NIH SciEd 2024: Annual Conference for NIH Science Education Projects

Hello SEPA PIs,

We’re excited to announce that the SciEd 2024 Conference will be held outside of Washington, DC for the first time since 2013!

• Dates: Tuesday, May 28 (evening reception) to Friday, May 31 (ending before lunch).

• Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Both the conference registration fee and the lodging room rate will be considerably lower than they have been in DC. To help us plan this exciting conference, we’re looking for volunteers for the 2024 SciEd Organizing Committee who:

• Have attended at least one previous SciEd Conference
• Have significant experience with a SEPA project, such as PI/MPI/co-PI, key personnel, project manager, post-doc, evaluator, etc.

We especially encourage individuals from underrepresented populations in STEM (see NIH’s definition here) to be part of the committee.

Participating on the Organizing Committee gives you a voice in:

• Identifying speakers, panelists and formats for plenary sessions
• Planning breakout and other types of sessions that meet you and your colleagues’ interests

Interested individuals are requested to contact us by Wednesday, December 6.

• Email: kristin@rockman.com; stark@utah.edu
• Include the strand you’re most interested in co-leading, or a 1^st and 2^nd choice of strand

SciEd Strands:

• Broadening Participation
• Curriculum Development
• Informal Science Education
• Interactive Multimedia
• Project Administration
• Research and Evaluation
• Research Experiences for Students and Teachers
• Science Teaching and Learning (student programs)
• Teacher Professional Development

Serving on the Organizing Committee involves:

• Serving as a Strand Leader for one of the above strands – at least two people co-lead each Strand
  • Identify topics related to your Strand that are of interest to the SciEd community
  • Identify appropriate presenters for these topics and invite them to submit a breakout or short session proposal; this could include yourself and/or your co-strand leader
  • Review session proposals related to your Strand
• Participate in 1-2 Organizing Committee phone calls as well as email discussions to discuss the conference organization, potential plenary speakers/sessions, etc.
• Write a report on one of the plenary sessions that will be included in the Conference Report

Please feel free to share this announcement with anyone on your team who might be interested.

We look forward to a stimulating and fruitful SciEd 2024 conference!

Louisa Stark & Kristin Bass
SciEd 2024 Conference Co-Chairs

NIH SciEd Conference posters

Authentic Literacy and Language (ALL) for Science
Baylor College of Medicine

Download PDF: Conference Poster

Project: Authentic Literacy and Language (ALL) for Science
Baylor College of Medicine

The ALL for Science project expands an instructional framework developed by the K-3 Stem Foundations: Life Science project. With the ALL for Science framework, students engage in two related forms of inquiry: 1) firsthand scientific inquiry based on a model organism or system following a learning cycle approach and 2) related text-based inquiry using existing real-world informational resources (reviewed for appropriateness prior to use).

Contacts: Moreno, Nancy P. – PhD Newell, Alana D – PhD

K-3 STEM Foundations: Life Science
Baylor College of Medicine

Download PDF: Conference Poster

Project: K-3 STEM Foundations: Life Science
Baylor College of Medicine

Scientists and educators at Baylor College of Medicine are developing, evaluating and disseminating new science and health teaching resources for grades K-3 to improve students’ learning experiences, skills development and attitudes toward STEM that address NGSS disciplinary core ideas in the life sciences. The resources will be appropriate for use during class time or after school, and will reinforce development of reading/language arts skills, particularly students' disciplinary literacy. The project builds on multiple successful NIH-funded curriculum development programs and is being evaluated in schools with high enrollments of underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged students.

Contacts: Moreno, Nancy P. – PhD Newell, Alana D – PhD Thomas, Jimmie W – MEd