March 26, 2024

In this Issue:

• NABT Releases Statement on Scientific Integrity
• Session Proposals for NABT2024 Due April 1
• Volunteers to be an NABT Proposal Reviewer
• Reminder: Abstracts Due for NABT CESR Virtual Poster Competition
• Call for Proposals: 2024 NABT Inclusive Teaching Symposium
• FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS: The IGELS Consideration Tree
• Announcing NCBI’s First Ever BioEd Summit!

NABT Releases Statement on Scientific Integrity

The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) has over 80 years of experience defending the accurate teaching of science, and as the nation’s leading professional association for life science educators, we want to address the alarming rate at which disinformation campaigns have disrupted our common understanding of reality and shared sets of “facts.”

On January 24, 2024, the NABT Board of Directors voted unanimously to release an updated position statement on scientific integrity. As the statement conveys, "we encourage teachers to be mindful of organizations propagating science denialism that have either a political or financial stake in undermining the confidence in and credibility of science."

Some of these groups produce very professional-looking resources and tools specifically designed to target teachers, parents, and other community members. But these "[e]fforts to cast doubt on the science of climate change and the process of evolution are no more valid today than were past campaigns that attempted to downplay the deleterious health effects of tobacco use or the benefits of immunization for individuals and society."

Science denialism causes real harm to individuals, communities, and the planet. NABT, working with other organizations, will continue to monitor and respond to anti-science campaigns as well as legislative efforts that undermine the teaching of legitimate, fact-based science.

You can read the full NABT Statement on Scientific Integrity and we welcome feedback on this statement at leadership@nabt.org.

Session Proposals for NABT2024 Due April 1

The session proposal deadline is quickly approaching for the 2024 NABT Professional Development Conference in Anaheim, California!

Education sessions showcase innovative teaching methods, translate research into practice, demonstrate how to incorporate technology, and highlight strategies that promote culturally responsive teaching and inclusivity in the classroom. 

This is your opportunity to share tips, tricks, and techniques with your fellow biology and life science teachers. Submitting online at 2024 NABT Conference Proposals is quick and easy.

All sessions must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern on Monday, April 1, 2024.

The NABT Conference will be held November 14-17. Be sure to visit NABTconference.com for the latest information.

Volunteer to be an NABT Proposal Reviewer

Every year, members of the NABT Professional Development Committee provide an invaluable service to our community by evaluating proposals for the NABT annual conference. These biology and life science educators are subject matter experts who ensure the NABT Conference offers professional learning that is relevant, creative, and of the highest quality.

As we start planning for the 2024 NABT Professional Development Conference, we're seeking biology teachers like you to join us as proposal reviewers.

To be accepted as an NABT Proposal Reviewer, you must:

1. Be a member of NABT
2. Have attended an NABT Conference in the last 5 years or have prior experience presenting/reviewing proposals for other science education organizations.
3. Be willing to review between 75-100 proposals, online and asynchronously, from April 1 through May 5, 2024. Each proposal should take 15-20 minutes to complete the online feedback form for each proposal.

As a small token of our appreciation, reviewers will receive a free registration to the 2024 NABT Conference in Anaheim.

Are you ready to impact the future of biology and life science education? Contact us at conference@nabt.org to learn more about the application process.

Reminder: Abstracts Due for NABT CESR Virtual Poster Competition

NABT is excited to host the 3rd Annual Course-Embedded Student Research (CESR) Virtual Poster Competition. Designed to encourage and celebrate student research, this competition is open to all students engaged in CESR at high schools, two-year, and four-year institutions.

This is an excellent opportunity for students to gain valuable experience presenting their research, and the criteria are below: 

• Posters should effectively present a student-driven scientific research activity in any area of biological sciences. 
• Submissions must include a video of the poster presentation with a faculty/teacher mentor. The mentor must be an NABT member who is also listed as an author/presenter.
• The faculty/teacher mentor will introduce the course-embedded research topic, and the student(s) will then present their work on that topic. 
• Students and mentors are strongly encouraged to use the #betterposter format and review the guidelines and scoring rubric that will be released upon acceptance of the abstract.

Students who place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the CESR Competition will be awarded cash prizes of $200, $100, and $50, respectively. Please note: The prize will be split among all student presenters of a winning poster. The instructors will receive a complimentary year of membership to NABT.

You can learn more and view videos from previous winners at https://nabt.org/Events-CESR-Poster-Competition.

Abstracts must be received by Friday, March 29th CESR Poster Session. Accepted presenters must submit completed presentations by Friday, June 7th to enter the competition.

Call for Proposals:

2024 NABT Inclusive Teaching Symposium

The call for proposals for the 4th Annual Inclusive Teaching Symposium is open and we invite you to submit proposals that address the struggles or successes of implementing evidence-informed inclusive teaching practices and practical strategies for meeting learning goals and student outcomes.

What obstacles did the implementation face? How were the obstacles overcome? What made your implementation successful? If given another opportunity for implementation, what would you do differently? We are interested in learning how strategies from educational research can contribute to situations that promote individual growth and maintain a caring classroom community.

This is a refereed session to be presented online on Thursday, May 2nd, at 4:00 PM ET. Successful submissions will be invited to give a 15-minute presentation at the symposium and proceedings will be posted on the NABT website.

This special symposium seeks representation from all levels and all teaching situations.

Proposals are due Thursday, April 4th, and more information can be found at 2024 Inclusive Teaching Symposium.

FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP:

The IGELS Consideration Tree

The IGELS (Improving General Education Life Sciences) group is pleased to offer a professional development opportunity for educators interested in incorporating new equity-based strategies into their instruction or considering new approaches to existing methods.

Entitled "The Consideration Tree: A Deliberative, Intentional Process for Incorporating Equity-based Effective Teaching Practices into Your Course," the workshop will use participant-sourced examples to engage in an important approach to your practice, one that helps more clearly identify what is needed for strategy success, and the logistical requirements associated with enactment.

Participants can expect to leave with several examples that will help them rethink and/or more deeply think about how classroom choices are made and implemented.    

The online workshop will be presented two times and participants can choose one of the following sessions to attend according to their schedule.

• Monday, April 1, 2024: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET
• Wednesday, Apr 3, 2024: 12:00 - 2:00 PM ET  

IGELS is supported by NSF IUSE Project #212615. Undergraduate educators who attend one of the live workshops will receive one year of complimentary membership to NABT.

Registration is available at IGELS Workshops: The Consideration Tree.

Announcing NCBI’s First Ever BioEd Summit!

Calling all high school, community college, and undergraduate science educators! The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is excited to host its first BioEd Summit on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, MD, from August 5-9, 2024. You’re invited to participate in this week-long, in-person event where you will collaborate with other educators and NCBI experts to create data-driven curricula. You’ll leave the event with an exciting, novel lesson to use in your classroom to prepare students for real-world scientific research. 

This event will include:

• Interactive training workshops on NCBI resources 
• Panel discussions on employing data-driven, active learning exercises in science classes 
• Codeathon-style curricula-thon with team projects to create a curricular package (learning objectives, course materials, and assessments) 

Qualifications & Requirements

• U.S.-based science educators at the high-school through college level who:
• Are actively in an academic educator role
• Teach in a discipline relevant to NCBI data and/or tools
• Have some experience with NCBI resources, such as the Nucleotide database, BLAST, or PubChem
• Would be able to implement projects in their classrooms in the near-term
• Can explain how participating in this event will benefit their students

Interested in attending? Learn more and apply today!

Your application must be submitted by midnight May 5, 2024, ET. You will be notified whether you are accepted into the BioEd Summit by the end of May 2024. 

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