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Expert Corner: Next Generation Science Standards Educator of the Month: Julie DeBoer New Recognition for Reflex and Gizmos Students Solve 2 Billion Facts Using Reflex
Expert Corner: Next Generation Science Standards
You may also be asking yourself, “Now that the standards are final, what steps should we be taking to prepare for adoption and implementation?” Here are five steps you can take to get up-to-speed. Dive deeply into the Framework for K-12 Science Education. Students don’t study the law before they understand the Constitution. They don’t study medicine before they take anatomy. Similarly, science educators need to understand the foundation of the new standards as it is laid out in the three dimensions of the Framework — the Disciplinary Core Ideas, the Standards of Scientific and Engineering Practices, and the Crosscutting Concepts. Study the architecture of the Next Generation Science Standards. Ted Willard’s article, “A Look at the Next Generation Science Standards,” provides an overview and diagram of the information contained in the standards. This article will explain that these standards are written as performance expectations, which describe what students should be able to do at the end of instruction. Find the grade level(s) you are most interested in and take a look. Now that you know how the standards are structured, download the PDF of the standards arranged by topic. This format will help you to see the big picture for your chosen grade level(s). Read the Storyline first to see a summary of the performance expectations and then move on to the detailed NGSS Boxes for the grade level(s). Don’t read the performance expectations in isolation! Be sure to include the clarification statements, assessment boundaries, and foundation information from the three dimensions of the Framework. Review the appendices. The authors of the NGSS provide a wealth of information in the appendices to the NGSS. Depending on your personal interest, they are all worth reading, but if you are pressed for time you should make a few your priority. First, if you are still grappling with the idea of performance expectations, or if you are wondering just what the authors were thinking when they were writing the standards, you should read Appendix A, Conceptual Shifts. It is an excellent description of the philosophies that guided the development of the standards. Appendices E-J describe the progressions through each grade band endpoint, showing the increase in content and skill sophistication from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Learn from others. Talk with colleagues. Join an NGSS study group or PLN. Attend webinars. Read journal articles. Attend conferences and workshops. This summer, ExploreLearning is sponsoring the NSELA Next Generation Science Standards Leadership Institute in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. NSTA also offers many different ways to learn more about the NGSS at www.nsta.org/ngss. Gizmos are a great vehicle to address the new science standards in your classroom. Gizmos allow students to engage in inquiry-driven scientific investigations, as well as help students develop a deep understanding of all the core ideas. ExploreLearning is ready to be your partner in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards. If you haven't delved into Gizmos yet, take a free trial and see how well they help prepare you for the next generation in science teaching and learning.
New Lesson Materials Six new sets of math Lesson Materials have come out within the last month. This batch includes some geometry Gizmos, statistics/ratio/proportions Gizmos, and one exponentials Gizmo. Prisms and Cylinders - Activity A Pyramids and Cones - Activity B Investigating Angle Theorems - Activity B Exponential Functions - Activity B These six Gizmos take our usual inquiry-based approach to teaching math. We strive to ask rather than tell, with students using the Gizmo as an exploratory "what if" tool to build their understanding of the topic at hand. As always, our updated Lesson Materials include four documents (Student Exploration Sheet, Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary Sheet), each available as a .doc or .pdf. (You'll need to be logged in to see all four documents.) This brings the count to 57 high school and middle school level math Gizmos with updated Lesson Materials - with lots more on the way! If you'd like to try these Gizmos, or any of the others in our library, you can sign up for a free trial today!
Educator of the Month: Julie DeBoer
When you enter Julie DeBoer’s classroom, you will often find the students engaged in exploring science concepts with Gizmos. This consistent use of Gizmos in her classroom is the reason why Ms. DeBoer has been awarded the title of Cy-Fair’s Outstanding Elementary Gizmo User for the past two years. Ms. DeBoer‘s students have found great success in developing their conceptual understanding of science through the meaningful explorations Gizmos provide. Ms. DeBoer loves that Gizmos allow her to simulate an experiment that they might not be able to do in class. “The students love doing Gizmos because they get so much out of it, and the lesson is no longer just me talking and telling them about science concepts,” she says.
Ms. DeBoer uses Gizmos every day in her Science Rotations. She makes sure that her students encounter science concepts in a multitude of ways. Through the various uses of Gizmos for introductory, exploratory, conceptual building, and refresher experiences, Mrs. DeBoer brings science learning to life throughout the teaching and learning cycle. By varying the means in which students experience Gizmos, including as an individual, as partners, in small groups, and as a whole group, every student has the opportunity to work within his or her optimum learning style. Ms. DeBoer successfully brings together tried and true teaching strategies, ongoing and varied learning opportunities, and the power of ExploreLearning Gizmos to provide the best learning scenario for her 5th grade students.
New Recognition for Reflex and Gizmos
Like a Gizmo? Please share!
Students Solve 2 Billion Facts Using Reflex
Students have now solved over two billion addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts using Reflex! Reflex launched just 2 years ago, and teachers and administrators report that Reflex is not only making a difference in their students’ math fact fluency, but also on their district and state assessments. After using Reflex, their students have seen noticeable jumps in test scores. At an elementary school in Mauston School District, Wisconsin, teacher Jim Beaver has had his students using Reflex since October 2012. “MAP [Measure of Academic Progress] results grew around 10 to 14 points so far this year,” reports Mr. Beaver. He attributes the phenomenal growth in scores this year to Reflex. “Gaining math fact fluency is very important for student success in math. It not only gives them more confidence but it also helps them handle more difficult problems,” says Mr. Beaver. “I also love the fact that the students enjoy Reflex and feel better about themselves. It isn't just math facts... it is self-esteem that is improving.”
Stay in Touch If you want to comment on any of the information in this newsletter, be sociable and post your insights on the Facebook pages for Gizmos and Reflex. And as always, if you have a question or comment about Gizmos or Reflex, don't hesitate to contact our Customer Support team using the support form for either Gizmos or Reflex. We would love to hear from you. For information on bringing Gizmos and Reflex to schools in your area, contact your ExploreLearning Account Representative:
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Laura Chervenak has been with ExploreLearning since 2010, and she is currently the VP of Professional Development. She has taught high school science, and is the founder and former director of GOAL Digital Academy. Laura is National Board Certified in Science/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, with a B.A. in Zoology and an M.S. in Anthropology.
The Next Generation Science Standards were released in their final form just as thousands of teachers and administrators were arriving in San Antonio, Texas for the 2013 NSTA National Conference. Conversations and presentations around the new standards were found in almost every room and hallway as educators gathered information to take back to their districts.
Julie DeBoer is a 5th grade science teacher at an elementary school in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Texas and has been teaching for six years.
