This series of blogs is written in past tense because I don't think I'll be presenting at any other conferences.
I’ve presented over 100 content sessions, mostly science strategies, at science conventions for National Science Teachers Association Conventions, National Association of Biology Teachers Convention, California State Science Teachers Association Convention, San Diego Science Educators Association Convention, and Association of Christian Schools International Conference, among others.
Locations of those conferences are varied.
Arizona: Phoenix
California: San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Anaheim, Long Beach, and Temecula
Colorado: Denver
Florida: Orlando
Georgia: Atlanta
Hawaii: Honolulu
Illinois: Chicago
Indiana: Indianapolis
Louisiana: New Orleans
Massachusetts: Boston
Michigan: Detroit
Missouri: Kansas City
Nevada: Los Vegas, Reno
North Carolina: Raleigh
Oregon: Portland
Texas: Austin, Dallas
Utah: Salt Lake City
Washington: Seattle
Washington, D.C.
Topics include
Critical Thinking, Coordinated Science, Classroom Techniques, Questioning Strategies, Closure, Assessment, Kinesthetic Activities, and Learning Centers for teachers of all levels.
Workshop titles are designed to get attendees to read the description of the session. These sessions were generally 60-minutes in length.
“A is for Analogy." – Describes, supports, and illustrates the use of teacher-generated and student-generated analogies in the presentation of content material.
Classroom Management Strategies for the High School Science Class – Session objectives are to provide concrete strategies and processes to help new/novice science teachers include more laboratory experiences in their courses.
"From Dead Fish to Forensics - A model for developing and implementing an integrated science program." & "Making Connections - A model integrated science program." - Describes development and implementation of four core semesters and two elective semesters of integrated science for 9th-12th-grade students.
It’s Late at the Estate – Describes how to incorporate creative writing activities into science classes to teach investigative skills.
Kinesthetic is Kool – Demonstrates and explains four different kinesthetic life science activities. Participants “do” one complete activity.
Learning Centers in 60 Minutes? I don't believe it! – Focuses on constructing and using learning centers in elementary classrooms by providing samples and examples.
Pedagogical Alchemy & What Do You Do If Betty Crocker Wrote Your Lab Book - Describes how to move laboratory activities from “cookbook” style toward inquiry style—steps in the process of developing open-ended labs are discussed.
PReP (Peer Review Process) Your Classes – By participating in several examples of peer review and learning how to modify existing assignments to allow for this process with students, participants learn the power of this procedure.
Science at “C” Level: A Creative, Cooperative, Cross-disciplinary Approach to Critical Thinking & Stylin’ in Science - Participants are introduced to a method of teaching critical thinking skills incorporating creativity and cooperative learning strategies in a series of cross-disciplinary exercises designed to reach a wide variety of learning styles.
Standards-Based Science Portfolios – Discusses the process Great Oak High School is pursuing in determining if students meet academic standards.
THE END: How to add closure to your student learning experiences - Sample closure activities for single class assignments, long-term assignments and units of study, semester, year, and course sequence are described and demonstrated.
They've inquired, now how do I know what they know? - Participants experience a portion of an inquiry lab, discuss what might have been learned by students through the experience, and learn to create rubrics for several types of learnings which might have resulted from the lab experience.
Tricks from an Old Dog - I share strategies and techniques gleaned and developed during the 27 years I’ve taught science, including grouping strategies, time-saving techniques, and management ideas.
Tune up Your Teaching & “Open-ended questions are fine for some students, but mine can’t do them” - Focuses on questioning strategies: specifically how to change classroom questions from closed-ended to open-ended while teaching students the skills and techniques required to answer higher-level questions.
Descriptions of the sessions are designed to get attendees to the session, if for no other reason but to find out what kind of a presenter is this? Most had length limits on descriptions of around 25 words. See if you can match a title above to the descriptions below.
Step-by-step instructions for how to create assignments and assessments for diverse populations will be provided. Your brain will be very active in this session.
You will participate in a typical lesson demonstration, take home reproducible materials, and learn how to create a lesson of this type of your own.
Too many activities, units, semesters, even school years just end—students are left with a sense of “Well, it’s over, but why did we do it?” This session provides concrete examples how to bring closure to your classroom.
I will share grouping strategies, time-saving techniques, and management ideas gleaned and developed during the 40 years I have taught science. I LOVE new teachers!!
Movement is a powerful learning stimulus for students of diverse populations. Come, be “moved” 1) by the demonstrations; 2) to “move” your classes too.
Routines and procedures to effectively manage your classroom and laboratory experiences will be discussed and demonstrated. A valuable session for new teachers.
Peer review of assignments is a powerful classroom tool. Participate in several examples and learn how to modify existing assignments to allow for this process.
Sessions longer than 60-minutes allowed longer descriptions.
Too many laboratory books read more like cookbooks than science books. They provide prescribed laboratory procedures that lead to predictable results. The only thought required of students depends on the write-up assigned by the teacher. Many (most?) laboratory exercises are still “cookbook” in nature, many times with value analogous to the value of lead.
Reputation Matters
You never know the quality of a conference presentation until you attend it. That’s too often too late. If you’re not good, and participants rate you low, the next time you apply to present at a convention of the same sponsor, there’s a chance you won’t be selected. I know that because I was in charge of the “Sessions Committee” when the NSTA National Convention came to San Diego in 2002.
That system works the other way for presenters with good reviews. I’ve never submitted session proposals and not had at least one accepted. In fact, it wasn’t long before I developed a following. I’d recognize people from previous years when I presented in the same region.
“I always check the program. If I see your name, I put that session on my schedule,” was not an uncommon greeting I received.
I also had people stop by to apologize because they couldn’t attend my session due to school or district-mandated sessions.
My largest audience was over 300.
This was the first presentation I did. I did it with my colleague Owen Miller. It was at an NSTA Regional Convention in Texas. We figured if we had 30 people show up, that’d be a good attendance. We brought 40 copies of our 20-page handout with us . . . just in case. We underestimated our draw because of a perfect storm of circumstances.
* Our session was during the first session slot of the convention.
* It was the only session for secondary teachers.
* We were in an auditorium.
* The title was: Science at “C” Level: A Creative, Cooperative, Cross-disciplinary Approach to Critical Thinking
The smallest audience was one.
This was at the national convention for the Association of Christian Schools International. I forget the title of the session. I know it concentrated on teacher/student interaction and didn’t emphasize infusing Biblical content.
My attendee and I chatted for 45 of our allotted 60-minutes. She was happy. I was glad she came.
Closing comments on this post.
I only went to one conference where I didn’t present. It was an NSTA conference in Washington, D.C. Because the Grossmont Union High School District was paying for the trip, I felt obligated to attend as many sessions as I could.
Over three days I attended 13 sessions. I collected handouts and took notes. By the end of the third day, I was on content overload. My advice to teachers who ask about conferences that they when they pick sessions that they need to allow time between to get from one to the next and to decompress.
“If you come back with one or two good ideas and implement at least one of them, you had a successful conference experience. The reality is that you’d never successfully implement more than two new ideas/procedures into a course in a single year. Trying to implement more than two ideas will lead to frustration on the part of both teacher and students.”
If you wondered why school reform efforts have a dismal track record, re-read the previous paragraph.
Next Almanac is Deeper Thoughts on Presenting at Conferences
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