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Science

Science is central to the lives of all Americans, preparing them to be informed citizens in a democracy and knowledgeable consumers.

Wadding Elementary School
Waddington Elementary School, East Providence
Teacher Donna Long with students testing water quality

There is no doubt that science — and therefore, science education — is central to the lives of all Americans. Never before has our world been so complex and scientific literacy is critical to making sense of it all. Science is also at the heart of America's ability to continue innovating, leading, and creating jobs for the future. That’s why all students, regardless of whether they pursue college or STEM careers, should have access to high-quality K–12 science education (NGSS.org., 2013). 

The goal of the K–12 Framework is to provide all students with experiences in the science and engineering practices to gain knowledge and an appreciation of the natural world and be able to engage in public discussion on related topics; to foster critical consumers of scientific and technological information in the world they live in; prepare a foundation for pursuing STEM careers; and to continue to learn about science outside of school regardless of the career paths they choose (National Research Council, 2012). 

RIDE creates conditions for every Rhode Island student to think critically and collaboratively, and act as a creative, self-motivated, culturally and globally competent learner. Rhode Island students are prepared to lead fulfilling and productive lives, succeed in academic and employment settings, and contribute meaningfully to society (RIDE Strategic Plan, 2021). 

Science Curriculum Frameworks

The Science Curriculum Framework provides guidance around the implementation of the standards, particularly as it relates to the design and use of curriculum materials, instruction, and assessment.

The frameworks streamline a vertical application of standards and assessment across the K–12 continuum within Tier 1 of a Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS), increase opportunities for all students, including multilingual learners and differently-abled, to meaningfully engage in grade-level work and tasks, and ultimately support educators and families in making decisions that prioritize the student experience. These uses of the curriculum frameworks align with RIDE’s overarching commitment to ensuring all students have access to high-quality curriculum and instruction that prepares students to meet their postsecondary goals.

View the Frameworks online.

NGSS Information and Resources

Next Generation Science Standards

Since Rhode Island's adoption of The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013, Rhode Island public schools have been working toward full implementation by aligning their curriculum and instruction to the three-dimensional model of science teaching and learning reflected in the NGSS.

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released on April 9, 2013 thus completing a two-step process for their development through the partnership of the National Research Council (NRC), the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Achieve. The first step of the process was been led by The National Academies of Science, a non-governmental organization commissioned in 1863 to advise the nation on scientific and engineering issues. The National Research Council (NRC), the functional staffing arm of the National Academies of Science, developed the Framework for K-12 Science Education. The Framework is grounded in the most current research on science and science learning and has identified the science all K–12 students should know.

In step two, managed by Achieve, Rhode Island and 26 other states led the development of the NGSS which are designed to actively engage students in scientific and engineering practices by applying crosscutting concepts to deepen their understanding of the core ideas in science. The Rhode Island Department of Education is proud to have been a Lead State Partner in the development of NGSS. Working as a Lead State, Rhode Island, which was the first state to adopt the NGSS in the spring of 2013, provided leadership and input to the writers of the NGSS as the standards moved through the development process.

NGSS Basics

Foundations of NGSS

Next Generation Science Standards Web Site
NGSS Organized by topic or by disciplinary core ideas
Rhode Island as an NGSS Lead State
Next Generation Science Standards downloadable textbook
A Framework for K-12 Science Education
Commonly Used Abbreviations [PDF, 165KB]
The NSTA Readers’ Guide to A Framework for K-12 Science Education
NGSS Introduction and Overview
NGSS Evidence Statements
Nature of Science Connections in the NGSS (NSTA)

NGSS Appendices

Supporting Publications/Articles

Ready, Set, Science summarizes findings from the learning sciences and builds detailed cases of science educators at work to make the implications of research clear, accessible, and stimulating for a broad range of science educators
Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade
The Second Dimension Crosscutting Concepts
Understanding the Three Dimensions of the NGSS
Three-Dimensional Instruction
Three Common Myths About NGSS (NSTA)

Websites

NGSS@NSTA
STEM Teaching Tools
National Association for Research in Science Teaching NGSS Papers
National Academies Press
Next Gen Navigator Newsletters -- a monthly e-newsletter delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction.

Videos

Charts/Posters

Implementation

Observation and Classroom Walkthrough Tools

Instructional Leadership for Science Practices

Professional Development

Curriculum Development

Phenomena

Qualities of a Good Anchor Phenomenon (Research and Practice)
Using Phenomena in NGSS-Designed Lessons and Units
Heuristic for Coming up with Academically Productive Phenomena (TJ McKenna)
Criteria for Evaluating Phenomena (NSTA)
Using Phenomena in NGSS-Designed Instruction (Video)
Phenomena for NGSS (TJ McKenna)
National Geographic Phenomena A Science Salon
Science News for Students

Course Mapping

NGSS Alignment Tools and High Quality Instructional Materials

Curriculum Alignment Tools: Achieve has developed a range of tools that can be used to evaluate science instructional materials for their alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards. The NGSS Lesson Screener is primarily to evaluate lesson-level materials while the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) Rubric 3.0 can be applied to units of instruction or assessment tasks. The Primary Evaluation of Essential Criteria for NGSS Instructional Materials Design (PEEC) is a tool that was designed to evaluate comprehensive science instructional materials programs (kits, textbooks, modules).
High Quality Instructional Materials: Achieve also has posted examples of high quality instructional materials that have been evaluated by the EQuIP Peer Review Panel for Science. Science units that have earned the highest rating on the EQuIP Rubric are designated with the NGSS Design Badge.
To access these Achieve tools and resources, including facilitator guides, please go to the Achieve web page on Evaluating Instructional Materials.

Engineering

Integration of Technology

Appendix J. Science, Technology, Society, and the Environment

Assessment

Reports and Articles

Stanford NGSS Assessment Project (SNAP) – Research articles, sample tasks
How to Assess Three-Dimensional Learning in the Classroom: Building Assessment Tasks that Work – These are also on the OER and focus on designing and interpreting assessment tasks for three-dimensional learning.
Introduction to Formative Assessment to Support Equitable 3D Instruction – a series of modules with tools that could be used by educators to facilitate workshops in their district. These module were created by top experts in the area of NGSS-aligned assessments are freely accessible through the OER Commons Platform.
Formative Assessment for NGSS A Proposed Model – Review of literature on formative assessment and proposed conceptual model for design and implementation of assessments for NGSS

Sample NGSS Assessments

Crosscutting Concepts Flip Charts – a set of charts that can be used as formative assessments for the crosscutting concepts; an elementary set and a secondary set of cards are available
Classroom Sample Assessment Tasks (Achieve, on NGSS website)
Next Generation Science Assessment – Free online formative assessments for middle school physical and life sciences; high quality technology-enhanced items. Teacher resources such as guidance documents and rubrics will be added. Developed by leaders in NGSS-designed assessments.
Stanford NGSS Assessment Project – Resources from leading NGSS assessment experts. Website includes sample assessments, professional development, and research articles and reports.
ACESSE Project – Open ed resources consisting of PD modules on 3D formative assessment. All resources for PD facilitators including slides, speaker notes, guide and embedded resources are available. Links to individual modules:
PhET Interactive Simulations – (UC Boulder) Open resource with excellent interactive simulations for all levels and domains in science.
The Concord Consortium – this is a great site with sample interactive tasks searchable by combinations of DCI, practice and CCC; including Molecular Workbench, an open source site with interactive simulations
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Questions Tool – NAEP Science questions from the 2011 or later assessments are somewhat three-dimensional in nature; computer simulations representative of likely format of NGSS assessment tasks

STEM Teaching Tools on Assessment

Common Core Connections

Appendix L. Connections to Common Core State Standards – Mathematics
Appendix M. Connections to Common Core State Standards – Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
Venn Diagram of SEPs, ELA and Mathematical Practices (NSTA)
Explanation of Venn Diagram (NSTA)
Newsela – Free site that presents texts on current science topics with the ability to change the lexile level and provide a variety of versions of the same article.
Literacy for Science – Downloadable publication on National Academies Press that addresses the integration of Common Core ELA standards in science.
Relationships and Convergences of CCSS and NGSS – (Understanding Language at Stanford University)
Exploring the Science Framework: Making connections in math with the CCSS
Literacy for Science: Exploring the Intersection of the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core for ELA Standards – A Workshop Summary – The report summarizes presentations and discussions at a workshop by the Board on Science to discuss possible areas of synergy between the NGSS and the CCSS-ELA and CCSS-Math.

Diversity and Equity

STEM Teaching Tools See #15,27, and 31
Appendix D. All Standards, All Students (Diversity and Equity) – Case Studies
Language Demands and Opportunities in Relation to NGSS
http://ngcproject.org/engaging-girls-stem
Language Demands and Opportunities in Relation to Next Generation Science Standards for English Language Learners: What Teachers Need to Know – H. Quinn, O. Lee, G. Valdez [PDF, 196KB]
Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards for Diversity and Equity – Ohkee Lee [PPT, 846KB]
Supporting the Implementation of Equity – A. Gallard, F. Mensag, W. Pitts [PDF, 199KB]
Blueprint for Multilingual Learners Success

Instructional Resources

Next Gen Navigator Newsletters – A monthly e-newsletter delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning-opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction.
Smithsonian Science How – Excellent resource that connects your students via video webcasts and online text chats to Smithsonian research and experts. Free media-rich instructional resources are also available through the site.
Science Friday Educator Collaborative – An educator collaborative comprised of experienced educators who were selected from hundreds of applicants based on their exceptional approaches to STEM teaching and enthusiasm. Five of the seven teachers are from states that have adopted the NGSS. Check out the resources on their website, and the SciFri monthly education newsletter (you can sign up to receive Science Friday experiments and lesson idea each month)
PhET Interactive Simulations (UC Boulder) – Open resource with excellent interactive simulations for all levels and domains in science.
The Concord Consortium – This is a great site with sample interactive tasks searchable by combinations of DCI, practice and CCC; including Molecular Workbench, an open source site with interactive simulations
HHMI Biointeractive – Free science multimedia resources, including apps, animations, videos, interactives, and virtual labs with associated teacher guides and classroom activities.
MIT Blossoms – Free video lessons for high school available as streaming video, internet downloads and DVDs. 50-minute lessons include video segments, teacher’s guide, downloadable handouts and list of online resources.
Ecology Disrupted – High quality NGSS-aligned case study units developed by American Museum of Natural History for middle or high school students. Ecology Disrupted uses videos about scientific research to introduce students to environmental impacts that arise from familiar everyday human behaviors. As students work with the researchers' data and analyses, they see how these impacts disrupt normal ecological functions even as they make everyday life more convenient. Students are asked to consider how changing everyday activity might mitigate the human impact on the ecology of the natural world.
San Francisco Unified School District Middle School Science Core Curriculum – Instructional units for 6^th grade are currently available with 7^th and 8^th grade ones in development. These are NGSS-designed project-based lessons utilizing the 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). Evidence-based reasoning for scientific explanations and engineering solutions to address real world problems is emphasized.
Achieve Website: Quality Examples of Science Lessons and Units – These are lessons and units that have been evaluated by the EQuIP Peer Review Panel for Science and found to be Examples of High Quality NGSS Design, Examples of High Quality NGSS Design if Improved, or Quality Works in Progress. Check the site regularly for added lessons/units.

2021-2022 Science COP Calendar

Click on a session date to register, and Zoom information will be emailed to you.
All meetings will take place from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays:

Session Materials

Session Date	Session Materials
5/17/22	Slide Deck: Analyzing and Interpreting NGSA Summative Results 2022
4/12/22	Supporting Students with Analyzing and Interpreting Data
3/15/22	Slide Deck: Opportunities to Teach Computational Thinking in your Science Classroom [PDF]
2/15/22	Slide Deck: Supporting Students with Developing and Using Models [PDF]
1/18/22	Slide Deck: Writing for Science and Engineering Practices; Constructing Explanations/Designing Solutions and Engaging in Argument from Evidence [Google Slides] Shared Writing Resources [PDF] Community Shared Writing Resources You Can Add to [Google Doc]
11/16/2021	Slide Deck: Creating a Culture of Productive Science Discourse to Support Constructing Explanations and Engaging in Argumentation [Google Slides]
10/19/2021	Slide Deck: Engaging in the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices Session 1 [Google Slides] Session Recording [Google Drive]
1/4/2021	Planning Virtual Science a Week at a Time [PDF]
11/5/2020	Dive Into Digital Science Notebook Strategies and Formative Assessment [Google Slides]
10/6/2020	Increase Engagement and Accessibility with Video for Distance Learning [Google Slides]
8/26/2020	Starting the Year Strong in Science [Google Slides]

Resources

Resources from 10/5/2020

Resources for Digital Interactive Notebooking

NSTA Article: Highlights the value of using interactive notebooks with students.
Edutopia Blog post: Blog from a high school science teacher who gives reasoning for the use of interactive notebooks at the secondary level.
Sadler Science: Outlines a table of contents method for organizing parts of the notebook with a video showing how to include different types of media/student products.
Tech Tidbits: A selection of how-to videos and templates for interactive notebooks; not limited to science.
Teacher Tech FB Group: Facebook group that collaborates on the use of DINBs as well as other educational tech. Over 30K members in all subject areas and grade levels.
Padlet of Interactive Notebook Links from Webert Science: Templates and ideas for incorporating phenomena and summary tables into interactive (not necessarily digital) notebooks. Includes high school examples.

	Erin Escher
	401-222-8168