A Pre-Kindergarten - Grade 12 co-educational independent day school in Westchester County, New York

Three RCDS Faculty Members Lead Sessions at National Science Teaching Association Conference

Three RCDS faculty members presented at the 2024 National Science Teaching Association Conference on Science Education in New Orleans, LA. Their three workshops aligned with the conference’s theme of “Spark Creativity in Science and STEM Education.”

Director of STEAM and Upper School Science Teacher Cathie Bischoff led a session called “Maker Science: Design and Implementation of Authentic Maker Science Projects.” Ms. Bischoff discussed how conference attendees could integrate authentic and meaningful hands-on maker projects into science classes. She addressed the challenges and rewards of this work for both students and teachers and how maker projects offer the opportunity to alternatively assess student learning, infuse creativity, and focus on student choice. Ms. Bischoff led a maker activity for her workshop’s participants so they could follow the student experience firsthand. 

Upper School Science Teachers Jen Doran and Michael Hirsch co-presented a workshop and participated in a speed-sharing session. Their workshop, “Empowering Scientific Communication: A Scaffolding Approach for Lab Report Success,” demonstrated how to divide a standard five-section lab report into defined sections with clear prompts for clarity, grading, and executive functioning support. An effective scaffolding process has been proven to improve technical science writing skills, build student confidence, and encourage systems thinking. 

Ms. Doran and Mr. Hirsch did a speed share of “Models as a Tool for Systems Thinking and Executive Functioning,” as part of a larger workshop on empowering students and celebrating STEM success. In their presentation, they explained how, by using specialized graphic organizers with executive functioning scaffolding, students can capture and integrate new information into models allowing for greater understanding, systems thinking, and assessment preparation.

Ms. Bischoff, Ms. Doran, and Mr. Hirsch’s sessions sparked meaningful conversations with their fellow science educators from around the country, and they were energized by the exchange of ideas and the collective commitment from the conference attendees to improve STEM education.

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