Conceptual Framework for Guiding New K-12 Science

Education Standards

A DRAFT !!! for public feedback

The National Academies

• A non-governmental organization (NGO)• Founded in 1863• Bring together committees of experts in all

areas of scientific and technological endeavor

• Address critical national issues and give advice to the federal government and the public

What is the Framework about?

"The Framework is designed to help realize a vision for science and engineering education in which students actively engage in science and engineering practices in order to deepen their understanding of core ideas in science over multiple years of school."

Conceptual Framework – representation of core ideas in

science with examples of performance expectations

Standards – elaboration of core ideas into K-12 learning

expectations

Committee Members• Helen Quinn, Chair Stanford

University (Physics)• Wyatt Anderson, University of

Georgia (Biology)• Tanya Atwater, UC Santa

Barbara (Earth Sciences)• Philip Bell, University of

Washington (Learning Sciences)• Thomas Corcoran, Center for

Policy Research in Education, Columbia Teachers College

• Rodolfo Dirzo, Stanford University (Ecology)

• Phillip Griffiths, Princeton University (Mathematics)

• Dudley Herschbach, Harvard University (Chemistry)

• Linda Katehi, UC Davis (Engineering)

• John Mather, NASA, (Astrophysics)

• Brett Moulding, Educator, Utah• Jonathan Osborne, Stanford

University (Science Education)• James Pellegrino, University of

Illinois at Chicago (Learning Sciences)

• [Stephen L. Pruitt, Office of the State Superintendent of Schools, Georgia Department of Education]

• Brian Reiser, Northwestern University (Learning Sciences)

• Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University (Engineering)

• Walter Secada, University of Miami (Mathematics)

• Deborah Smith, Pennsylvania State University (Elementary Education)

Design TeamsEarth and Space ScienceMichael Wysession (Lead), Department of

Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis

Scott Linneman, Geology Department, Western Washington University

Eric Pyle, Department of Geology & Environmental Science, James Madison University

Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science CenterDon Duggan-Haas, Paleontological

Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth

Life ScienceRodger Bybee (Lead), BSCS Bruce Fuchs, National Institutes of HealthKathy Comfort, WestEdDanine Ezell, San Diego County Office of

Education

Physical ScienceJoseph Krajcik (Lead), School of Education,

University of MichiganShawn Stevens, School of Education,

University of MichiganSophia Gershman, Watchung Hills Regional

High SchoolArthur Eisenkraft, Graduate College of

Education, University of MassachusettsAngelica Stacy, Department of Chemistry,

University of California, Berkeley

Engineering and TechnologyCary Sneider (Lead), Center for Education,

Portland State UniversityRodney L. Custer, Department of

Technology, Illinois State UniversityJacob Foster, Mass. Department of

Elementary and Secondary EducationYvonne Spicer, Nat’l Center for

Technological Literacy, Museum of Science, Boston

Maurice Frazier, Chesapeake Public School System

Unique aspects of the conceptual framework project

• Speed of project• Includes Engineering and Technology• Partnership • Design teams• Public feedback on draft• Check for fidelity of standards with

framework

Principles of the Framework

• Children Are Born Investigators• Understanding Develops Over Time• Science Is More than a Body of Knowledge• Connecting to Students’ Interest and

Experience• Promoting Equity

A core idea for K-12 science instruction is a scientific idea or practice that:

• Has broad importance across multiple science and/or engineering disciplines and/or is a key organizing concept of a single discipline

• Provides a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems

• Relates to the interests and life experiences of students or can be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technical knowledge

• Is teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of sophistication and depth

Core disciplinary ideas in:

• Life Sciences [4]– components

• Earth and Space Sciences [4]– components

• Physical Sciences [4]– components

• Engineering and Technology [4]– components

Life Sciences – pages 3-2 – 3-6•LS1 Organisms have structures and functions that facilitate their life processes, growth, and reproduction.

•LS2 Organisms have mechanisms and processes for passing traits and variations of traits from one generation to the next.

•LS3 Organisms and populations of organisms obtain necessary resources from their environment which includes other organisms and physical factors.

•LS4 Biological evolution explains the unity and diversity of species.

Earth and Space Sciences – pgs 3-7 - 3-10

• ESS1 Humans are a small part of a vast Universe; planet Earth is part of the Solar System, which is part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the Universe.

• ESS2 Earth is a complex and dynamic 4.6-billion-year-old system of rock, water, air, and life.

• ESS3 Earth’s surface continually changes from the cycling of water and rock driven by sunlight and gravity.

• ESS4 Human activities are constrained by and, in turn, affect all other processes at Earth’s surface.

Physical Sciences – pages 3-10 – 3-14

PS1 Macroscopic states and characteristic properties of matter depend on the type, arrangement and motion of particles at the molecular and atomic scales.

PS2 Forces due to fundamental interactions underlie all matter, structures and transformations; balance or imbalance of forces determines stability and change within all systems.

PS3 Transfers of energy within and between systems never change the total amount of energy, but energy tends to become more dispersed; energy availability regulates what can occur in any process.

PS4 Our understanding of wave properties, together with appropriate instrumentation, allows us to use waves, particularly electromagnetic and sound waves, to investigate nature on all scales, far beyond our direct sense perception.

Engineering & Technology – pages 3-14 – 3-18

• ET1 The study of the designed world is the study of designed systems, processes, materials and products and of the technologies and the scientific principles by which they function.

• ET2 Engineering design is a creative and iterative process for

identifying and solving problems in the face of various constraints.

• ET3 People are surrounded and supported by technological systems. Effectively using and improving these systems is essential for long-term survival and prosperity.

• ET4 In today’s modern world everyone makes technological decisions that affect or are affected by technology on a daily basis. Consequently, it is essential for all citizens to understand the risks and responsibilities that accompany such decisions.

Assignment – Table Talk

At a conceptual framework level, how well do these core ideas

capture what a student should know about STEM?

Cross-cutting Scientific Concepts- Chapter 4

• Patterns, similarity, and diversity• Cause and effect: mechanism and prediction• Scale, proportion, and quantity• Systems and system models• Energy and matter: flows, cycles and

conservation• Form and function• Stability and change

Topics in science, engineering, technology and society

• History and Cultural Roles of Science, Engineering and Technology

• Impacts of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society

• Impact of Societal Norms and Values on the Practices of Science and Engineering

• Professional Responsibilities of Scientists and Engineers

• Roles of Scientific and Technical Knowledge in Personal Decisions

• Careers and Professions Related to Science and Engineering

Assignment – Table Talk

How important are these cross cutting elements?

Can any be eliminated?

Should any be added?

Scientific and Engineering Practices for Science Classrooms (Inquiry plus)

– Chapter 5• Asking Questions

• Modeling

• Devising Testable Hypotheses

• Collecting, Analyzing, and Interpreting Data

• Constructing and Critiquing Arguments

• Communicating and Interpreting Scientific and Technical Texts

• Applying and Using Scientific Knowledge

Assignment – Table Talk

Will the standards promoted by the Framework generate systemic or resource problems in your classroom, school district and/or state?

Remaining chapters – to help guide standards development and

implementation

• Putting the Dimensions Together: Performance Expectations

• Prototype Learning Progressions– At grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12– In all four areas

BOSE Project Staff• Heidi Schweingruber, Deputy Director,

Project Co-director• Tom Keller, Senior Program Officer,

Project Co-director• Michael Feder, Senior Program Officer• Natalie Nielsen, Senior Program Officer• Sherrie Forrest, Research Associate• Kelly Duncan, Senior Program Assistant

Way to keep updated

BOSE website http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/Standards_Framework_Homepage.html

Or

http://www.nas.edu/bose