WestEd science education experts will present at the 2025 National Conference on Science Education at the Philadelphia Convention Center, Pennsylvania, March 26–29, 2025.
This conference gathers teachers, professors, administrators, and curriculum specialists to learn about innovative instructional strategies and techniques that engage and inspire students in science.
Our sessions will highlight evidence-based practices that focus on
- assessment tasks that support 3D learning,
- NASA’s Earth System Data Explorer tool, and
- multilingual learners.
View details on WestEd’s presentations below.
WestEd Sessions
Wednesday, March 26
PLI-5: Creating Instructionally Supportive Assessment Tasks to Support 3D-Learning
What approach can science educators use to create assessment tasks that support instructional practice and students’ three-dimensional learning? Participants will experience an approach for designing 3-D assessment tasks that will help their students build toward the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations.
Time: 8:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Presenters: Christopher Harris (WestEd) and Joseph Krajcik (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University)
Thursday, March 27
Hands-on Workshop: Moving from Primary to Secondary Data: Leveraging NASA Data to Explore Local Phenomena
Join us to learn how to use a place-based approach with data from NASA’s Earth System Data Explorer tool. Participants will take part in hands-on activities and pedagogical discussions to think about implementing place-based, data-rich activities using NASA resources in their own classrooms.
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center – 109 A
Presenters: Sara Salisbury (WestEd) and Karen Lionberger (WestEd)
Hands-on Workshop: Creating and Using Instructionally Supportive Assessments in NGSS Classrooms
What approach can science educators use to create assessment tasks that support instructional practice and students’ three-dimensional learning? Participants will experience designing 3-dimensional tasks for classroom use that will help their students build toward the NGSS performance expectations.
Time: 2:20 – 3:20p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center – 126 B
Presenters: Christopher Harris (WestEd) and Joseph Krajcik (CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University)
Friday, March 28
Supporting Multilingual Learners in Engagement in the Science & Engineering Practices
We will explore accessible ways to engage multilingual learners (MLLs) in science and engineering practices. Participants do hands-on activities followed by reflective, pedagogical discussions to amplify their instructional resources for MLLs as they engage in collaborative, scientific sensemaking.
Time: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center – 120 C
Presenters: Nico Janik (WestEd) and Karen Lionberger (WestEd)
Saturday, March 29
Hands-on Workshop: Collaborating with Engineering and Multilingual Learners in Mind
We will share how an educator with a background in engineering collaborated with an expert in supporting Multilingual Learners to adapt and develop engineering activities that amplify opportunities for sensemaking in engineering learning.
Time: 11:40a.m. – 12:40p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center – 110 B
Presenters: Nico Janik (WestEd) and Tanya Warren (WestEd)
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