Pathways

Let Us Help You With Your Journey

Pathways feature hand-selected programming tracks to maximize your conference experience through a curated grouping of sessions centered around a specific topic of interest.

Advocacy in Action

Join us on Friday to explore key STEM policy issues impacting the teaching profession in 2025. Gain practical knowledge on the basics of grassroots advocacy and learn how to effectively engage with local, state, and national elected officials. Take the first step toward making your voice heard and transforming your passion for science and STEM education into meaningful action!

AI

This pathway features sessions on using AI to enhance science teaching in your classroom.

Career Readiness: Broadening Participation in STEM and Computer Science

Ideal for School Counselors and Career Coaches 

This pathway empowers school counselors and career coaches to become pivotal change leaders in broadening access and participation in STEM and computing education. Through practical strategies, essential resources from NCWIT Counselors for Computing, and insights into future-ready careers, participants will learn how to guide all students towards high-demand skills and rewarding pathways in computing and technology. Sessions will address effective outreach, curriculum integration, career exploration, and building collaborative school-community ecosystems to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive in the digital age.

HS High-Quality Instructional Materials Pathway

These sessions are designed to support educators implementing High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) in their classroom.

Incorporating Meaningful Computational Thinking in the Middle School Science Classroom

Learn how to incorporate STEM into your classroom by exploring phenomenon anchored, storyline units and assessments that harness the power of AI.

Leaders: Leadership to Achieve the Power and Promise of HQIM

Join us to consider the critical actions and enabling conditions required as leaders take a systems approach to the implementation of HQIM and how to ensure an equitable system of teaching and learning. During pathway sessions, you’ll work with other leaders to examine your own thinking and practices through common learning experiences, in light of selected research and literature, and through scenarios describing the context and actions of others. Walk away with practical steps you can take to promote an equitable system of learning for all.

Minnesota Science Teachers Association (MnSTA)

Connect with Minnesota experts as they explore science education topics of both local and national significance—including computer science, three-dimensional assessments, outdoor learning, Indigenous science, and state science standards. All registered participants are welcome to join these sessions to gain practical strategies for engaging students and designing learning for a range of students.

NSTA Preservice Teacher Education

We invite all higher education instructors and preservice science teachers to join us for a series of tailored sessions on Friday and Saturday. Presented by members of the NSTA Preservice Teacher Preparation Committee and NSTA staff, these sessions offer valuable professional learning along with meaningful networking opportunities for both instructors and future educators. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, collaborate, and grow in your professional journey as a science educator.

NSTA Press

Come learn from our esteemed NSTA Press authors, sharing their love of learning with research-backed expertise on a wide array of topics. Hear how our NSTA Kids books make science fun and fill the needs of teachers and parents by providing lively children’s picture books that also impart sound science. You'll head back to the classroom with realistic, ready-to-use teaching strategies you can implement on Monday.

NSTA Professional Learning

Join the NSTA Professional Learning team to enhance your phenomenon-driven, three-dimensional teaching! Whether you’re new to three-dimensional standards or stepping into a teacher leadership role(s), you’ll gain actionable ideas, implementable strategies, a wealth of resources, and opportunities to engage in national conversations about the vision for science education for all students.

OpenSciEd Elementary

The much anticipated first half of OpenSciEd elementary units are now available for public use! Come experience the joy possible when elementary science classrooms engage in collective science sensemaking.

OpenSciEd Middle School + Computer Science

OpenSciEd has redesigned five middle school science units to engage students in computer science and computational thinking within the core science curriculum without adding more teaching time to the school year. The units emphasize engineering design and computer science and incorporate career connection and exploration opportunities in the fields of computer science and engineering. Come learn how the development of computer science ideas can promote deeper development of science ideas.

OpenSciEd In My Classroom (K-12)

The OpenSciEd In My Classroom pathway highlights a variety of supports for K-12 teachers and leaders using OpenSciEd’s free, high-quality materials in their classrooms. In this pathway, you’ll find sessions with practical guidance about how to support students who are absent, how to create sub plans when you are absent, and how to be smart about what, when, and how to grade student performances. You’ll also find sessions to help you customize or create your own performance-based assessments in a style like those found in OpenSciEd’s materials and sessions that connect you to OpenSciEd’s ever-growing library of free, on-demand support resources.

STEM Teaching Tools 

Come explore our collection of open educational resources (OER) at http://stemteachingtools.org, designed to support inclusive, high-quality science and climate change instruction. These professional learning resources have been co-designed by educators and researchers to support foundational learning and key practices for NGSS implementation. Each STEM Teaching Tool is an idea and resource funnel about a problem or opportunity of teaching practice.