The Nature of Science

Mathematical Reasoning & Science

Learning Objectives• The impact of the Next Generation Science

Standards (NGSS)• The nature of science• Theories• Investigations• Applying critical thinking skills to science claims• Teaching through experiences (Alien Genetics)• Science/Math overlap

The NGSS (Next Generation Science

Standards)

Their impact on ABLE instruction and the GED® 2014 Test1

NGSSThe NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) are a framework for science proficiency.

The NGSS view science as:•a body of knowledge;•an evidence-based, model and theory building enterprise; and•a discipline that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge.

NGSS• The NGSS framework

consists of three dimensions that will be combined to form each standard.

• Dimension 1: Practices• Dimension 2: Crosscutting

Concepts• Dimension 3: Disciplinary

Core Ideas

NGSSDimension 1: Practices •Scientific practices/behaviors used to build models and theories about the natural world•Engineering practices used to design and build models and systems•The range of cognitive, social, and physical practices required in science and engineering

NGSS

Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

•Crosscutting concepts apply to all domains of science.•They organize the various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world.

NGSSDimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

Crosscutting concepts include:•Patterns, similarity, and diversity•Cause and effect•Scale, proportion, and quantity•Systems and system models•Energy and matter•Structure and function•Stability and change

NGSSDimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas•The most important (core) ideas in science and engineering•The focus of curriculum, instruction, and assessment•Grouped into four domains:

− physical sciences − life sciences− earth and space sciences

− engineering, technology, and application

NGSS

The impact of the NGSS

•Science portion of the 2014 GED® Test1

•Practices how scientists/engineers work•Science as a concept, no longer a storehouse of facts•New focus on engineering, technology, and applications of science

The Nature of Science

Understanding the role of science in our lives

The Nature of ScienceScience is:

•a way of understanding the natural world.•based on the premise that our senses can give us accurate information about the universe.•always subject to testing and revision.

The Nature of Science

The Nature of ScienceScience is a way of understanding the natural world by trying to answer questions about the natural world.

1. What’s there?

2. How does it work?

3. How did it come to be this way?

The Nature of ScienceThe Process

The Nature of Science

the·o·ry1.a possible explanation: SPECULATION

2.coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena: PRINCIPLE, LAW, DOCTRINE

The Nature of Science

fact1.something that actually exists; reality; truth: actuality, reality

2.a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true

3.something known to exist or to have happened

The Nature of Science

Theories of Gravity

•Theory of Universal Gravitation, 1666,Sir Isaac Newton

•General Theory of Relativity, 1915, Albert Einstein

NGSS and The Nature of Science

2014 GED® TESTScience Principals

NGSSNature

of Science

Session Resources1GED Testing Service®. 2014 GED® Test. Accessed August 15, 2013.

http://www.GEDtestingservice.com.

2National Science Foundation. Science and Engineering Indicators: 2012. Accessed August 15, 2013. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c6.

3Highlights from Program for International Student Assessment [PISA] 2009. Assessments. Accessed August 15, 2013. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011004.