What are the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?
What is NGSS?
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a collection of performance expectations - statements that descibe what students should know and be able to do - that have been developed by teachers, scientists, and education researchers to better address the core ideas of science that all students should understand as they prepare for either college and/or 21st century careers. Specifically, NGSS focuses around the concept of using science & engineering practices in the classroom to help students develop both critical thinking and interpersonal skills that can be used across many aspects of students' lives. It is important to note that the NGSS is not curricula, meaning that individual districts/teachers will still have the ability to decide what is taught throughout the school year and how they want to teach that information.
NGSS Fact Sheet -- This graphic was designed by the creators of NGSS to provide an overview of NGSS and address many of the common misconceptions regarding NGSS.
Follow this link to find even more information written just for parents regarding the NGSS and its implementation process across the country.
Why is Engineering Now Part of Science Class?
There are two main reasons engineering has been integrated into the science classroom. First, Science & Engineering are often used simultaneously to evaluate problems and design solutions. There are many important issues affecting the world, such as pollution, preventing/treating diseases, and environmental changes that are a part of our society today. By connecting science content with real-world problems, teachers aim to gain the interest of students and motivate them to continue their study of science outside of the high school science classroom.
Second, engineering allows students to apply their knowledge and deepen their understanding of science by creating solutionns to real-world problems. This will not only allow students to make personal connections to scientific content, but also allow them to see that what they are learning in science class can be using in their everyday lives as well. Feel free to view Appendix A for more information regarding the integration of engineering into the science classroom.
How are Science and Engineering Practices Used in the Classroom?
There are 8 Science & Engineering Practices (SEPs) that NGSS includes as a part of the science standards. These practices (as seen in the diagram to the right) are focused around the idea that students should not only know science content, but also be able to use their understanding to investigate problems and propose solutions. This would include students being able to use scientific inquiry to investigate the natural world and solve problems through the practices of engineering design.
The SEPs are integrated throughout many of the different laboratory experiences and activities that students partake in while in science class. For instance, many labs begin with students making an observation and then asking a question based upon their observations. In other instances, students may be provided with a problem and/or scenario and then asked to plan an investigation to address the problem. While students will not use every single SEP in each laboratory experience, over the course of the school year they will have the opportunity to engage in each practice multiple times.
Feel free to view Appendix F for more specific information regarding the individual Science & Engineering Practices.
Examples of Science-based Engineering Activities
How are Crosscutting Concepts Used in the Classroom?
There are 7 Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) included in the approach provided as a part of NGSS. These concepts (as seen in the diagram to the right) are an integral part of the students' learning experience in the science classroom. CCCs have been developed in a manner that allows for them to be seen as common themes across all disciplines of science and engineering. Since the CCCs are repeated in many different contexts throughout a student's academic career, students should become quite familiar with them and be able to consider more complex and sophisticated ideas as they mature.
One example of CCCs being used within the Earth Science classroom is our Introduction to Climate Factors Activity. This particular activity allows students to explore graphical data to identify patterns within four data sets over the course of one year. Groups of students investigate factors of climate that include: Land & Ocean Temperature, Amount of Rainfall, Insolation, and Vegetation. Through this investigation, students not only identify patterns to explain how the factors change over the course of the year, but then also compare their findings to one another to determine any potential cause and effect relationships between the different factors. Through this activity, students learn that while there are many different factors that can affect climate, they are not necessarily independent from one another. By identifying the crosscutting concepts within this activity, students are able to gain a deeper understanding of the content knowledge - factors that can affect climate.
Feel free to view Appendix G for more specific information regarding the individual Crosscutting Concepts.
What is NGSS?
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a collection of performance expectations - statements that descibe what students should know and be able to do - that have been developed by teachers, scientists, and education researchers to better address the core ideas of science that all students should understand as they prepare for either college and/or 21st century careers. Specifically, NGSS focuses around the concept of using science & engineering practices in the classroom to help students develop both critical thinking and interpersonal skills that can be used across many aspects of students' lives. It is important to note that the NGSS is not curricula, meaning that individual districts/teachers will still have the ability to decide what is taught throughout the school year and how they want to teach that information.
NGSS Fact Sheet -- This graphic was designed by the creators of NGSS to provide an overview of NGSS and address many of the common misconceptions regarding NGSS.
Follow this link to find even more information written just for parents regarding the NGSS and its implementation process across the country.
Why is Engineering Now Part of Science Class?
There are two main reasons engineering has been integrated into the science classroom. First, Science & Engineering are often used simultaneously to evaluate problems and design solutions. There are many important issues affecting the world, such as pollution, preventing/treating diseases, and environmental changes that are a part of our society today. By connecting science content with real-world problems, teachers aim to gain the interest of students and motivate them to continue their study of science outside of the high school science classroom.
Second, engineering allows students to apply their knowledge and deepen their understanding of science by creating solutionns to real-world problems. This will not only allow students to make personal connections to scientific content, but also allow them to see that what they are learning in science class can be using in their everyday lives as well. Feel free to view Appendix A for more information regarding the integration of engineering into the science classroom.
How are Science and Engineering Practices Used in the Classroom?
There are 8 Science & Engineering Practices (SEPs) that NGSS includes as a part of the science standards. These practices (as seen in the diagram to the right) are focused around the idea that students should not only know science content, but also be able to use their understanding to investigate problems and propose solutions. This would include students being able to use scientific inquiry to investigate the natural world and solve problems through the practices of engineering design.
The SEPs are integrated throughout many of the different laboratory experiences and activities that students partake in while in science class. For instance, many labs begin with students making an observation and then asking a question based upon their observations. In other instances, students may be provided with a problem and/or scenario and then asked to plan an investigation to address the problem. While students will not use every single SEP in each laboratory experience, over the course of the school year they will have the opportunity to engage in each practice multiple times.
Feel free to view Appendix F for more specific information regarding the individual Science & Engineering Practices.
Examples of Science-based Engineering Activities
- Catapults
- Students use their knowledge of simple machines to develop a catapult that can launch an object approximately 10 feet and hit a small target. This activity requires students to partake in the engineering design process as they design, test, and use their results to make improvements to their catapult.
- Rural Medicine Drop
- After studying Newton's Laws of Motion, students are presented with a problem relating to the inability to get necessary supplies to a rural region. Students are then asked to design a solution to this problem in the form of a new container that could be used to safely drop medicine. As students develop their design, they conduct research, test their container, redesign based upon theier results, and finally communicate their results with their fellow classmates.
- Analyzing Hurricanes Using GIS
- Students create a map using web-based GIS software to analyze the movement of Hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. This activity allows students to interpret data to gain a better understanding of the relationship between wind speed and air pressure. In addition, students also have the opportunity to propose potential solutions to the presence of storm surge and its effects on human populations based upon their understanding of hurricane movement.
- Students create a map using web-based GIS software to analyze the movement of Hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. This activity allows students to interpret data to gain a better understanding of the relationship between wind speed and air pressure. In addition, students also have the opportunity to propose potential solutions to the presence of storm surge and its effects on human populations based upon their understanding of hurricane movement.
How are Crosscutting Concepts Used in the Classroom?
There are 7 Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) included in the approach provided as a part of NGSS. These concepts (as seen in the diagram to the right) are an integral part of the students' learning experience in the science classroom. CCCs have been developed in a manner that allows for them to be seen as common themes across all disciplines of science and engineering. Since the CCCs are repeated in many different contexts throughout a student's academic career, students should become quite familiar with them and be able to consider more complex and sophisticated ideas as they mature.
One example of CCCs being used within the Earth Science classroom is our Introduction to Climate Factors Activity. This particular activity allows students to explore graphical data to identify patterns within four data sets over the course of one year. Groups of students investigate factors of climate that include: Land & Ocean Temperature, Amount of Rainfall, Insolation, and Vegetation. Through this investigation, students not only identify patterns to explain how the factors change over the course of the year, but then also compare their findings to one another to determine any potential cause and effect relationships between the different factors. Through this activity, students learn that while there are many different factors that can affect climate, they are not necessarily independent from one another. By identifying the crosscutting concepts within this activity, students are able to gain a deeper understanding of the content knowledge - factors that can affect climate.
Feel free to view Appendix G for more specific information regarding the individual Crosscutting Concepts.