In April 2013, science educators were presented with the Next Generation Science Standards. These voluntary standards include important scientific ideas and practices that all students should learn by the end of 12th grade. The standards integrate three important dimensions—science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. Students’ science knowledge builds from kindergarten through 12th grade and important concepts of engineering are integrated into these standards.
The National Research Council (NRC) took the first steps of writing these standards by creating the Framework for K–12 Science Education. The Framework describes a vision of what it means to be proficient in science. It also presents and explains the interrelationships among practices, cross-disciplinary concepts and disciplinary core ideas. (Other NRC reports that had a hand in helping to write the NGSS include Taking Science to School, Ready, Set, Science! and Learning Science in Informal Environments.)
After the completion of the Framework, the organization, Achieve, acted as a facilitator among twenty-six states, including New York State, to lead the process of developing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It is important to remember that these standards are grounded in the Framework and are intended to provide a science foundation for all students.
We hope you find the following information helpful:
These four videos introduce elementary science educators to important strategies based on the
Framework for K-12 Science Education for K-12 Science Education and the
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The class featured in the videos is made up of second- and third-grade bilingual students. This collection of videos demonstrates new instructional strategies in the elementary school classroom. The project was led by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) with funding from Disney.