Whether it was listening to a former Nobel Prize winner, participating in hands-on workshops, or networking at the NSTA Job Fair, the second day of NSTA's Midwestern Area Convention in Chicago continued to provide multiple opportunities for professional development.

Donald Terasaki of the Illinois Science Teachers Association speaks with Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman.

Lederman, a professor emeritus at the Illinois Institute of Technology, spoke to attendees about six important qualities in science teaching in a presentation titled "Anyone Can Be a Scientist."

Lederman explained the first quality on his list is Grasping Reality. He explained that children are given confusing images of the world through computer and television screens. He noted that children should be introduced to the real world or be put in touch with concrete images of the world that provide a realistic view.

The second category on Lederman's list is Idea of Truth. Lederman explained to attendees that the world contains different concepts of truth, which generates intolerance. He noted this could be resolved by combining science with other disciplines because science provides a structure, but not all the answers.

Lederman noted another important quality is Virtue of Modesty. He explained that scientists might sound arrogant, but noted they seek answers. He encouraged attendees to have their student's say, "I don't know, but I want to know."

Solid and Clear Thinking is the fourth quality on Lederman's list. "This should be the clear motivation for all K-12 science," Lederman observed.

The fifth category for science teaching is Spirit of Imagination, according to Lederman. "We often here science kills the mind's sense of imagination," Lederman explained, noting that the exact opposite is true. "Science nurtures the imagination," said Lederman, adding that poetry can help open the mind to imagination.

Language, the final category on Lederman's list, can also help in science teaching. "It's critical to speak clearly," Lederman noted, commenting that people are judged on how they speak. He explained that teachers can use science as an aid to help students learn how to read and write.

"All of this goes back to what do we want our students to know, what should students remember," Lederman said as he concluded his presentation.

Integrating science with other subjects was the focus of a workshop titled "Wiggly Wonders." Dressed in lime green sweatshirts with those words, presenters Sue Hall, Cora Salumbides, and Dori Jane Hall taught attendees how to integrate literature, math, art, and music with science by having teachers make gummy worms.

"We can't do science alone," Sue Hall explained as she began the workshop.

Courtney Pokrandt of River Forest, Illinois, and Kathleen Stuart of Dubuque, Iowa, observe a worm made out of a special clay as part of a workshop called "Wiggly Wonders."

To bring literature into the curriculum, Dori Jane Hall showed attendees several books about worms that teachers can use in the classroom. Teachers can also have students write about worms, including composing a list of rules on how to take care of them. Examples of possible rules include "don't let them dry out" and "don't go fishing with them," Dori Jane Hall said.

The presenters suggested attendees integrate math with this science activity by having students measure their worms. Teachers can also have students "race" their worms to measure how far they traveled.

Kathleen Stuart, a student teacher from Dubuque, Iowa, praised the presenters for their work. "They gave real good examples on how to apply science across the curriculum."

Mary Clark and Jill Corstange, both of Battle Creek, Michigan, fold a strip of blue paper as a part of workshop called "My Students are Inquiring ... But How Do I Know?"

"Before you teach, you need to ask what science is," Lederman told attendees. Lederman explained that this question contains three components, which include content, scientific inquiry, and the nature of science. For this session, Lederman had attendees focus on methods and processes.

Lederman had attendees take a blue strip of paper and fold it in different directions. Attendees were then instructed to drop the paper on the floor. Attendees quickly discovered that not everyone achieved the same effect from the activity. They were also asked to develop questions on how they could improve the end result.

"This is not a lesson in scientific inquiry," explained Lederman, noting the activity is a way to assess students' understanding of inquiry.

"She is very knowledgeable," commented attendee Jill Corstange of Battle Creek, Michigan. These lessons, added Corstange, "are great for professional development. That is what we need for the teachers so we can teach the students."

Judy Scheppler of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy talks with attendee Christopher Elliott of Leland, Mississippi at the first NSTA Job Fair.

Attendee Christopher Elliott decided to talk with the folks from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Elliott explained he wanted to learn how the Illinois school worked after attending a math and science school while growing up in Michigan. "Each math and science center has their own" way of operating, explained the academy's inquiry coordinator Judy Scheppler. When asked if he would consider working there, Elliott replied, "it's a possibility."

For coverage of day one in Chicago, click here.

More opportunities for networking and professional development will be available at NSTA's Southern Area Convention scheduled for Dec. 1-3 in Nashville.

For more information on the association's conventions, visit www.nsta.org/conventions.