Science

Whether your state has adopted the Next Generation Science Standards or will soon revise its own science standards, one thing is clear: Change is underway—in what is learned, in how we teach, and in how we assess. This is more of a revolution than just another iteration of the same old stuff. It's a dramatic shift in the expectations that we have for all students.
Let's look at five ways that the new science standards will influence teaching and learning and five recommendations that can help ensure success as you begin your journey.

Student’s performance in science classrooms has continued to languish throughout the USA. Even though proficiency rates on national tests such as National Assessment of Educational Progress are higher for Caucasian students than African-Americans and Hispanics, all groups lack achieving desired proficiency rates. Further, the Next Generation Science Standards detail a new higher benchmark for all students.

Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game that applies specific game features in
order to engage middle school students in introductory knowledge of and thinking related to
scientific argumentation. Game features include rapid and competitive play, timed performance,
immediate feedback, and high rates of response across many game-play sessions and science
scenarios. The areas of argumentation addressed in the game include understanding a claim,
judging evidence about a claim based on type (fact, opinion) and quality, determining the

Ault, M., (2014). How games can engage students and improve learning. eSchool News: Daily Tech News & Innovation. Retrieved from www.eschoolnews.com/2014/06/06/games-engage-students-241/

Understanding what happens at the particulate level when ionic compounds dissolve in water is difficult for many students, yet this understanding is critical in explaining many macroscopic observations. This article describes a student-centered activity designed to help strengthen students’ conceptual understanding of this process at the particulate level and translate this understanding to the symbolic level. In this activity, students use magnetic models to explore how mono- and polyatomic ions interact with water molecules and with each other.

The recent revisions to the advanced placement (AP) chemistry curriculum promote deep conceptual understanding of chemistry content over more rote memorization of facts and algorithmic problem solving. For many teachers, this will mean moving away from traditional worksheets and verification lab activities that they have used to address the vast amounts of content in the AP chemistry course. Moreover, a substantial shift in teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning of chemistry will be needed to facilitate the transformation of their instructional practices.