Core Ideas as the basis for teaching science

Problems in US Science Education

Problems in US Science Education

NRC & BOSE Reports Related to Learning

Strands of Scientific Proficiency1. Understanding scientific explanations2. Generating scientific evidence3. Reflecting on scientific knowledge4. Participating productively in scienceAdd two new strands: motivation/interest and identityNot separate goals — intertwined strands duringeffective learning and teaching.

Core Ideas and LearningProgressions• Major recommendation from research – organizestandards around core ideas and learningprogressions.• Study of science needs to reflect science.

Why Core Ideas and Learning Progressions?• Proficiency in science is more than knowingfacts. It is not a simple accumulation ofinformation.• Factual knowledge must be placed in aconceptual framework to be well understood.• Students need to learn how ideas are related toeach other, and their implications andapplications in the discipline.

Why Core Ideas and LearningProgressions?• Many ideas in science are complex or evencounter-intuitive.• It takes time (sometimes years) to fullyunderstand these ideas.• Learning is lifelong: Core Ideas = Big Ideas

Standards, Curricula, and Assessment:What to Teach and When• Revise standards, curricula and assessment to reflect newunderstanding of children’s thinking.• Next generation of standards and curricula should bestructured to identify a few core ideas in a discipline andhow these ideas can be grown in a cumulative mannerover grades K-8.• Developers of curricula and standards need to presentscience as a process of building theories and models usingevidence, checking them for internal consistency andcoherence, and testing them empirically.

Instruction: How to Teach• Science instruction should provide opportunities forstudents to engage in all six strands.• Policy makers, education leaders, and administrators needto ensure adequate time and resources are provided;teachers have adequate knowledge of science content; andadequate professional development is provided.• State and local leaders in education should provideteachers with models of classroom instruction thatincorporate the six strands.

VisionExemplary science standards are: CLEAR targets for instruction and assessment COHERENT concepts within and across disciplines MANAGEABLE for teachers and students

General Approach Identify a coherent set of Core Ideas Prioritize standards that support Core Ideas Eliminate nonessential content

Core Ideas are:• Central to the disciplines• Broad explanatory power• Integrates many key concepts• Understanding grows over the years

Core Ideas and Learning Progressions• Describe actual learning trajectories• Allow for stepping-stone concepts• Can be corrected with further research

Crosscutting Content• As important as disciplinary content• May include concepts such as:• Nature of science• Process of inquiry (The practice of science)• Engineering design• Unifying principles• Habits of mind• Strands from TSS & LSIE

Towards New Science Education Standardsaround Core Ideas• Develop a conceptual framework around core ideas• Improve framework based on stakeholder input• Craft new science education standards• Improve standards based on public and stakeholder input• Check standards against conceptual framework

An NRC Study Committee• Highly respected scientists from multipledisciplines• Experts on learning sciences• Experts on education systems and policy• Supported by 5 design teams

A framework for Standards• Develop transparent criteria for selecting core ideas• Delineate core ideas – “fewer, deeper, clearer, higher”• Versions of these for 4 th , 8 th , and 12 th grade toillustrate learning progressions• Illustrate performance expectations• Develop R&D agenda for future revisions

Fewer allows deeperCurrent tendency• Teach concepts without building underlyingprinciplesDesired pattern• Understanding of the connective tissue of ideas• Ability to evaluate and select information

Core concepts frameworkCore ideas of each sub-disciplinee.g. cellular basis of lifeCore ideas common across disciplinese.g. models of system with subsystems;energy flowCore skills, abilities and habits of mind (strands)e.g. interpretation of data &science argument from evidence

Critical challenges• Reaching consensus on what is core, at the right levelof detail, in each dimension• Defining these concepts appropriately for grades 4,8, and 12 (learning progression)• Showing some examples of performanceexpectations that honor all 3 axes of the frame

Process Principles• Transparency• Partnership• Broad involvement of stakeholders• Expert review

Process 1• Build on current initiatives and past experiences• Stakeholder meetings for informed input• Draft conceptual framework within 6 months• Public engagement and feedback

Process 2• Translation of draft conceptual framework intostandards (next: Achieve)• Revision of draft based on public input• Independent review• Final version in about 12-15 months• Review of standards based on framework within24-26 months

More than Core Ideas…

Board on Science EducationWebsitehttp://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/http://www.nas.edu/bose