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Choosing Instructional Materials: Lessons Learned
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Throughout my career as an educator, I’ve had many opportunities to select instructional materials. One experience is particularly memorable because I learned then that how you select instructional materials can be as…
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As a former elementary science specialist, I am familiar with the elementary teacher’s skill set. They excel at managing a classroom, are very organized, and love a great mentor text—a text that is an example of good…
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Q and A With Jim Short on Instructional Materials
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Why do instructional materials for science need to change? The vision of A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (Framework; NRC 2012)—embraced in the Next Generation…
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Collaborating on a Vision for NGSS Instructional Materials
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Recently, state science teachers associations in four states that had adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)—California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington—worked together to address the critical role that…
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A Q&A on Wisconsin's Science Standards
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Wisconsin recently adopted new K–12 science education standards. Learn more about the standards in this Q&A with Kevin Anderson, Science Education Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. When…
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Ed News: How One CA School District is Leading the Way on New Science Standards
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This week in education news, one California school district is leading the way on new science standards; a study looks to find the best tactics for flipped instruction; Virginia adopts computer science standards for K-…
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A Learning Trajectory for Sensemaking in Science
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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offer teachers the opportunity to consider teaching science in a new way. We help students engage with, wonder about, and make sense of natural phenomena, which closely…
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Digging Deeper: Peeling Back the Practices: What Did High School Students Think?
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One of the big shifts in the NGSS is the integration of Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) with Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) and Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs). In other words, content is not taught in isolation:…
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Engineering: From Trial-and-Error to NGSS-Aligned
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Four years ago, when the other seventh-grade science teacher and I started redesigning our curriculum for the NGSS, we knew we would have to include engineering. At that time, my understanding of engineering was pretty…
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As our first-grade class was returning to our classroom after recess, a learner directed our attention to our school’s newest retaining wall. He asked, “Why is the wall always falling apart on that side?” A rich…
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The Engineering Design Process: A Middle School Approach
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To support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Middle School Engineering Design, we have three goals for our students: to define problems accurately, design the best solution using a rigorous process, and…
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Seeking a New Way to Assess Science at All Levels
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The word assessment can prompt feelings of dread, mistrust, or outright hate in many teachers. That’s distressing, as quality instruction includes quality assessment. Unfortunately, we have allowed assessment to become…
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Kentucky’s Systems Approach to Assessing Three-Dimensional Standards
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One thing is clear about our multi-dimensional standards: They require a complex and thoughtful approach to assessment. No single, conventional, summative test can be expected to provide reliable data sufficient enough…
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Focusing on Instruction to Improve My School
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How do you envision science education in your classroom? Your school? Your district? In hectic life of a modern educator, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the initiatives, expectations, and pressures of our…
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Collaborating to Improve Performance Expectations
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Jessica Tetreault and I were the only two middle school teachers at a recent conference, so we were paired to create a common performance assessment that we could both use with our students in the coming months. She…
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