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Open source for opening minds

New OpenSciEd materials support science standards

By Katherine L. McNeill and Brian J. Reiser

December 2018

Vol. 39 No. 6

It is an exciting time for science education. Many states have adopted new standards guided by the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science (National Research Council, 2012), either the Next Generation Science Standards (Next Generation Science Standards Lead States, 2013) or standards developed according to these National Research Council guidelines. More than 60% of U.S. school children are being educated in states in which Next Generation Science Standards or other framework-derived standards have been adopted. This vision demands a central role for students to engage in science and engineering practices to build and use science ideas, rather than solely learning about the science others have done (Schwarz, Passmore, & Reiser, 2017). These new standards cannot be achieved by a teacher telling students science vocabulary

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Authors

Katherine L. McNeill and Brian J. Reiser

Katherine L. McNeill ([email protected]) is professor of science education at Boston College. Brian J. Reiser ([email protected]) is professor of learning sciences at Northwestern University.

References

Harris, C.J., Penuel, W.R., D’ Angelo, C.M., DeBarger, A.H., Gallagher, L.P., Kennedy, C.A., Cheng, B.H., & Krajcik, J.S. (2015). Impact of project-based curriculum materials on student learning in science: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(10), 1362-1385.

McNeill, K.L., González-Howard, M., Katsh-Singer, R., & Loper, S. (2017). Moving beyond pseudoargumentation: Teachers’ enactments of an educative science curriculum focused on argumentation. Science Education, 101(3), 426-457.

Michaels, S. & O’Connor, C. (2017). From recitation to reasoning: Supporting scientific and engineering practices through talk. In C.V. Schwarz, C.M. Passmore, & B.J. Reiser (Eds.), Helping students make sense of the world through next generation science and engineering practices (pp. 311-336). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2015). Science teachers’ learning: Enhancing opportunities, creating supportive contexts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

National Research Council (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts and core ideas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

National Research Council. (2015). Guide to implementing the Next Generation Science Standards. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Next Generation Science Standards Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Reiser, B.J., Novak, M., & McGill, T.A.W. (2017). Coherence from the students’ perspective: Why the vision of the framework for K-12 science requires more than simply “combining” three dimensions of science learning. Washington, DC: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Board on Science Education.

Schwarz, C.V., Passmore, C.M., & Reiser, B.J. (Eds.). (2017). Helping students make sense of the world through next generation science and engineering practices. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.

Katherine L. McNeill

Professor of Science Education at Boston College | + posts

Katherine L. McNeill is the Bryk faculty fellow and professor of science education at Boston College. Her research focuses on the design and scale of curriculum, professional learning and other resources to support students, teachers and instructional leaders in equitable scientific sensemaking. Currently, she is researching the customization and scale up of a highly rated open source science curriculum (OpenSciEd). McNeill has published the findings from her work in over 85+ publications including books, book chapters, and journal articles for both educational researchers and practitioners.