RISTA Annual Conference Reflection

            On Saturday, March 7^th, I attended the RISTA Annual Conference held at New England Tech.  This year’s conference was based on Building the Framework to Support NGSS and the keynote speaker was Dr. Stephen Pruitt, a leader in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards.  During the keynote session, Dr. Pruitt discussed the goals of NGSS.  He explained that the Next Generation Science Standards are aimed at getting students to think like experts in science.  NGSS requires students to learn through practice and to use three dimensional learning that focuses on how, what, and why.  This keynote session gave me a better idea of what these standards are aiming for and helped me to picture how I will use them in my future classroom.  I can now see how NGSS has introduced a new way of teaching science, different from the way I learned science as a high school student

            Another memorable session that I attended at the conference was titled “Engaging in Close Reading: How to Meet CCSS while Teaching NGSS Content and Skills.”  This session struck me because it brought to life many of the things that I am learning about in SED 507.  I was able to hear real teachers talk about how they used the same reading strategies discussed in SED 507 in their own classrooms to meet both the Common Core Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.  The two presenters provided excellent examples and the strategies that they discussed are definitely something I see myself using in future lessons. 

            After attending this conference, I now have a better idea of how I will apply the Next Generation Science Standards as well as the Common Core Standards to my future teaching.  I want to bring literacy into my future classroom by using reading and writing strategies such as those described in one of the sessions I attended.  I also want to encourage students to think like experts in science and to teach them through practice.  This conference showed me that tying both CCSS and NGSS into my future teaching will help me to create better lessons and allow my future students to have better learning experiences.