A Framework for K-12 Science Education Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012) / Chapter Skim
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10 Implementation: Curriculum, Instruction, Teacher Development, and Assessment
10 Implementation: Curriculum, Instruction, Teacher Development, and Assessment
Pages 241-276
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From page 241... ...
By "system" we mean the institutions and mechanisms that shape and support science teaching and learning in the classroom. Thus the system includes organization and administration at state, district, and school levels as well as teacher education, certification requirements, curriculum and instructional resources, assessment policies and practices, and professional development programs.
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From page 242... ...
For example, what students learn is clearly related to what they are taught, which itself depends on many things: state science standards; the instructional materials available in the commercial market and from organizations (such as state and federal agen cies) with science-related missions; the curriculum adopted by the local board of education; teachers' knowledge and practices for teaching; how teachers elect to use the curriculum; the kinds of resources, time, and space that teachers have for their instructional work; what the community values regarding student learning; and how local, state, and national standards and assessments influ ence instructional practice.
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From page 243... ...
creating processes for selecting curricula, purchasing curriculum materials, and determining the availability of instructional resources. District leaders develop local school budgets, set instructional priorities, 243 Implementation: Curriculum, Instruction, Teacher Development, and Assessment
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From page 244... ...
Districts may provide support structures and professional devel opment networks that enhance the capacity of schools and teachers to implement effective science curriculum, instruction, and formative assessments. The state level is a particularly important one for schools.
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However, classroom teachers in the lower grades may have some latitude in how they use instructional time to meet district and state mandates. In high school, by contrast, district and state graduation requirements affect the types and numbers of science courses that all students are required to take.
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From page 246... ...
Curricula based on the framework and resulting standards should integrate the three dimensions -- scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas -- and follow the progressions articulated in this report. In order to support the vision of this framework, standards-based cur ricula in science need to be developed to provide clear guidance that helps teach ers support students engaging in scientific practices to develop explanations and models [5, 21-24]
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From page 247... ...
Each stage in the sequence will develop students' understanding of particular sci entific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas while also deepening their insights into the ways in which people from all back grounds engage in scientific and engineering work to satisfy their curiosity, seek explanations about the world, and improve the built world. A major question confronting each curriculum developer will be which of the practices and crosscutting concepts to feature in lessons or units around a particular disciplinary core idea so that, across the curriculum, they all receive suf ficient attention [27]
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From page 248... ...
These values include respect for the importance of logical thinking, precision, open-mindedness, objectivity, skepticism, and a requirement for transparent research procedures and honest reporting of findings. Students need opportunities, with increasing sophistication across the grade levels, to consider not only the applications and implications of science and engi neering in society but also the nature of the human endeavor of science and engineering themselves.
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From page 249... ...
In addition, how are diverse stu dent backgrounds explicitly engaged as resources in struc turing learning experiences [36, 37]
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From page 250... ...
; the effects of project-based curricula and teaching practices [49] ; the effects of instruction on core ideas, such as the origin of species [50]
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That report defined the following four strands of proficiency, which it maintained are interwoven in successful science learning: 1. Knowing, using, and interpreting scientific explanations of the natural world.
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. The four strands imply that learning science involves learning a system of thought, discourse, and practice -- all in an interconnected and social context -- to accomplish the goal of working with and understanding scientific ideas.
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Thus they cannot guide standards, curricula, or assessment without further specification of the knowledge and practices that students must learn. The three dimensions that are developed in this framework -- practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas -- make that specifica tion and attempt to realize the commitments to the strands of scientific literacy in the four strands.
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From page 254... ...
Knowing, using, and Disciplinary Specify big ideas, not lists of facts: Core ideas in the framework are powerful explanatory interpreting scientific Core Ideas ideas, not a simple list of facts, that help learners explanations of the Crosscutting explain important aspects of the natural world. natural world Concepts Many important ideas in science are crosscutting, and learners should recognize and use these explanatory ideas (e.g., systems)
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. Engagement in the scientific and engineering practices and the undertaking of sustained investigations related to the core ideas and crosscutting concepts pro vide the strategies by which the four strands can be developed together in instruc tion.
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Teachers also need to understand what initial ideas students bring to school and how they may best develop an understanding of scientific and engineering prac tices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas across multiple grades [71]
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. Thus science teacher preparation must develop teachers' focus on, and deepen their under standing of the crosscutting concepts, disciplinary core ideas [98, 99]
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In effect, the framework calls for using a common language across grade levels for both scientific and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts. Engaging teachers in using this language during their preparation experiences is one strategy for ensuring that they develop facility and comfort with using it in the classroom.
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From page 259... ...
Science specific induction, and mentoring, and ongoing professional development for teachers at all stages of their careers, are needed. This professional development should not only be rich in scientific and engi neering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas but also be closely linked to teachers' classroom practices and needs [113]
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From page 260... ...
will require continuing professional development. It should be understood that effective implementation of the new standards may require ongoing professional development support and that this support may look different from earlier versions.
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From page 261... ...
More fundamentally, the education system currently lacks sophistication in understanding and addressing the different purposes of assessment and how they relate to each other and to the standards for a particular subject. For example, a glaring and frequent mistake is to assume that current standardized tests of the type 261 Implementation: Curriculum, Instruction, Teacher Development, and Assessment
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From page 262... ...
Most science assessments, whether intended for classroom or large-scale use, still employ paper-and-pencil presentation and response formats that are amenable only to limited forms of problem types. In fact, most large-scale tests are composed primarily of selected-response (multiple-choice)
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From page 263... ...
And they must provide evidence that students can apply their knowledge appropriately and are building on their existing knowledge and skills in ways that lead to deeper understanding of the scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. Science assessments must address all of these peda gogical goals while also meeting professional educators' standards for reliability, validity, and fairness.
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From page 264... ...
In order for students to experience and engage in the opportunities needed for understanding the three dimensions of sci entific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas described in the framework, many other players and components of the system will need to change, often in dramatic ways. And these changes will need to occur in parallel, driven by a common vision, as well as iteratively, because each affects the capacity of other components of the system to implement the framework and standards.
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From page 265... ...
Assessment developers will need to develop creative, valid, and reliable ways of gathering evidence about students' progress across the domains and grade levels to satisfy different purposes at different levels of the science education system. Furthermore, because these changes are needed across the entire science education system -- involving not only the educators at the front lines but also those who make and implement policies -- professional development for statelevel science supervisors, school boards, district-level leaders, principals, and curriculum specialists will be necessary as well.
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From page 266... ...
Committee on the Study of Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States, Center for Education. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
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From page 267... ...
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(10)
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From page 268... ...
. How novice science teachers appropriate epistemic discourses around model-based inquiry for use in classrooms.
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From page 269... ...
U.S. urban elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in teaching science to English language learners: Results from the first year of a professional development interven tion.
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From page 270... ...
. Urban elementary school teachers' knowledge and practices in teaching science to English language learners.
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From page 271... ...
. Improving teacher questioning in science inquiry discussions through professional development.
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From page 272... ...
. Contrasting landscapes: A comparison of the impact of different induction programs on beginning secondary science teachers' practices, beliefs, and experiences.
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From page 273... ...
. The effects of professional development on science teaching practices and classroom culture.
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From page 274... ...
. Helping elementary preservice teachers learn to use curricu lum materials for effective science teaching.
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From page 275... ...
. The construction of subject-matter knowledge in primary science teaching.
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