Welcome Collaborators & Colleagues to NGSS Learning, a Land of Opportunity

Challenges and grappling with them, a perfect way to start my new Next Generation Science Standards learning blog site. Lots of decisions to make and then review results , followed by revisions. Going through this process felt an awful lot like an engineering design process to me. The engineering design process I am most familiar with comes from Engineering is Elementary.

One of my early decisions was to decide whether to use the free site or pay for the upgrade. Although I ‘m still not sure exactly what I am paying for I know that  I will be much more likely to commit the everyday questioning and reflecting  I do while trying to make a difference in science for K-5 students to paper or to computer. That decision being made I have struggled trying to find an appropriate theme for this new site. Definitely in need of knowledgeable colleagues to assist with this problem! I am not wed to the current set up so if you happen to read this and have suggestions to make this more appealing please let me know.I am hoping for help from science #eduhero colleagues.

One thing of which I am certain and it may be the only one is that NGSS is a Land of Opportunity. Teachers need to open the gates! NGSS provides a world of excitement and learning for all students regardless of the race, the socioeconomic status, gender, or ability. There is a level of accessibility never before addressed in the science standards. As an educator when I am planning science instruction I need to plan for ALL students.

I will continue investigating, experimenting  and changing variables to create an engaging site where three-dimensional science will be the norm. I hope we have many dialogues about anchoring phenomenon, driving questions, and relevant , meaningful learning experiences for students. Formative assessment, assessment for learning will be evident in the pages and post on these sites as well as performance tasks which can then be used as summative classroom assessments. Looking forward to discussing and really thinking about the integration of disciplines and how we can make it happen and keep the integrity of all the disciplines, As I learn more about proficiency-based learning and how it is reported I hope discussion grows. To do all this and much , much more I need high expectations for myself.  I cannot do it with out an open mind to new learning. Having a growth mindset will be an absolute necessity for any of this to happen because every time I dig into a particular standard, I find myself grappling with new ideas. What exactly does this mean? What anchoring phenomenon will make this learning relevant to my students. As I read over what I have written I have certainly set a bar high enough for myself. Just from this post alone I see 9 or 10 potential topics. I hope you will join me as I begin this science expedition .

Kathy

And maybe follow me @krsciencelady or on Facebook where I focus mostly on education but I do stray to family once in awhile.

 

6 thoughts on “Welcome Collaborators & Colleagues to NGSS Learning, a Land of Opportunity

  1. Thank you Kathy for your posts. They will be helpful as our science leadership team continues to support teachers.
    Looking forward to the next post!

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