Teachers Meet in D.C. to Share STEM Teaching and Research Practices

The nonprofit Society for Science’s roots can be traced back to 1921, when a well-known journalist and a zoologist joined forces to create Science News Letter, with the shared goal of bridging the gap between scientists and average citizens, believing that “a healthy democracy depended on a public understanding of science.”

Over the last century, the Society for Science has been committed to expanding scientific literacy, access to STEM education, and scientific research. Its mission to promote the vital role science plays in human advancement is carried out through its publications, competitions, and programs — among them an annual conference for middle-school teachers and another for high-school teachers. This fall, the legacy society will bring those two — 100 middle-school and 100 high-school research teachers, randomly selected from a lottery — together for its first concurrent conference.

Funding for the all-expenses-paid conference is provided by the Department of Defense STEM and the Defense STEM Education Consortium. “We are grateful that our funding,” Anna Pawlow, Society for Science’s director of STEM education outreach, told Convene via email, “has not been impacted by federal budget cuts.”

The same approach for all breakout sessions has been taken at both conferences: They are peer-led, with educators sharing their own best practices with one another. “We find that this approach is much more helpful to teachers,” Pawlow said, “who appreciate real-word examples.” Session leaders share the best STEM teaching and research practices, discuss the importance of facilitating authentic student research, and participants learn more about supporting students through science research competitions.

Pawlow said bringing the two education levels together will expand the sharing of approaches and research techniques among participants as well as grow their support network, helping to “build a stronger sense of community within the education system.” Breakout sessions will be separated by grade level, while fireside chats exploring such themes as supporting student research with limited funding and the ethical use of AI in student research will bring both groups together.

And being that this is a conference for teachers, there is a course objective for all: “We want teachers leaving the conference,” Pawlow said, “feeling confident, highly respected, and motivated to do their incredibly difficult job.”

On the Curriculum

One session — Incorporating Student Cultures Into Research Projects — focuses on how to write open-ended and objective driving questions that empower students with choice and voice in research projects, integrating their cultural backgrounds to encourage engagement, empathy, creativity, and ownership in their research.

Field Trip

Following dinner out on Saturday night, participants are dropped off for tours at several different monuments and given time to explore them at their leisure.

Michelle Russell is editor in chief at Convene. Illustration by Carmen Segovia.

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