Preparing Students for a Lifetime of Success: Helping parents Understand the New Science Standards for Grades 6 – 8
New Jersey has adopted new science standards based on the Next Generation Science Standards because they understand that a robust science education in middle school will pave the way for increased opportunities in high school, college, and future careers. Teachers are able to offer all students interactive instruction that incorporates not only what scientists and engineers know, but how they think and what they do. Students incorporate these 3 dimensions of science to make sense of phenomena and/or to design solutions to problems.
The NGSS reflect the latest research and advances in modern science. The standards are arranged so that students can build on knowledge and skills gained during each grade by revisiting important concepts and expanding their understanding of connections across scientific domains. They emphasize three distinct, yet equally important dimensions that help students learn science. The dimensions are integrated and together build a powerful foundation to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time. Parents should understand that while some content may be similar to the past, it may look different from how they were taught. They require students to develop a deeper understanding of science beyond memorizing facts, and experience similar scientific and engineering practices as those used by professionals in the field.
During middle school, students will begin to form deeper connections between concepts previously learned in grades K-5. In 6th grade, Earth and Space Science units will explore topics including the solar system, the Earth’s history, and energy flows. Engineering design may explore how students can refine criteria and constraints when designing engineering solutions.
Highlights of the differences in Earth and Space Science can be found in the table below, and are meant to showcase the differences, not necessarily the specifics of what this course involves.
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Classroom activities will look less like this |
And more like this |
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Rote memorization of facts and terminology |
Facts and terminology learned as needed while developing explanations and designing solutions supported by evidence-based arguments and reasoning. |
|
Students reading textbooks and answering questions at the end of a chapter. |
Students reading multiple sources, including textbooks, science related magazine and journal articles, and web based resources; students developing summaries of information |
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Preplanned outcome for "cookbook" laboratories or hands-on activities |
Multiple investigations driven by students' questions with a range of possible outcomes that collectively lead to a deep understanding of established core scientific ideas. |
Feel free to reach out with questions, comments and/or concerns about these changes. I truly believe that this transformation will reignite the natural curiosities of a young child, and spark interest in pursuing 21st century careers founded in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
modified from nextgenscience.org