SciEd 2025

Welcome from SciEd 2025 Conference Co-Chairs

Louisa A. Stark, PhD, H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair and Professor of Human Genetics, University of Utah

Kristin M. Bass, PhD, Director of Research Development, Rockman et al Cooperative Inc. 

L. Tony Beck Memorial Lecture 

Funding, Policy, and Practice: Forces Shaping Informal STEM Education

Erika Shugart, PhD, Erika Shugart Consulting 

Informal science and engineering education has been shaped by a decade of shifting federal priorities and philanthropic investments. National policies have alternated between emphasizing workforce preparation and cultivating broad scientific literacy, while private foundations have directed resources toward inclusivity, digital learning, and community engagement. These shifts have influenced how organizations define success, structure programs, and justify their contributions to society. By tracing these policy and funding trends, this talk highlights how external forces have framed the goals of informal science and engineering education and examines the tensions that arise when programs must align with changing and, sometimes competing, expectations.

Erika Shugart, PhD Biography

Erika Shugart is an experienced non-profit leader who has dedicated her career to improving organizations in the fields of science and education. She has a track record of building strong teams and improving non-profits’ finances. She is a change agent who has led organizational transformation in large, complex non-profits.

Erika Shugart, PhD is Principal of Erika Shugart Consulting, a firm that supports non-profit leadership through strategic planning, governance improvement, team building, and association management. Prior to her consulting work she was the CEO of two professional associations, the National Science Teaching Association from 2021 – 2025 and the American Society for Cell Biology from 2016 – 2021.  At both organizations she led strategic planning initiatives that drove organizational success, collaborated with volunteer leadership to revise governance, and built high-performing teams. She was the Director of Communications and Marketing Strategy at the American Society for Microbiology from 2013 – 2016, where she oversaw media relations, digital communications, marketing, the membership magazine and public outreach for the society. She was also Principal of Erika Shugart Consulting, LLC a firm that specialized in improving audience engagement. Clients have included Academy Health and the Franklin Institute.  Between 2003 and 2013, she oversaw the development of new digital media exhibitions, online experiences and programs as Deputy Director of the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences.  In this role, she managed the creation of several major exhibitions, including Life Lab, Earth Lab: Degrees of Change, Infectious Disease: Evolving Challenges to Human Health, Putting DNA to Work, and a virtual exhibition on Safe Drinking Water.  She also conceptualized and managed the museum’s online presence including its award-winning website. 

Prior to joining the museum staff, Erika directed the National Academy of Sciences’ Office on Public Understanding of Science, managing several projects including the article series Beyond Discovery. Erika began her career at the National Research Council as an intern with the Board on Biology. Erika also worked at the Office of Policy Analysis at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH. She received her Ph.D. in biology from the University of Virginia.

Erika has been recognized as a leader in the field of science communication. In 2010, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for distinguished contributions and leadership in public understanding and engagement in science.  She was a Noyce Leadership Fellow from 2012 – 2013.  In 2007, the National Academy of Sciences awarded her with an Individual Distinguished Service Award and she shared Group Distinguished Service Awards in 2004 and 2011.

Erika spent her early childhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (a national lab town), during which she developed the impression that everyone in the world either was or wanted to be a scientist.  After leaving Oak Ridge, she realized that she was mistaken.  Once she recovered from the shock of this realization, she has dedicated her career to helping society understand and use science. In her free time, she enjoys ceramics, traveling to new places, and watching her two kids perform dance and theater.

Erika Shugart
Erika Shugart Consulting

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Erika Shugart

Erika Shugart, PhD, Erika Shugart Consulting

Louisa A. Stark
University of Utah

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Louisa A. Stark

Kristin M. Bass
Rockman et al Cooperative Inc.

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Kristin M. Bass

Facilitating Entry of High School Students and Teachers Into Research Labs at R1 Institutions: Lessons Learned From Two Programs

Presenters

Elizabeth Dennis, Anna Pudder, and Bret Hassel, University of Maryland School of Medicine  

Mentee panel presenters:  

Near-Peer mentors: Andrew Allee, Jaylyn King, Kayla Black, Morgan Fique 

High School mentees: Jermaine Blackwell-Smith, Jaron Harris

Teacher mentee: Brittney Shaw-Ahenda

Strand: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers

Participation in structured research and mentorship programs may increase the likelihood that students enroll in college and graduate school and increase their confidence to pursue a career as a research scientist, thereby providing a model to increase the number of individuals shown to be underrepresented in the biomedical sciences. To further address issues of STEM education, there are national efforts to engage high school (HS) students and teachers in research and mentorship programs.  However, a major challenge in securing summer research-intensive internships for HS students has been identifying faculty mentors to host HS students and teachers for a sustained summer research program. 

This session will describe two summer programs: the UMB Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP; Baltimore, MD), and the Nathan Schnaper Intern Program in Translational Cancer Research (NSIP) CATALYST YES Teacher Research (Baltimore, MD) that utilize undergraduate and graduate students as near-peer mentors to both HS students and teachers and assist the faculty mentor in overseeing the development of HS student and teacher lab-based skill development. The session will also describe a novel near-peer mentorship training that promotes inclusive mentoring across laboratory-based near-peer mentorship relationships. 

Following the overview of each program, we will host a panel discussion from participants, including our undergraduate and graduate student near-peer mentors, a HS teacher, and HS mentees who will speak about their own experiences in each of these research programs and how it has impacted their own research paths. We will also provide opportunities for the audience to engage with panel participants using provided open-ended questions.

As a result of participating in this session, conference attendees will: 

• Describe strategies to slowly acclimate high school students to the research environment while reducing burden on the recruited faculty mentors
• Identify benefits of engaging undergraduates and graduate students as near-peer mentors to acclimate high school students and teachers to the research environment
• Consider onboarding and training approaches important for near-peer mentors to train younger students in research lab environments to enhance the experience of involved research team members

Celebrating 20+ years of SEPA-Funded Exhibitions

Presenters

Laurie Kleinbaum Fink, Science Museum of Minnesota; Vicki Coats, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

Strand: Informal Science Education

The Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program has a rich history of funding innovative science museum exhibitions. These engaging exhibits, developed in close collaboration with researchers, have not only captivated millions of museum visitors but have also fostered a deeper public understanding of science. This session will feature a brief presentation by SEPA PIs Vicki Coats and Laurie Kleinbaum Fink, who will share their experiences developing multiple SEPA-funded exhibition projects. Their presentations will delve into:

• Project Overviews: A brief overview of their respective SEPA-funded exhibition projects and their key features
• Impact Assessment: A discussion of the impact these exhibitions have had on museum visitors, including data from project evaluations 
• Lessons Learned: Valuable insights and best practices gleaned from their experiences in developing and evaluating these impactful projects

A facilitated discussion will allow session participants to:

• Share their own experiences: Contribute their insights and experiences with SEPA-funded exhibition projects or related initiatives
• Ask questions: Engage in a Q&A session with the presenters, exploring specific challenges and successes in exhibition development
• Celebrate the legacy: Reflect on the significant contributions of Tony Beck and the SEPA program to the advancement of science communication and public engagement

1. Measuring Researcher Identity Among Secondary School Students: A Systematic Approach to Design and Development (2:30 - 2:50pm)
   
   Strand: Research & Evaluation
   
   Measuring Researcher Identity Among Secondary School Students: A Systematic Approach to Design and Development
   
   Speakers
   Linda Morell, University of California, Berkeley
   
   Though many U.S. programs provide research experiences to high school students, there has been little research investigating students’ conceptions of themselves as researchers. To help address this need, we developed a survey to measure how high school age students self-identify as researchers.  The BEAR Assessment System (Wilson, 2023) guided the development and validation of the survey.  More than 800 high school students from diverse backgrounds completed the 12-item Researcher Identity Survey (RIS). The survey results contribute validity and reliability evidence about this easy-to-use and interpretable scale. 
   
   For our presentation, we will 1) share our methodology of how to develop and investigate the technical qualities of a survey using the RIS as an example and 2) provide an overview of the RIS and how to use it with high school students. We also plan to provide a preview of the Belonging in Science Survey we are currently working on. This SEPA-funded research has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications (Koo et al., 2021; Morell et al., 2024; Wilson, et al. 2023) and multiple presentations at national and international conferences thus far.
   
   
   
   
2. Integrating the Science Identity Scale into the GEMS Program: Evaluating Student Identity Development in STEM (2:50 - 3:10pm)
   

   Strand: Research & Evaluation
   
   Integrating the Science Identity Scale into the GEMS Program: Evaluating Student Identity Development in STEM
   
   Speakers
   Manal A. Almalki, Laura S. Tenenbaum, and Debra L. Yourick, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR)
   
   The Gains in the Education of Math and Science (GEMS) is an early intervention program to expand the STEM workforce and reinforce persistence in STEM education; the summer GEMS program in 2024 served 695 participants. Through inquiry-based learning experiences and near-peer mentorship, GEMS improves students' learning and interest in STEM. However, no prior work has examined if the GEMS program enhances science identity development among students. Therefore, the research team at WRAIR added a new evaluation element, with some modification for GEMS, a science identity (SciID) scale, which is a publicly available research tool that is developed and validated by Lockhart et al. (2022). 
   The SciID survey items are built based upon traditional identity theory and reflect two dimensions: exploration and commitment. Exploration involves students considering alternative paths outside of science, whereas commitment is about students’ adherence to personal choice and investment in science. The survey contains 16 statements and a five-point Likert scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree (1)” to “Strongly Agree (5).” Analysis examines students’ science identity measurement after participating in the GEMS program. This short talk will present analyzed survey responses for Summer 2024.
   
   
   

3. Enhancing Genetics Education Through Interactive Learning: Evaluating Student Outcomes and STEM Possible Selves among High School Students (3:10 - 3:30pm)

   Strands: Research & Evaluation; Curriculum Development

   Enhancing Genetics Education Through Interactive Learning: Evaluating Student Outcomes and STEM Possible Selves among High School Students

   Speakers

   Rebecca Peterson, and Kristin Fenker, University of Utah

   This mixed-methods study examines how an innovative high school genetics curriculum impacts both content mastery and science identity development. The University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center developed digital tools and case studies integrating three distinct professional perspectives to connect molecular processes with real-world applications. Data collection included pre/post assessments, surveys on science possible selves, cognitive interviews, and teacher implementation feedback across multiple classroom settings. Results will illuminate how technology-enhanced learning environments with embedded career perspectives influence both student understanding of genetic concepts and their ability to envision science-related possible selves.

Led by the Tony Beck Memorial Group

Celebrating L. Tony Beck, PhD, former NIH SEPA Program Director

L. Tony Beck, PhD, served as the NIH SEPA Program Director from 2002 until he passed away on April 7, 2025. This event will celebrate his transformative contributions to the SEPA program, SEPA community, and science education across the US. 

Tributes to Dr. Beck have been published in the NIGMS Feedback Loop Blog and the Journal of STEM Outreach.

The Celebration is being planned by the Tony Beck Memorial Group.

Keynote Address: Future-Ready Students: Developing Durable Skills in K-12
Speaker

Rebecca J. Peterson, PhD, Assistant Director of Research & Evaluation, Genetic Science Learning Center, University of Utah; and Adjunct Professor of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, Brigham Young University

Students pursuing biomedical careers need durable skills (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, adaptive problem-solving) that transfer across contexts and remain valuable throughout their careers. Unlike technical skills that may become obsolete, durable skills provide the foundation for autonomy and adaptability across diverse biomedical pathways. 

Despite their importance for workforce development, durable skills are rarely taught explicitly. The prevailing assumption is that rigorous content instruction automatically develops these skills. However, students often cannot recognize the durable skills they're developing, and teachers typically lack scaffolding and materials to make this learning explicit. I propose a shift in instructional design: rather than starting with content objectives and hoping skills develop along the way, educators should begin by identifying target durable skills, then select content that provides authentic contexts for practicing those skills.  

Drawing on research examining factors that predict postsecondary success and practitioner perspectives, participants will gain practical strategies for embedding explicit durable skills development into SEPA-funded curricula. Through concrete examples from inquiry-based science education, we'll explore how to make durable skills visible and intentional, strengthening both student engagement and preparation for diverse career pathways while contributing to the biomedical workforce. 

Rebecca J. Peterson, PhD Biography

Rebecca J. Peterson, PhD is an educator-researcher who translates durable skills research into practical classroom frameworks. Throughout her career, she has partnered with school districts on postsecondary readiness initiatives. She helped lead development of Utah’s Portrait of a Graduate framework and its associated competencies and contributed to Utah's Personalized Competency-Based Learning (PCBL) framework. She worked with districts to implement these competencies through teacher professional development and curricular integration. 

Rebecca conducted research examining the alignment between Utah's postsecondary readiness policies and competencies that predict college and career success. She has served in national leadership roles including as National Co-Lead for the Student Centered Learning Assessment Group (Council of Chief State School Officers, and Center for Assessment) and as a member of the National ACT State Assessment Committee. Most recently, in light of AI's growing influence, she interviewed practitioners across Utah's K-12 ecosystem to identify which durable skills they view as most essential for students' postsecondary success. She currently serves on Utah's Career and Technical Education (CTE) Strategic Plan Advisory Board and the State Science Collaborative advisory board, and is a member of the Workforce and Education Special Interest Group of Utah's Responsible AI Community Consortium, where she co-authored the AI Leadership Blueprint: A Practical Guide to Responsible Workforce Transformation. 

Rebecca's insights are grounded in diverse educational experience spanning K-12 and higher education. She began as a special education teacher and later served as principal at a charter school serving neurodiverse students, then taught high school biology and chaired a science department while also leading development of a multi-campus teacher mentoring program and multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). At the Utah State Board of Education, she worked as an MTSS Specialist and later as the Postsecondary Readiness Assessment Specialist. After earning her doctorate in Educational Measurement, Inquiry, and Evaluation and working as a psychometrician, she joined the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah as Assistant Director of Research and Evaluation, where she leads curriculum efficacy research. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Brigham Young University, teaching Principles and Theories of Learning in the graduate Counseling Psychology and Special Education program. 

Rebecca Peterson
University of Utah & Brigham Young University

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Rebecca Peterson

1. Infusing the STEM Pipeline with Deaf Scientists: Expanding the Rochester Model into a National Initiative 
   (2:30 - 2:50pm)
   
   Speakers
   Nicole O’Dell, Ruth O’Regan, Wyatte Hall, and Sara Blick-Nitko, University of Rochester Medical Center; Megan Majocha, National Cancer Institute
   
   Strand: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers
   
   The Wilmot Cancer Institute's Future Deaf Scientists program is a four-week summer internship designed for Deaf high school students in Rochester, NY. The program aims to introduce Deaf students to careers in biomedical sciences, cancer research, and clinical care. In 2024, Wilmot received an R25 grant from the National Cancer Institute to expand this initiative into a two-year program spanning the academic year and summer break. This funding also allows for the expansion of the Future Deaf Scientists program to four partner sites located in Connecticut, Kentucky, Indiana, and California.
   We will discuss the results of pre-and post-program assessments conducted with students to gauge their understanding and satisfaction with the program. Additionally, we will share student outcomes, including qualitative insights from success stories that students experienced over the past four years. We will discuss the progress in establishing new collaborative relationships with our partner sites and how we plan to facilitate a shared learning experience. Finally, we will outline our future plans, including the possibility of expanding the network further by adding more partner sites.
   
   
   
   
2. The Research Publication Pipeline: Opportunities for Secondary School Students
   (2:50 - 3:10pm)
   
   Speakers
   

   Alyson Michael, and Jesse Mast, New Hampshire Academy of Science

   Strands: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers; Informal Science Education

   At the NH Academy of Science, our students conduct authentic research in various disciplines under the mentorship of professional scientists. The research often takes years. Our students have presented their work at the New England STEM Symposium, AAAS annual meetings, NH-INBRE, and the World Orchid Conference in Taiwan. Our students have published several articles in orchid journals with our scientists as coauthors. We have conservation genetics publications in the preparation phase to be sent for peer review with students as coauthors. 

   Our long-term mentorship approach allows students to explore their areas of interest, then gives them the opportunity to spend multiple years working on their projects with escalating levels of presentations and publications. This results in students having publications on their CVs before graduating from high school. Here we highlight some of our students’ publications, how we help them work as a team to publish, and how this makes them feel like authentic productive members of the STEM profession.
   
   

   
   

3. Using SciEd to Combine Community and University Superpowers for Mutual Transformation
   (3:10 - 3:30pm)

   Speakers
   Sandra San Miguel, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine; Lindley McDavid, Purdue University Evaluation and Learning Research Center; Erin Phillips, Thomas Miller Elementary School

   Strand: Project Administration

   An integral component of SciEd projects is collaborating with community stakeholders to effectively reach and positively impact program participants. We will share practical strategies and examples from our experiences with a partnership between Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and Thomas Miller Elementary School. These strategies can be used by other SciEd programs to form mutually beneficial and reciprocal collaborations. We will demonstrate strategies for sharing goals, expectations, decision-making, and resources to sustain long-term university-community partnerships. Our collaborations among the school corporation, school, teachers, faculty, administration, staff, university students, and children, have resulted in community STEM capacity-building, where elementary school students and teachers are excited and engaged in science learning and education.

Strategies to Successfully Recruit and Retain Peer Mentors in SciEd Projects

Presenters

Abha Verma, and Mehnaaz F. Ali, Xavier University of Louisiana

Strands: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers; Informal Science Education 

Near-peer mentorship is an integral part of several high-school training projects. This session discusses strategies to carry out effective recruitment and retention of peer mentors and engage them with career impacting opportunities for professional development. Under the umbrella project of Xavier University of Louisiana’s Mobile Outreach for Laboratory Enrichment (XULA-MOLE), innovative strategies for recruiting and engaging freshmen and sophomore undergraduate students to participate were explored. XULA-MOLE is a community-focused initiative that involves high school STEM outreach activities led by XULA students. Our Undergraduate Student Team Leads (who were hired by project faculty) led Undergraduate near-peer mentors and implemented multifaceted recruitment strategies by conducting informational sessions, sharing personal experiences, highlighting the benefits of participation, using peer-to-peer engagement tactics, leveraging relatable stories, and relaying the excitement of STEM outreach to attract their peers. 

We will discuss initial challenges with our XULA-MOLE project and provide concrete considerations that were used within our project to improve and build a successful near-peer mentor cohort. We aim to lead a robust discussion on a specific challenge that a project may be facing and/or successful interventions that may have been effective. We expect to learn from each other to increase effective recruitment of near peer mentors and takeaway strategies that will increase retention.

As a result of participating in this session, participants will:

• Be able to identify current challenges in effective recruitment of near-peer mentors
• Take away methods for effective recruitment of ‘team-lead’ mentors to serve as student team leads 
• Gain methods for training undergraduate and/or senior high school students to view mentorship as a professional development tool
• Be able to identify different methods and structures for near-peer mentorship

1. Bridging the Gap: Integrating NGSS Curricula with Hands-On Laboratory and Data Science for Career Readiness
   (2:30 - 2:50pm)
   

   Speakers

   Rebecca Reynolds, Jacen Moore, and Keisha Burnett, University of Tennessee Health Science Center; Sim Taylor, University of Tennessee at Martin; Carolyn Kaldon, and Mary Randolph-Frye, University of Memphis

   Strands: Science Teaching & Learning; Curriculum Development 

   We will share our journey with aligning the NGSS curricula to laboratory and data science content for student and teacher participants.  As we developed our interactive program, we worked with our program evaluation partners to develop the evaluation tools and process along with our curricula development.  We will share how we incorporated career awareness into our program curricula to increase the likelihood of how teachers and students see the relationship between the NGSS curricula standards and careers in laboratory and data science.
   
   

2. Funds of Knowledge: Participatory Science at the Intersection of Rurality, Environment & Culture
   (2:50 - 3:10pm)

   Speakers

   Mónica D. Ramírez-Andreotta, William Borkan, Sanlyn Buxner, Josie Castillo, God'sgift Chukwuonye, Melissa Jacquez, and Miriam Jones, University of Arizona; Miracle Martinez, University of Arizona and Regenerating Sonora, Inc.; Carol Newbauer, Kunal Palawat, Emily Salgado, Iliana Samorano, and Abigail Zettlemoyer, University of Arizona

   Strand: Research & Evaluation

   A community-based participatory research approach to research and training can authentically incorporate the diversity of community experiences and ways of knowing. Asking questions that fail to address community concerns and using methods that dismiss public participation can perpetuate the gap and separation between scientists, practitioners, and members of the public. Based on the established partnerships and trust we have built for over five years, we are training the next generation of ecosystem health leaders and co-producing data report back materials to support environmental health research to action. Together, we are working diligently to mobilize knowledge and resources inherent in the community. 

   This session will discuss the creation of participatory science programs that engages all ages and is providing the tools, skills and support to document, reflect upon, and communicate issues of concern (through youth and adult advisory boards and Photovoice); collect environmental samples (through co-created citizen/community science); and make sense of data so that their results can inform actions at the local, regional, and even national level (through data visualization and environmental communication).

3. Navigating Growth: Lessons from the Expansion of the SAY-YES! Program
(3:10 - 3:30pm)

Speakers
Tatiana Moylan, Jack McCarthy, and Leigh Evans, Yale School of Medicine

Strand: Science Teaching & Learning

In this presentation, we will highlight the lessons learned while expanding the SAY-YES! Simulation Academy at Yale program from one school to three. Our journey required a deeper understanding of the unique needs of our student population, including transportation challenges, recruitment strategies, and the adaptation of lesson plans to incorporate more simulation-based learning.
By developing a close partnership with the New Haven School system, we were able to effectively address and identify these critical issues, ensuring that our expansion was both impactful and sustainable.
We will discuss the potential challenges associated with developing programs for high school students and share strategies for identifying and solving these issues. Our experiences provide valuable insights into the importance of community collaboration, flexibility in program design, and responsiveness to student needs.
Join us as we explore the strategies that facilitated our program's growth and the lessons that can inform future outreach initiatives aimed at enhancing STEM education for high school students.

Apps, Games, Videos, and Multimedia Showcase

MC: Kagan Breitenbach, University of Utah

Strand: Apps, Games, and Videos

Teaching the Genome Generation: Human Genetic Variation Virtual Lab Experience

URL: www.labxchange.org/ttgg

Christina Vallianatos, The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine

NeuroBuilder

URL:  https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/bioengineering/neurobuilder/

Manipulations

URL: https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/bioengineering/manipulations/

Molly Malone, Kristin Fenker, and Matt Beecham, Genetic Science Learning Center, University of Utah

Mutation Browser

URL: https://yevo.org/mutation-browser/

Maitreya Dunham, University of Washington

DIY Diagnostics: High School Students Maker Their Own Science Apps

URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-mZS6wNc1JoR21RQr9hLS-_kZ3GnfmGuBY5R0Anuumc/edit?slide=id.p#slide=id.p

Timothy Riedel, Alexandria Chacon, Philip Nguyen, Bailey Williams, Deanna Buckley, and Gwendolyn Stovall, University of Texas at Austin

The Atomic Circus Explores Chemical and Physical Change

URL: https://youtu.be/IVKFKHd0KH8?si=I54Gj5xZQX_4eOKw

The Atomic Circus Promo Video

URL: https://youtu.be/Fvles2rMk4M?si=VMpHgeU_EByUu1UP

Matt Queen, Montana State University Billings

Little Things

URL:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5w2hCACR2A&t=1s

Nathan Vanderford, University of Kentucky

Empowering Youth Through Participatory Action Research

Presenters

Tess Johnson, and Marie Barnard, University of Mississippi; Caroline Compretta, University of Mississippi Medical Center; Allison Ford-Wade, University of Mississippi; Breanna Wade, and Erin Dehon, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Strands: Curriculum Development; Research Experiences for Students & Teachers

Project SCORE uses Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to engage Mississippi adolescents in exploring health-related topics while introducing them to health sciences. YPAR is a collaborative approach where youth and researchers work as equal partners, empowering young people to address challenges in their communities and social systems (Ozer et al., 2022). Using Project SCORE as a case example, the session will illustrate how YPAR positions youth as equal partners in the research process, fostering self-efficacy, civic engagement, and health literacy while generating meaningful insights to inform practice and policy. Participants will be introduced to strategies for initiating YPAR projects, supporting youth-led research design and data collection, and translating findings into actionable interventions. The session will emphasize practical considerations for adapting YPAR to diverse settings, offering participants knowledge and tools to integrate this approach into their own work to ensure that youth voices inform meaningful change.

As a result of participating in this session, conference attendees will:

• Understand the different components of YPAR
• Reflect on our roles as researchers in community work
• Identify areas in your own program(s) that would benefit from engaging in participatory research
• Understand the importance of collaborating with youth as researchers

A Novel Workshop-Based Model for Training Non-Scientist Teachers and Staff in NGSS Pedagogy

Presenters

Michael Kennedy, and Maranda Don, Northwestern University; Emily Mathews, National Science Teaching Association

Strands: Teacher Professional Development; Science Teaching & Learning

NOTE: Participants will need to have the following materials on hand in order to fully participate in this workshop:

• Paper or plastic plate
• Paper or plastic cup filled with water
• Large bowl, shoebox-size plastic container, or other small container to serve as a catch basin

This interactive workshop explores a field-tested, hands-on, NGSS training program for non-scientist educators. In the first half of the session, attendees will participate as “trainees” by engaging in hands-on activities designed to showcase key NGSS pedagogical shifts and authentic “Nature of Science” concepts. The session’s second half will focus on trainer/facilitator strategies, curricular resources, and evaluation tools.

As a result of participating in this session, conference attendees will:

• Experience a novel workshop model for training non-scientist educators in foundational NGSS pedagogical concepts
• Learn key instructional components and methods
• Access curriculum used for training, including evaluation tools and resources to measure impact
• Network with workshop leaders and peers to share strategies for improving NGSS training models
• Consider how this workshop model might be implemented in their own communities

Join these rooms via the Informal Networking link in the menu at the top of the conference website

Funding Your Project: Non-federal Funders

Share experiences and knowledge about non-federal funders—foundations, philanthropies, state, etc., at the local, state, and 

national levels.

Responding to New Program Guidelines

Share ways in which projects have adapted to new guidelines at the organizational, state and national levels.

Publishing Your Work in Peer-Reviewed Journals

Share journals in which you’ve published, the types of papers each accepts, and tips for preparing manuscripts; discuss publication by youth researchers. Facilitated by a journal editor.

Recruiting & Retaining Project Participants

Share successful methods and ways to address challenges in recruiting project participants, including students, teachers, families, etc. Discuss methods that are feasible for both larger and smaller organizations.

Evaluators Meet & Greet

External and Internal evaluators are invited to meet. Share best practices and ways to address challenges, methodologies, and instruments.

Conference Session Reflections

Explore key insights and questions inspired by the conference sessions. What stood out to you? How can you apply these takeaways in your own work or practice? What ideas or insights would you like to share?

Funding Your Project: Non-federal Funders

Share experiences and knowledge about non-federal funders—foundations, philanthropies, state, etc., at the local, state, and 

national levels. 

Note: Please join this session ONLY if you can't get into the first session. This session will NOT have a host. 

THIS SESSION HAS BEEN CANCELLED due to the U.S government shutdown. NIH and NSF personnel are furloughed and unable to work or attend conferences during this time.

We will invite the presenters to give their talks at a session for Conference attendees after the government shutdown ends. 

TIME: This session begins at 2:30pm EDT / 2:30pm AST / 1:30pm CDT / 12:30pm MDT / 11:30am PDT / 10:30am AKDT / 8:30am HST

Community Research and Relationship Skill Building

Presenters

Amanda Braley, Knight Cancer Institute; Rodolfo Batres, University of Minnesota; Cara Monroe, University of Oklahoma Health Science Stephenson Cancer Center; David Boone, University of Pittsburgh

Strand: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers

Community engagement is a key research approach in addressing cancer health disparities. Building skills to work in partnership with communities on cancer research is therefore an important component of research training for high school and undergraduate Youth Enjoy Science (YES) programs. Effective and inclusive community engagement begins with forming and nurturing a solid relationship with community organizations and members. Our programs utilize a variety of learning and engagement tools and practices designed to train interns on establishing a relationship with communities to conduct research.

By the conclusion of the Breakout, through interactive examples of participatory processes, didactic learning, and small group work, participants will be prepared to:

• Define community engaged research and understand the rationale for inclusion of community engaged research training in YES programming
• Describe key components of community engaged research training and how those were applied in our sites
• Learn diverse strategies from several YES programs on how to engage the community
• Use Photovoice as a community-based participatory research method

TIME: This session begins at 2:30pm EDT / 2:30pm AST / 1:30pm CDT / 12:30pm MDT / 11:30am PDT / 10:30am AKDT / 8:30am HST

Summer Healthcare Experience in Oncology: Leveraging Cross-Institutional Partnerships to Enhance STEM Programming

Presenters

Megan Mekinda, M. Eileen Dolan, Michelle Domecki, and Rosie Huggins, University of Chicago; William Matsui, and Kristen Wynn, University of Texas at Austin; Sarah Hawley, and Rachael Privett, University of Michigan; Nathan Vanderford, University of Kentucky; Sophie Gritsch, University of Pennsylvania; Katharine Ullman, University of Utah; Rebecca McDermid, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Emily McLaughlin, Mayo Clinic; Carey Dieleman, University of Iowa; Scott Burg, Rockman et al Cooperative Inc.

Strand: Project Administration

The Summer Healthcare Experience in Oncology is a multi-institutional STEM enrichment program for high school students nationwide. Using best practices in virtual learning, the program leverages institutions’ collective resources in service of trainees’ science education and career development. Programming is delivered collaboratively and synchronously across cohorts of five sites each. Up to 300 trainees enroll each year. 

The Summer Healthcare Experience in Oncology's virtual, multi-institutional model is a unique and powerful strategy to:

• Increase access to STEM for students from underserved communities, including rural populations 
• Create a rich context for trainees’ study of social determinants of health, barriers to care, and other factors undermining health
• Broaden trainees’ network of peers, mentors, and opportunities to advance their biomedical career ambitions. 
• Foster broader collaboration and shared learning among partner institutions in support of STEM education and outreach.

In this session, Summer Healthcare Experience in Oncology program leaders will share insights regarding the development and maintenance of cross-institutional partnerships, program administration, and virtual STEM learning. The presentation will include preliminary findings from a SEPA-funded evaluation to assess the impact of this unique multi-institutional model on participant experiences and outcomes. The evaluation is also intended to validate and strengthen the program model for expansion to new institutional cohorts nationwide.

TIME: This session begins at 2:30pm EDT / 2:30pm AST / 1:30pm CDT / 12:30pm MDT / 11:30am PDT / 10:30am AKDT / 8:30am HST

BRAIN-STEM’s Teachers Toolkit for Inquiry-Based Learning and Metacognition

Presenters

Lenn Johns, Tamara Mitchell, Leigha Burkhalter, Robert Dowman, and Katie Kavanagh, Clarkson University

Strands: Science Teaching & Learning; Curriculum Development

In this interactive session, we will present our online toolkit that provides teachers a roadmap to engage with learners in the development of skill sets around inquiry-based learning and metacognition. The toolkit integrates methods aimed to foster curiosity through a variety of methods. The overall goal is to foster brainstorm ideas, a sense of belonging, and the freedom to develop self-agency as learners explore scientific ideas. The toolkit is designed to present a group of tools and strategies on how and when to use them with learners. Some tools and strategies are best employed when first introducing new topics and others are better employed as the learner moves from a novice in the topic, to being proficient, or on the way to exemplary. 

Topics and approaches to be explored in this interactive session will include: design thinking, issues mapping-vs-mind mapping, metacognition, fixed-vs-growth mindset, creating effective guiding questions, question formulation technique, open-vs-closed questions, and a strategic approach to framing complex issues.

As a result of participating in this session, conference attendees will:

• Understand these foundational concepts
• Understanding a variety of scenarios where each tool can be employed
• Understand how to use various tools to provide the learner with agency and a sense of belonging
• Strategies on how to promote curiosity

TIME: This session begins at 3:45pm EDT / 3:45pm AST / 2:45pm CDT / 1:45pm MDT / 12:45pm PDT / 11:45am AKDT / 9:45am HST

Bioethics in High School Classrooms: Models for Student and Teacher Engagement

Presenter

Revati Masilamani, Tufts University School of Medicine; Carla Romney, Boston University

Strands: Curriculum Development; Science Teaching & Learning

As we dive headlong into new technology spaces that are rapidly advancing the frontiers of heath science, we are confronted with complex bioethical challenges. How do we navigate discussions, consensus building and policy change in this environment? High school science classrooms are an ideal place to begin these conversations. Engaging with these topics can teach students critical thinking, argumentation, cultural sensitivity, scientific communication and consensus building. A key factor to successful classroom implementation of bioethics modules is co-design with teachers. This allows for relevant content on sensitive topics to be incorporated with thought and encourages teacher confidence to facilitate conversation with comfort.

This session will discuss different models for providing access to such curricular experiences for both teachers and students. Programs that have created these opportunities will each share their models and discuss strengths and challenges as well as learnings. Discussion prompts will include a range of considerations- choosing scientific contexts that provide a nuanced bioethical framework for discussion, models for co-design with teachers, creating a safe space in classrooms for respectful debate and argumentation, scaffolded skill building including improved critical thinking, scientific communication and consensus building, and outcome evaluation. Attendees will collaboratively discuss potential strategies for incorporating considerations of bioethical implications in their own science curriculum modules.

As a result of participating in this session, conference attendees will:

• Identify the benefits of engaging students in discussions of bioethics in science classrooms 
• Reflect on the challenges teachers face in facilitating respectful and open conversation around potentially sensitive topics
• Consider models of curriculum co-design with teachers to create relevant bioethics content that integrates with the science that students are learning
• Reflect on how early engagement with topics bearing bioethical dimensions could inform student responses to critical life choices

TIME: This session begins at 3:45pm EDT / 3:45pm AST / 2:45pm CDT / 1:45pm MDT / 12:45pm PDT / 11:45am AKDT / 9:45am HST

Evaluation 101

Presenters

Alison Allen, Rockman et al Cooperative, Inc. and Lindley McDavid, Purdue University

Strand: Research & Evaluation

Now more than ever, it’s critical to demonstrate the impact and import of our work. Aimed at new program directors and anyone interested in refreshing their knowledge about evaluation basics, this session will examine how to set measurable objectives, use formative and summative assessments and prioritize your evaluation goals.

As a result of participating in this session participants will:

• Learn elements of effective program evaluation, including setting measurable objectives or outcomes and conducting formative and summative assessments

TIME: This session begins at 3:45pm EDT / 3:45pm AST / 2:45pm CDT / 1:45pm MDT / 12:45pm PDT / 11:45am AKDT / 9:45am HST

1. Empowering Public Health through Community Science: Meet the New York City Virus Hunters
   

   Speakers

   Christine Marizzi, Robert Frawley, and Benjamin Dubin-Thaler, BioBus, Inc; Lindsay Barone, independent evaluator; Philip S. Meade, Abigail Maciejewski, Frans Cuevas, and Florian Krammer, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

   Strands: Research Experiences for Students & Teachers; Informal Science Education

   The Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the importance of community partnerships in pandemic prevention and preparedness. We are ill-equipped to anticipate pandemics and effectively combat them. Anticipatory research is required, such as ongoing high-resolution surveillance of wild animals in an urban setting and human-animal encounters. The DAMA (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act) protocol highlights the importance of grassroots initiatives and bottom-up processes in monitoring emerging infections with at-risk communities within the context of pathogen evolution. This promotes stakeholder trust and makes it easier to collect high-resolution data, both of which are critical for pandemic management.

   Citizen/community Science (CS) has been instrumental in boosting public participation in applied research. Incorporating CS reporting of emerging infectious disease (EIDs) in humans and wildlife can allow for earlier detection by collecting data to create a baseline and to study transmission dynamics. We will present the New York City Virus Hunters community science initiative, which is a collaboration between three New York City institutions: the science outreach organization BioBus, the Krammer laboratory at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the wildlife rehabilitation clinic Wild Bird Fund. 

   The talk will focus on the possibilities and challenges of community engagement in pandemic preparedness. We will outline 1) how the program infrastructure could serve as a crucial tool for pathogen monitoring and epidemic management, and 2) how CS could serve as a way of addressing societal inequalities by enabling access to pandemic preparedness. Attendees will walk away with best practice examples for interdisciplinary participatory action research, such as the New York City Virus Hunters.

   
   

   
   

2. EvolvingSTEM: A Three-Dimensional Evolution Curriculum That Uses Authentic Research to Improve Student Identity as Scientists
   
   Speakers
   Abigail Matela, Colton Siatkowski, Audrey Buzard, Nathan Cho, Sarah Ali, Sachin Thiagarajan, Cassie Quigley, and Vaughn Cooper, University of Pittsburgh
   
   Strand: Science Teaching & Learning
   
   Authentic research experiences help students see themselves as scientists and motivate them to pursue higher education and STEM careers, yet they are rarely provided in introductory high school classes that serve students from groups that remain underrepresented in science, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and economically disadvantaged students. These educational disparities contribute to a lack of STEM workforce diversity, even though diversity fosters innovation and creative problem-solving. 
   To address this issue, we developed EvolvingSTEM, a set of secondary school curriculum modules that integrate scientific practices, core knowledge of microbiology and evolution, and interdisciplinary, crosscutting concepts. In one module, students conduct a weeklong experiment with harmless bacteria to investigate how bacterial populations adapt under selection for improved biofilm production and explore how this research can be applied to understand chronic infections and antimicrobial resistance. 
   We used a mixed-methods design that collects quantitative (pre- and post-survey) and qualitative (short answer response, interview) data to assess whether this module had an impact on student interest, self-concept, self-efficacy, and confidence in science and found positive impacts on occupational identity development, particularly for underrepresented students. Our approach supports teaching strategies that can contribute to diversifying the STEM pipeline, ultimately strengthening the scientific workforce.
   
   

3. DNA Subway 2.0: An Accessible, Mobile-First Bioinformatics Tool

   Speakers

   Jeffry Petracca, Cristina Fernandez-Marco, Daniel Jacobs, Sue Lauter, and David A. Micklos, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center
   Strands: Apps, Videos, & Games; Science Teaching & Learning
   The Blue Line of DNA Subway is a platform used for DNA sequence analysis, and it is one of the most widely used bioinformatics tools to support course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). It is especially useful for analyzing DNA barcodes, which are used for species identification. DNA Subway is being redeveloped as DNA Subway 2.0, a mobile-first and accessible application. By integrating its workflow with nanopore sequencing technology, DNA Subway 2.0 will enable the sequencing and analysis of DNA barcodes in the field, in school, or at home—by anyone, at any time. This interactive session will introduce participants to a workflow for DNA barcode analysis as they work through a set of DNA sequence data using DNA Subway 2.0 on their own device! In addition, the session will highlight how DNA Subway 2.0 can be used in both formal student research and informal citizen science settings.

Access these sessions via the Informal Networking link in the top menu on the Conference website.

Sharing Your Project’s Successes with Others

Discuss methods for sharing project successes with community leaders/members, elected officials, news media, etc.

Funding Your Project: Federal Funders

Share knowledge about federal funding opportunities, ways to tailor grant proposals in responding to solicitations, and approaches to addressing funding changes.

Collaborating with Teachers

Share successful methods and ways to address challenges in collaborating with teachers, including teacher professional development efforts and ways to maintain partnerships in uncertain times.

Informal Science Educators Meet & Greet

Meet others who are engaged in informal science education—share the types of projects in which you’re involved, best practices as well as challenges and ways to address them.

Early Career Outreach Professionals Meet & Greet

Meet others who are embarking on or exploring a career in science education outreach—share resources, opportunities, etc.

Updates from the National Science Education Partnerships Association

Come learn about the work NSEPAssoc has been doing and facilitating on behalf of science education partnership projects and programs.