge and skills among science teachers, highlighting various strengths and challenges. The discussion juxtaposes this group with national survey data on science teachers and proposes future directions to advance their PCK knowledge and skills.

Reimagining Science Teacher Learning through Core Practices of Storyline Instruction (Sage Anderson)
In this three-paper dissertation, I focus on how we might reimagine preservice science teacher learning to realize the transformative potential of storyline instruction through Core Practices of Storyline Instruction. In the storyline approach, students work together to figure out and explain a meaningful phenomenon across a unit, with learning driven and motivated by their own questions. Storylines position students as agentic, scientific sensemakers, whose ideas, questions, and experiences are valuable and generative and who are empowered to use science as a way of knowing about and taking consequential action in our world. When taken up with critical intentionality for equity and justice, this model of instruction has the potential to be truly transformative. Grounded in sociocultural theories of learning and practice-based teacher education, I first conceptualized six Core Practices of Storyline Instruction through a theoretical document analysis of existing scholarship and curriculum resources. I, then, examined how preservice teachers, participating in a redesigned science methods course, took up and leveraged these core practices with critical intentionality in their planning and rehearsals of instruction. Finally, I developed a practical rubric to help teachers evaluate and strengthen existing curricula toward more coherent, phenomenon-driven, and justice-oriented science teaching. Together, these studies contribute a coherent framework for supporting teacher learning that keeps teaching practice and justice-oriented visions of science education in sustained conversation. This work advances research on practice-based teacher education and offers concrete tools for fostering more equitable and transformative possibilities in K–12 science classrooms.

Meet Your Speakers:
Sage Andersen, Ph.D. (she/her), Assistant Professor of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction, Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department, SUNY Cortland

Scott Cohen, Assistant Professor, Undergraduate Program Director, Department of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Lamar University

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

 

Award Talk: Why Understanding the Nature of Science Matters More than Ever

November 19
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

What happens to science when artificial intelligence becomes a dialogic partner in scientific knowledge production? What do human scientists need to understand about science when scientific investigations are automated? How can the public navigate misinformation about science when social group identity may bias beliefs leading to hard scientific evidence being ignored? Such questions expose the need to revisit how nature of science is conceptualised for science education in the contemporary era. They signal an ever more pressing need for scientists and citizens alike to understand how science works, not only in terms understanding what scientific knowledge is about, how it is generated and by whom but also about how science works as a social and institutional enterprise mediated by social values and norms. In this presentation we use a systemic account of nature of science where the cognitive, epistemic, social and institutional aspects of science influence one another, demonstrating the relevance of a holistic approach to understanding the nature of science. Recommendations are made for science curriculum reform, teaching and learning, and teacher education.

Meet Your Speakers:
Sibel Erduran, University of Oxford

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

Science Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence

November 19 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

How is artificial intelligence reshaping the goals, practices, and possibilities of science education and how can we ensure that these changes remain responsible, equitable, and human-centered?

This Distinguished Guest Speaker Series hosted by the AI4STEM Education Center brings together leading scholars featured in the book Advancing AI in Science Education: Envisioning Responsible and Ethical Practice, edited by Xiaoming Zhai and Kent J. Crippen. Across a series of engaging presentations and conversations, chapter authors will share cutting-edge research and practical insights into how AI is transforming science teaching and learning.

Speakers will explore topics such as AI-enhanced science literacy, scientific inquiry, teacher learning, instructional materials, assessment, and the preparation of students for an AI-infused world. The series will also examine critical questions involving fairness, transparency, privacy, accountability, scientific integrity, and the preservation of human judgment. Designed for researchers, educators, students, developers, and others interested in the future of science education, the series provides an opportunity to engage directly with prominent scholars and consider how AI can serve as a meaningful partner rather than a replacement in teaching, learning, and scientific practice.

Meet Your Speakers:
Knut Neumann

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/AI4STEM_Part_2

Career Steps Webinar Series #17

November 20 2026
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

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 organizes 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.

Each session features accomplished professionals who share their academic and career journeys, offering practical advice, personal insights, and lessons learned along the way. Beyond providing career information, the series creates an opportunity for students to explore future possibilities, connect with experienced professionals, and gain the confidence and inspiration to pursue their own career goals.

Meet Your Speaker:
Julie Luft, University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor, Athletic Association Professor, Science Education Science Education Graduate Coordinator Section Q (Education) Chair, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Hosted by: Graduate Student Committee

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Graduate_Student_Career_Steps_17

Responsible AI Use in STEM Education Research

December 4 2026
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

AI tools can be used in nearly every aspect of an education researcher's workflow, but should they?

Issues related to the responsible use of AI range from data privacy to intellectual debt. Rapid advances in AI tools and their use cases can make it difficult for researchers to stay up to date on these issues. The result is a landscape that puts high demands on researchers to determine whether and how to use AI tools.

To address these concerns, we engaged in a community-driven effort to develop guidelines for STEM education researchers so that they can use AI tools effectively and responsibly. The result is the report Guidelines For Responsible Use of AI in STEM Education Research: Protecting Participant Communities and Research Integrity, which benefitted from the contributions of dozens of scholars with expertise in STEM education research, AI, and ethics.

In this engaging, interactive webinar, we will introduce the report, guidelines, and supplementary materials. We will provide researchers with the information and tools that they need to determine whether, when, and how to use AI in their own context. The presentation will include guidelines and tools to support individuals and research groups in establishing policies that align with their own goals for the responsible use of AI.

Meet Your Speakers:
Dr. Julie M. Smith, Institute for Advancing Computing Education
Dr. Monica McGill, Institute for Advancing Computing Education

Hosted by: Institute for Advancing Computing Education

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

Teaching Students How to Notice: Translating Contemplative Pedagogy Research into Practice

December 9 2026
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Contemplative practices are increasingly present in educational settings, yet their use in K-12 schools has often centered on mindfulness, stress reduction, attention, and social-emotional learning. A growing body of contemplative pedagogy scholarship suggests another possibility: contemplative practices can be integrated directly into disciplinary instruction to shape how students attend to, observe, interpret, question, and engage with scientific content.

This interactive Research to Practice session will translate scholarship on contemplative pedagogy into practical approaches for science teaching. Participants will examine the distinction between using contemplative practices with instruction, for example, to prepare students to focus, and teaching through contemplative practices, where the practice becomes part of how students investigate disciplinary content. Drawing upon research and examples from science education, participants will experience and analyze practices such as beholding scientific representations, contemplative engagement with texts, reflective inquiry, and intentional slowing down. The session will emphasize how these approaches can complement science practices such as observation, interpretation of models and data, pattern recognition, questioning, and evidence-based reasoning. Participants will leave with adaptable strategies for incorporating contemplative pedagogy into elementary and secondary science instruction and a framework for considering when, why, and how contemplative practices support disciplinary learning.

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

Capitalizing on Artificial Intelligence to Create Critical Entry Points That Support Science Teacher Learning and the Work of Science Teaching

December 10 2026
12:00PM - 1:00 PM

How is artificial intelligence reshaping the goals, practices, and possibilities of science education, and how can we ensure that these changes remain responsible, equitable, and human-centered?

This Distinguished Guest Speaker Series hosted by the AI4STEM Education Center brings together leading scholars featured in the book Advancing AI in Science Education: Envisioning Responsible and Ethical Practice, edited by Xiaoming Zhai and Kent J. Crippen. Across a series of engaging presentations and conversations, chapter authors will share cutting-edge research and practical insights into how AI is transforming science teaching and learning.

Speakers will explore topics such as AI-enhanced science literacy, scientific inquiry, teacher learning, instructional materials, assessment, and the preparation of students for an AI-infused world. The series will also examine critical questions involving fairness, transparency, privacy, accountability, scientific integrity, and the preservation of human judgment. Designed for researchers, educators, students, developers, and others interested in the future of science education, the series provides an opportunity to engage directly with prominent scholars and consider how AI can serve as a meaningful partner rather than a replacement in teaching, learning, and scientific practice.

Meet Your Speakers:
Jamie Mikeska, Natalie King, and Yizhu Gao

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/AI4STEM_Part_3

Finding the Right Lens for Your Research

December 11 2026
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Struggling to identify the right lens for your research agenda? This event is for you!

Research is more than collecting data, asking questions, and writing a paper. It's about seeing your inquiry through the right theoretical or conceptual lens.

Join us for a grounded, practical conversation designed to help you: 1. Understand the purpose of theoretical and conceptual frameworks 2. Differentiate among frameworks and determine what each offers 3. Identify the lens that best aligns with your research questions and agenda. 4. Joyfully apply the right frameworks with greater clarity and confidence.

Come with your research questions. Leave with a clearer lens for seeing your research.

Meet Your Speaker:
Marsha Simon, Valdosta State University

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

Career Steps Webinar Series #18

December 18 2026
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

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 organizes 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.

Each session features accomplished professionals who share their academic and career journeys, offering practical advice, personal insights, and lessons learned along the way. Beyond providing career information, the series creates an opportunity for students to explore future possibilities, connect with experienced professionals, and gain the confidence and inspiration to pursue their own career goals.

Hosted By: Graduate Student Committee

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Graduate_Student_Career_Steps_18