THE IMPLEMENTATION AND USE OF NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS-BASED TACTILE MODELS IN THE K-12 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Gibson ◽  
◽  
Natalie Bursztyn ◽  
Joseph Carlin
2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Slater ◽  
Timothy F. Slater

<p class="AbstractSummary">Although the <em>Next Generation Science Standards</em> (<em>NGSS</em>) are not federally mandated national standards or performance expectations for K-12 schools in the United States, they stand poised to become a de facto national science and education policy, as state governments, publishers of curriculum materials, and assessment providers across the country consider adopting them. In order to facilitate national buy-in and adoptions, <em>Achieve, Inc</em>., the non-profit corporation awarded the contract for writing the <em>NGSS</em>, has repeatedly asserted the development of the Standards to be a state-driven and transparent process, in which the scientific content is taken "verbatim", from the 2011 NRC report, <em>Frameworks for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas</em>. This paper reports on an independently conducted fidelity check within the content domain of astronomy and the space sciences, conducted to determine the extent to which the <em>NGSS </em>science content is guided by the <em>Frameworks</em>, and the extent to which any changes have altered the scientific intent of that document. The side-by-side, two-document comparative analysis indicates that the science of the <em>NGSS</em> is significantly different from the <em>Frameworks</em>. Further, the alterations in the science represent a lack of fidelity, in that they have altered the parameters of the science and the instructional exposure (e.g., timing and emphasis). As a result the <em>NGSS</em> are now poised to interfere with widely desired science education reform and improvement. This unexpected finding affords scientists, educators, and professional societies with an opportunity, if not a professional obligation, to engage in positively impacting the quality of science education by conducting independent fidelity checks across other disciplines. This could provide a much needed formal support and guidance to schools, teachers, curriculum developers, and assessment providers.</p>


Author(s):  
Catherine Milne

In this paper I present a critical reflection on the rationale and history of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which has sometimes been presented as the US version of a vision for a standardized science curriculum. I explore how the monograph, The Framework for K-12 Science Education, established the groundwork for the Next Generation Science Standards. I argue that crisis narratives often drive the arguments for standardization but in the US there was also an argument of the need to build a level of national uniformity in the content and practices that are presented to students as a tool for ensuring that children and youth have equitable access to important knowledge. However, at the same time educators have a responsibility for ensuring that homogenization achieved through standards does not enshrine the very inequities and ideologies public education seeks to change.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karleah Harris ◽  
Alec Sithole ◽  
Joachim Kibirige

Since its inception, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) blue print has attracted interest from more than 40 states in the United States. The overall objective of these proposed changes is to align K-12 science education with current trends in technology and career needs. However, the assessment of teacher preparedness and classroom technology needs is still a critical factor in the implementation of these changes. Our study conducted a needs and preparedness assessment using online surveys on public K-12 teachers before the implementation phase. The data collected for this study comprised 214 responses from schools in 16 states across the US. The study indicates that most of the teachers were not knowledgably equipped to fuse the proposed changes in standards with the current curricula and their teaching plans. The teachers made several suggestions, based on their views regarding the level of preparedness of their students. The implications of these findings and suggestions for further adjustments are presented and discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 579-583
Author(s):  
Stephanie Rafanelli ◽  
Jonathan Osborne

In this article, we put forward a new approach to the teaching of scientific reasoning in biology with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We argue that a framework based on the idea of six styles of scientific reasoning provides the best guide for biology teachers to the nature of scientific reasoning in biology and how it might be taught. The current framework of the crosscutting concepts fails to provide a narrative for what makes biology distinctive and how biological scientists reason. By contrast, a framework of styles of scientific reasoning does offer a coherent argument for the biology curriculum in grades K–12, a justification for each performance expectation, and a vision of how each standard might support the development of scientific reasoning in biology. Examples and implications for curriculum designers and educators are discussed.


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