Are you a graduate student or a new faculty member hoping to get more involved and connected in the ASTE community?

Or,

Are you an experienced ASTE member who is willing to provide guidance and mentorship to newer members?

Whomever you may be, the ASTE mentor/mentee Nexus is for you and is currently open for sign-ups for the upcoming 2026 international conference in Chicago, Illinois! 

Still on the fence? Current Graduate Student Forum President Jeff Papa had this to say about how his experience as a mentee shaped his involvement with ASTE and future career goals. 

“My participation as a mentee was a transformative experience that positively influenced my role as a student, scholar, and member of the ASTE community. Through my time at the ASTE conferences, I have been able to grow my network of friends and colleagues. I owe much of my experience to the incredible people of the mentor/mentee nexus.”

The deadline for signing up is Friday, November 28th. After the deadline, we will match participants who have signed up and send an email to inform you of your match and provide details about mentor-mentee events at ASTE ‘26. You only need to complete one form of your choice. So, if you see the form or the link for the form in other correspondence after you've already filled it out, you do not have to complete it again.

Sign up to be a mentor

Sign up to be a mentee

Mentor Obligations:

• Communicate with your mentee before the ASTE conference to choose a time to meet during the ASTE conference
• Meet with your assigned mentee (virtually or in person) at least once during the ASTE conference
• Provide support and advice to your assigned mentee during the ASTE conference and if possible, facilitate useful connections/collaborations

Mentee Obligations:

• Respond to your mentor before the ASTE conference to choose a time to meet during the ASTE conference
• Meet with your assigned mentor (virtually or in person) at least once during the ASTE conference

Thank you! If you have any questions ahead of signing up, please contact Isaiah Kent-Schneider at Isaiah.Kentschneider@gmail.com 

The Professional Development Committee would like to invite you to an ASTE Virtual Interactive Workshop!

Workshop: Chicago Here We Come: Learn More about the Conference before attending

What: Come learn about this year's wonderful ASTE 2026 Conference. This session will provide an introduction to each of the conference threads and all of the opportunities to learn and experience Chicago.

When: Wednesday November 19th at 2pm ET

Where: Zoom (Link will be sent to registrants)

Registration Now OPEN

Below is the link to the webpage with the most recent ASTE/NSTA Webinar that took place on Wednesday about Mentoring/Coaching of New Teachers, developed in collaboration with ASTE's Jonah Firestone and Jeni Davis. Presenting were Gillian Roehrig, Emma Refvem, and Donna Governor.  Please let me know who to contact at ASTE in case you want to post it on your website.

https://my.nsta.org/resource/135735

Dear ASTE Colleagues:

Registration is now open for the fifth interactive paper discussion in the series, Call to Reflection and Action 2025, to be held on Wednesday, November 12 from 1-2pm Eastern.  Daniel Alston and Lenora Crabtree will be presenting the following Innovations paper 

• Employing Justice-Oriented Curricula and Pedagogy to Support Elementary Teacher Candidates' Future Science Teaching

Please register for the zoom link here https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/e5FntTcwRmCtPDoxkNa-JA  and information about the meeting will be sent to you.

Please direct questions to Erin Peters-Burton at epeters1@gmu.edu.

The Professional Development Committee would like to invite you to an ASTE Virtual Interactive Workshop!

Workshop: Administrators’ Views on Science Teacher Residency Programs

What: In this highly interactive webinar, school administrators and higher education representatives will share experiences with partnerships around science teacher residency programs. Benefits, challenges, impacts, and future goals will be discussed. Participants will have an opportunity to develop actionable steps for planning or improving a residency program.

When: October 29th, 5 to 6:30 PM EST (Wednesday)

Where: Zoom (Link will be sent to registrants)

Registration Now OPEN

Applications now being sought for the position of
Conference Program Coordinator(s)
for the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE)

The Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) is seeking applications for Conference Program Coordinator (s). The duration of the appointment is 3.5 years. The first six months (July 2026 –January 2027) will overlap with the current Conference Program Coordinator as a transition and training period. Official coordination responsibilities will be from closure of the 2027 ASTE Annual Conference through close of the 2030 ASTE Annual Conference.
 
The coordinator(s) will carry out their work as part of the ASTE Conference Planning Committee (CPC) to ensure that meetings, workshops, offsite events and field trips are included in the conference program. The CPC members include: 

• CPC Chair

• Program Coordinator(s)

•  Local Host Team

• Past -President

• Executive Director

• Director of Electronic Services

• Equity Committee Representative

• Graduate Student Representative

 In preparation for the ASTE Annual Conferences, the Conference Program
Coordinator(s):

• Communicate with Thread Coordinators regarding recommendations for 
  accepted proposals, confirming decisions to accept/reject with the Director of Electronic Communications for author notification

• Manage the process for building the daily conference schedule, including concurrent sessions, meetings, and other events

• Coordinates the process of assembling the information from all parties necessary to build the conference program and conference app.

• Collaborates with CPC Chair and other members of the committee

Most of the coordinator’s work is completed remotely, with the busiest period
between July and November each year as proposals are submitted and reviewed.
 
The Conference Program Coordinator(s) must be members in good standing of ASTE. Desired qualifications include a high level of organization, strong interpersonal skills for collaboration, attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines, and familiarity working with spreadsheets. The position includes a stipend of $1800.00, complimentary registration, and up to 4 complementary nights at the conference hotel during the annual conferences during the term of service (2028, 2029, 2030). 
 
For questions regarding this position and to submit application materials, email ASTE President-elect Amanda Townley at amanda.lee.townley@gmail.com. 

Full applications for the position are due April 15, 2026 and should include:

• A cover letter stating interest in the position and qualifications

• An abbreviated Curriculum Vita (no more than 5 pages) focusing on work relevant to the position

The ASTE Elections Committee is pleased to announce that the voting window for ASTE Elections is NOW OPEN through October 31, 2025. Make sure your voice is heard - VOTE!!!

The full slate of candidates is listed below. Candidate statements and the ballot are available at https://theaste.wildapricot.org/Sys/Poll/53626. Note that you must be a current member and logged in to view the information and to vote. 

President (1 open position)

●  Stephen Burgin

●  Kelly Feille

●  Jonah Firestone

●  Eric Pyle 

Board (2 open positions)

●  Joshua Ellis

●  Michelle "Shelly" Forsythe

●  Stephanie Hathcock

●  David Steele

●  Preethi Titu (please note Titu is misspelled on the ballot which is now open and can't be changed without loosing votes - apologies to Preethi)

Elections Committee (3 open positions)

●  Jeni Davis

●  Drew Gossen

●  Melanie Kinskey

●  Holly Plank

●  Ryan Summers

Graduate Student (0 open positions this year)

  

Please direct any questions to the Elections Committee Chair, Jesse Wilcox (jesse.wilcox@uni.edu), or Chair-Elect, Julianne Wenner (jwenner@clemson.edu). Any technical questions should be sent to our Director of Electronic Services (des@theaste.org).

You are invited to submit a proposal to the 2026 ASTE Work in Progress poster sessions. Work in Progress presentations do not go through a formal peer-review process but are reviewed by ASTE Thread Coordinators for alignment with presentation purpose and ASTE mission and accepted as space allows. You may submit your Work in Progress proposal submission here. For full consideration, Work in Progress proposals should be submitted by November 1^st.

If the above hyperlink does not work, please copy and paste the following into your web browser: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/76040/submitter

For questions regarding ASTE 2026 programming, email Kelly Feille, Conference Program Coordinator at feille@ou.edu

Dear ASTE Colleagues:

Registration is now open for the fourth interactive paper discussion in the series, Call to Reflection and Action 2025, to be held on Wednesday,  September 17th from 1-2pm Eastern.  Jarod  Kawasaki and Sandy Change will be presenting the following JSTE paper 

• Exploring the Goals of Social Justice Teaching Through the Eyes of Early Career Science Teachers

Please register for the zoom link here https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/JWw1kDWzRGmXNGvQwaKl2A and information about the meeting will be sent to you.

Please direct questions to Erin Peters-Burton at epeters1@gmu.edu.

Dear ASTE Board & Members,  We are soliciting contributions for the Summer ASTE Newsletter. If you have a short piece/announcement that would be beneficial to ASTE members you would like included in the newsletter, please submit it via this Google form: https://forms.gle/UW5qcgFM8HjfLYT3A by August 26th so that we can assemble this edition and get it off for review before being shared with the full ASTE community.  Regional Directors! Don’t forget to share with us what’s going in your region! We are also looking for some ideas for the Op Ed or feature piece for this and future issues. If you have something interesting, thought-provoking or related to any current events, please submit to us with a short description of your idea on the Google Form.  Also, if you have any new resources or publications, let me know that too! Send us a short blurb with the appropriate information for how to access it and I will get it published too!  If you have any questions or require guidance regarding the newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact us!  Please include a head shot with your submission so we can include it with your submission. Because we want to continue to connect all ASTE members with each other, we value these photos. Therefore, be warned that if you do not share a photo, we can pull images from online (e.g., linkedin, university faculty pages, past newsletters, past conferences…).   Sincerely, Jennifer Oramous & Michelle Schpakow