2026 NARST Annual International Conference Schedule

2026 NARST Annual International Conference

April 9, 2026 -All times Pacific Daylight Time-

Welcome to the 2026 NARST Annual International Conference—Joyful Transgressions and Radical Imagination in Science Education
General sessions and concurrent sessions are divided into different Zoom rooms.
Head back to the Schedule page and click another title if you’d like to attend a session in a different Zoom room.
To access and download the session submissions visit the NARST Virtual Conference site.

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM PDT \| Click Title to Join Room
8:00 AM - 8:30 AM PDT \| Opening and Welcome
Zoom 1 Virtual Conference Welcome Presenter(s): Jennifer Adams & Maria Varelas The 2026 Virtual Conference Day will open with welcoming remarks by NARST President, Jennifer Adams, and NARST President-Elect, Maria Varelas
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM PDT \| Session Block 1
Zoom 1: Strand 11 Stand-alone Paper Set 1 Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Mapping Systems Thinking Pedagogies in Social Science Education: Implications for Science Teaching and Learning Relationships to STEM Knowledge in an Elite School Fostering Young Women’s Physics Identity: Longitudinal Analysis of an Inquiry-Based Intervention Program on Climate Physics Challenging Marginalization: Intersectional Counter-narratives of Undergraduate Minoritized Women in Engineering Uncovering the effect of drawing and self-explanation strategies on learning outcomes in science education	Zoom 2: Multi-Strand (1/2/3) Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions The impacts of media-multitasking on the use of reading strategies and effects in science reading Development and Application of Electric Circuit Models in Electric Vehicle Design Tipping the Balance: Sources of Confusion in Understanding Dynamic Equilibrium “Be Humane”: Care Shaping Epistemic Negotiations in Scientific Experimental Design Unpacking Modeling-Based Learning in Kindergarten: A Micro-Level Discourse Analysis	Zoom 3: Strand 12 Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 4 submissions DIFFERENCES IN TEACHERS’ ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VIETNAM AND TAIWAN When AI is Involved: An Exploratory Study of Pre-service Teachers Planning Science Lessons with ChatGPT An Open versus Commercial Digital Biology Textbook: Student Performance, Access, Use and Textbook Purchasing Trends Enhancing High School Students’ Self-Regulation with an AI-supported Engineering Design Process	Zoom 4: Strand 14 Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Through different eyes: Intuitive and cultural worldviews as predictors of learning in a climate exhibit Should We Use Artificial Intelligence for Science Learning Assessment? Core Competencies of Teachers in the Age of AI: Teacher as Designer in Science Education Clicking Toward Climate Justice: Reimagining Digital Platforms for Collective Action Youth Disorientation in Times of Climate Crises: A Three-Lenses Framework for Agency

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM PDT | BREAK

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM PDT | Session Block 2

Zoom 1: Multi-Strand Poster Session (breakout rooms)
Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set
15 submissions

Making Space for Science: How a STEM Makerspace Shapes Elementary Students’ Science Attitudes.
Characterizing the Ecological Factors Influencing First-Year STEM College Students’ Engagement
Scoping Citizen Science for formal science education connection-making
Design-Based Research for Fostering Criticality Through a One Health Perspective: A Microbiota-Focused Learning Sequence
Developing Preservice Teachers' Competencies
Examining the impact of teachers' beliefs about student ability to their changes in practice
When students' literacy proficiency frames the negotiation of care ethics in planning for science education
Do instructors’ learning assessment practices align with the course’s expected learning outcomes?
Transitioning Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education to Digital: Exploring Alternatives to Experimental Tools
Empowering Equity in STEM: A Research-Based Robotics Camp for Equity-Deserving Youth in Southwestern Ontario
Evaluating AI Technology's Potential and Limitations in Formative Assessment for Elementary Science Projects
Case Study of Preservice Teachers’ NOS-Specific PCK in a History and Philosophy of Science Course
Integrating Drama into Family Resemblance Approach-Based NOS Teaching: Insights from Pre-service Teachers
Drama Practices in Science Education: A Review of Graduate Theses on Sustainable Development Goals
Pre-service Teachers’ Perspectives in Response to their Climate Emotions

Zoom 2: Multi-Strand Roundtable Discussions (breakout rooms)
Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set
7 submissions
Breakout 1

Photovoicing the affective journeys of women science teachers in Bangladeshi secondary schools
Parenting while pursuing STEM degrees in Higher education: experiences and institutional practices
Underrecognized: Examining Underrepresented Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering Students’ Perceived Recognition

Breakout 2

The Nature of Science in Physics Education: Perspectives from Malaysian Secondary Teachers
Who Gives Better Feedback—Humans or AI?Integrating AI into Science Microteaching Feedback Cycles
Science Interest: Elementary and Middle School Science Experiences Inside and Outside the Classroom
Sustaining Academic Motivation Among Science Education Master’s Students During the Pandemic: Perceptions and Adaptations

Zoom 3: Multi-Strand (12/7) Stand-alone Paper Set
Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set
5 submissions

Enhancing STEM Education with Generative AI: Insights from Students and a Teacher in Thailand
Generative AI as Science Tutors: Can LLMs Combine High-Level Problem Solving and Advanced Tutoring?
Mindset in Physics and AI Use Behaviors in the Digital Transformation Era
From Tool to Teammate: Reimagining Student-AI Collaboration in Engineering Design-Based STEM
A Friend, Instructor, Browser, Partner? Interaction Modes in Student–AI Science Learning Conversation

Zoom 4: Strand 5 Stand-alone Paper Set
Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set
5 submissions

Negotiating social and epistemic participation in undergraduate physics group work
A Systematic Review of Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks in STEM Education Research
What does our curriculum allow for? Exploring the lived curriculum in science education
Enhancing Conceptual Understanding with an AI Tutor: A Field Study in Undergraduate Physics
Active Learning Through Reflection Journals in Introductory Biology

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM PDT \| Transition and Break
Zoom 1 Transition Presenter(s): Jennifer Adams & Maria Varelas Enjoy a break between Session Blocks. Brief remarks will be provided by NARST President, Jennifer Adams, and NARST President-Elect, Maria Varelas
12:30 PM - 2:00 PDT \| Session Block 3
Zoom 1: Multi-Strand (3/6/13) Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Impact of Personalized Narrative on Audience Engagement with Light Pollution Planetarium Show Exploring the Impact of Facilitating Afterschool STEM Activities on College Students’ Interest, Confidence, and Skills Learning about Science by Doing Real Science: Fostering NOS Understanding through Citizen Science Mapping the landscape of stem and ssi integration: research trends and educational implications Developmental Patterns in Early Childhood Scientific Thinking: Critical Inquiry, Hypothesis Testing, Analytical Interpretation and Metacognition	Zoom 2: Strand 4 Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 3 submissions The Effects of Web 2.0-Supported Argumentation on Students’ Science Achievement and Attitude toward Technology Effect of Educational Digital Game-Supported Science Lessons on Middle School Students’ Academic Achievement in Science Improving Students' Conceptual Understanding of Cell Division and CT through Unplugged CT Science Module	Zoom 3: Strand 11 Stand-alone Paper Set 2 Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Women’s Belonging and Longing: The Affective Push and Pull Within and Beyond Physics The roles of epistemological versus factual security in evolution acceptance by religious students Using Emotion to Understand a Black Woman Preservice Teacher's Justice-oriented Science Teaching and Identity Development Are We Telling the Right Stories? The Narrative Effect’s Role in Developing Equitable Science Pedagogy Breaking STEM Barriers Through Robotics, Team Roles, and Gender Dynamics
2:00 PM –2:30 PM PDT \| BREAK
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM PDT \| Session Block 4
Zoom 1: Strand 6 Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Reimagining Science Capital through Accessible Museum Experiences for Brazilian Blind and Deaf Visitors “Look, I Am Bendy”: Embodied, Constructionist STEM Learning During a Biomedical Engineering Activity Barriers and Supports in Rural Informal STEM Learning: A Sociocultural and Structural Perspective Productive Talk as Identity Work in a Virtual STEM Program for Girls of Color. Learning Through Play, Games & Immersive Experiences	Zoom 2: Strand 7 Stand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Three Lenses on Learning: Analyzing Preservice Teacher Model Revision Through Sociocultural, Cognitive, and Multimodal Frameworks Pre-Service Secondary Science Teachers’ Ideas About Disinformation and How They Should Address It Long-term changes in Elementary BEd students’ conceptions of science: Comparing responses across decades Analysis of elementary PST collaboration during interdisciplinary and inquiry-based curriculum development using design-based thinking approaches Integrating Socioscientific Issues and STEM in Microteaching: A Practical Approach for Pre-Service Science Teachers	Zoom 3: Strand 8 Strand-alone Paper Set Presentation type: SC-Organized Paper Set 5 submissions Novice teachers’ in-field and out-of-field noticing: examining the influence of professional knowledge and teaching experiences Comparing the Burnout Trends of Early Career STEM Teacher Leavers and Stayers Developing Effective Strategies for Challenges in Acquiring Relational Reasoning Skills - an Indicator of Teachers' Expertise Investigating Secondary Science Teachers’ Epistemic Beliefs, Motivations, and Perceptions of Modeling Instruction in Reform-Oriented PD Teachers’ Perceptions Following AI-Driven Professional Development in Unmanned Vehicles Instruction
4:00 PM –4:30 PM PDT \| Virtual Day Closing Remarks
Zoom 1 Closing Remarks Presenter(s): Jennifer Adams & Maria Varelas The 2026 Virtual Conference Day will close with remarks by NARST President, Jennifer Adams, and NARST President-Elect, Maria Varelas