In this plenary session we discuss the significant changes taking place in education today and how to address the main issues: Blended, hybrid and flipping the classroom are no longer abstract ideas found in academic forums but rather burning issues in teacher education today. We must prepare our learners and teachers to take up the challenges of using technology to inform learning input and outcomes, while keeping pedagogy at the heart of what we do in our daily teaching practice.

Anchor phenomena have power to captivate students’ curiosity, ground STEM/STEAM instruction to the real world, and drive classroom conversations. This presentation addresses language considerations for generating discussion around scientific phenomenon, including benefits and challenges of building scientific understanding while developing language skills in a multi-lingual classroom environment. In the US at all grade levels, there’s an increasing emphasis on building science instruction around anchor phenomenon that provide a common experience for inquiry conversations and investigation. This interactive session will explore a) ways that language and translanguaging can be used to describe and explain scientific phenomenon in a classroom setting, b) how discussions are facilitated when phenomena are central to learning science content, and c) the types of language strategies that foster science conceptual development in a students’ non-native language. Digital tools and resources for observing phenomenon in the classroom will be demonstrated to enhance all formats of education including online teaching and learning.