Special Programs
Elementary Extravaganza
Friday, April 12, 8:00–10:00 AM
Ballroom B, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
More than 100 presenters will provide ideas. Come grab some coffee, enter to win prizes, and walk away with a head full of ideas and arms full of materials!
Note to Extravaganza Presenters: Ballroom B will be open at 7:00 AM for you to come in and set up. Each presenter will have one round banquet-style table. You should take a table within the group you are presenting with. If you need electricity, there are outlets along the walls; you will simply need to choose a table close to a wall. The coffee and tea station should be ready for your arrival, so you can grab a cup of coffee to start the day.
Remember, we encourage you to not offer handouts as we expect more than 600 attendees. You may post your materials online, have a signup sheet for people requesting materials after the conference, or you can ask attendees to request your materials via e-mail.
Click here for a complete description and list of presenters.
Informal Science Day
Saturday, April 13, 7:00 AM–4:00 PM
Ballroom B, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
Packed with exciting informal science presentations and activities, Informal Science Day is intended to build awareness of the abundance of existing high-quality informal science education methods, resources, and opportunities available to enhance science teaching and learning. It is designed to offer a "town square" at which both informal and formal science educators can meet and interact to share best practices in informal science, learn about exciting collaborations happening among informal and formal science organizations, network with colleagues, and dialogue around ideas and innovations. Informal organizations represented include zoos, museums, media, after-school programs, university outreach, and others that provide and/or support out-of-school science education.
Informal Science Day begins with a ticketed event (M-6), Science in the Community Breakfast (Speaker: David Heil, President, David Heil & Associates, Inc., in Portland). This breakfast is followed by a complete day of sessions ending with the Informal Science Share-a-Thon from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Click here for complete descriptions and scheduling information for Informal Science Day events.
Teacher Researcher Day
Saturday, April 13, 8:30 AM–4:30 PM
Texas Ballroom A/B, Grand Hyatt San Antonio
Teacher researchers are curious about their students' learning and ask questions to try to better understand what is happening in their classrooms and how to improve teaching and learning. They also share their findings with colleagues in their schools and elsewhere.
For more information on Teacher Researcher Day, please contact:
Click here for complete descriptions and scheduling information for Teacher Researcher Day presentations.
NSTA's Exemplary Science Program
The Standards offered Four Goals/Justifications for Science in K–6 Settings, namely that all students would: (1) Experience the richness and excitement of knowing about and understanding the natural world; (2) Use appropriate scientific processes and principles in making personal decisions; (3) Engage intelligently in public discourse and debate about matters of scientific and technological concern; and (4) Increase their economic productivity through the use of the knowledge, understandings, and skills of the scientifically literate person in their careers.
The ESP series identifies people and places where the reforms recommended have emerged, including (1) Exemplary Science in Grades PreK–4; (2) Exemplary Science in Grades 5–8; (3) Exemplary Science in Grades 9–12; (4) Exemplary Science: Best Practices in Professional Development; (5) Inquiry: The Key to Exemplary Science; (6) Exemplary Science in Informal Education Settings; and (7) Exemplary Science for Resolving Societal Challenges. The exemplars are discussed in ESP symposia at all NSTA conferences. The series was conceived by Robert E. Yager (1982–1983 NSTA President), who continues ESP searches and ways of recognizing classroom successes while also encouraging more to try!
An ESP symposium has been scheduled at the San Antonio conference, featuring brief descriptions of programs that exemplify how the four NSES goals have been met. The discussants will be drawn from authors of chapters from several monographs in the series.