This workshop is designed specifically for science educators, aimed at creating or enhancing competency based assessment strategies in the science classroom. This session will focus on creating competency-based assessments that are easy to grade, aligned with curricular competencies, resistant to cheating, and effective in preparing students for their final exams. Specific examples used will be from junior sciences courses and chemistry but the strategies covered can be adapted to other science courses easily. This workshop is ideal for middle school and high school science teachers who are looking to enhance their assessment techniques and better measure student understanding in line with curricular goals.
Join us for an innovative workshop designed to transform the way life sciences are taught in British Columbia's high schools. Introducing "Geneskool Learning Playlists," a groundbreaking educational package that merges existing resources with cutting-edge genomic research, empowering teachers to bring the latest discoveries directly into their classrooms. Our vision for the Geneskool Learning Playlists is simple: to create a dynamic, interactive, and living textbook experience for teachers teaching grades 9 through 12. By seamlessly blending curated content with new resources, teachers can now "press play" on a journey through the captivating world of genomics at each grade level. In this workshop, participants will: -Explore the diverse range of resources included in the Geneskool Learning Playlists, carefully curated to align with British Columbia's curriculum standards. -Dive into the latest genomic research and its implications for understanding life sciences concepts, from molecular biology to biotechnology. -Learn how to integrate these resources into their existing lesson plans, fostering engagement and curiosity among students.
Come see some activities from the latest Perimeter Institute, classroom ready to use resource on Applied Physics -Solving Problems with Technology. n this resource, we remind students that applying physics concepts can help them solve everyday problems such as lifting heavy objects. And, in the context of solving problems, while investigating basic physics concepts, students get to think and act like engineers. Through some introductory coding activities, they explore computational thinking and implement algorithms. Our goal is to give teachers new tools to use as they guide students to become the next generation of problem solvers.
PocketLab sensors make it easier than ever to collect, graph, and analyze data from the world around us. In this session, we'll measure the determine how fast a toy car has to go to make it through a loop and examine light intensity and temperature data from a solar eclipse. Students can learn what it’s like to be scientists and engineers by gathering real world data to answer questions and solve problems.
Snag ready-to-use, curriculum connected resources to bring science and ocean education into your classroom. Biodiversity, weather, climate change, food security, transportation, and even natural disasters are easily explored with an ocean connection! Canada is an ocean country, and no matter where we live, we are all connected to the ocean through rivers, streams, estuaries, and more. Discover fun activities, science and explorations to celebrate the ocean and understand ocean connections. A natural fit as we approach the half-way mark in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), this is science for everyone.
No classroom is an island! Inviting community members and STEM professionals into the classroom has numerous benefits. It provides authentic learning contexts, inspires career exploration, strengthens cultural connections, and more! In this Let’s Talk Science session, you will discover how to model life-long learning as you learn alongside students from experts and knowledge keepers in your community. You will explore strategies and protocols for respectful collaboration and communication with others while engaging in STEM teaching and learning.
In this workshop the BC Association of Physics Teachers will facilitate a conversation between high school physics teachers and post-secondary physics faculty. The panel will consist of faculty members from BC post secondaries, and high school science teachers. The objective is to give post-secondary faculty a better idea of what high school students are seeing and to provide high school teachers with suggestions of topics which deserve increased emphasis. Example questions include: “What kind of outreach would high school teachers like from post-secondary institutions?”; “What should post-secondary instructors know about how physics is being taught in BC high schools?”; “What skills/knowledge do high school students need to succeed in post-secondary physics?”
Liquid nitrogen (LN2) exists at an ultra cool -195oC. In this presentation, participants will learn how to safely procure, store, and handle this very unusual liquid in their school environments. Best of all, teachers will learn several hands-on LN2 demonstrations suitable for a middle school and/or high school student audience (including LN2 vs everyday objects, LN2 cuisine, and the [in]famous LN2 garbage-can rocket) while exploring relevant curricular connections to physics, chemistry, and junior science. Your students will never look at the Kinetic Molecular Theory the same way again!
Are you concerned about the growing disconnect between children and the natural world? Join us for a workshop tailored for educators seeking innovative solutions to combat nature-deficit disorder. In this session, you will discover the effects of nature deficit-disorder in children and explore practical strategies to reconnect them with nature. Let us show you the power of birding as a means to nurture curiosity, wonder, and ecological stewardship in young minds. Through interactive activities and insightful discussions, you'll explore practical ways to integrate birding experiences into your teaching practice, fostering a deeper appreciation for nature among your students.
Join us for an engaging workshop for educators eager to incorporate cutting-edge topics into their curriculum. Explore the dynamic intersection of renewable energy and electric vehicles, discovering innovative teaching strategies and hands-on activities to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. From understanding the science behind renewable energy sources to exploring a student-led electric vehicle conversion project, participants will gain practical insights and resources to enrich their classroom instruction. Whether you're a seasoned educator or new to the field, this workshop offers a valuable opportunity to enhance your teaching toolkit and empower students to shape a sustainable future.
Join us for an engaging workshop designed to equip science educators with the practical tools needed to support students in every step of their Science Fair journey. From project idea to analysis, we'll discuss important aspects such as safety protocols, ethical considerations, and project selection guidance. Explore how the Science Fair projects integrates with curricular competencies, empower your students' scientific exploration and provide an opportunity for authentic assessment. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your inquiry-teaching tools and inspire the next generation of innovators!
Apprenez à utiliser les kits d'analyse de l'eau de la Fondation de l'Eau Potable Sûre (FEPS) dans votre classe (ou lors d'une excursion) avec vos élèves! Découvrez certaines des ressources en ligne proposées par la FEPS. Obtenez une expérience pratique en testant l’eau!
Future Science Leaders is a STEAM enrichment program for Grades 10-12 at Science World. The program has been a leader in project based learning and student led scientific inquiry for 14 years. In this workshop come and see our approach to facilitating scientific inquiry projects for teens, and how to incorporate into your curriculum or STEAM club. Learn step by step techniques in eliciting inquiry and taking student projects from proposal to publication.
Teaching uncertainty and error can be challenging; how do we separate error from mistakes? In this workshop, Mike will demonstrate a measurement activity he uses to start students thinking about how to measure and report their results authentically. Bring your own experiences and ideas!
Join Eran for a transformative workshop where you'll learn how to harness the power of competency-based assessment to foster a growth mindset in your students. Explore your current practices, identify areas of alignment or improvement, and set intentional goals for your teaching journey. Walk away with practical tools and strategies to implement competency-based assessment effectively in your classroom. In addition the workshop will include practical strategies to achieve these goals while reducing the time spent on assessment. (This workshop will NOT promote or mention my business. I have submitted for a separate exhibitor workshop for E2Grade)
Design thinking can be a potent tool for creating a student-centered learning environment that readies students for future skills. Learn to apply design thinking principles to foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, equipping students for success in the 21st-century economy. Real-life examples from the hospitality, business and arts and science schools at VPC will be shared to illustrate these principles in action.
The Science Table provides a library of over 60 biology, chemistry, and physics experiments with realistic-quality visuals on an interactive 7 foot-long touch-screen table. The workshop will focus on incorporating the Science Table into middle school, high school, and college level classrooms.
There is a reason black holes are the topic of so many science-fiction books and movies. Black holes are some of the most extreme environments in the universe, defying our everyday intuition about time, space, and gravity. While science fiction sometimes gets the physics wrong, the real physics of black holes is no less exciting. Share the wonder and mystery of black holes with students using these hands-on activities, which explore what black holes are, where and how they form, and how we know they exist. This session will share Perimeter Institute resources that provide classroom activities and supporting materials designed to cover key curriculum topics while sharing the physics of black holes with students. This session will add a plenary that relates the resources to an intuitive method for teaching special relativity in the BC physics curriculum
Simplified versions of scientists' experiments and scientific language are being incorporated into a professional development workshop aimed at bridging the gap between scientific research and classroom instruction. When expert educators and education specialists, who maintain close contact with scientists, lead this simplification, the resources can equip teachers with practical tools to make physics concepts more accessible and engaging for students. Participants will explore hands-on activities and approaches developed by NASA science educators, covering a range of physics topics. Additionally, teachers will learn how to utilize inexpensive, readily available materials for impactful physics demonstrations, fostering active learning and enhancing student engagement in science classes. Join us to enhance your lesson plans and bring joyful and active science learning experiences into your classroom!
This workshop introduces ChatterHigh to Science teachers with an exciting new activity provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada called “Embracing Nature’s Climate Solutions”, available in French and English for grades 6-12. ChatterHigh’ gamified resources are created in partnership with, and funded by, the content authority. Examples include “Learn About Your Taxes” by the CRA, and WorkSafeBC…by…you guessed it, WorkSafeBC!
This workshop is to share documenting student success in Physics grade 8-12. Projects and ideas for curriculum competency integration through design ideas on each grade's Physics area. Ideas for Waves, Circuits and Energy labs at various grade levels.
Explore sound wave concepts by designing an instrument to play whispery (to not bother neighbouring sessions) divide by 7 sequence music. A resultant (whispery) musical group is a possibility. The melody is being kept a surprise to the facilitators, who wish to share the excitement of hearing the tune for the first time. Shhh.
The Low-Code Mobile Application Development (LCAD) program is a microcredential offered by the School of Computing & Academic Studies at BCIT. Through this 12-week online program, high school girls in the Technovation GirlsBC competition engaged in the design thinking process to identify real-world problems, ideate creative solutions, and build mobile applications using low-code development tools. This workshop will showcase how we introduce design and coding concepts to students through building a mobile app with the drag-and-drop app builder, Thunkable. We will also discuss the opportunities and challenges of implementing low-code app development tools in classroom activities. Join us and leave with resources that you can try with your own students!
Note: A desktop computer or laptop is required for hands-on participation.
This workshop introduces a teacher-written, thematically integrated resource unit for intermediate students (Intermediate Integrated Resource Unit on Mining) that uses rocks, minerals, and mining as topics to teach learning concepts in socials studies, science, math, language arts, career education, and more. The session will cover an introduction to rocks and minerals, the rock cycle, BC’s mineral resources and mining communities, how ore deposits are discovered and mined, how mineral resources are used, mining careers, and mining and the environment. It is highly recommended that teachers purchase the kit to go with the workshop.
An introductory workshop in magic effects that could be used to illustrate scientific concepts, as black box puzzles for students, or a reward for good behaviour. You will need a deck of cards and 7 identical coins (eg. 7 quarters or 7 loonies).
Scientists - and students - use models to explain real-world phenomena, to make their thinking visible and to make predictions. Join us to explore Model Builder, a free online tool from HHMI BioInteractive that lets you and your students build, save and share models easily. We’ll explore several different activities to engage your students in scientific argumentation and generate rich discussions in your classroom. You’ll also learn about the unique features of Model Builder that can check students’ models for you, providing easy formative assessment.
While most students feel that science is important to society, few see themselves in a science-related career. Such attitudes are developed early in life and have long-term implications for both students’ work and personal lives. Join Let's Talk Science as we explore strategies to help students recognize the importance of science in their lives and to help them develop more positive attitudes about the role of science in their lives.
Calling all teacher rocket enthusiasts! Award-winning Science educators Phillip Freeman and Darren Ng will show you how to introduce Rocket Science to your students in hands on, budget-friendly ways guaranteed to inspire your students’ curiosity, develop their data analysis skills, and quite possibly, wake up your neighbours! Aspiring rocket educator engineers will build Darren’s all-time favorite rocket science demonstration relevant to the BC Grade 8-10 junior science curriculum, the new and improved, $3 alcohol bottle rocket launcher! Even better, ALL participants will get to TAKE HOME their creations, ready for immediate and safe launch with their students! Right after, Philip will show teachers how to use the data from their rocket launch to analyse the motion and energy of their rocket, connecting to both the Grade 10 and Physics 11 curriculum in ways that help students to see the explosive reality behind the abstract science. Indeed, sometimes it really IS rocket Science!
Climate change and the related social impacts have necessitated a re-think of traditional pedagogies. Educators are faced with the challenge to not only engage learners in these conversations, but to support and address the range of emotions and pedagogical complexities that involve socio-scientific realities. Climate Kind Pedagogy (CKP) aims to cultivate climate and justice informed approaches and promotes the practice of kindness within educational settings. In this session, participants will be introduced to the novel CKP framework and its practical features as well as key approaches that help learners acquire the competences to foster collaborative problem solving and decision making while encouraging action for ecology and cultural diversity.
In this workshop, participants work to transform old clothing and fabric into new creations using the engineering design cycle and inquiry-based learning. Through the exploration of materials and textures, participants engineer innovative ways to repurpose and mend garments in a fun and interactive manner. This activity integrates art concepts into STEM, providing a holistic approach that combines creativity with engineering and ADST principles. The activity not only imparts practical skills but also educates participants on the broader issues of upcycling, fast fashion, and environmental sustainability.
Rich problems usually require students to think laterally, evaluate evidence, make assumptions, and take risks. Such experiences can help students grow in confidence and resilience, two characteristics that are valuable in the classroom and in the real world. In this session, participants, in small groups, will collaborate to solve a series of puzzles each of which explores the contribution of Women to mathematics, computing, and science. Like a physical escape room, participants have access to lots of information and solutions to challenges open up new opportunities to apply that information. This session is based on the resource ---- available for free from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Participants should join the session via computer rather than phone as the rich lode of information is difficult to navigate on a small screen. The target audience of this session is anyone who enjoys rich problems and anyone who wants another way of encouraging EDI in science, mathematics and computing.
Wireless sensors from Pasco allow students to be able to see concepts demonstrated accurately in real life. Whether you prefer guided labs or following an inquiry process, Pasco provides the tools for students to collect a wide variety of measurements required for physics. This workshop will allow you to have a hands-on experience with Smart carts, photogates, and circuits to get a sense of how your students could use these tools to enhance their understanding of physics concepts.
Starting with a condensed version of the experiential survival game outside, together we will convene to question, plan, analyze, evaluate, apply and communicate our findings. You will receive a digital copy of the game to modify as you like. As well, time will be allocated to share ideas.
This session is for K to 6 teachers who have signed up to be part of the K to 6 Community of Practice. If you are a K to 6 teachers interested in connecting to other science teachers, please send an email to carrieantoniazzi@yahoo.ca to learn more.
Cette Parlons Science séance vise à accompagner les élèves vers des choix judicieux en matière d'utilisation des technologies axées sur l'intelligence artificielle (IA). Au cours de cette séance, vous verrez comment l'IA peut être utilisée en mathématiques pour un apprentissage plus contextuel. Vous apprendrez également comment l'utiliser de manière responsable, en encourageant la pensée critique et en aidant les élèves à devenir des citoyens et citoyennes numériques responsables dans un monde de plus en plus dominé par l'IA.
Join an ExploreLearning Specialist and a BC educator to learn how to enhance hands-on science experiments by incorporating online simulation before, during, or after the experiment. Scientific methods and experimentation with online simulations will be modelled within a curricular context. Teachers are encouraged to bring a device.
Green Chemistry along with the UN Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs) provide frameworks towards reducing hazards (for people and the environment), sustainable lab design, and decreasing waste. I will introduce Green Chemistry Principles, metrics, resources, demos and labs that can be incorporated into the high school curriculum. Tie-ins between the UN SDGs and Green Chemistry will also be discussed.
Whether you are new to teaching physics or have been doing it since mammoths roamed the Earth, you probably have taught enough kinematics that there’s not much more to say, right? Or maybe not! I want to show you a few idiosyncratic things I’ve developed for teaching kinematics in interesting ways and from which you may be able to take some useful ideas! From using SpaceX telemetry to physical models of acceleration, there are a number of interesting, novel, ways to approach the subject. The emphasis will be on inexpensive and readily available materials and resources, techniques that are as intuitive as possible, and on approaches that aren’t entirely standard in a lot of teaching. Of course, if you have a killer kinematics approach yourself feel free to bring that along too! Let’s make teaching kinematics a moving experience!
This online workshop will explore several ways that we as teachers can help our students understand the concept of energy and improve their analysis of systems. We will look how an energy-flow diagram and a work-energy bar chart set a student up for successfully developing equations in all sorts of situations from phase change to combustion to nuclear fusion. All of the content in this session will be based on classroom-ready resources available for free from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics: A Deeper Understanding of Energy and Tools for Teaching Science. Participants should bring something that can be dropped without breaking and a surface on which to write with a marker to maximize their interaction in both the full and small group settings. Target audience of this presentation is anyone who works with students and the concept of energy.
This session will focus on practical examples of how to switch from a tradition assessment model to one focused on standards and skills in a senior science classroom. Over time, this switch can result in reduction in teacher time spent on assessment, focus on skills over content, clearer and executable feedback for students, and move closer in alignment with current ministry standards for assessment.
How can you foster student agency and leadership through STEM learning? Through participation in this session, you will discover curriculum-aligned opportunities where students can take ownership of learning. Join Let's Talk Science in discussing the benefits of incorporating teaching practices that support student agency. You will also explore Universal Design for Learning (UDL), learning strategies and other tools that empower students to express voice and choice.
Science is more than just bubbling beakers and white lab coats! Participants will explore how to use the Scientific Method in partnership with the Engineering Design Process to engage students in hands-on activities. By designing an experiment outline and building prototype equipment, participants will gain firsthand knowledge of what it is like to participate in scientific research. This workshop will provide inspiration for incorporating low-cost projects in the style of scientific research into the classroom, allowing students to engage with STEAM in a collaborative learning environment.
Scientists through the ages have made discoveries that are useful today. These free lessons and resources show the curious minds, the intended as well as unintended scientific experiments and findings, and the wonder that happens when inquiring scientific minds are at play. In addition to the lessons there are free adaptable resources designed to build scientific literacy. Also presented are the critical inquiry and misinformation lessons. Teachers will become students and experience the engaging lesson format and complete quizzes that have a unique additional feature of helping others in need. When scoring 80% or higher a student earns a life saving vaccine (polio, tetanus, diphtheria and measles) distributed through UNICEF (hence the name of the program Kids Boost Immunity). Lessons are linked to the BC science curriculum for grades 4 to 12. The aim is for teachers to leave the session with all they need to start using the resources with students.
Archaeology is the study of how people lived in the past. It intersects with many scientific disciplines including: Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Earth Science, Ecology, Geology, Geography, Indigenous Science, and Zoology. There are even connections to math and statistics! As archaeology connects with local and Indigenous subject matter, it can also provide an entry point for considering ways of Indigenous knowing and being within STEAM fields. In this workshop, archaeologist Nicole Smith provides an overview of selected archaeological stories and resources from the northwest coast of North America to explore with your learners.
The Canadian Museum of Nature offers several free virtual workshops live from our studio in Ottawa, Ontario. In this hands on session, participants will be familiarized with our offerings and receive training on how to maximize student engagement in our virtual programming. This includes classroom strategies, lesson plans and activities to use before and after the workshops.
Option to present bilingually or in French if desired.
Connect your science classroom to visual arts, land-based learning, and the authentic practices of working biologists! In this workshop, we will explore how field journals help students develop curiosity, hone observational skills, ask good questions, and collect data, all while connecting with the natural world. You will leave with structured activities to try in your own classroom, as well as a list of resources to check out for more information.
