JoinProfessional Learning
NSTA Membership Add On
High-Quality, Flexible Professional Learning Anytime, Anywhere!
Are you looking for asynchronous professional learning that you can tailor to your own professional goals and instructional needs? NSTA’s Professional Learning Add On allows you the convenience and flexibility to choose the specific resources you need to achieve your professional learning goals. Improve your content knowledge, expand your pedagogical skill set, and earn professional learning credit—all on your own time!
All Professional Learning Add On resources will automatically transfer into your library.
Web Seminar Series
Access to one live web seminar series of your choosing (must be within a calendar year)
Once the add-on is purchased, a promo code will be sent to the member to cover the cost of the web seminar series selected.
Interactive eBooks+
Access to NSTA’s library of Interactive eBooks+ (teacher versions only)
Interactive eBooks+ provide learning experiences that are both engaging and inspiring. Animations, simulations, and videos bring content to life, while pop-up review questions and special notes help underscore the most crucial points of knowledge.
Professional Learning Units
Access to all of NSTA’s asynchronous short courses currently available
NSTA Professional Learning Units (PLU) are bite-sized, self-paced, asynchronous short courses that educators can use to improve their practice, enrich students’ learning, and increase equitable participation in the classroom. Regardless of your schedule or location, you can earn a NSTA PLU certificate—that could be used towards two credit hours of professional learning—when it’s convenient for you!
By Topic
Sensemaking
Supporting Equitable Sensemaking - A Tool for Educators
How do students build targeted science ideas and concepts? The Supporting Equitable Sensemaking - A Tool for Educators PLU explores how the use of modalities and intentional student interactions create opportunity to build ownership of science ideas to explain phenomena.
Phenomena
Leveraging Assets to Build on Student Experiences: A Focus on Curiosity
During this Professional Learning Unit, we discuss instructional strategies that take an asset approach to student learning. The discussion will focus on how the knowledge students bring to learning—including student curiosity, questions, experiences, and diverse backgrounds related to phenomena and problems—can be used to drive teaching and learning and accomplish learning targets.
2 Credit Hours
Science and Engineering Practices
Supporting Ambitious Science Teaching
In this Professional Learning Unit we'll look at how Ambitious Science Teaching helps teachers focus on finding ways for all students to participate in science, making science compelling to a wider group of learners, and providing the means for students to show what they know.
2 Credit Hours
Technology and Sensemaking “Digital Collaborative Spaces”
Digital Collaborative Spaces for Sensemaking
We'll share a multitude of digital tools available to support collaborative engagement in the science and engineering practice to build an understanding of science ideas needed to explain how or why phenomena occur.
2 Credit Hours
Taking Familiar Digital Tools to the Next Level: Padlet and Jamboard
You will learn ways to leverage some functions of Padlet and Jamboard to support students with sharing ideas, giving and receiving critiques, and increasing accessibility for all.
2 Credit Hours
Taking Familiar Digital Tools to the Next Level: Google Slides and Docs
We explore how to leverage Google Slides, Google Docs and the Read&Write for Google Chrome extension (free version) to support synchronous and asynchronous pair-, small group- and whole group-discussions between students. We also share strategies to create opportunities for all students to participate equitably in these discussions.
2 Credit Hours
STEM Engineering
Solving the Problem of Finding Authentic Problems Students Can Solve in the K-12 Classroom
In this Professional Learning Unit, you will learn how to identify and choose relevant, authentic problems for your students and to understand what makes a problem instructionally productive. We explore available resources and strategies that will help students identify the problems they may want to pursue individually, or with small groups for STEM competitions.
2 Credit Hours
We Have Got a Problem to Solve! Now What?
Engineering lessons must include big ideas from physical, life, or Earth and space science together with big ideas from engineering design to solve problems. This PLU will get you started.
2 Credit Hours