The NESST Speaker Series

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The NESST Speaker Series

NESST is the Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking. Housed at Smithsonian Science Education Center, it is a global network comprised of youth, educational innovators, business leaders, STEM professionals, organizations, and communities interested in transforming STEM education for sustainable development. Committed to thinking differently through the lens of emergence and complexity, NESST reimagines education for life on a sustainable planet.   

To amplify the work of the network, the NESST Speaker Series will take place throughout 2024 to inform, engage, and connect individuals and organizations interested in, or doing similar work. 

All Sessions will be held at 1:00pm Eastern on the last Wednesday of the month, and are open to the public. Webinars will be recorded and made available on this page when complete. 

Session dates: February 28, March 27, April 24, September 25, October 30   

Register for each webinar below:  

Introducing NESST: A Network Transforming STEM Education for a Sustainable Future (February 28, 2024)

Introducing NESST: A Network Transforming STEM Education for a Sustainable Future 

Recorded February 28, 2024, 1:00pm Eastern

This session is an opportunity for anyone to learn about NESST: The Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking. During this session, participants will hear from youth, educators, researchers, and professionals about their experiences with NESST, and learn about opportunities to get involved in the work. 

This session is ideal for anyone interested in learning more about NESST including students ages 13-19, educators, and STEM professionals.  

View the recording here! 

 

Engaging Youth through NESST: The Necessity of Intergenerational Collaboration (March 27, 2024)

Engaging Youth through NESST: The Necessity of Intergenerational Collaboration 

Recorded March 27, 2024, 1:00pm Eastern

This session is an opportunity for youth involved in NESST to share more about the ways in which thinking differently about the world around them has impacted the work they are doing within their communities. In addition, this session will provide an opportunity for students to discuss the role intergenerational collaboration plays in working towards a more sustainable future, and what are the specific types of support they’ve valued most in previous partnerships and what additional things they need and/or want from their educators, leaders, and other adults to do this work. 

This session is ideal for youth ages 13-19 and the educators who support them.   

View the recording here! 

 

Educational Research on Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking: Foundations and Futures for NESST (April 24, 2024)

Educational Research on Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking: Foundations and Futures for NESST   

Recorded April 24, 2024, 1:00pm Eastern 

This session will offer researchers, educators, and youth leaders a critical perspective on existing Socio-Scientific thinking literature and NESST’s work within ongoing conversations about future directions for SSI research and practice. Speakers will unpack theoretical perspectives that describe ontological and epistemological shifts needed to transform SSI teaching and learning into an asset-based pedagogy that disrupts dominant Western/Northern approaches to science education. Presenters will offer examples to illustrate a vision for a reconceptualized, pluralistic approach to curriculum and instruction that is grounded in complex SSIs and makes space for students to draw on all aspects of their lived experience as they make sense of them. 

This session is ideal for educational researchers, educators, and youth leaders who are interested in engaging at the intersection of research and practice.  

Watch the recorded session here! 

 

Engaging Teachers through NESST: Educators as Catalysts for a Sustainable Future (Sept. 25, 2024)

Engaging Teachers through NESST: Educators as Catalysts for a Sustainable Future  

September 25, 2024 registration coming soon!  

 

 

Engaging STEM Professionals through NESST: Bridging Research and Action for a Resilient Future (Oct. 30, 2024)

Engaging STEM Professionals through NESST: Bridging Research and Action for a Resilient Future 

October 30, 2024 registration coming soon!