NCSE invited to join National Technology Leadership Summit

The National Center for Science Education has been invited to join the National Technology Leadership Summit, a Washington, D.C., gathering where education organizations discuss how new technologies should be used in schools. NCSE’s president and CEO said they will represent the organization after completing a final year in 2027 as a representative of the Association for Science Teacher Education.

The invitation brings a science education group into discussions that have focused in recent years on artificial intelligence, including how students use generative AI and how teachers can guide that use. For NCSE, the issues include identifying scientific misconceptions and misinformation that AI may present or reinforce, the organization’s leader said.

How the summit works

The summit began in 2000, after Tom Carroll, then director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology Program, observed that schools were not changing in response to technologies already being widely introduced. The annual meeting was created to bring teacher education association leaders together to discuss challenges and possible solutions.

Today, participants include organization presidents, journal editors, policymakers, foundation leaders and industry representatives. The meeting at the National Education Association in Washington includes panels and breakout discussions in three strands. Participants develop recommendations to share with their organizations’ stakeholders, with teaching and learning considerations kept central, according to NCSE’s leader.

Why science education is part of the discussion

Science education has been represented since the summit’s first year through the Association for Science Teacher Education, one of its founding groups. The summit also helped establish the Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education journal, which continues to publish a science education segment sponsored by ASTE.

Technology is central to science learning because instruments and resources such as cameras, probes, simulations and data sets help students collect evidence, identify patterns and test explanations. The summit’s discussions also draw on the concept of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, which examines how technology connects with teaching methods and subject matter. The timing and specific role of NCSE’s participation have not been announced.

This report draws on information from ncse.ngo.