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  Special Edition                                 The Source
   Science - The Next Generation Science Standards
    
September 13, 2013


This special edition of The Source provides our members with updates and resources on science, taking a close look at the Next Generation Science Standards.

And a special thank you to Iowa ASCD member DeEtta Andersen, science teacher at Center Point Urbana High School, for working with us on this issue to address the impact of the Next Generation Science Standards for teachers and students.  She is also on the Iowa Department of Education's Task Force for review of the Next Generation Science Standards.

Enjoy and share with your teachers of science.

Lou 

The Next Generation Science Standards for Teachers 


What does it take to prepare students to live in a world dominated by science and technology? How do we create the next generation of problem solvers that need both knowledge critical thinking skills to solve real world issues?  

 

NGSS These are not just issues about which only secondary science teachers need to worry. In fact, Iowa is one of 26 lead states that have worked to develop new standards for science for grades K-12. Working with Achieve, Inc. and a large group of national science organizations, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide a framework to help students learn the content and practices of science and engineering.  

 

Since the standards were finalized this spring, five states - Maryland, Kansas, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Vermont - have officially adopted the standards, and California has a recommendation pending.  

 

At this time, the NGSS are not officially adopted by Iowa, but intentions are to stick to the 2014 deadline. An NGSS Task Force has been initiated by the Iowa Department of Education.  Approximately twenty representatives from across the state will be meeting this fall to review the Next Generation Science Standards in order to make a recommendation to the State Board of Education yet this year.  

How Do the Next Generation Science Standards Compare to What We Have and Do?   

As Iowa moves forward in the adoption review phase, educators are asking how these Next Generation Science Standards compare to what we have currently.

 

The answer is not simple. To start, they combine many things we already are used to doing with science education in Iowa. For instance, the standards address what students should know and how they should learn science. For Iowans, these ideas are addressed in standards for science content, science as inquiry, universal constructs, and 21st century skills. In other words, the NGSS combine what we do in multiple standard categories and put them in one place.

Science Experiment As an example, students will learn about influences on plant growth through experimenting and questioning, and apply what they learn to solve problems related to greenhouse designs. In NGSS lingo, they will have learned content, performed the practices of scientists and engineers, and recognized crosscutting concepts (cause and effect).

For teachers, the requisite instructional skills will be similar to what are already emphasized in our Iowa Teaching Standards. These are instructional practices that enable student-centered learning, teaching for understanding, and use of formative assessments for learning. (The days of the teacher as disseminator of information with the semester final as the only form of assessment are out!)  While the NGSS will streamline what we have now, there are a number of marked differences. Read on to learn of those.
 
Content - Is It Changing?

No longer will there be science content standards separate from inquiry standards. These will be integrated along with the thinking skills emphasized in the universal constructs, and the technology applications emphasized in the 21st century skills.  

 

In addition to integration, the Next Generation Science Standards  will ask teachers to help students see themes inherent in all sciences. Crosscutting concepts such as patterns, cause and effect, and structure and function will be applied to all content areas and grade levels.  

 

Thirdly, the focus for applying knowledge will be in the field of engineering. Students will be asked to design, model, and construct solutions to solve real-world applications of science.    

Fourth, the NGSS have performance expectations for every content area that are designed to enable assessment. Finally, the NGSS are integrated with the Common Core math and ELA standards.

             

So, what does all this mean in actuality for teachers?  

 

The answer is different for each grade level. As far as content goes, there will be more changes at the lower levels than the upper levels. Even so, each grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12) will need to incorporate some new categories of content including natural hazards, human impact on earth systems, and use of digital technology.  

 

Science experiment

The changes will not be earth shattering. Teachers for grades K-2, for example, will need to add a few categories in earth science, relate weather to human activity, and incorporate how humans communicate with technology. Each grade band will be impacted in a different way. An easy-to-read list of the core content suggestions can be found on the Next Generation Website (http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards) under "Arranged by Disciplinary Core Idea."

 

Remember:  these standards have not been officially adopted, and the state can make, if adopted, minor modifications as needed.

Next Generation Science Standards:  Assessment & Instruction

science 1 In addition to content changes, assessments will need to be modified. Teachers will have to generate assessments that fit the NGSS performance standards. Assessments cannot measure only memorization of facts. They should be assessing all levels of understanding including critical thinking. The NGSS include performance expectations and assessment suggestions for all content areas.  For example, middle school students will be expected to develop a model of an atom to assess their understanding of atoms and molecules.  High school students might be asked to evaluate data on climate change.  Both model making and data analysis are skills that are not assessed through the standard pencil-and-paper format.  Standardized tests that do not measure higher level thinking skills will not be adequate assessments of student learning. Policy makers looking for accountability measures of student learning will have to broaden their understanding of what it means to know science.

             

Some teachers will need to modify instructional techniques. What is critical to learning science under the NGSS is having student do the work of scientists. This does not mean that science 2 they learn the steps to the scientific method and repeat them on a test. Instead, they should take data, formulate hypotheses, test, make conclusions, and analyze sources of experimental error.  Instructional practices are suggested for every standard.  First-grade students learning about sound will need the opportunity to explore vibrating objects, plan investigations to determine transparency of objects, and build communication devices using waves, such as a "string telephone." While practices like these have always been critical to learning science, the NGSS put these expectations up front by combining content, instruction, and assessment into one package.  The National Science Teachers Association has useful guides and webinars to help teachers understand the Standards.  We must be cautious of publishers who claim to have the curriculum materials developed and ready to sell.  One publisher did state, "The baton has been passed to the teachers to determine how to achieve the new standards."  

NGSS and Roles of Professional Development, Teacher Evaluation and Quality Resources

Adoption of new standards will impact school districts in additional ways. Professional development needs will change as the Next Generation Science Standards are adopted or adapted.  

 

Teachers will need to familiarize themselves with the standards and will need time to adapt their current curriculum science PD and instruction. This is no easy task since the standards are presented in tables with multiple color codes and more abbreviations than a person can absorb in one sitting.  

 

Support for the teachers' learning will need to be provided by the school districts with assistance from their AEAs. The state may want to consider the formation of peer support teams, which could be of great help in this effort. Networks linking teacher, administrators, engineers, and scientists would help with implementation. 

 

Resources needed for experimentation, construction, and modeling will need to be located. Here again, a statewide database would enable teachers to locate or share resources.  

 

science eval Teacher evaluation will need to be modified, and evaluators trained so that best practices for science pedagogy are recognized.

             

Teachers and administrators that plan for these changes will ease transitional fears. Teachers already comfortable with their practices and their personally crafted curriculum maps will not necessarily welcome the change.  

 

To facilitate change, Achieve, Inc. has an implementation plan that can be used to make the transition when the time comes. Although this is designed for state-level planning, it is an excellent outline for districts to use also. Achieve, Inc. has also produced model course outlines for middle and high school as well as strategies to address the needs of diverse learners. 

And the Journey Continues

There are still issues that need to be attended to by both Achieve, Inc. and the state. First and foremost is clarifying the timeline for adoption and implementation.

 

STEAM Secondly, while the emphasis on engineering paves the way for a producing a squadron of problem solvers, other emphases such as the connection of science to art, music, and history are ignored.  

 

In addition, important to most educators are the specifics,  For instance, how do you help a third grader "use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment?"

 

Achieve, Inc. expressly states that the NGSS are standards and not curriculum, but teachers will want more help with this regardless. While the standards purport to take students to science teacher deeper levels of understanding, the disciplinary core ideas are few and somewhat narrow and may be misconstrued by teachers as all they need to teach.  

 

Both administrators and teachers should read through the standards and start forming questions. As always, advocacy is the strongest way to make sure that policy reflects the best interest of the students. Contacting and collaborating with the AEAs, the Department of Education, legislators, and colleagues are essential as the NGSS are adapted for use by Iowa schools.   

 

The unprecedented pace of scientific research and innovation in technology in recent decades forces us to look at science education with new lenses. Students not only learn differently, they need to integrate and apply what they learn. The presence of crosscutting themes, content applications, and the processes of science along with core knowledge makes the standards different for teachers in Iowa. Although many effective science teachers are already doing this type of work, it will soon be the standard for curriculum, instruction, and assessment for grades K-12. We encourage all educators to read the Next Generation Science Standards and start thinking about the impact they will have on their school and students.

 

Resources to Help in the Journey

Check out these resources as you continue your journey with the Next Generation Science Standards:
A Special Thank You!

A special thank you to Iowa ASCD member DeEtta Andersen!  She is a high school science teacher in Center Point Urbana and was the major contributor to this special edition.  She also serves on the Next Generation Science Standards Task Force for the Iowa Department of Education.
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In This Issue
Next Generation Science Standards
Comparison to What We Have
NGSS Content - Is It Changing?
NGSS Assessment & Instruction
NGSS Professional Development and More
Science - And the Journey Continues
Resources
Special Thank You
Twitter
Mission Statement & More

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