Seattle, Washington: November 17, 2004
Linking Science and Literacy in the Classroom:
A Conference Highlighting NSF-funded Research Findings
In response to the current interest in linking science and literacy in PreK–8 classrooms, NSTA will present a one-day conference on the topic on Wednesday, November 17, in conjunction with the area convention in Seattle, Washington, November 18–20. The overall objective of the event is to allow participants to learn about current research on the roles of reading, writing, and other aspects of literacy in science learning; the professional development needs of teachers; and the impact on students’ literacy skills and science learning. The Conference will pay particular attention to the needs of currently underrepresented and underachieving students. The daylong event will feature several National Science Foundation–funded initiatives related to the topic.
Teachers registering for the Conference are required to also register for the NSTA Seattle Area Convention. Principals and superintendents may register for only the daylong Conference.
Goals and Outcomes
The goals for the event are highly specific:
- Provide practitioners and policy makers with scientifically based research on the effective integration of literacy in the PreK–8 science curriculum.
- Describe potential roles of literacy in science instruction.
- Illustrate effective strategies for linking science and literacy.
- Highlight best practices in science and literacy integration.
The outcomes are expected to include these:
- PreK–8 science teachers will be aware of appropriate roles of literacy in science instruction and strategies for integrating literacy components in their science curriculum.
- Administrators will understand the professional development needed to support the successful integration of literacy into science programs.
- Practitioners will be aware of research on the integration of literacy in science instruction and its impact on student learning in both areas.
- Researchers will disseminate scientifically based research findings from projects in NSF’s portfolio that are investigating the roles of literacy in science learning.
The presenters will be experts from the fields of science education research, instructional materials development, school administration, and teacher professional development, who will share their findings, emphasizing the implications for professional development and classroom practice. Among the scheduled presenters are Dr. Iris Weiss, Director of Horizon Research, Inc.; Dr. Michael Klentschy, Superintendent of the El Centro (California) School District; Professor Hubert Dyasi, Director of the Workshop Center at City University of New York; Karen Worth, Senior Scientist at Education Development Center, Inc., and Dr. Wendy Saul, professor of science education at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and author of Crossing Borders in Literacy and Science Instruction: Perspectives on Theory and Practice, co-published by the International Reading Association and NSTA Press.
According to Rowena Douglas, NSTA’s Assistant Executive Director for Professional Development, “This conference is the next step in NSTA’s expanding commitment to bring specific, meaningful, and practical professional development to science educators, and our enormously popular area and national conventions are the ideal gathering place for these special learning presentations. This highly focused, single-topic event is expected to be the first of many such conferences at future NSTA area conventions. The conference will complement NSTA’s Professional Development Institutes, which debuted in our Atlanta convention in 2004—and the Institutes currently in the planning stages for the Dallas convention in 2005.”
The Conference will include plenary sessions and small-group workshops, each targeting a specific audience (primary teachers, principals, science supervisors, et al.). Registered participants will be able to select workshops best aligned with their professional interests. Workshops will focus on specific aspects of linking science and literacy, such as criteria for selecting appropriate science literature, roles of writing in the teaching and learning of science, creating a school culture that supports integrating literacy and science, strategies for helping second-language learners, and current research on students’ science learning in a literature-rich environment.
Team Participation Encouraged
Teachers and their principals are encouraged to participate as a school team. School teams of three or more (including at least one principal) will receive a 20% discount on each Conference registration fee of $65. Enrollment will be limited to 300. Teachers registering for the Conference will be required to also register for the NSTA Seattle Area Convention; administrators may register for only the Conference. The Conference will be held at the Sheraton Seattle from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and will include lunch.
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