STEM Teaching Tools at NSTA in Minneapolis, 2025

Posted on November 20, 2025

Our team with our collaborators presented at the NSTA National Conference in Minneapolis! We offered a series of 13 sessions inspired by STEM Teaching Tools and designed to help educators engage in climate justice instruction, leverage student sensemaking resources, take learning outside, and more! At all sessions, participants received resources and strategies they can use in their classrooms. Those are all shared at the links below.

Thursday, November 13

8-9 AM: Climate Justice Overview: Priority Areas and Educational Approaches
Presenters: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC), Nancy Price (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)
Folder of session resources

Science education has a key role to play in supporting a just transition to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about 20 priority areas associated with climate and environmental justice—and explore educational approaches, resources, and groups related to these areas.

12:30-2 PM: Adapting OpenSciEd Curriculum to Focus on Climate Justice, Local Solutions, and Issues of Indigenous Self-Determination. Presenters: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)
Folder of session resources

We show how instructional materials can be adapted for local contexts—and how to elevate issues of climate justice and ethical responses to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about how a high school physics unit from OpenSciEd was adapted to attend to Indigenous land rights and sovereignty.

2:20-3:20 PM: Engaging Students in Talking about Indigenous Sovereignty and Climate Systems
Presenters: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC)
Folder of session resources

Youth need opportunities to learn about green colonialism and how Native Science and Indigenous sovereignty are fundamental to addressing the climate emergency. Workshop participants will engage in talk activities designed to support non-Indigenous youth in learning and processing these topics.

3:40-4:40 PM: Implementing Climate Learning Across Education Systems
Presenters: Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC), Kat Davis (Portland School District, Portland, OR), Kimberly Talarico (Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee, WI)
Folder of session resources

Educators need supports to create climate learning for their students. Now is the time to explore how to broaden climate learning across your school, district, region, or state. This session will provide pragmatic tools and design advice on how to best engage in this work for your specific context.

Friday, November 14

8-9 AM: Supporting Equity and Justice Through Science Instruction: The Road Traveled and the One Ahead
Presenter: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)
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All students have the right to develop a deep understanding of how the world works in ways that support their personal goals and the interests of their community. Come explore how instruction can more equitably support science learning that is consequential to your students and their communities.

9:20-10:20 AM: Youth As Climate and Environmental Scientists: Collecting, Analyzing, and Reporting on Local Community Climate and Environmental Justice Data
Presenters: Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA) James Kostka (United Charter School, Bronx, NY)
Folder of session resources

Without local data it is impossible to fully understand community environmental and climate problems and their effects on different groups. Attendees will explore different environmental and climate data sets and learn how to use these with students to create well-informed solutions.

10:40 - 12:10 PM: Get Your Students Outside to Learn Science and Care for the Living World!
Presenters: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Nancy Price (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)
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How can science learning experiences help students develop ecological caring approaches to the living world? Come explore educational approaches to multispecies justice with us! Expanding how students connect to and care for the living world around them is vital at this time of climate crisis.

1:00-2:30 PM: Supporting Youths’ Climate Emotions as Authentic Dimensions of Sensemaking
Presenters: Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA); Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC)
Folder of session resources

Understanding how to constructively respond to the diverse emotions youth express and experience as they engage in climate learning is essential work for educators. We will explore approaches for responding to youths’ eco-emotions, and how these can help students make better sense of the world.

2:40-3:40 PM: Using Art Pedagogy in Science Class to Teach Climate Justice
Presenters: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Nancy Price (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)
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Learn about making art as a way of understanding and engaging climate and environmental justice issues happening in our world today. We will engage the current science related to climate change and produce art to creatively explore and communicate just responses.

4:00-5:00 PM: Designing Learning for Climate Action
Presenters:Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC) Lindsey Kirkland (Climate Generation: Minneapolis, MN)
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Come explore ways to engage students in community centered collaborative climate action now and on into the future. This workshop will engage participants in frank conversations about avoiding indoctrination, designing for varied forms of action, and building community collaborations.

Saturday, November 15

8:30 - 10:00 AM: Supporting All Students in Making Sense of Phenomena By Building All of Their Intellectual Resources
Presenters: Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)
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This session highlights cultural dimensions of meaningful science learning. It showcases a powerful instructional technique for formative assessment called “self-documentation”—where students collect information related to a particular theme or topic in their everyday lives.

10:20-11:20 AM: Climate Learning Share-a-Thon
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (University of Washington: Salt Spring Island, BC), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA) Folder of session resources

Are you interested in teaching about climate change, sustainability or the environment? Come explore open educational resources and design practices from a variety of organizations with expertise in these areas! These include professional learning, curriculum, and pedagogical resources!

11:40 - 12:40 AM: Core Practices that Center Justice in Ambitious Teaching
Presenters: April Luehmann (University of Rochester, Rochester, NY) Todd Campbell (University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT)
Folder of session resources

This session highlights cultural dimensions of meaningful science learning. It showcases a powerful instructional technique for formative assessment called “self-documentation”—where students collect information related to a particular theme or topic in their everyday lives.