This engaging virtual workshop is designed for K–8 educators who want to strengthen science instruction through sensemaking—the process where students make meaning of scientific ideas by asking questions, investigating, analyzing data, and constructing explanations. Participants will explore how sensemaking is embedded in the Virginia Science Standards of Learning (SOLs) and how it can be effectively implemented in today's classroom.
Speaker: Leslie Lausten, Professional Learning Specialist, School Specialty
Ever wonder why your labs may not reach some students? Join the Science for All Committee as they present ready-made labs for Biology Teachers! Come learn tips and tricks for successful labs with diverse groups. Labs are complete with scaffolds, reading, and graphing. All you have to do is gather materials and print!
Speaker: Kirsten Salonga
The Virginia Academy of Science has worked for over 100 years to support scientific progress and education across the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this webinar, we will discuss how the Academy is working to partner with VAST to provide professional development opportunities and support for the work of science instructors across Virginia. We will also seek your input as to how this organization of Virginia scientists can best support VAST and the K-12 science instructor community in its efforts to develop the next generation of scientists.
Speaker: Michael Wolyniak, Chair of the Science Education Committee, Virginia Academy of Science
Ever wonder why your labs may not reach some students? Join the Science for All Committee as they present ready-made labs for Biology Teachers! Come learn tips and tricks for successful labs with diverse groups. Labs are complete with scaffolds, reading, and graphing. All you have to do is gather materials and print.
In today's linguistically diverse classrooms, teachers need to engage and support English learners in accessing rigorous science content. One of the most powerful ways to make science accessible for English Learners is to contextualize it in relevant phenomena. Join Dr. Alexis Rutt and the Science For All Committee for a webinar highlighting how to use phenomena-driven science instruction to teach SOL-required, abstract vocabulary and science concepts in linguistically diverse classrooms. In this session, you will experience a model lesson and learn the basics of phenomena-driven science before brainstorming phenomena to contextualize their own instruction. While this session is targeted at science teachers at any grade level who are working with English learners, many of the strategies are useful for teaching science content to all learners.
Speaker: Dr. Alexis Rutt, James Madison University
This interactive, hands-on workshop will equip you with review strategies to enhance science discourse, make thinking visible through models, explore science and engineering practices, strengthen vocabulary instruction, and more!
Elementary, Middle & High School levels included along with LUNCH!
In this interactive professional development webinar, science teachers will explore how to meaningfully support students’ motivation, strategic thinking, and metacognitive skills while teaching science content and science practices. Together, we will examine how three widely used instructional models in science education - cognitive apprenticeship, explicit and reflective instruction, and the 5E learning cycle - naturally align with key phases of self-regulated learning (SRL). Teachers will see how modeling thinking, providing structured scaffolds, inviting student articulation, and building in opportunities for reflection can strengthen both science learning and student independence. By the end of the webinar, teachers will leave with practical routines, prompts, and instructional moves that make student thinking visible, develop metacognitive habits, and help students take greater ownership of their learning in science. During the session, participants will engage in hands-on activities that mirror the student experience: Modeling + Think-Aloud Demo: Facilitators will walk through a science task while verbalizing planning and monitoring strategies, offering teachers a concrete model of SRL-aligned cognitive apprenticeship. Scaffold Design Workshop: Teachers will collaborate to create scaffolds (e.g., planning guides, metacognitive prompts, reflection routines) that can be embedded into upcoming units. 5E Lesson Re-Mix: Participants will adapt a familiar 5E lesson by integrating SRL subprocesses—planning in “Engage,” monitoring in “Explore/Explain,” and self-evaluation in “Evaluate.” Peer Reflection Cycle: Teachers will practice short reflection protocols that parallel what students might use in their own science classrooms.
Speaker: Dr. Erin Peters-Burton, George Mason University
Virginia Association of Science Teachers
communications@vast.org
.png)