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Currently Skimming:

2 Preschool and Elementary Systems and Structures
Pages 31-52

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 31...
... • On average, there is substantially less instructional time devoted to science compared to English language arts and mathematics. • Science and engineering instructional policies, standards, and teaching practices from preschool to elementary grades lack alignment and coherence.
From page 32...
... Specifically, the committee discusses how national policies drive accountability and standards; then the committee details the impact of state standards, accountability, funding, and policies on critical factors like instructional time and instructional materials that impact children's access to meaningful science and engineering learning experiences. Throughout the chapter, the emphasis is primarily on the elementary system, which is where the majority of evidence exists with respect to systems and policies related to science and engineering education.
From page 33...
... FIGURE 2-1 Components of the K–12 education system and their interactions. FIGURE 2-1 Components of the K–12 education system and their interactions.
From page 34...
... The vision for science and engineering education reflected in the Framework promotes learning experiences that engage children in the activities of scientists and engineers as they develop and use understanding. The Framework was informed by past research and national recommendations for science education which were then reflected in many state science standards (see Box 2-1)
From page 35...
... The Framework outlines goals for what children should know and be able to do at particular grade bands and showcases progressions in learning, illustrating possible development over time. To work toward the ideals of the Framework, science and engineering educators need to work to address systemic oppres sion at all levels -- for Black, Brown, and Indigenous children and other children of color; children with learning disabilities and/or learning differences; emergent multilingual children; and children marginalized on the basis of gender.
From page 36...
... Several national publishers have designed science instructional materials addressing the NGSS. Commercially published textbooks or modules are designated for use in two-thirds of elementary teachers' classrooms nationally (Banilower et al., 2018)
From page 37...
... Although districts are provided substantial decision-making power through local control, in many ways SEAs and state legislatures indicate the priorities through policy decisions by which districts, schools and classroom teachers operate. These policies influence decisions about several aspects of preschool through elementary science and engineering education and shape the learning experiences of children.
From page 38...
... -- school districts shape the vision for preschool through elementary science and engineering education in schools; central office leaders have the authority to align resources and support to enact this vision through many of the elements depicted in the lowest level of Figure 2-1. Resources include fiscal resources for the adoption of high-quality instructional materials and associated professional development, as well as human resources to appoint instructional support staff (e.g., content specialists or coaches)
From page 39...
... Enactment of the ideas presented in the Framework requires substantial changes to teaching and learning, and these changes will depend on building toward a common vision for preschool and elementary science and engineering education held by teachers, leaders and other education stakeholders (vertical coherence) , and alignment of all components in the system to that vision (horizontal coherence)
From page 40...
... provides a review of test-based accountability policies and implications for K–12 science teaching and learning with some studies focusing on elementary settings and a subset examining effects with historically marginalized populations. In elementary school, instructional time for science is not usually mandated at the state level but is left up to districts, school leaders, or individual teachers (Blank, 2013)
From page 41...
... . Therefore, the elementary grades -- particularly the lower elementary grades, often called the primary grades -- often include little instructional time for science (or social studies, or informational text of any kind)
From page 42...
... Although NCLB required states to adopt science standards at all grade levels, state science assessments were not required until 2007; policies only required states to assess science once in grades 3–5 and did not require them to incorporate science assessment results as part of accountability measures determined by AYP (Judson, 2013)
From page 43...
... Other states do not set forth specific amounts of time for reading instruction daily but do recommend it. Data from the Schools and Staffing Survey of teachers conducted from 1987 through 2008 provide insights into the amount of instructional time allocated for science and other core academic subjects in elementary grades before and after NCLB were enacted (Blank, 2013; Snyder, Dillow, and Hoffman, 2009)
From page 44...
... On the other hand, about 40 percent of the teachers reported teaching science 3 or fewer days each week, and another 40 percent reported teaching science some weeks but not every week. In terms of instructional time, teachers reported teaching science about 20 minutes per day on average, with fewer instructional minutes (17)
From page 45...
... . Elementary teachers who participated in the NSSME+ indicated that engineering concepts and skills received the least attention in the instructional time devoted for science instruction, indicating that children are provided less time for engineering education in elementary.
From page 46...
... . Impact of NCLB and ESSA on Equity and Opportunities for Improvement In many ways, rather than redressing inequities, these policies have exacerbated inequities in elementary science and engineering.
From page 47...
... This makes foundational science and engineering essential for success in later grade levels and postsecondary settings, and requires that all children have access to these foundational learning experiences starting in preschool and continuing throughout all elementary grades. Yet the instructional time data presented above make clear that this is not currently the case.
From page 48...
... TABLE 2-3 Recommended Progression for Building Understanding 48 By the End of Grade 2 By the End of Grade 5 By the End of Grade 8 By the End of Grade 12 Heating or cooling a substance When two or more different Substances react chemically in Chemical processes, their rates, may cause changes that can be substances are mixed, a new characteristic ways. In a chemical and whether or not energy observed.
From page 49...
... As a result of this funding flexibility, schools have fewer restrictions on how they might utilize federal funds to achieve school improvement efforts or support subgroup populations of children. Although the flexibility offers the possibility for schools to utilize funds for the purpose of improving elementary science and engineering education, if schools continue to feel the pressure to prioritize ELA and mathematics, the flexibilities could further reduce the amount of funding schools allocate to elementary science and engineering education.
From page 50...
... Without time devoted to science and engineering, children do not have access. The chapter shows how instructional time for science has steadily dropped over recent decades, with concomitant increases in the instructional time for mathematics and, especially, for English language arts.
From page 51...
... With time for science instruction declining steadily over the past 20 years under the accountability pressures associated with other subjects like English language arts and mathematics, it will be challenging for teachers to provide the science and engineering learning experiences preschool and elementary children deserve and need to be proficient in later grades and postsecondary science and engineering courses and fields. For children with learning disabilities and/or learning differences, emergent multilingual learners, or those not meeting benchmark proficiencies for reading, writing, and mathematics, time for science and engineering instruction is further limited or absent completely as they are pulled for remediation or additional support services.


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