The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) reflect an ambitious vision for science
education where students investigate phenomena or solve problems through using and applying
disciplinary core ideas in concert with science and engineering practices and crosscutting
concepts. Because the NGSS are so different from prior standards, the need for high-quality
curriculum materials is especially great. As new curricula go to scale, it will be important to
conduct evidence-based research on their efficacy. We conducted a randomized experiment to
examine the efficacy of a widely available NGSS-designed middle school curriculum for
improving seventh grade students’ learning in physical science. A hierarchical linear modeling
approach was applied to analyze student learning outcomes as measured by an NGSS-aligned
assessment. Initial findings demonstrate evidence of promise of the curriculum materials for
supporting three-dimensional teaching and learning. The findings provide support for further
research on NGSS-designed materials at other grade levels and within other science domains.
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Developing and validating Next Generation Science Standards ‐aligned learning progression to track three‐dimensional learning of electrical interactions in high school physical science
The Framework for K‐12 science education (The
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10450017
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching
- Volume:
- 58
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0022-4308
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 589-618
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize integrating three dimensions of science learning: disciplinary core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. In this study, we develop formative assessments that measure student understanding of the integration of these three dimensions along with automated scoring methods that distinguish among them. The formative assessments allow students to express their emerging ideas while also capturing progress in integrating core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and practices. We describe how item and rubric design can work in concert with an automated scoring system to independently score science explanations from multiple perspectives. We describe item design considerations and provide validity evidence for the automated scores.more » « less
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Abstract Recent instructional reforms in science education aim to change the way students engage in learning in the discipline, as they describe that students are to engage with disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and the practices of science to make sense of phenomena (NRC, 2012). For such sensemaking to become a reality, there is a need to understand the ways in which students' thinking can be maintained throughout the trajectory of science lessons. Past research in this area tends to foreground either the curriculum or teachers' practices. We propose a more comprehensive view of science instruction, one that requires attention to teachers' practice, the instructional task, and students' engagement. In this study, by examining the implementation of the same lesson across three different classrooms, our analysis of classroom videos and artifacts of students' work revealed how the interaction of teachers' practices, students' intellectual engagement, and a cognitively demanding task together support rigorous instruction. Our analyses shed light on their interaction that shapes opportunities for students' thinking and sensemaking throughout the trajectory of a science lesson. The findings provide implications for ways to promote rigorous opportunities for students' learning in science classrooms.
