Virtual Events and Webinars
Scheduled Events
International Grant Success Stories: Unlocking International Collaborative Research Opportunities
Tuesday, February 18, 9-10 AM EST
This event aims to explore and promote international collaboration in science education through research grant proposals. Invited speakers will present opportunities for international collaboration and share their experiences with funded projects. The event will feature presentations from researchers who have successfully secured grants for their collaborative projects, highlighting the opportunities, insights, and challenges they encountered. In this event, we invite people familiar with opportunities for international collaboration in our field that can give an overview of various research grant opportunities available for international collaboration and share their insights into how to create international collaborations and successful proposals. Also, we would like to invite case studies of funded projects, in other words, presentations by researchers involved in international collaborative projects funded through research grants. These presentations will include discussion on the impact of these projects on advancing science education and fostering global partnerships. Participants can engage with the presenters about ideas, strategies, and best practices for writing successful grant proposals and managing international collaborations.
Group host: NARST International Committee
Speaker: Arif Rachmatullah, SRI International, arif.rachmatullah@sri.com
Virtual Writing Retreat
Friday, February 21, 2-4 PM EST
The Membership Committee is hosting a virtual writing retreat for members to connect in a supportive writing environment prior to the annual conference.
Group Host: Membership Committee
Speaker: Jonathan Bowers, bowersj8@msu.edu
Discussing Methodologies: Duoethnography
Thursday, February 27, 2025, 12-1 PM EST
With new and exciting methodologies being created in science education, it is important to maintain a community-wide discussion about them. The Contemporary Methods RIG will host a series of meetings where speakers will present on the conceptual underpinnings of different methodologies. During the meetings, members will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the particular methodology. The goal of this series is to help improve NARST members' conceptual understanding of methodologies, as well as potential implementation into research. Each meeting will focus on a different methodology, in the hopes to promote broad discussion across NARST members. For the first event in this series, Dr. Rou-Jia Sung, Dr. Emily Holt, and Dr. Stanley Lo will be presenting and discussing Duoethnography. Duoethnography is a collaborative research methodology in which two or more researchers juxtapose their life histories in order to provide multiple understandings of a social phenomenon.
Group Host: Contemporary Methods for Science Education Research
Speaker: Brock Couch, bcouch@loyola.edu
Enhancing Your NARST Conference Experience
Wednesday, March 5, 4-5 PM EST
This virtual session, collaboratively organized by NARST Fellows in support of the Membership Committee, is designed to equip new attendees with practical strategies for maximizing their NARST conference experience. Esteemed Fellows, including Lynn Bryan, Ron Blonder, and Elizabeth Mavhunga, will lead this interactive session, offering insights on building professional networks, exploring emerging research topics and methodologies, and effectively utilizing conference resources. Whether attendees are first-time participants or experienced researchers, this session provides actionable advice to enhance their engagement and participation at NARST. Additionally, the session aims to strengthen connections between members and Fellows, fostering collaboration, mentorship, and a sense of community within NARST.
Speaker: Lezly Taylor, Lezly8@vt.edu
Well-being Check-In and Community Building Towards NARST 2025: Make API NARST Friends!
Wednesday, March 5, 8-9:30 PM EST
In response to the recent NARST API Town Hall Meeting, the NARST API leadership is offering a special webinar prior to the 2025 NARST conference. This event aims to provide a space for API members, in particular junior API scholars, and their allies to share their stories and concerns and broaden their support networks through NARST. During this one-and-a-half-hour session, participants will be invited to choose the topic or problems that they are interested in, engage in conversation with others in breakout rooms, and discuss how to participate and engage in the upcoming NARST conference.
Speaker: Hosun Kang, hosunk@uci.edu
Multiple Assessment Measures to Create a Holistic View of a Biotechnology Course at an HBCU
Thursday, March 6, 12-1 PM EST
Assessing science laboratory learning environments throughout a course is a rare phenomenon in post-secondary institutions. In this study, fourth-year students/rising seniors were actively involved in providing feedback using a variety of assessment strategies in a biotechnology course that allows students to experience hands–on research. The objective was to provide actionable feedback so that the instructor could to improve the learning environment or in the instructional delivery. The Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI), comprising five scales, compared students’ preferred environment at the beginning of the course (pretest) to students’ actual perceptions at the end of the course (posttest). Other assessment strategies included the Academic Self-Efficacy Survey, concept maps, student grades, and the university’s generic end-of-course evaluation. Our findings revealed that actual perceptions exceeded preferred environments on four of the five SLEI scales, an uncommon but positive outcome. However, only Integration was statistically significant (p<0.05). Data from the study indicates that instructors and administrators should rely on multiple evaluation tools and student input encompassing both the cognitive and affective domains to refine teaching strategies and the learning environment. This replicable model provides STEM educators with a framework to enhance learning outcomes through multifaceted evaluations, supporting continuous improvement in laboratory-based courses.
Speaker: Viji Sitther, Morgan State University, viji.sitther@morgan.edu
Co-authors: Viji Sitther, Catherine Martin-Dunlop, Shyama Malika Malwalage, and Sanjeeda Jafar
Navigating Science Education in the AI Era: A Critical Reflection for Science Educators
Saturday, March 29, 8-9 AM EST
This virtual event will present in-depth discussions about the challenges and opportunities brought by generative AI in science education. The session will share insights from Korean educators who are actively implementing AI in educational settings, such as AI-enhanced digital textbooks. We will explore practical considerations for educational implementation, future changes, challenges, and current case studies of AI agents in education. The discussion will provide valuable insights for educators navigating this technological transition in science education.
Speaker: Hyewon Jang, Sejong University, wanypie@gmail.com