A Jo
Hello Class and Professor,
The Next Generation Science is a structure that is organized by grade bands. These grade bands further divide into different topics. The topics are Earth/Space science, Physical Science, Life Science, and Engineering Design. This structure is intended to be used beginning in elementary through high school. Each of the four subtopics range in difficulty depending on the grade level it is being used for. Since each subtopics is designated to certain grades bands it helps with different concepts of learning. This makes sure that the said topics are correctly aligned to each students needs. Each grade level will have different standards and understanding that need addressed and these bands help ensure this is happening. For example, when we are talking about earth/space science students in different grade levels will be learning and understanding at different levels but still covering the same topic. First grade may be learning the characteristics of mammals and what they need to survive but then middle schoolers are learning to classify and analyze said animals into different categories based on where they live or their needs.
References
RI.Gov.(n.d.). How to read the Next Generation Science Standards. https://www.nextgenscience.org/resources/how-read-next-generation-science-standards
N Mu
Hello All, I hope everyone is well. The Next Generation Science standards are essentially a methodically structured breakdown of standards which were designed by experts and stakeholders in the areas of science and engineering. A collaborative effort including data from various countries with high achievement were implemented to construct the foundation of the NGSS. The content-based concept is listed and further broken down between three categories: Science/Engineering, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting concepts.
Under these titles, are connection boxes which expand the details of each. This intricate designs purpose is to facilitate lifelong and higher learning which will transition to college and career fields. Grade levels are incorporated accordingly and correlate to each specific standard. Important attributes are geared toward investigation, questions, analysis data, student achievement and ultimately to become literate in the components of science.
Reference
How to Read the Next Generation Science Standards, by Achieve, located on YouTube (2015).
URL:
J Fe
The next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was developed upon the Framework which is based around the three dimensions; Scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. In primary NGSS emphasizes observation and direct explanation on experience. Upper elementary beginnings to shift to simple models which help to explain the observed. Middle school begins the transition into more abstract thinking. It was decided that this should be organized around three unified dimension Scientific and engineering practices, Crosscutting concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas. This takes students learning and understanding and works to build upon it starting with dimension one and working towards dimensions two and three. Students will begin learning about scientific topics early in their academic career and then throughout their academic career be able to build upon these ideas more and more. Ultimately this helps students in their learning because it uses a lot of prior knowledge when it comes to learning about topics and this plays a great deal in memory.
Contant, T. L., Bass, J. E., & Carin, A. A. (2017). Teaching science through inquiry and investigation (13th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ISBN-13: 9780134515472
part 2
G Ri
Its hard to answer, but I feel like the answer to this would be yes. Throughout K-12, I was assigned various projects, given concrete visuals, and dissections. I feel like the teachers did their very best to have us interact with the material as much as possible. The part I liked most was that most of the activities were fun and engaging (i.e. we incubated eggs in my 7th grade science class). I wish that more activities like this were done because they were so interesting and fun, and I feel like I learned a lot more in that way.
After all, students need to engage with core ideas multiple times at more sophisticated levels as they progress through school (Bass, Carin & Contant, 2017).
Reference:
Bass, J. E., Carin, A. A., & Contant, T. L. (2017). Teaching science through inquiry and investigation (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. ISBN-13: 9780134515472
F Mu
Good Afternoon
Throughout my K-12 years, I feel the teachers did the best they could with what they had available. I remember some science projects being hands on in my elementary years, however, once I hit 7th grade it totally flipped to constructivism. In the earlier elementary years, I feel the teachers only did one or two projects a year because it took so much preperation on their part without the help of any aides, because that was not a thing. I wish in my elementary years they had done more constructivism, as maybe I would of enjoyed Science more, and learned more about it. It was not until college that I really started enjoying Science, but that is where we were able to dive deeper into it. The teacher utilized most all of the inquiries, guided mostly though.
K Ja
Overall, my elementary school did not focus much on science. For the most part, I recall the lessons being more for reading, writing, and math. However, I do remember in third grade we were able to dissect a cows eyeball, and I thought that was neat (even though it may sound gross to some, it was cool).
Otherwise, anything else that was taught during elementary school would have been bookwork or worksheet related. For example, to learn the parts of a flower, I would color the parts certain colors. If I could change the past, I would ensure we had more hands-on activities and lessons to teach us. Also, I would have included more science into the schedule because I did not have a lot of science lessons until about fifth or sixth grade. It was pretty “black and white” during elementary school.
Once I got into middle school, I was able to experience more of the constructivist component of learning science concepts. I feel I was given more freedom to form my own ideas and be more independent in my education, as far as science went. During junior high was when we were able to dig into science more through hands-on activities, labs, etcetera. I wish this could have been done at a younger age because I am a hands-on and visual learner.
