Are you preparing to lead professional development for educators on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)? Need a little help with your planning? Explore this toolkit to find resources that will help you prepare to lead your own PD experience for educators.
We've compiled a professional development toolkit to share what we’ve learned during three years of running Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) trainings for hundreds of teachers throughout the Bay Area. The tools and activities included here:
are not intended to be an individual learning experience or self-guided course.
are not intended to be classroom activities for K-12 students.
ARE designed to help you facilitate successful NGSS training for a team of educators.
All of these activities are flexible and modular. You can use them all together, or just pick and choose a few that meet your needs. You can combine them with your own materials, adapt them to suit your specific audience, or just use them as they are. While suggestions for sequencing are provided, you can easily create your own learning pathway for your group of teachers.
However you choose to use these resources, the teachers you work with will gain knowledge, insight, and confidence about the NGSS!
Professional learning for: K-12 educators
Estimated time: two activities lasting approximately 30 minutes
Learning modes: presentation, group discussion, grade-level discussion
What is a performance expectation, and how do you read those colorful tables?
Use these activities to orient your team to the three dimensions of the NGSS: the Science and Engineering Practices, the Crosscutting Concepts, and the Disciplinary Core Ideas. Your educators will leave these activities equipped to read and interpret the NGSS tables—and may even say it’s a piece of cake!
Professional learning for: K-12 educators
Estimated time: three activities lasting approximately 35-50 minutes each
Learning modes: presentation, interactive, hands-on stations, group discussion, grade-level discussion, small-group work
What do scientists and engineers do?
This dimension of the NGSS engages students in actively doing science and thinking like a scientist—or an engineer! Bring these activities to your PD to help educators get familiar with the eight Practices, consider what they might look like in the classroom, and see how engineering fits in.
Professional learning for: K-12 educators
Estimated time: three activities lasting approximately 15-40 minutes each
Learning modes: presentation, interactive, hands-on stations, group discussion, grade-level discussion, small group work
How should the Crosscutting Concepts be used in the classroom?
Are they just a way to categorize activities or can they be a tool to deepen student learning? Help your educators get familiar with the seven Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs), and explore how applying different CCCs to the same content can bring out different learning outcomes.
Professional learning for: K-12 educators
Estimated time: one activity lasting approximately 35 minutes
Learning modes: presentation, small group discussion, group discussion
Is your team prepared to dig deeply into the new grade-level content?
The Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) are the content of the NGSS, and are organized in a hierarchy that develops key ideas from kindergarten through high school. Use these activities to introduce your educators to the structure of the DCIs and explore how content builds from one grade band to the next.
What does really good professional development look like?
Explore the foundations of successful teacher professional development. Learn best practices for setting group norms, designing PD for variable learning styles, and more. You will also find practical planning tools to help you set your PD goals and craft your agenda.
[Coming soon! Check back in November 2017.]
Since 2013, we've been recognized for professional development around the NGSS. Our introductory and intermediate courses have served over 600 teachers, many of whom lead training for school teams.
Each Academy workshop includes relevant science activities, thoughtful discussions, and the opportunity to connect with other educators. Please join us for some fun and meaningful professional development!
At the Academy, we take feedback seriously. Read some of the feedback—both positive and constructive—that our teacher professional development team received in 2015.
Which practice is in focus? Teachers visit stations to identify the main practice highlighted at each.
Help teachers connect their prior knowledge about science practices to this new conceptual framework.
Explore how the CCCs progress across grades and can be used to draw different ideas out of the same content.
Start your very first training by addressing some of the more straightforward questions about the NGSS.
The Disciplinary Core Ideas prioritize moving away from the “mile wide, inch deep” model of science learning.
Teachers leave this activity comfortable with the idea of bringing aspects of engineering into their classroom.
The Next Generations Science Standards (NGSS) are the nation's new K–12 science standards, rich in content and practice. The NGSS are arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines to provide all students an internationally-benchmarked science education.
Do you plan to use NGSS Demystified? Help us out! Tell us briefly why you are visiting these resources today.
The W. Richard Bingham Family provides generous support for online educational materials for teachers.
Environmental Literacy Initiative, major funding provided by
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