An Introduction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

1An Introduction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

HEINRICH SARTINELEMENTARY SCIENCE SPECIALIST, ESC [email protected]

Educational Service Center NorthThursday, May 8, 2014

2Today's Agenda • Objectives for the Day• Norms for Professional Learning Communities• Engineering Design in the NGSS (Engineering Challenge)• Background, Rationale, and Timeline for the NGSS• Organization of the NGSS (Performance Expectations &

Dimensions)• The Nature of Science (Black Boxes Task)• Science and Engineering Practices (Explanation Task) • Connections to the Common Core State Standards• Evaluation

3Objectives• Learn about the rationale for adopting the NGSS• Understand how the NGSS are different from the

California Science Standards• Become familiar with how the NGSS are organized• Learn about how the NGSS are connected to the CCSS• Understand what teachers can do now to prepare for

full implementation of the NGSS

4Professional Learning Community Norms• Honor time by being efficient and effective• Ensure that each person’s voice is heard• Avoid sidebar conversations• Disagree agreeably• Stay tuned in and on task• Assume good intentions• Focus on students• Turn off cell phones or switch to vibrate

5Engineering Design Task• Cut a hole in an index card that is large

enough to pass your entire body through• Your finished product needs to be a

continuous piece of paper that has not been reattached in any way

• Work with a partner to accomplish this task • You have 20 minutes

6Reading: Appendix I (pp. 1-4)

Guiding Questions for Reading• What connections do you find between the

“index card hole” task and the Engineering Design elements in the NGSS?

• Can you think of examples of engineering design in the FOSS modules?

• Why is it a good idea to include engineering design in these new standards?

7Current CA Science StandardsGrade 1 Earth ScienceStudents know…

…that the weather changes from day to day but that trends in temperature or of rain (or snow) tend to be predictable during a season.

8Current CA Science StandardsGrade 1 Investigation and ExperimentationStudents will…

…record observations and data with pictures, numbers, or written statements.

9Current CA Science StandardsGrade 4 Life ScienceStudents know…

…producers and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers) are related in food chains and food webs and may compete with each other for resources in an ecosystem.

10Current CA Science StandardsGrade 4 Investigation and ExperimentationStudents will…

…formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships

11Timeline for Implementation• The current California Science Standards will

continue to be in effect for 2014-15 and 2015-16• Formal instructional shifts will begin in 2016-17• Full implementation will begin in 2017-18 with

anticipated adoption of new instructional materials

• The CST will continue to be administered in grade 5 during 2014-15 (possibly through 2016-17)

12Why New Standards?

The U.S. ranks 27th out of 29 developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving undergraduate degrees in science and engineering.SOURCE: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL


“The percentage of students who pursue careers in STEM-related fields is currently too low for the nation’s needs. Moreover, an ever-larger number of jobs require skills in these areas, along with those in English language arts and math.”SOURCE: A FRAMEWORK FOR K-12 SCIENCE EDUCATION


“Within five years, there will be 2.4 million STEM job openings.” SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES

15Why New Standards?Nearly 90 percent of high school graduates say they’re not interested in a career or a college major involving science, technology, engineering or math, known collectively as STEM, according to a survey of more than a million students who take the ACT test.SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES


The number of students who want to pursue engineering or computer science jobs is actually falling, precipitously, at just the moment when the need for those workers is soaring.SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES


18What is the Origin of the NGSS?

19NGSS Flowchart

National Framework

NGSS Standards

Instruction

State Curricula

State Assessments

Professional Development

20Organization of the NGSS

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS ARE STATEMENTS THAT DESCRIBE WHAT STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO AT THE END OF INSTRUCTION AND INCORPORATE ONE OR MORE SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES, DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS, AND CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS.

21Organization of the NGSS

22NGSS - Three DimensionsDimension 1 - Scientific and Engineering

Practices

The practices describe behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world and the key set of engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build models and systems.

23NGSS - Three DimensionsDimension 1 - Scientific and Engineering

Practices

1. Asking questions and defining problems

2. Developing and using models

3. Planning and carrying out investigations

4. Analyzing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Developing explanations and designing solutions

7. Engaging in argument8. Obtaining, evaluating, and

communicating information

24NGSS - Three DimensionsDimension 2 – Disciplinary Core Ideas

The NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas:• Have broad importance across multiple sciences or

engineering disciplines;• Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating

more complex ideas and solving problems;• Relate to the interests and life experiences of students

or are connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge;

• Are teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication.

25NGSS - Three Dimensions

Four Domains• Physical Sciences• Life Sciences• Earth and Space Sciences• Engineering, Technology and

Applications of Science

Dimension 2 – Disciplinary Core Ideas


Physical Sciences• PS1 - Matter and its interactions• PS2 - Motion and stability: Forces and

interactions• PS3 - Energy• PS4 - Waves and their applications in

technologies for information transfer



Life Sciences• LS1 - From molecules to organisms: Structures and

processes• LS2 - Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and

dynamics• LS3 - Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits• LS4 - Biological evolution: Unity and diversity



Earth and Space Sciences• ESS1 - Earth’s place in the universe• ESS2 - Earth’s systems• ESS3 - Earth and human activity



Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science• ETS1 - Engineering design• ETS2 - Links among engineering, technology,

science and society


30NGSS - Three DimensionsDimension 3 – Crosscutting Concepts

Crosscutting Concepts have applications across all domains of science. As such, they are a way of linking the different domains of science. These concepts need to be made explicit for students because they provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world.


1. PATTERNS2. CAUSE AND EFFECT3. SCALE, PROPORTION AND QUANTITY4. SYSTEMS AND SYSTEM MODELS5. ENERGY AND MATTER6. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION7. STABILITY AND CHANGE

Dimension 3 – Crosscutting Concepts


Integrating the Dimensions

• To facilitate students’ learning, the dimensions must be woven together in standards, assessments, curriculum, and instruction.

• Performance Expectations combine Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts into a single statement of what is to be assessed. They are not instructional strategies or objectives for a lesson.

33Performance Expectations

Because Performance Expectations and the foundation boxes in the NGSS describe learning outcomes, they are the basis for using backward design for the development or adaptation of curriculum and instruction. Simply stated, the performance expectation can and should be the starting point of backward design.

ROGER BYBEE, NGSS WRITING LEADERSHIP TEAM

34NGSS - Three DimensionsIntegrating the Dimensions Disciplinary

Core IdeasPractices

Crosscutting Concepts

35Reading: Scientific and Engineering Practices, pp. 42-44Guiding Question for Reading

Why is it important for students to engage in scientific and engineering practices?

36Black Boxes

Engaging ScenarioI found some black boxes. Each one has a round object inside. They are permanently glued and taped shut, so I can’t open them. Can you help me figure out what the inside of the these boxes look like?

37Black Boxes

Focus Question #1

What does the inside of your box look like? • Work in teams of two• Write a short description of what you think

the inside of the black box looks like and include a detailed drawing with labeled parts

• Focus on shape and location

38Black Boxes

Sharing IdeasLocate the chart paper for your box (A-D) and draw your team’s idea of what the inside of your black box looks like.

39Black Boxes

Collaboration & ConsensusGet together with another team that has the same black box (A-D) and come to consensus about what the inside of your black box looks like.

40Black Boxes

Consensus Drawing

Choose a representative from your combined group of four to draw a revised plan of your black box.

41Black Boxes

Focus Question #2

How did working with other scientists change your original thinking about your black box?

42Black Boxes

Debriefing the Experience• The term “black box” is a general term scientists

and engineers use to describe a system that works in mysterious or unknown ways.

• For most people, a TV is a black box. Electricity goes in and a picture miraculously appears on the screen. A telephone is another example of a black box.

• What are other examples of black boxes?

43Black Boxes

Debriefing the Experience• Which Science and Engineering Practices were

involved?• Which Disciplinary Core Ideas were involved?• Which Crosscutting Concepts were involved?• How does this activity connect to CCSS ELA and

math standards and practices?

44

Read about Practice 6 “Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions” pp. 67-70

A Closer Look at one of the Scientific and Engineering Practices

45Ice and Alcohol

46Group Performance Task• You and your partner will create a system that consists

of a plastic cup filled with isopropyl alcohol (100 ml) and four ice cubes.

• In your science notebook, make observations and detailed drawings (with labeled parts) of the system and changes to the system over time (15 minutes).

• Formulate questions and construct an explanation for the behavior of the system.

• Develop evidence that supports your explanation for the causes of the changes in the system.

47Individual Performance TaskWrite an explanation for the causes of the changes (effect) to the system. (A few volunteers will share their explanations.)

Teacher ReflectionWrite a reflection on the type of instruction that would lead students to develop high-quality evidence-based explanations.

Group DiscussionWhich elements of this activity reflect the nature of science?

48Ice and Alcohol

Debriefing the Experience• Which Science and Engineering Practices were

involved?• Which Disciplinary Core Ideas were involved?• Which Crosscutting Concepts were involved?• How does this activity connect to CCSS ELA and

math standards and practices?

49Scientific Explanations

The goal of science is to construct explanations for the causes of phenomena. Students are expected to construct their own explanations, as well as apply standard explanations they learn about from their teachers or reading.SOURCE: NGSS APPENDIX F

50Connections to the CCSS• The timing of the release of NGSS comes as most states

are implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

• The NGSS are aligned with the CCSS to ensure a symbiotic pace of learning in all content areas. The three sets of standards overlap in meaningful and substantive ways and offer an opportunity to give all students equitable access to learning standards.

SOURCE: NGSS APPENDIX A

51Practices in Mathematics, Science, and English Language

Arts*Math Science ELA

M1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.M2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.M3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.M4. Model with mathematics.M5. Use appropriate tools strategically.M6. Attend to precision.M7. Look for and make use of structure.M8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

S1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering).S2. Developing and using models.S3. Planning and carrying out investigations.S4. Analyzing and interpreting data.S5. Using mathematics, information and computer technology, and computational thinking.S6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering).S7. Engaging in argument from evidence.S8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

E1. They demonstrate independence.E2. They build strong content knowledge.E3. They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.E4. They comprehend as well as critique.E5. They value evidence.E6. They use technology and digital media strategically and capably.E7. They come to understanding other perspectives and cultures.

* The Common Core English Language Arts uses the term “student capacities” rather than the term “practices” used in Common Core Mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards.

52Connections to the CCSS

53

STEPHEN PRUITT, ACHIEVE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND LEAD DEVELOPER OF THE NGSS

“…continue to teach what you are currently teaching, but endeavor to modify how you teach it—align instruction with the guidance provided in the Framework regarding implementation of the scientific and engineering practices.”

What Can Teachers Do Right Now?

54Summary• We are all learning this together.• Engineering design in science will be new for CA.• Feel free to do more research by reading the

Framework and the NGSS.• Locate and examine NGSS science lessons on the

Internet to see how the three dimensions work together with the Performance Expectations.

• Begin to integrate the Scientific and Engineering Practices into your science lessons.

55Resources for Further Research and Learning• The Next Generation Science Standards: http://

www.nextgenscience.org• A Framework for K-12 Science Education http://

www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13165• NGSS Videos from Paul Anderson (Bozeman Science)http

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9SrSBGDNfU

http://www.nextgenscience.org/

http://www.nextgenscience.org/

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13165



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9SrSBGDNfU



56

Thank you!Heinrich SartinElementary Science SpecialistESC North OfficeEmail: [email protected]: (818) 654-3717

An Introduction to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

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