Teacher preparatory colleges and universities require preservice teachers to read texts and work with educational theory that will serve as a foundation for their emerging practice. When it comes time to teach, particularly in elementary school science, some lessons fall short and preservice teachers may begin to doubt themselves and their understanding of science teaching. Personal feelings of not being a “science person” and not having a deep enough understanding of the content to prepare lessons that can meet the needs of today’s diverse classrooms can emerge and begin to dampen the creativity and excitement preservice teachers feel about their chosen profession.

After seeing preservice teachers struggle with trying to follow instructional focus calendars and curriculum maps, understanding and applying the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and finding appropriate supplemental resources, one instructor took a step away from textbooks and theory and reexamined how the NGSS can be introduced to beginning teachers and used to support the creation of science lessons. Using an overlying theme of transparency, the instructor began a multiple-week endeavor working alongside a small group of preservice teachers. The short-term goal of this learning experience was to share to the behind-the-scenes work teachers do every day to create meaningful science lessons using the NGSS as a supporting framework. The long-term goal was to empower preservice teachers to own and overcome the challenges novice teachers face as they create authentic learning experiences using the NGSS as a foundation.

The activities described here took place at a small liberal arts college in a science methods course that students complete the semester before they begin student teaching. The course met once a week, so the activities stretched over five class meetings. The ideas presented here could be adapted to faculty meetings as a refresher for staff, as a personal task to explore one’s own understanding of the standards, or as a way to deepen understanding of how the NGSS can support grade-level teams’ teacher-created learning experiences.

An impromptu comment spurred this multiday experience. While leading an introductory discussion of the NGSS, a student casually commented, “There is just so much there. It’s hard to figure out what the important parts are.” Another student remarked, “I just look for a standard that meets what I want to teach and insert it into the lesson plan.” The instructor had an “aha” moment where she realized students were not spending enough time with the standards and not seeing them as a cohesive unit to guide the scope and sequence of science teaching. Rather, the preservice teachers were doing the exact opposite and trying to extract bits and pieces they could embed into their lessons. This teachable moment stopped the planned activities for the day and lead to a multiday exploration of the NGSS and how the standards can guide the creation of authentic, meaningful learning experiences.

To establish common understanding, the instructor called up the NGSS website and asked students to complete a five-minute quick-write on the NGSS and the three dimensions of science learning. Responses were collected and read aloud to the class to discover common themes and outliers. Common themes included, “I know we base our science lessons off them,” and “We use the Standards to create lesson objectives.” Several students were able to articulate a simplistic understanding of the dimensions as, “Practices are what we want student to do, [disciplinary core] ideas are the science topics, and crosscutting concepts are things that overlap more than one idea.” Using the students’ ideas as a springboard, before the next meeting, the instructor devised activities intended to allow students to work with standards, pull them apart, and to make the learning meaningful, use them to do something fun. Each activity was awarded points, based on a score sheet .

Class opened with an instructor lecture on how the Standards came to be and their predecessors, National Science Education Standards from the National Research Council and Benchmarks for Science Literacy from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Contant, Bass, and Carin 2014). The current ranking of the United States in science as 23rd out of 65 participating countries and economies according to the Program for International Student Assessment was used to illustrate the need to enhance our students’ scientific experiences (2012). The lecture then turned to a discussion of which states have/have not formally adopted the NGSS. This discussion of adoption yielded some powerful, “So What?” type questions. One student stated that because she intends on teaching in a state that has not adopted the standards, “This isn’t that relevant to me.” The instructor opened this comment to the class and asked for input. While several students were unsure, one made a powerful comment, “It’s about good teaching. In science you want the kids to do stuff. To act like scientists. These help you do that.” With that peer comment, the class murmured agreement and the discussion continued.

The instructor moved the discussion forward to reviewing and dissecting the standards. A fifth-grade standard (5-PS1-2 Matter and Its Interactions; Figure 1) was projected onto a whiteboard. A preliminary overview of the components of the standards was presented using the whiteboard as a type of overlay. The instructor named and labeled each part of the standard and asked students to complete an accompanying fill-in note sheet to be used for their reference as the semester went forward. Typically, the first time preservice teachers really look into the NGSS, they find them a bit overwhelming. This time was no exception. As the standard was displayed, several groans were audible from the class. After the instructor presented information on how to begin deconstructing the standard, she advised the preservice teachers that they need not panic—there’s an app to help them understand and utilize the NGSS. Getting phones out and downloading the Next Generation Science Standards app was a quick break that let students see the standards using a device that is familiar to them and consequently diminished some of their anxiety. The students were given a few minutes to explore freely, which concluded with the instructor asking students to share questions or helpful hints about the app. Several students commented they felt the app was “more user friendly” and “less overwhelming” than the website.

One student found the links to other standards helpful, “I like that you can see the across grade level path of learning in the crosscutting concepts, and I like how you can click an associated standard and all the information pops right up.” During the transition back to lecture, the instructor stressed the NGSS standards are NOT isolated content or instruction standards. Rather, they are performance expectations that allow teachers to assess proficiency as students DO authentic, hands-on, or inquiry-based tasks (Quinn, Schweingruber, and Keller 2011).

As class concluded, the instructor shared the follow-up task preservice teachers were expected to complete prior to the next meeting: read and review instructor-selected supplemental resources on the NGSS. This assignment asked students to synthesize information about why the standards are needed and how to read them. Students then had to personalize their learning by creating a new document illustrating their understanding of the NGSS. Specifically, students were instructed to showcase their understanding of the standards by using a free online program to make a video showing four main points and one question about the Next Generation Science Standards. The instructor elected to have students use an online site they had worked with in a previous assignment called Knovio, an online video platform that allows students to create interactive videos. However, students did have the option of showcasing their understanding using other formats: oral presentation, iMovie, or poster board, if they preferred.

Class began with students sharing their videos, nicknamed “Learning About NGSS.” There was some overlap in the student-created work that was unexpected by the instructor. One overlapping point was the surprise students expressed about the multiple connections to both other disciplinary core ideas and the Math and ELA Common Core State Standards (CCSS), “When you really look into it, the standards cover a lot of ground that can be used to support some pretty cool activities.” The instructor affirmed and referred to a previous course discussion on talk in the science classroom and the fact the NGSS value and support the idea of classrooms filled with activities and discussions in which students can share ideas, misconceptions, and questions, both orally and in writing—particularly with the NGSS and ELA CCSS alignment.

As the student sharing wrapped up, the instructor gave another take-home assignment, Three Dimensions of Learning: Seek, Find, and Summarize, to be completed before the next class (see NSTA Connection for the complete assignment). This task challenged students to more closely examine the three dimensions of learning and share their thoughts at the next meeting. As students read assigned resources, they were asked to go beyond reading and note-taking and create examples of their understanding of the three dimensions of learning outlined by the NGSS.

Class began with students arranged in groups of four for a roundtable discussion on the assigned task, Three Dimensions of Learning: Seek, Find, and Summarize. First, students were asked to share the headlines they created to complete Dimension 1 of Three Dimensions of Learning assignment. Next, each student posed two of the eight questions they created for Dimension 2 to the group. Peers answered questions and the question poser coaxed, supported, or redirected the responses as needed. Then students were shuffled according to their assigned Dimension 3 tasks (all assigned physical science grouped together, all life sciences together, and so on). Using a modified jigsaw technique, students who were assigned the same DCI (Dimension 3) of the Three Dimensions of Learning assignment were grouped together. Within the groups, they compared graphic organizers looking for themes and unique points of view. Then, each group collectively decided to share/teach key points and noteworthy unique ideas with the rest of the class—those who had not been assigned that particular section of reading.

As the preservice teachers began to expand their understanding, importance, and organization of the standards, the instructor decided to challenge students one last time. Preservice teachers understand that elementary school teachers must meet the needs of diverse students by creating engaging, challenging, and hands-on learning experiences. They understand that providing students the opportunities to collect experiences and skills that will enable them to become productive members of society is essential. However, finding resources and actually creating lessons that do that can be challenging. One great way to do this is to get out of the classroom and take a field trip because students participating in field trips develop positive attitudes toward the content areas on which the trip is based (Benhrendt and Franklin 2014). Getting out of the classroom can seem formidable, so preservice teacher can benefit from learning the process by completing it with someone else’s guidance (in this case the course instructor, a former classroom teacher).

In this final activity, the instructor challenged students use the NGSS to plan a local field trip, find suitable complementary texts, and create two activities for a topic of their choosing (see NSTA Connection for the compete assignment; Table 1 for sample field trip ideas). Field trips were intentionally selected because of their ability to intertwine multiple aspects of the NGSS and their ability to support preservice teachers as they engage in content knowledge, access professionals in the field, correct teacher misconceptions, practice hands-on inquiry-based instruction, and create opportunities to learn about collecting classroom resources (Jung and Tonso 2006). Students selected a field trip site from a county-approved list of sites or sought instructor approval for sites not on the county list. Most students car-pooled and selected sites close to campus. Sites included a state park, a state zoo, and a reptile center. To add a bit of fun, the instructor included a field trip caveat: Everyone had to visit and evaluate the chosen site to determine if it would be a viable trip for their selected grade level and topic.

Going forward, the syllabus will be revised to allot specific portions of each class period to the exploration and discussion of the NGSS. By extending the overall timeframe of activities and discussions, students will have regular opportunities to first read and discuss the Standards from an academic perspective, and then from a practical perspective as they implement Standards-based lessons in their field placement. This intentional layering of experiences with the Standards will provide regular opportunities to work with, share, and discuss their experiences in the classroom. Reworking of the tasks suggested here will create a place for questions and comments posed in real-time, which will allow for greater connection to the content.

Because the examination of the NGSS started as an impromptu discussion, the activities indicated here were supplemental to the preplanned work of the course. Upon reflection, the syllabus should be revised to allot specific portions of class to the NGSS exploration: The work would best be given over a more extended time to allow students greater time to absorb the information in small chucks. Reworking of the tasks suggested here would include giving students more class time to work with standards in a cooperative setting with the hope that creating a place for questions and comments posed in real-time will allow for greater connection to the work.

The work outlined here was supplemental to preplanned course work, and was, according to students, “hard and a lot.” In the end, students shared they felt better prepared to begin their student teaching knowing they could create dynamic, fun lessons based on the NGSS framework, “I’m glad we did this. I feel better, not perfect, with the standards and it was fun to see how teachers really plan and lead field trips.”

I agree with the students. This supplemental work was intense and significantly increased the workload of an already packed course. From the perspective of a former classroom teacher now working in higher education, I enjoyed sharing my stories and perspectives of working with the NGSS and believe the students found them helpful. I further believe that for preservice teachers to begin to feel comfortable navigating and using the Standards, they must have personal connections with them. In this case, those connections came in the form of instructor-assigned activities and in-class discussions. Because of those assignments and discussions, students felt prepared to attempt to plan a field trip and create activities that could be used in the classroom. The final products ranged from poorly done to outstanding. Some students were more adept at working with the Standards and others needed more time to continue to practice. Going forward, I will continue to reflect and refine my practice to ensure my students will have opportunities to work with the Standards, become comfortable with them, and ultimately see them as helpful tools for their emerging teacher persona.