The National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States in Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states. The National Academies Press, Washington, 2013) move teaching away from covering many isolated facts to a focus on a smaller number of disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) and crosscutting concepts that can be used to explain phenomena and solve problems by engaging in science and engineering practices. The NGSS present standards as knowledge-in-use by expressing them as performance expectations (PEs) that integrate all three dimensions from the Framework for K-12 Science Education. This integration of core ideas, practices, and crosscutting concepts is referred to as three-dimensional learning (NRC in Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. The National Academies Press, Washington, 2014). PEs state what students can be assessed on at the end of grade level for K-5 and at the end of grade band for 6–8 and 9–12. PEs do not specify how instruction should be developed nor do they serve as objectives for individual lessons. To support students in developing proficiency in the PEs, the elements of the DCIs will need to be blended with various practices and crosscutting concepts. In this paper, we examine how to design instruction to support students in meeting a cluster or “bundle” of PEs and how to blend the three dimensions to develop lesson level PEs that can be used for guiding instruction. We provide a ten-step process and an example of that process that teachers and curriculum designers can use to design lessons that meet the intent of the Next Generation of Science Standards.Planning Instruction to Meet the Intent of the Next Generation Science StandardsJoseph Krajcik,Susan Codere,Chanyah Dahsah,Renee Bayer, Kongju Mun
The fourth step requires an even closer examination of the DCI(s) and PE(s) to determine what student understandings need to be developed. This step requires an unpacking of the ideas in each of the PEs. This step takes into consideration prior PEs that serve as the foundation for the current PEs. Think of unpacking as a process of determining which ideas are critical for the learner. Unpacking involves breaking apart and expanding the various concepts to elaborate the various content statements (Krajcik, McNeill, & Reiser, 2008). MS-PS1-2 requires that students understand properties of substances and that matter is made up of atoms. The ideas of properties and atoms are both developed from 5th grade PEs on the Structure and Properties of Matter: 5-PS1-1. Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and 5-PS1-3. Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties. Part of the instructional process would be to assess w
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The unpacking process also requires a careful examination of Appendix E, Progressions within NGSS, to identify other prior ideas students might need. Appendix E identies that students should develop the following understanding by the end of 5th grade for PS1.A Properties and Structure of Matter:
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Matter exists as particles that are always conserved even if they are too small to see. Measurements of a variety of observable properties can be used to identify particular substances (NGSS Lead States, 2013, p. 7). For students entering middle school, we would expect the science teacher to build from this level of understanding of the ideas. Using various forms of assessment, the teacher needs to assess students level of understanding and, if not attained, support students in developing these foundational ideas before engaging students in more advanced ideas. For understanding chemical reactions in middle school, determine if students understand particles and properties, which are ideas referred to in various PEs in the fth grade. It is critical to ask, What prior knowledge and experiences about the DCIs and scientic practices did students develop in previous grade levels? (See progressions of DCIs, practices, and crosscutting concepts in NGSS Appendices E, F, and G.)
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Step 5: Select Additional Science and Engineering Practices In this step, determine which of the practices work best with the elements of DCI and crosscutting concepts. To support students in building prociency in the bundle of PEs, and in the components in the PEs, the elements of the DCI need to be blended with various science and engineering practices. This will ensure that students develop deep understandings of the elements as well as build prociency in all the practices. However, not all the practices will necessarily work with all of the DCIs. In selecting the various practices, refer to Appendix F, Science and Engineering Practices in NGSS. 123 168
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