Professional Learning Services
Districts, Schools and Individual Opportunities
NSTA Professional Learning
A Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) encourage students to engage in science and engineering practices to develop deeper understanding of disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts (collectively the three dimensions). As a partner in the development of the NGSS, NSTA has been at the forefront of the shift toward three-dimensional teaching and learning. Let NSTA support your efforts to implement the NGSS and other three-dimensional state standards and transform classroom instruction to help ensure science learning is accessible to all students.
Our professional learning offerings are widely varied to serve administrators, school leadership teams, classroom teachers, and pre-service teachers and include
- Professional learning workshops (face-to-face, virtual and hybrid)
- Web Seminars and Web Seminar Series
- Professional Learning Units (self-paced, asynchronous short courses)
- NSTA Science Instructional Materials
- NSTA Partner Program
Professional Learning Workshops
NSTA offers Professional Learning Workshops - onsite, virtual, and hybrid - and personalized packages of workshops, online experiences, and books on popular topics—including three-dimensional instruction and assessment —for schools, districts, states and other organizations. Whether looking for professional learning around one specific topic in a "stand-alone" workshop or sustained professional learning over the course of a school year (or longer) around multiple topics or increasingly deeper dives on a specific topic, NSTA can design a professional learning package that meets the needs of your teachers, teacher leaders and administrators.
Let us support your implementation efforts with professional learning that can be adapted to meet your specific needs. Contact us to find out how: professionallearning@nsta.org
NSTA webpage: NSTA District Professional Learning Packages
Web Seminars and Web Seminar Series
Web Seminars are live professional learning experiences that use online learning technologies to allow participants to interact with nationally acclaimed experts, NSTA Professional Learning Facilitators, NSTA Press authors, and scientists, engineers, and education specialists from NSTA partner organizations.
NSTA webpages: Web Seminars and Web Seminar Series
Professional Learning Units (PLUs)
Professional Learning Units (PLUs) are bite-sized, self-paced, asynchronous short courses that educators can use to improve their practice, enrich students’ learning, and increase equitable participation in the classroom. Regardless of your schedule or location, you can earn a NSTA PLU certificate—that could be used towards credit hours of professional learning—when it’s convenient for you!
NSTA webpage: Professional Learning Units
NSTA Science Instructional Materials
NSTA has been developing our approach to creating Science Instructional Materials are
informed by the field and teacher feedback. NSTA develops three categories of instructional materials: Daily Do Lessons, Daily Do Playlists, and Storylines (see links to Storylines below). These instructional materials can be accessed directly by educators and are also part of NSTA’s curriculum-based professional learning. Features of NSTA’s three-dimensional instructional materials (independent of category) include:
- Support the needs of today’s teachers and students
- Center on science areas that have great impact on society or societally pressing issues
- Encourage the use of place-based phenomena or problems that can be solved by local communities
- STEM materials intersect with computer science, data science, and computational thinking
Read our blog NSTA Science Instructional Materials for a more in-depth description of the categories of our science instructional materials and how they collectively support teachers in the classroom.
NSTA Elementary Storylines
How Do Ants Help the Plants and Animals of the Woods?
How Were the Scablands Formed?
NSTA Secondary Storylines
Model Rocket Safety Storyline (Middle School)
Food Allergies Storyline (High School)
NSTA Partner Program
NSTA Partner Program takes your school or district to the next level with a cost-effective NSTA membership that provides a vast amount of digital resources, customized professional learning for all your teachers, and yearlong access to online leaders and mentors.
NSTA webpage: Schools and Districts