1. Strengthening Delaware’s Education System Enhancing Science Education with the Next Generation Science Standards, focusing on college & career readiness and connecting with the CCSS.

2. Module 1 Awareness of the Next Generation Science Standards

3. NGSS – A Path Forward

4. A Vision for Science Education Delaware will ensure that all students will have the world-class science education that they need to succeed and to support our state’s economy at globally competitive levels. Students should have gained sufficient knowledge of the practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, to be critical consumers of scientific information related to their everyday lives, and to continue to learn about science throughout their lives. They should come to appreciate that science and the current scientific understanding of the world are the result of many hundreds of years of creative human endeavor. Adapted from A Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012,p.9)

5. Discussion Questions Read the vision statement. What does it mean to you? Why are the highlighted words important? What successes have we experienced since the original national science standards were published (1995) that bring us closer to this vision? What challenges do we still have to bring us closer to this vision?

6. Building on the Past, Preparing for the Future, Leading to the NGSS 7/2011 – March 2013 1/2010 - 7/2011 1990s 1990s-2009 Phase IIPhase I

7. Why Change to the NGSS? Delaware has too few students entering STEM fields of study at all levels. NGSS stimulate and build interest in STEM. Changes in science and in the understanding of how students learn have occurred over the past few decades. There have been many advances in the fields of science and science education. A Framework for K- 12 Science Education compiled this research and laid the foundation for the development of the NGSS.

8. Why Change to the NGSS? An emphasis on Science and Engineering Practices is lacking in the current standards. NGSS provides internationally benchmarked science education standards. NGSS increases equity and opportunities for all students. NGSS is aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Mathematics.