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Extensive research on what students need to become informed, science-literate citizens—and also on how students learn science best—underpins NGSS. Similarly, the framework promotes learning that is both relevant and meaningful to students and authentic to the practices of scientists and engineers.
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Mar 19, 2024 · Especially in younger grades, a strong science curriculum provides foundational knowledge. Throughout elementary school, the science curriculum should build knowledge across scientific disciplines throughout the year, such as biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and environmental science.
To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field.
Feb 20, 2024 · In our article, The State of K–12 Science Curriculum, we explore how states can put those principles into practice to help increase the availability and use of high-quality science programs.
- Jim Short
- State Standards
- Instructional Materials
- Professional Learning
- Instruction
- Assessments and Accountability
- Preservice Teacher Preparation
- FORMING
- Professional Learning
- Instruction
- Assessments and Accountability
- It
- Status of State Standards
- Instructional Materials
- Status of Instructional Materials
- Professional Learning
- Status of Professional Learning
- Status of Instruction
- Need for Change: Assessments and Accountability
- Status of Assessments and Accountability
- Percentage of Respondents
- State Standards
- Instructional Materials
- Professional Learning
- Instruction
- Assessments and Accountability
- Preservice Teacher Preparation
Program Director, Education Carnegie Corporation of New York EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
● The long-term viability of the NGSS and similar standards will depend on broad public support, particularly from current students and their parents and guardians, who often lead demands for change. To that end, there is a need for eforts at the state and national levels to disseminate accurate depictions of standards-aligned instruction and expla...
States, school districts, and schools should ensure teachers are equipped with high-quality instructional materials and supports to meet the needs of their students rather than asking teachers to create their own or find instructional resources on the internet. Developing coherent, yearlong, standards-aligned curricula is possible, but it requires ...
One way to improve professional learning opportunities is to center them on helping teachers use high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials as they become available. Rather than focusing on teachers’ content knowledge or teaching strategies alone, curriculum-based professional learning does both in the context of the instructional mate...
States can make the transition to standards-aligned instruction easier for teachers by using existing infrastructure. For example, instructional coaches are relatively common in ELA and mathematics. States could direct more coaching support to science. Similarly, many states have regional centers that support schools and districts with professional...
Education accountability is ingrained in state and federal policy, and it prioritizes ELA and mathematics. Until science is elevated to the same level in these policies, it will continue to receive fewer resources, both financial and nonfinancial. States should include science in their accountability systems as a first step toward giving science th...
Those leading the reform of preservice teacher preparation should develop a strategy that involves a large number of preservice faculty in developing model programs for preparing science teachers for standards-aligned instruction using high-quality instructional materials. With the growing availability of high-quality, standards-aligned instruction...
Impact is scattered and sporadic, with only a small fraction of the problem being resolved.
Teachers are required to participate in ongoing learning to stay current and hone their craft. State policies vary widely, but teachers must typically complete a certain number of hours of professional learning each year to retain their credential. Learning experiences take many forms, from independent study to workshops to college courses. A parti...
All the components previously described are ultimately in the service of instruction, which still occurs primarily in classrooms. Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies, and while they difer somewhat by grade level, a few strategies tend to dominate. The pandemic temporarily disrupted in-person learning and dramatically changed the inst...
States develop their own subject-specific student assessments and accountability systems. Ideally, assessments align closely with state standards, sending a consistent message to teachers about what they should teach. States typically administer assessments at the end of the school year, but there is wide variation in how they use test scores for a...
is important to acknowledge that science education is given a lower overall priority relative to ELA and mathematics in the U.S. K–12 education system. The status of science education is particularly apparent in state and federal accountability policies, as described later in this report. It was also a prominent theme in comments from those who ans...
After a decade of sustained efort, almost all states share a vision of science instruction at the level of standards, which is a crucial first step for field-level reform. The work benefited from a robust knowledge base, knowledgeable and influential actors, a field-level agenda, infrastructure, and resources. State standards are thus in the evolvi...
State standards are essential for an aligned, coherent system. They describe what students need to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of each grade and course. However, state standards do not dictate how to get students to the goals they describe. Ultimately, that is the job of the professionals in the classroom — teachers. Teachers, in...
Thanks largely to reports commissioned by NASEM, the field has a robust knowledge base for creating standards-aligned instructional materials. The group of actors (both individuals and organizations) developing materials and supporting their dissemination is growing, providing districts with some options to choose from and ways to determine the qua...
Current science standards in almost all states emphasize students doing the work of science to learn science concepts. That means students should ask questions, design investigations, analyze and interpret data, solve problems, and communicate their solutions as part of their science learning. Because this kind of instruction contrasts so sharply w...
Professional learning for standards-aligned science instruction has a robust knowledge base and a growing number of models that reflect that knowledge. However, these have not yet coalesced into a field-level agenda. And although the field of professional learning has many players at all levels, it is not clear that it has enough actors contributin...
Data from stakeholder interviews, the landscape survey, and national surveys of teachers suggests that science instruction generally does not align well with the vision laid out in the Framework, though some schools and districts are well out in front of the rest of the field. A strong knowledge base positions the field well for progress, as does a...
(N (N (N (N (N (N Several states and the District of Columbia have functioned as actors, leading the field in changing their assessments to align with the new science standards. Among them are California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin. However, as noted above, these eforts are expensive and time-consuming. With other press...
Several states have either aligned their assessments with the new standards or are trying to do so, but in many states, perhaps most, assessments are still catching up. A knowledge base is growing, and although progress is being made on the technical challenges that standards-aligned assessments present, work remains to be done. The field benefits ...
Not at all or minimal Somewhat Substantial Note Figure excludes those who responded, I dont know. We have to hold onto continually trying to understand the deep roots of inequitable opportunity in American schools. We’re not going to make progress unless we continue to acknowledge the historical roots.... I think we also need to hold onto systemic ...
● The long-term viability of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and similar standards will depend on broad public support, particularly from current students and their parents and guardians, who often lead demands for change. To that end, there is a need for eforts at the state and national levels to disseminate accurate depictions of sta...
States, school districts, and schools should ensure teachers are equipped with high-quality instructional materials and supports to meet the needs of their students rather than asking teachers to create their own or find instructional resources on the internet. Developing coherent, yearlong, standards-aligned curricula is possible, but it requires ...
One way to improve professional learning opportunities is to center them on helping teachers use high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials as they become available. Rather than focusing on teachers’ content knowledge or teaching strategies alone, curriculum-based professional learning does both in the context of the instructional mate...
States can make the transition to standards-aligned instruction easier for teachers by using existing infrastructure. For example, instructional coaches are relatively common in ELA and mathematics. States could direct more coaching support to science. Similarly, many states have regional centers that support schools and districts with professional...
Education accountability is ingrained in state and federal policy, and it prioritizes ELA and mathematics. Until science is elevated to the same level in these policies, it will continue to receive fewer resources, both financial and nonfinancial. States should include science in their accountability systems as a first step toward giving science th...
Those leading the reform of preservice teacher preparation should develop a strategy that involves a large number of preservice faculty in developing model programs for preparing science teachers for standards-aligned instruction using high-quality instructional materials. With the growing availability of high-quality, standards-aligned instruction...
Dimension 1: Scientific and Engineering Practices. The framework highlights eight key practices that students should learn, such as asking questions and defining problems, analyzing and interpreting data, and constructing explanations and designing solutions.
Inspire Science: A PreK–12 Science Curriculum. Explore Our Phenomenal World. Inspire Science sparks students’ curiosity through fascinating real-world phenomena. Students investigate, problem-solve, argue, and discuss scientific phenomena to make sense of the world from their perspective.
