A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the NGSS: A New Vision for Science Education

A Framework for K-12 Science Education identifies the key scientific ideas and practices students in all grades should learn. Dr. Heidi Schweingruber, Director for the Board on Science Education, introduces the frameworks as a new vision for science learning. She reviews the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), details the three dimensions, and presents data in support of the need for implementing these standards in the classroom.

This course was taped during the AAMLE annual conference on March 30-31, 2015.  

Scientific and Engineering Practices in the Classroom

A Framework for K-12 Science Education presents three dimensions that are combined to form each standard with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The first dimension, Scientific and Engineering Practices, is the focus for this course. Heidi Schweingruber, Ph.D., Director for the Board on Science Education, discusses how these practices help support learning in the classroom. Referencing data from Achieve, she identifies the shifts in science education and suggested techniques for implementation. 

This course was taped during the AAMLE annual conference on March 30-31, 2015. 

Crosscutting Concepts

Crosscutting concepts are in place to help students make connections across the different disciplines. Dr. Heidi Schweingruber, Director of the Board on Science Education, explains how these concepts are more than just a way to categorize activities; they exist to support and deepen student learning. She identifies the guiding principles for how these concepts should be used in the classroom and looks at the progression of complexity and sophistication across the grades. Having prior knowledge of the NGSS framework before taking this course is strongly encouraged.

This course was taped during the AAMLE annual conference on March 30-31, 2015. 

Disciplinary Literacy: Science - K-12

In this course, Karen Ladd of the Nettleton School District discusses disciplinary literacy and how it is effectively applied in the science classroom. She begins with a thorough discussion of what disciplinary literacy means. Afterward, she introduces a science literacy lesson model and explains how it can be used as a template for designing science lessons that incorporate the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.

This course was taped September 9, 2014 at the AETN studios in Conway, Arkansas. 

PLEASE NOTE: This course has been temporarily disabled while we look into a video issue. 

Elementary Science Safety and Lab Guidelines

Dr. Irene Cesa, retired Director of Technical Services for Flinn Scientific, addresses specific safety issues and concerns to help current and prospective teachers safely and effectively use hands-on inquiry-based science activities in the elementary classroom. This presentation details procedures for not only creating safe activities but also for establishing a "culture of safety" in the classroom. It also describes how to identify and minimize hazards and risks, and provides general safety rules and guidelines especially useful at the elementary level.

To the Stars and Back: Empowering Students with Project-Based Learning

Throughout history, people have always looked to space as a source of awe and wonder. We have strived to not only better understand our universe but also our place in it. Nettleton STEAM, a unique third through sixth-grade school in Jonesboro, Arkansas, continues this time-honored tradition of exploration and discovery by infusing STEAM and project-based learning into everything they do.  

STEM education is critical to developing innovative problem solvers and strengthening community partnerships. Nettleton STEAM is a Cognia STEM certified school where twenty-first century skills, service learning, and the arts are explored through project-based learning and makerspaces. Nettleton STEAM was granted the extraordinary opportunity to participate in a downlink with astronauts aboard the International Space Station in December of 2020. In this course you will learn how educators at Nettleton STEAM use project-based learning through the lens of the International Space Station themed projects created around this event.

Journey North: Introduction

The Journey North program is a free resource for elementary and middle school classes that is comprised of a variety of topics, lessons, and activities. Each thirty-minute professional development workshop provides an opportunity to see Journey North classrooms in action while exploring science inquiry and other standards-based teaching and learning practices.

This introductory Journey North workshop explores the three sets of investigations that make up the Journey North program. Using the video as a springboard, the workshop looks at some of the basic concepts behind the Journey North investigations and explores topics that are important to middle- and elementary-level science teachers.

Journey North: Seasonal Migrations - Monarch Butterflies

The Journey North program is a free resource for elementary and middle school classes that is comprised of a variety of topics, lessons, and activities. Each thirty-minute professional development workshop provides an opportunity to see Journey North classrooms in action while exploring science inquiry and other standards-based teaching and learning practices.

While the Journey North program provides opportunities for exploring dozens of different animal migrations, this workshop focuses on the most popular migration--that of monarch butterflies. Participants use some of the lessons from Journey North resources to study migration while using prediction as an inquiry tool, exploring the Journey North website, and correlating the Journey North investigations with life science curriculum.

Journey North: Plants and the Seasons - Tulip Gardens

The Journey North program is a free resource for elementary and middle school classes that is comprised of a variety of topics, lessons, and activities. Each thirty-minute professional development workshop provides an opportunity to see Journey North classrooms in action while exploring science inquiry and other standards-based teaching and learning practices.

This workshop follows several classes around the country as they explore plant growth and seasonal change through individual student investigations and through Journey North's International Tulip Study. Participants learn the importance of experimental protocols, as well as how Journey North integrates process skills into inquiry-based activities.

Journey North: Sunlight and the Seasons - Mystery Class

The Journey North program is a free resource for elementary and middle school classes that is comprised of a variety of topics, lessons, and activities. Each thirty-minute professional development workshop provides an opportunity to see Journey North classrooms in action while exploring science inquiry and other standards-based teaching and learning practices.

Journey North's investigation into sunlight's seasonal changes takes students on an eleven-week-long investigative hunt known as Mystery Class. This workshop presentation chronicles the students' adventures as they track and analyze changes in sunlight north and south of the equator and follow a series of clues to locate the ten Journey North Mystery Classes around the world.