With the publication of the Next Generation iteration of the FOSS program, I am finally satisfied that my labors have come to fruition. Finally got it right! And yet I hear the refrain of the 1960s song, "Is that all there is?"
With the publication of the Next Generation iteration of the FOSS program, I am finally satisfied that my labors have come to fruition. Finally got it right! And yet I hear the refrain of the 1960s song, “Is that all there is?”
Perhaps the most prominent proposal enunciated in A Framework for K–12 Science Education, and carried forward into the NGSS, is the declaration that Science teaching and learning should be engaged using a three-dimensional approach.
I've heard it a time or two: We've been doing FOSS for six years—been there, done that! There's a rumor going around that FOSS is old and out of date. Now with NGSS looming, isn't it time to try something new and different?
In just about every state in this country, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have been adopted explicitly, or insinuated implicitly, into the contemporary vision of science education. So, in fact, or at least in spirit, the NGSS provide the light illuminating the vision of classroom science for the whole country. So, I continue to ponder the elements of a coherent vision of action for the way forward.
My continuing ruminations regarding the interpretation and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards has exposed yet another dimension of the NGSS vision.
In the mid 1990s, NSF was mounting a series of major science education reform efforts. The architects of these programs were sincere; the goals were laudable, and the enthusiasm on the ground was palpable. But ultimately, the envisioned reforms were not realized.
There are those around us who are wondering what the initialism NGSS stands for.
Differentiation is a hot topic in education these days, and with good reason—our classrooms are scenes of unprecedented diversity.
FOSS happened rather by accident.