Virtual Events and Webinars

Virtual Events and Webinars

Scheduled and Recent Events

Graduate Student Career Steps Webinar Series #13

Friday, July 31, 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.

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 meaningful connection can be the spark that redefines your career trajectory.

Meet Your Speaker:
Dr. Shakhnoza Kayumova, Professor of STEM Education and Teacher Development, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth & Director of the Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in STEM Education

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Grad_Student_Career_Steps_13

Graduate Student Career Steps Webinar Series #14

Friday, August 28, 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.

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 meaningful connection can be the spark that redefines your career trajectory.

Meet Your Speaker: Dr. Felicia Moore Mensah, Professor of Science and Education, Colombia University; Chair - Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology; Science Education Program Director

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/GradStudentCareer14

Landscape Analysis of PreK to Grade 5 Science Assessments: Ready for Research

Tuesday, September 8, 2026
11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET

This webinar will introduce findings from a new landscape analysis of PreK–Grade 5 science assessments conducted by researchers at the Center to Advance Elementary Science Assessment, Research, & Technology (CAESART). Using a systematic review methodology, the study identified and cataloged assessments developed over the past two decades to measure elementary students’ science learning for research purposes.

During the session, facilitators will present an overview of the landscape of science and engineering assessments, including key characteristics such as NGSS alignment, grade-level focus, psychometric properties (e.g., validity and reliability evidence), and assessment formats (e.g., open-response and multiple-choice).

Participants will also be introduced to a sample of the assessments identified in the review. Presenters will share highlights from the findings related to both the resources currently available to researchers and gaps in the field where additional measures of student learning are needed. Facilitators will also share a publicly available database of elementary science assessments and lead a discussion about how researchers can use this resource to support studies of elementary science teaching and learning.

Meet Your Speaker:
Sania Zaidi, Lukas Winfield, Megan Silander; Center to Advance Elementary Science Assessment, Research, and Technology (CAESART), housed at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Landscape_Analysis_PreK_to_Grade_5

Co-Designing Equitable Futures for Families, Communities, and Youth in Science

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm ET

This interactive virtual event explores how researchers, educators, families, and community partners collaboratively engage in the co-design of equitable STEM learning experiences across formal and informal settings. Centering Black and Latine children, the session will highlight how co-design processes can support STEM identity development, culturally sustaining learning environments, and meaningful partnerships among children, parents, teachers, and researchers.

Presenters will share conceptual frameworks, methodological approaches, practical models, and emerging empirical findings related to family engagement, participatory design, community-based STEM learning, and collaborative innovation.

This 90-minute interactive session will include:

  • Brief framing remarks introducing principles and models of co-design Flash talks from scholars and practitioners representing varying perspectives and contexts Interactive breakout room discussions focused on challenges, tensions, and possibilities within co-design processes
  • A second round of thematic breakout discussions allowing participants to explore topics in greater depth Whole-group synthesis and closing reflections
  • The session intentionally bridges theory and practice by examining how co-design moves from ideation to implementation and evaluation while recognizing that children, families, educators, and researchers each bring valuable expertise to STEM teaching and learning.
  • Strategy discussions for navigating power dynamics, sustaining partnerships, and designing learning experiences that affirm the identities and lived experiences of historically marginalized communities.

Meet Your Speakers:
Christine McWayne, Tufts University
Andres Bustamante, UC Irvine
Eric Dearing, Boston College University of Pittsburgh
Diana Leyva, Boston College University of Pittsburgh
Catherine Haden, Loyola University Chicago
Riley George, Loyola University Chicago
Kim Koin, Chicago Children’s Museum
Jessica Rush Leeker, Cornell University
Jimena Cosso, University of Maryland
Jessica Huancacuri, New York University
Gigliana Melzi, New York University

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

Career Steps Webinar Series #15

Friday, September 25, 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.

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 meaningful connection can be the spark that redefines your career trajectory.

Registration Link: https://members.narst.org/event/Grad_Student_Career_Steps_15