Standards

In Step with the New Science Standards

Whether your state has adopted the Next Generation Science Standards or will soon revise its own science standards, one thing is clear: Change is underway—in what is learned, in how we teach, and in how we assess. This is more of a revolution than just another iteration of the same old stuff. It's a dramatic shift in the expectations that we have for all students.
Let's look at five ways that the new science standards will influence teaching and learning and five recommendations that can help ensure success as you begin your journey.

Author/Presenter

Jeff C. Marshall

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2015
Short Description

The Next Generation Science Standards can transform how teaching and learning unfold in the classroom. Here's what they look like —and how you can get started.

Navigating to NGSS Success: Identifying a Research Agenda

Day
Wed

Leaders of three DR K-12 projects identify successful instructional strategies for using technology-enhanced curriculum materials, games, and models to achieve the NGSS practices.

Date/Time
-
2014 Session Types
Collaborative Panel Session

The media, the public, and, indeed, many teachers have significantly criticized the introduction of the Common Core, citing concerns such as that it overcomplicates simple topics, diminishes innovation, and ignores equity issues. Following the recent introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), we need compelling examples and powerful research to prevent premature criticism and ensure successful implementation.

Student Materials, Professional Development, and Assessment Organized Around Habits of Mind in the CCSSM

Day
Tues

Learn about three projects centered on algebraic habits of mind: a puzzle-centric curriculum for middle school and at-risk algebra students, professional development on the Standards for Mathematical Practice, and an assessment for teachers.

 

Date/Time
-
2014 Session Types
Collaborative Panel Session

Algebraic habits of mind, at the core of five of the Standards for Mathematical Practice, become both a potent and appealing intervention for at-risk algebra students and a solid prevention-model middle-school course either to accelerate algebra or to ensure success in a later algebra course. The session focuses on the habits of mind in that context, in related professional development work that addresses the Standards for Mathematical Practices, and on assessment of algebraic habits of mind in teachers.

Building Theory While Supporting Implementation of the NGSS

Day
Tues

Implementing the NGSS requires changes in teaching, assessments, and curriculum materials. In this session, participants explore theoretical questions for DR K12 research that are raised by these NGSS implementation challenges.

Date/Time
-
2014 Session Types
Mini-plenary Presentation

The Next Generation Science Standards present important shifts for science teaching, assessment, and curriculum materials—focusing on core explanatory ideas, a central role for science and engineering practices, and coherence across time and science disciplines. These challenges for practice require new theoretical advances.

Meaningful Support for Teachers: Specific Ways to Encourage Game-Based Learning in the Classroom

Day
Tues

Panelists from three projects share lessons learned in guiding game use in classroom learning, highlighting specific examples of effective resources.

Date/Time
-
2014 Session Types
Collaborative Panel Session

The three panelists in this session are in the last one or two years of their game-based learning projects, and all have done extensive work in supporting use of their games in classroom learning. As their work has progressed, each has discovered valuable ways to support teachers as well as encountered surprises in what teachers wanted (and didn’t want), and now recognize things they wished they had learned in the beginning of their projects. Session participants leave with recommendations they can use in their current projects, including:

The Future of Fracking: Exploring Human Energy Use

Today few states require Earth science as part of the high school curriculum—despite the fact that both NSES and AAAS Benchmarks have substantial Earth and space science content standards. However, this may change. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) give equal importance to Earth and space science, physical science, life science and engineering.

Author/Presenter

Amy Pallant

Year
2013
Short Description

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) give equal importance to Earth and space science, physical science, life science and engineering. It’s likely that the 26 Lead State Partners that helped develop the standards will adopt them in their entirety, which could provide a significant motivation for incorporating more Earth and space science content into their required curriculum.

Status of The Next Generation of Science Standards

Day
Thu

This session provides an update about the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), with a special focus on implications for curriculum development, professional development, and assessment. 

Date/Time
-
Session Type
PI-organized Discussion
Presenters

Work is progressing to develop the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). With private funding from the Carnegie Corporation and support from National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Research Council (NRC) and Achieve, Inc., have embarked on a two-step cooperative process to develop the NGSS. The first step was to develop a conceptual framework that is grounded in current research on science and science learning and identifies the science all K–12 students should know.

Supporting Implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: Recommendations for Professional Development

In 2010, the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers published theCommon Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and to date, 44 states, the District of Columbia,and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted the document. These content and practice standards, which specify what students are expected to understand and be able to do in K-12 mathematics, represent a significant departure from what mathematics is currently taught in most classrooms and how it is taught.

Author/Presenter

Paola Sztajn

Karen Marrongelle

Peg Smith

Year
2012
Resource(s)