Top 5 Take Aways from AMLE

I’m one of the lucky ones.  I have been able to go to a couple of great national conferences over the years?  What makes them so great?  People!  Sharing!  More People! More Sharing!  Yup, you can do all that on social media, but how cool is it to meet those people you connect with on social media and not be limited by the amount of characters you can write?

When I do go, I am always on the lookout for creative ways to connect to kids and teach the standards.  Assuming that you might “want some of that”…I will share my top 5 takeaways of this year’s findings with you: 

1.       Got a kid who is intellectually curious?  Hook them up with a “Weekly dose of Curiosities and Puzzlements!”  Check out http://www.byrdseed.com/ for some great resources to get them thinking! 

2.       Spaghetti Towers – you’ve probably been challenged to build a spaghetti tower in your lifetime.  Simple materials, design challenge, etc.  Who do you think are the most creative people working on this challenge?  Check out this Ted Talk to find out!  While accepting the challenge (and failing) during session at the conference, the leaders kept adding constraints like “oh no, you are now working with people who do not speak your language, no talking for the next 5 minutes).  Fun, challenging, team building, design work, STEM principles, etc.

3.       Always looking for new tools!  Check out the Student-driven Blended Learning Classroom presentation page from @Mr_Hallerman and @haydabeck to see some examples organized by use – Create tools, Save tool, etc.

4.       Play Like a Pirate – Yup Quinn Rollins (@jedikermit), Curriculum Specialist at Granite Public Schools uses toys to teach Language Arts, History, Science.  Using us as his model classroom, we did some really great things with Playdough and Toy Packaging – he has included lots of templates on the right side of his home page to get kids writing bibliographies, etc.  Good stuff…funny guy, engaging activities…even Dave Burgess himself was participating!

5.       And then there’s S.N.O.T.  – stuff not on the test (not the real name of her session but….) by Debbie Silver. Wow.  So much powerful stuff in this workshop, I invited her to come to speak to us directly.  Have you seen this video?  Pretty powerful statement to get you thinking about how screen time is taking away from our ability to connect in person.  Check it out.  Great advisory topic. Can we auto-correct humanity?  Or How about this video “There’s no Dishonor in having a Disability?”

Debbie’s workshop made me laugh, made me cry, gave me specific strategies and activities to connect to my kids and help them connect with the people aroud them.  Check out her books Deliberate Optimism (co-authored with Jack Berckmeyer) or Fall down 7 times Get up 8-Teaching Kids to Succeed.  Like a breath of fresh air, she will help you bring out the joy in your life and your teaching!  Come see her in person at the NJAMLE Annual Conference on March 

Next Generation Science Standards: Are you ready for the future?

Our guest blogger is Thomas Misiak, Supervisor of Science & Technology at Bernards Township Schools

NGSS Overview

Effective September 1, 2016, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) for Science are being replaced by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for grades 6-12.  The NGSS were developed through the work of a multi-state consortium with 40 lead writers submitting their drafts and soliciting feedback from the educational and scientific communities at large before finalizing the current version of the NGSS.  This final version was adopted by the State of New Jersey during the Summer of 2013 with an extended deadline for adoption provided to schools in order research, prepare, and align before mandatory implementation.  The NGSS have been adopted by many other states which has aided in the availability of aligned instructional resources, curricular materials, and lab science supplies.  It is important to note that on the New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) refers to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards but, for science, these standards are the NGSS.

Locating the Standards

The NGSS, along with a multitude of supporting documents and research, can be found at www.nextgenscience.org.  These standards are also linked by grade band on the NJ DOE website under the science content area page.

Organization of the NGSS

The NGSS are first grouped into three grade bands: Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), and High School (9-12).  Within each grade band, the standards are then subdivided into the three main focal areas of science: Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Science.  Under each focal area, at each grade level, is a list of topics that outline the key points covered by the NGSS.

Structure of the Standards

The layout and verbiage of the NGSS are what make them distinctly innovative and refreshing in comparison to the NJCCCS.  The structure of the NGSS is initially complex but designed to ensure science literacy and 21st century learning are outcomes of K-12 science instruction.  The overriding standards- those which should be denoted in curriculum documents and lesson plans- are the Performance Expectations.   These Performance Expectations are grouped by topic and given prefixes to denote grade band like HS for High School and MS for Middle School.  At the elementary level, these prefixes are grade specific (K for Kindergarten, 2 for grade 2, etc.) as the NGSS do specifically outline the topics at each grade K-5.  Beneath the Performance Expectations, the NGSS are broken into three components: Science & Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Cross-Cutting Concepts.  Each of these components, frequently referred to as strands, are explained below.

Science & Engineering Practices

This first strand, found in blue beneath the performance expectations, outlines the skill set that students should develop by virtue of addressing the content linked to the overruling standards.  These key aspects are very student-centered and focus not upon the content but upon how the content will enable that student to develop their 21st century skills.  Appendix F, an accompaniment component of the NGSS found on the standards website, outlines the eight different science and engineering practices that are thematic throughout the standards.  It is important to note that not all eight practices are denoted within each topic but, across an entire curriculum or grade level students will be exposed to all eight practices a multitude of times.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs)

The DCIs outline the key concepts that students should understand once they have mastered the associated topic.  This strand of the NGSS is most like the 2009 NJCCCS however it is important to note that there are a number of focal points that have changed- some aspects of the 2009 NJCCCS have been eliminated to make room for the newer 21st century focal points of the NGSS.  Appendix E, one of the aforementioned accompaniments to the NGSS, contains detailed information and support for educators regarding the DCIs.

Cross-Cutting Concepts

There are seven cross-cutting concepts that appear as recurring themes throughout the NGSS.  These concepts were embedded to enable educators to help students make horizontal and vertical connections as they progress through units, topics, subjects, grade levels, and courses.  Like the other the other two strands, there is supporting appendix, Appendix G, to provide additional clarification and support.

Supplemental Materials & Support

Beyond the website for the NGSS, the single most relevant resource is the NRC’s “Framework for K-12 Science Education.”  This was a guiding document in the creation of the NGSS and provided educators with vital insight and understanding in the the effective classroom implementation of the standards.

In addition to this resource, http://www.bozemanscience.com/ngss/ includes an array of videos that explain the NGSS and how content should be directed for optimal alignment.  This resource has proven to be particularly useful to both content experts and novices alike.

Common Questions & Misconceptions about the NGSS

• The NGSS is not a curriculum.  A common misunderstanding is the “topics” of the NGSS should be used to create the units.  This is not correct and doing so will not create a cohesive, aligned, comprehensive science program.
• “Engineering” should not be a stand-alone unit.  The 2009 NJCCCS included as component of science and safety practices.  The engineering foci of the NGSS are comparable to this aspects of the NJCCCS in the sense that they should be an embedded, thematic component of every unit.
• Middle School Sequencing is outlined in Appendix K of the NGSS accompaniments.  This is a research-supported, adjusted sequence.  It is possible to align to the NGSS without adopting this structure/sequence but this sequence, which is presented as a spiraling approach, was designed to avoid curricular gaps and to optimize the use of the cross-cutting concepts to support student learning.
• When will the NJ ASK 8 Science Assessment be revised to reflect the NGSS?  According to Michael Heinz at the NJ DOE, in May 2017 the NJ ASK 8 will reflect both the 2009 NJCCCS and the NGSS with the assessment to be fully revised, with likely computer-based administration, projected to occur in May 2018.

For any additional questions or to receive direct support you may contact Thomas Misiak at tmisiak@bernardboe.com