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Often times, we associate failure with negative thoughts. If you fail a test, your grade goes down. If you die during a video game, you have failed and the game is over. When we start thinking about failure in a different way though, our mindset and experiences can change.

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning

Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF SCIENCE LEARNING

Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

Crosscutting Concepts help students explore connections across the four domains of science, including Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design.

When these concepts, such as "cause and effect", are made explicit for students, they can help students develop a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world around them.

Science and Engineering Practices describe what scientists do to investigate the natural world and what engineers do to design and build systems. The practices better explain and extend what is meant by "inquiry" in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires. Students engage in practices to build, deepen, and apply their knowledge of core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) are the key ideas in science that have broad importance within or across multiple science or engineering disciplines. These core ideas build on each other as students progress through grade levels and are grouped into the following four domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering.

More about 3D Learning

GET TO KNOW

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K-12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.

A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K-12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students' interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship.

Get to Know the Standards

IMPLEMENT

The NGSS call for a three-dimensional approach to K-12 science instruction. This represents a significant transition from previous state standards. That's why effective implementation demands a great deal of collaboration and patience among states, districts, schools, teachers, and students.

Thoughtful and coordinated approaches to implementation will enable educators to inspire future generations of scientifically literate students. That is the vision of the NGSS. This website provides a range of high-quality resources that empower educators, administrators, parents, and the general public to help bring this vision to life.

Find Tools and Resources

WHY

Science-and therefore science education-is central to the lives of all Americans.

A high-quality science education means that students will develop an in-depth understanding of content and develop key skills-communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and flexibility-that will serve them throughout their educational and professional lives.

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Home Page | Next Generation Science Standards

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

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Free Resources Teacher Opportunities Awards and Competitions for Students Awards and Grants for Teachers
Free Resources Science Films and Videos from the California Academy of Sciences
Inspire your students with these stunning HD films, available for free for educational use. These award-winning shows, originally designed to display in an immersive planetarium dome, have been reformatted for educational use as stand-alone films or as a series of short, modular clips featuring science and environmental content. Choose from:

Fragile Planet

Incoming!

Habitat Earth

Earthquake

Travel Deep Inside a Leaf from Life: A Cosmic Story

Looking for more free videos to kick-off engagement? Browse our collection of educational videos to help your students visualize data and understand scientific and environmental concepts. We have grouped our video resources into the following playlist themes to easily match up with your lesson plans:
* Earth
* Energy
* Ecosystems
* Engineering
* Human Impacts
* Ocean
* Space
* Weather and Climate

Lessons Learned from the NGSS Early Implementer Districts - Achieve interviewed nine of the ten districts participating in the California K-8 Early Implementation Initiative and wrote about their experience transitioning to the NGSS in two critical implementation areas: professional learning and instructional materials.

Professional Learning for NGSS Lessons Learned addresses the different formats and audiences for professional learning districts used, the content and design of the professional learning for both teachers and administrators, and criteria for selecting or designing professional learning programs.

Instructional Materials for NGSS Lessons Learned addresses the different approaches to transitioning instructional materials while implementing the NGSS, criteria for instructional materials, and includes example materials and student work.

Build Molecules in My Molecularium - a Free New Game App

The Molecularium Project's molecule building game makes learning science fun. Everybody will be blown away by My Molecularium, a fun, new molecule building game, and they'll have fun learning real science while they play. This fast-paced, free game app challenges players to build a wide variety of fascinating molecules from water and vitamin C to caffeine and adrenalin.

This exciting new action-oriented app is played by launching atoms at target bond sites to assemble molecules of increasing complexity and difficulty. Players aim and launch their atoms by moving their device using innovative laser-guided gyroscopic technology. The object of the game is to create as many molecules as you can in the shortest period of time. Fun facts about each molecule are shared with players along with an accuracy bonus for each completed molecule. A wide range of achievements can be earned as players advance through the different levels, each with their own challenges.

The app is the latest effort of the successful Molecularium® Project, spearheaded by faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and funded by the National Science Foundation and others to excite audiences of all ages to explore and understand the molecular nature of the world around them. "It's a fun, challenging game for all ages. Everyone can have a great time learning about the structures of a variety of important molecules while they play," said Richard W. Siegel, founding director of Rensselaer's Nanotechnology Center and one of the innovators behind Rensselaer's Molecularium Project. "This game app was the next logical step in continuing to expand our innovative educational productions that make learning about science great fun."

Synopsys Outreach Foundation, which annually enables and celebrates CA students and teachers developing science projects, we believe hands-on science projects are the perfect vehicles for implementing NGSS. We hope you'll find our Engineering Design Process infographic useful. And please note: as engineering happens in zigzags and spirals, the process may look different for each product.

Web Seminar: How Do I Select Phenomena to Motivate Student Sense-Making? - Tricia Shelton and Ted Willard recorded a presentation about three-dimensional teaching and learning and the explanation of phenomena, how to choose phenomena for the classroom, and how to encourage students to actually make sense of them. View a recording of the seminar here.
Web Seminar: How Do I Promote Student Modeling?
Cynthia Passmore and Jennifer Horton recorded a presentation about how three-dimensional teaching and learning features a shift in focus from having students learn about science to figuring out phenomena. See you how to foster modeling in your classroom. View a recording of the seminar here.
CAST Assessment Resources from CDE
The updated flyer "CAST Field Test: New Resources" is now available and includes a hyperlink to the training test and the science tools that are available as universal tools for students taking the CAST.

Also available is the CAST Accessibility Guidelines Report, which

documents the process that the California Department of Education (CDE) and Educational Testing Service used to determine the appropriate supports for students taking a statewide science assessment;

provides information on embedded and non-embedded accessibility supports (i.e., universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations) that will be available for the operational CAST in 2019; and

provides recommendations for the use of accessibility supports.

NGSS Instructional Materials and Lesson Review Tools
Taken together, these resources and others serve to illustrate some important features of NGSS-aligned instructional materials and highlight some of the common ideas and frequently asked questions that emerge regarding classroom activities.
Professional Development for Science Assessment
To support educators during their development of new, three-dimensional formative assessments aligned to the NGSS, open educational resources (OER) have been developed as part of a new collaboration called the Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education (ACESSE, or "access") project.

The ACESSE project is a partnership between the Council of State Science Supervisors, Colorado Boulder University, and the University of Washington. The group has created two-hour-long web-based professional development sessions which include:

The partner organizations encourage educators to both share the resources with their networks, including in a smaller professional learning community, and customize the resources to suit individual school or district needs. More information is available on the STEM Teaching Tools website and the OER Commons platform.
NGSS Example Bundles
The Example Bundles (formerly known as the Model Content Frameworks for Science) will show samples of ways to bundle the NGSS within a school year. "Bundling" is an important strategy for implementing standards, as it brings coherence to instruction and greatly reduces the amount of instructional time necessary. All of the currently available NGSS Example Bundle resources can be viewed here.

CREEC Network Newsletters
CREEC publishes a Statewide e-Newsletter (10 issues per year), and local regional Newsletters (4 issues, Quarterly). You may choose from Statewide and/or Local Newsletters, sent directly to your inbox! CREEC will, on occasion, send you email announcements regarding time-sensitive opportunities (no more than once per week). Archives and a newsletter sign-up form are available online.

CSTA Facebook Pages
These groups are active and exclusive to educators that meet those descriptors. Ask questions, share resources, get answers - join today!

To join a group, please submit a request on that page:

NGSS Rollouts 1, 2, 3, and 4 Presentation Materials
You can find all the materials from thethird and phases of the NGSS Rollouts on the CA NGSS My Digital Chalkboard reference page. These materials are intended to be used for further local training and development. Educators are strongly encouraged to attend a Rollout training before using the posted materials to develop instructional activities or deliver training.

NGSS Classroom Sample Tasks
The Classroom Sample Tasks blend content, practices, and concepts from both the NGSS and the Common Core State Standards. Teachers across the disciplines have collaborated to write sample tasks, which are the result of a vision of integrating science, engineering, and mathematics for classroom use.

Currently, nine draft middle and high school tasks are available below. Additional tasks, including those for elementary grade levels, will be added as they become available. Educators are encouraged to modify these tasks for their needs and to let us know how they can be improved (via the website contact form). It important to note that these tasks are drafts and that they will be revised as we receive feedback from users. http://www.nextgenscience.org/classroom-sample-assessment-tasks

NGSS Frequently Asked Questions by CDE
CDE has compiled a comprehensive FAQ site around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for California. http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssfaq.asp
PG&E Better Together STEM High School Program
Pacific Gas and Electric Company are proud to announce an exciting program to provide high school teachers with resources that expand STEM education, career awareness, and workforce readiness. In each monthly webinar, teachers will hear directly from energy experts about industry trends and will be the first to learn about new program offerings and free hands-on workshops. For more information on how to register visit their website here
Science Articles from the Academy now on Newsela
The California Academy of Sciences is excited to announce the launch of our Content Partnership with Newsela as a new way for us to bring you news and nonfiction science articles to your students. Our partnership with Newsela brings you:

Activities created for students to fit into your existing literacy routine

Content at multiple reading levels to meet your students where they are

Assessments that are keyed to student engagement and comprehension

Vocabulary words taught in context embedded in every article

Join the Newsela educator community of over 1,300,000 and counting

All of their science texts come straight from bioGraphic, an award-winning multimedia magazine powered by the Academy. They'll be adding dozens of articles to Newsela this fall, so stay tuned for more!
Animals at Risk from Climate Change
The complex interaction of biological traits and environmental conditions that cause a species to be susceptible to climate change and the basics of the carbon cycle are made simple and understandable through illustrations, symbols and brief explanatory text. Thoroughly documented to studies from reliable sources, including the IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group, NASA, NOAA, the US EPA, and the IPCC, the resource features 25 animals that highlight the fundamental impacts of greenhouse gases-causes, effects and risk of extinction-on all forms of life on the planet.

This material is available as a full color wall poster, a 70 page downloadable PDF presentation, and online on our free educational website at http://theglobaleducationproject.org/climate-change
Teacher Opportunities
Bring Kennedy Space Center into any classroom with Kennedy Online Outreach & Learning (KOOL) Science. A distance learning studio with state-of-the-art multimedia technology, KOOL Science brings live video conferencing to the classroom with an expert educator. Each hands-on lesson addresses National Standards in science, technology and mathematics and specifically relates to NASA missions. Geared toward students in grades 5-8, lessons can be modified for students in grades 3-9. Inspire students with a pre-recorded presentation by an astronaut that can be added on to any lesson.

Topics include:

Let It Glo! Parts 1 and 2 explores photoluminescence, electroluminescence, chemiluminescence and bioluminescence.

Get Moving Parts 1 and 2 explores Newton's Laws of Motion.

Survivor: SPACE investigates three challenges that astronauts face when living in a microgravity environment such as the International Space Station.

It's Only a Phase introduces students to the relationships of the Earth, moon and sun.

Meet a Smee programs give students and teachers an opportunity to talk with a subject matter expert (SME) in space-related fields.

Virtual Visit takes students on a guided tour of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, using video clips and chroma-key technology to bring the visitor complex into the classroom.

Lessons also contain a teacher's guide with material lists, objectives, evaluation tools, extension activities and more.
To learn more, call 1.855.433.4210 daily 8 am - 6 pm EST. Opportunities to Participate in the Redevelopment of the Commission's Teaching Performance Assessment (CalTPA)
The Commission is seeking current California teachers, practicing TK-12 school administrators, educators who help prepare and/or mentor beginning teachers, and teacher preparation program faculty to participate in the upcoming pilot testing, field testing, scoring, and standard-setting study for the Commission's model Teaching Performance Assessment (CalTPA) currently under redevelopment. It is anticipated that pilot testing will take place during 2016-17, with field testing and the standard setting study taking place during 2017-18. Scoring opportunities will be available both years. The Commission's Executive Director recently appointed 20 members to a California Design Team to work with Commission staff and its technical contractor, Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, to redevelop the CalTPA. The continuing involvement of California educators as the CalTPA is redeveloped will help ensure that candidates have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job of a beginning California teacher. If you are interested in finding out more about participating in the pilot test, field test, scoring, and/or standard setting activities for the CalTPA, please contact Evaluation Systems at es-caltpa@pearson.com.

Apply to Participate in CA NGSS Assessment Development
Educational Testing Services (ETS) is soliciting applications for content reviewers for the new CA NGSS assessment and alternate assessment. Apply today: http://caaspp.org/reviewers.html.

Association of American Educators Foundation Classroom Grant Application
Classroom grants can be used for a variety of projects and materials, including but not limited to books, software, calculators, math manipulatives, art supplies, audio-visual equipment, and lab materials. The number of classroom grants awarded will depend on the total number of applicants. Grants are available for up to $500. Funds must be used within one year of the application deadline. Due: October 1st and March 1st each year.
STEAM - Toshiba America Foundation - Grants
Wanted: Classroom Innovators! Toshiba America Foundation accepts applications from teachers who are passionate about making science and mathematics more engaging for their students.

Grades 6-12 Grant requests for $5,000 or less are accepted on a rolling basis, throughout the calendar year.

Grades 6-12 Grant requests for $5,000 or more are accepted and reviewed twice a year - June 1st and November 1st

Science Educators - Win a BUBBLE Grant! Up to $500 will be awarded
The Santa Clara Valley Section of the American Chemical Society wants to provide elementary and secondary school educators with the tools they need for science programs. The section is pleased to announce a call for proposals from K-12 science teachers to apply for a BUBBLE grant of up to $500 for worthwhile science projects. Grants will be awarded for projects that enhance the teaching of physical, life or earth science. This grant program will consider funding of amounts requested in a proposal, but reserves the right to fund some proposals partially. The grant may not be used for teacher awards or compensation. Qualified uses of the funds are for purchases related to the proposed project such as scientific equipment, instructional materials and/or supplies. See Flyer for more details.
California Academy of Sciences - Virtual Programs
Virtual Programs are live, interactive programs that connect your class to Academy collections, animals, and exhibits over the internet. Requiring nothing more than a computer with a reliable internet connection, speakers, and a projector, these sessions will bring excitement to your science curriculum.

Our educators are available weekdays from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm PST. We can start one of our live, interactive programs at a time that fits your schedule.

Choose from the programs listed below:

This modeling and simulation tool can help high school and undergraduate chemistry and physics students develop a deeper understanding of ideal and real gas laws. The app has a database of gas properties for 76 gases, including elements, inorganic compounds, hydrocarbons, and organic compounds. Students can manipulate the temperature, volume, or the number of moles of a selected gas. The simulator then computes the pressure for the selected variable, using three different gas models: the ideal gas model, the van der Waals real gas model, and the Peng-Robinson real gas model. Results appear in both graphs and tables. The User Guide includes screenshots of results from different simulations, giving students a clear picture of the kind of data available from the app.
Boddities for the Classroom
This video series produced by Boston Globe Media's online health, medicine, and science publication STAT uses animation, vintage film footage, and interviews with leading physicians to answer questions about the human body, such as what happens when skin gets sunburned, why our fingers get wrinkly in water, and why stomachs don't digest themselves. Targeted for students in grades 4-9, the short (less than two minutes) videos can spark science discussions or serve as fun extras after a lesson. Some episodes are paired with classroom worksheets offering Quick Questions to consider while viewing, Fast Facts to highlight science information, and a concluding Activity.

An education initiative from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance and Discovery Education offers lessons, digital explorations, and 360 videos (videos made with a camera that records in every direction at the same time, allowing viewers to explore a scene in 360 degrees) for high school students that focus on critical issues impacting the agriculture industry. The lessons support the Next Generation Science Standards and explore sustainability, the new science behind farming, and entrepreneurship. Digital explorations, such as Your Shopping Experience, introduce students to the meaning behind food labels as they click through items at a virtual grocery store and learn about terms like genetically modified crops, grass-fed proteins, and USDA Organic certification. The 360 Videos provide glimpses of new developments in agriculture, including automatic feeders, robotic milkers, seed technologies, and Smart Farms.
Engineering in the Classroom
The Next Generation Science Standards are here, and with them come exciting opportunities for teachers to integrate engineering into the science curriculum!

This resource:

Shares examples of how the NGSS engineering standards are used at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory - a leading center for robotic exploration of the solar system.

Connects those vignettes to lessons that you can use to engage your students in engineering in the classroom.

And provides expanded explanations of what each standard means.

The NGSS engineering standards fit within the Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science, or ETS, Disciplinary Core Idea. Each standard addresses one of the subsections of the ETS Disciplinary Core Idea
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Splash Zone Teacher Institute
(Grades PreK-2) July 23 - 27, 2018

Explore the habitats in our own backyard: the rocky shore, schoolyard, sandy shore, and slough! With colleagues and experts, you'll focus on the patterns of survival in different habitats and examine ways to inspire conservation of the ocean during this year-long institute. Implement new teaching strategies and hands-on activities while sharing ideas about connecting science notebooks, language arts, inquiry, and technology. Special attention will be given to the development of scientific discourse in the classroom.
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Project-Based Science Teacher Institute
(Grades 6-8) July 29 -August 3, 2018

Enhance your curriculum with student-driven projects that support Next Generation Science Standards. Project-based science encourages students to ask questions, make meaning from what they learn, and apply knowledge and skills in new contexts. The hands-on, collaborative nature of projects provides a learning experience that models best science-teaching practices and integrates Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards. You'll return to your classroom with skills and materials to employ project-based strategies and engage students in authentic inquiry-based science as they investigate conservation issues connected to their lives and their environment.

Awards and Competitions for Students
Cal Water H20 Challenge
Cal Water H ₂ O Challenge is a project-based, environmentally-focused competition for classrooms, grades 4-6. Designed in conjunction with NAAEE, the WestEd K-12 Alliance, and Cal Water, and aligned with the Common Core State Standards and complementary to the Next Generation Science Standards, the Classroom Challenge offers a unique opportunity for upper elementary teachers to facilitate their students' learning of standards-based content, while developing the core understanding of environmental principles necessary to becoming science-literate citizens

The students of participating classrooms initiate, develop, and implement a 4-8 week-long project (or longer at teacher discretion), focusing on caring for water. This class-based project explores water as a global resource and as a local resource, while tackling a local water problem in an individual and community-based endeavor.

For more information, click here to see their flyer or visit their website at http://challenge.calwater.com/
Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program
Encourage girls you know to get their start in tech by applying to the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program! The Summer Immersion Program is a FREE 7-week summer program for 10th-11th grade girls (rising juniors and seniors) to learn the computer science skills they need to make an impact in their community and be competitive in the job market of the future. Classrooms are hosted at influential tech companies, where girls will be exposed to mentors and role models. 5 Stipends to cover transportation and living costs are available to those who qualify. In California, we have Summer Immersion Programs in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The early acceptance deadline is February 16, and all applications are due March 16.

Learn more: www.girlswhocode.com/summer-immersion-programs
Join a webinar: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/girls-who-code-12415171083
Apply: www.girlswhocode.com/sipapply

Contact jackson@girlswhocode.com with any questions

Awards and Grants for Teachers
CSTA Awards - Now Accepting Nominations - Deadline: May 8, 2018
CSTA believes that the importance of science education cannot be overstated. Given the essential presence of the sciences in understanding the past and planning for the future, science education remains and will increasingly be one of the most important disciplines in education. CSTA is committed to recognizing and encouraging excellence in science teaching through the presentation of awards to science educators who have made outstanding contributions in science education in the state and who are poised to continue the momentum of providing high quality, relevant science education into the future. CSTA is now accepting nominations for:

Margaret Nicholson Distinguished Service Award

CSTA Future Science Teacher Award

CSTA Distinguished Contributions Award

For more information, submission form, criteria, and list of past recipients click here.

National Science Teachers Association Awards: The deadline for NSTA Awards Nominations is December 15. Visit http://www.nsta.org/about/awards.aspx?lid=tnav for details.
2018-2019 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)
Nominations and Applications are now open for the PAEMST. Deadline for nominations is April 1, 2018, and deadline for applications is May 1, 2018. For more information or to apply online, Visit here.
National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp)
The NYSCamp is a broad science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experience that incorporates both creative and performing arts as well as an outdoor adventure series including opportunities for rock climbing, mountain biking, spelunking, whitewater kayaking, and overnight backpacking. The delegation also travels to Washington, D.C. are able to tour museums on the National Mall, attend a Science Policy panel discussion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and are hosted at a luncheon in their honor with members of the United States Senate. See http://www.nysc.org for more information or http://apply.nysc.org to apply. Applications open until February 28, 2018.

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Free Resources Teacher Opportunities Awards and Competitions for Students Awards and Grants for Teachers Free Resources Science Films and Videos from the California Academy of Sciences Inspire your students with these stunning HD films, available for free for educational use.

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Sample our easy-to-implement strategies and lessons to bring science notebooking into your classroom or home!

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Posted: Friday, August 19th, 2016
by Karen Cerwin

"Students can't yet write independently without basic sentence frames. Their thoughts are usually bigger than what they can put on paper." - Kindergarten Teacher

This quote works for everyone; our thoughts are usually bigger than what anyone can put on paper! Yet, our job as educators is to help students learn to communicate their thinking in meaningful ways. One strategy is to use science notebooks in the classroom in a way that aligns with how scientists use their notebooks in their daily work.

Scientists use notebooks as a "thinking journal" in which they record observations and thoughts about a phenomenon they are investigating. They propose ideas, research how others have thought about the phenomenon, do original investigations, edit and refine their thinking as they gather more data, generate more questions for further study. Scientist notebooks are living documents that reflect the author's thinking. Thus their notebooks are unique and individual to that scientist's ideas.

How can we translate this use of notebooks into our classrooms? Contrary to some people's practice, it's not about format! It is about student thinking! The K-12 Alliance has had many "think tank" discussions to find the balance for classroom use of notebooks that offers a space for documenting thinking like a scientist while maintaining guidance towards developing student autonomy.

"All major aspects of inquiry, including In the absence of instruction or prompts, students may not routinely ask questions of themselves, such as What are you going to do next? What outcome do you predict? What did you Learn? How do you know"managing the process, making sense of data, and discussion and reflection on the results, may require guidance.
-Taking Science to School, National Research Council, 2007

Our focus on developing a "thoughtful notebook practice" for our classrooms has resulted in naming Four Essences of Science Notebooks. We intentionally avoided the term "types" or "parts" of notebook entries as those words are often reduced to formulaic notebook entries. Essences embody how student thinking is present throughout the notebook!

Description of Notebook Essences:
The Four Essences of Science Notebooking align learning experiences with tenets of "How People Learn": Accessing Prior Knowledge, Developing Conceptual Frameworks and Metacognition about what is learned (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). In the science notebook, students share their prior knowledge about the phenomenon, collect data and make sense of it (conceptual framework) to explain the phenomenon and metacognate about their understanding.

Essence of Prior Knowledge
All learners bring prior knowledge about a topic or phenomenon. It is much like turning on your computer and waiting for the computer to load information and the screen lights up! Prior knowledge notebooking entries provide a measure of what the student knows to both the teacher and the student. It provides a starting point to build conceptual understanding of the phenomenon.

Essence of Collecting Data
The NGSS shift to collecting data is the expectation that students use the practice of plan and conduct an investigation to collect data. In this practice, students identify what qualifies as evidence to answer a question. Instead of telling students the variable in an experiment, NGSS requires students to have a clear understanding of the phenomenon on which they are collecting data, as well as why the data should or should not be collected in a particular format. Encourage students to think about how to display their data. If students understand what data to collect, and how to display it, there is little or no need for a worksheet.

Essence of Making Sense of the Data
Making sense of the data aligns with how scientists establish or revise their understanding about a phenomenon. It is the crux of student thinking where they are able to make sense of data in terms of trends, causal or correlation relationships, validity and reliability of the evidence. It is where students can argue from evidence about methodology, results, and conclusions to support or rebut claims and explanations. Making sense includes using the Science and Engineering Practices and Crossutting Concepts in concert with Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Protecting time in the classroom for sense making of the data is essential to building student understanding.

Essence of Metacognition
Expert learners know what they have learned and how new information fits into prior conceptual frameworks. Teachers working on developing metacognition with students carefully design prompts such as: What do you know for sure? What are you not sure of? I used to think ____; now I think___; What are three things I know about this phenomenon, two things I learned and one thing I am wondering about.

Voices from the Field: Student Benefits
These summary statements come from K-8 th grade teachers in the CA NGSS Early Implementation Initiative:

"Students have a safe place to record thoughts about prior knowledge or making sense of data before speaking them aloud." Along with a safe place to record, students quickly learn they can edit and are expected to revise their thinking about the phenomenon. "Students can see their own thinking and use the data collected as evidence for claims or altering a claim." Notebooks become tools to record original ideas, collect data, summarize, edit explanations or models and reflect on how the world works.

Students have multiple ways to record their thinking. The very youngest K students might draw and write images integrating print with pictures. Older students continue to draw images but include connections between and among ideas through their use of models to explain. "Having my students include arrows in their models helped them and me recognize how they were visualizing the relationships in the model."

Students are caught knowing what they know (rather than "gotcha" at what they don't know). By encouraging students to use their notebooks to answer prompts, students recognize the importance of making notebook entries to help them with their understanding. "As a teacher it now makes sense to me that students use the information they gathered to explain what they now understand. At first, it seemed unnatural to allow them to use notebooks, but in reality, it is more natural for kids to see their progression in order to show what they have learned."

Voices from the Field: Teacher Benefits
These summary statements come from K-8 th grade teachers in the CA NGSS Early Implementation Initiative:

Notebook entries provide a window into the minds of their students, enabling teachers to "coach" what is visible about student thinking. Notebook entries quickly read can give a sense of the intervention(s) needed to deepen conceptual understanding through the next selection of learning experience. "In twenty years I have not found a better tool for shedding light on student thinking."

Effective notebook prompts have to be planned! Prompts need to be very carefully constructed to encourage students to meet the learning goals. "This is a high-level teaching skill and encourages me to work with colleagues to reflect on my practice." Teachers often have to change their thinking in designing prompts. "I had to learn to move from assessing understanding to interacting with their understanding." This moves teaching and learning to a whole new level.

Notebook Samples Below:
The K-12 Alliance is looking to help teachers collect more notebook samples that feature one or more of the four essences and demonstrate student sensemaking. Please contribute by using this form: http://goo.gl/forms/Oh3JFdBPYp3Q0dSy1.
Click on the image below to open a full-screen slide show of the samples with commentary. Karen Cerwin is a Regional Director for the K-12 Alliance @WestEd and is a member of CSTA. She will be presenting a short course at the 2016 CSTA Conference on Saturday, October 22: Science and Literacy in Primary Grades (K-2): A Win-Win for both NGSS 3-D Science and CCSS ELA. Information and registration is available online. Refrences
Bransford, J., A. Brown, and R. Cocking, eds. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school committee on developments in the science of learning. With additional materials from The Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice, M. Suzanne Donovan, John D. Bransford, and James W. Pellegrino, editors. Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Richard A. Duschl, Heidi A. Schweingruber, and Andrew W. Shouse, eds. (2007). Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8. Committee on Science Learning, Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade. Richard A. Duschl, Heidi A. Schweingruber, and Andrew W. Shouse, Editors. Board on Science Education, Center for Education. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Sensemaking Notebooks: Making Thinking Visible for Both Students and Teachers!

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Posted: Friday, August 19th, 2016 by Karen Cerwin "Students can't yet write independently without basic sentence frames. Their thoughts are usually bigger than what they can put on paper." - Kindergarten Teacher This quote works for everyone; our thoughts are usually bigger than what anyone can put on paper!

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Posted: Monday, March 13th, 2017
by Clea Matson
"The science notebooks get all the students involved and interested in science. Whether they like to write, or like to draw, or like asking questions, there is an entry point for all of them." - Erica, 5th Grade teacher, San Francisco

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) ask teachers and students to spend more time thinking and working like scientists. As Karen Cerwin mentioned in her article posted in August, 2016, notebooks are a tool that scientists use to record, reason, and share ideas. From her perspective as Regional Director for K-12 Alliance, Cerwin identifies ways in which science notebooks can be powerful tools for sense-making in the elementary classroom. The California Academy of Sciences (CAS) has created an online library of resources called Science Notebook Corner in order to provide support to teachers state and nationwide in making use of these powerful thinking tools.
What is the Science Notebook Corner?
Science Notebook Corner is a website where elementary and middle school science teachers can explore and find ideas for how to use notebooks as thinking tools in their classrooms. The site includes resources for teachers who have never used notebooks before, as well as advanced tools to help students use notebooks to collect and analyze data, reflect on or organize new knowledge, give feedback, etc. This growing collection of tools and strategies is intended to be a resource that teachers can incorporate into the science that they are already teaching.
Where did these tools and strategies come from?
Over the past eight years, the Teacher Institute on Science and Sustainability at CAS has worked with over 300 local teachers to increase the amount and quality of science in elementary classrooms. Science notebooks have become a pillar or our work and teachers tell us that they've continued to use notebooks in their science classrooms years after they graduated from our Institute. In our classroom observations, we have witnessed hundreds of teachers making use of science notebooks, and are continually learning new strategies from them. We created Science Notebook Corner in order to share what we've learned with teachers beyond the physical reach of our Institute.

Some of the outside sources that influence and inform our work include this resource for dialogue, reading, and writing in science which is co-authored by Arthur Beauchamp from the Sacramento Area Science Project, as well as Betsy Fulwiler's work on writing in science.
Where should I start?
"I am excited to have this wonderful knowledge base at my fingertips. I am excited to present the notebooks to my classes on the first day of school. I think that this will keep students organized and will help when meeting with parents [...]. Please continue supporting busy teachers." -Teacher, Helendale School District, CA

When you visit Science Notebook Corner, you might wonder, "Where should I begin?" Some of the most exciting parts of this resource are the notebook galleries, featuring actual notebooks from students and teachers. This is a great starting place, especially if you already use notebooks in your classroom and want inspiration for new strategies to use with your students. If you find a set of examples in a gallery that are interesting, you can then navigate to the page that describes the strategies that support that student work.

If you are new to science notebooks, welcome! We recommend beginning with " Setting Up Your Science Notebook," where you can find strategies for introducing notebooks to your classroom, guiding students to set up their science notebook as a tool and method of ownership, and setting up routines for using them during science time. There is also a growing library of short videos, which share motivation and strategies for using science notebooks in the elementary classroom.

Whether you are looking to expand what you already do with science notebooks, or you are intrigued by the idea of using notebooks to support students' scientific practice and want a step-by-step guide to begin, we hope that you find something useful within this resource, and we welcome your feedback.
Clea Matson is a Teacher Educator and Instructional Coach at the California Academy of Sciences and is a member of CSTA.

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Posted: Monday, March 13th, 2017 by Clea Matson "The science notebooks get all the students involved and interested in science. Whether they like to write, or like to draw, or like asking questions, there is an entry point for all of them."

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Free Online Textbooks, Math & Science Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Real World Examples & Teacher Resources | CK-12 Foundation

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CK-12 Foundation provides a library of free online teacher resources, including textbooks, worksheets, group activities and more, covering more than 5,000 math and science concepts from arithmetic to chemistry

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NGSS Parent Guides | Next Generation Science Standards

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This suite of NGSS Parent Guides illustrates how the standards are a powerful foundation to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time. The parent guides are available for Grades K-2, Grade 3-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12.

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Best Practices

Integrating Literacy into STEAM Lessons

Both Common Core and NGSS emphasize the importance of speaking, listening and communicating about mathematical and scientific concepts. Integrating literacy tools into STEAM subjects does more than help students and teachers fulfill objectives. Better literacy helps students identify and more thoroughly understand key concepts.

When I first started teaching middle school science, I noticed that many children approached reading from two extremes.

On one end of the spectrum, some would read through a piece and struggle to achieve any understanding at all. On the other end, students would highlight nearly the entire text and sometimes rewrite it word for word as they took "notes." In both cases, they were unable to identify important points. The struggling readers didn't understand enough to pick out basic ideas, and the heavy-highlighters needed a better filter to separate the important concepts from the rest of the text.

Students' writing often reflected their struggles with reading. The writing samples for these students would be vague, unclear, or demonstrate a lack of understanding.

As I identified these challenges, I realized I wasn't just in the classroom to teach science, but to teach students how to read about it, learn about it, and even pick it apart.

Today, after teaching middle school physics, chemistry and astronomy for 10 years, I'm an instructional coach supporting teachers in both Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Common Core and NGSS require teachers to integrate literacy into their lessons, and that's a good thing. Students need to know how to communicate about science and math to truly master the concepts.

Connecting Literacy and STEAM

Most teachers agree that better literacy skills lead to better STEAM learning. But putting concrete skill-building tasks into practice can be difficult. Here are some ways that I work with teachers to integrate reading and writing tools into STEAM lessons.

1. Add to your resource list. Build your own library of age-appropriate materials such as online news sites, magazines and journals. Look for resources that demonstrate real-world implications of student lessons. Videos are OK, but interactive resources can easily be found on the internet. My district also uses the K-5 curriculum from TCI's Bring Science Alive!that has engaging, live-classroom activities as well as online simulations. The curriculum will be available for grades 6-8 in fall of 2017.

2. Try humor and fiction. Science isn't always dry non-fiction. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean is a fascinating and often funny behind-the-scenes look at the scientists who contributed to the periodic table. The Giants of Science: Isaac Newton by Kathleen Krull is an excellent biography that makes teaching physics more engaging and accessible. Graphic novels are another popular resource, such as The Solid Truth about States of Matter with Max Axiom by Agnieszka Biskup.

3. Ask questions first and then read. To help students get a better understanding of key concepts, have them skim an article and form questions based on the titles, subheadings and photos they see. Have them try to answer the questions on their own before they start reading. Bring Science Alive! also has activities and examples of how to conduct a "scavenger hunt" that requires students to identify features and structures that might give clues to what they're going to learn before they start reading.

1. Use graphic organizers. Before students write anything, particularly a lab report, it's helpful to have them use a graphic organizer. Many graphic organizers include elements like sentence frames or sentence starters to help students focus their thoughts into written words. If they've never used a graphic organizer before, demonstrate the entire process of how information in a graphic organizer is eventually turned into a report.

2. Advance inquiry skills. Asking great questions is essential for better writing. Bring Science Alive! allows teachers to supply students with multiple questions or writing prompts that learners can choose and own. These online question-and-answer activities often spark more in-depth conversations while allowing students to practice writing meaningfully about STEAM subjects.

3. Have students be the teachers. Consider assigning a unit project where teams of students present a lesson for a related topic. Students can design essential questions, create handouts, and co-create a lesson assessment for their peers. Teaching to the class requires them to write and communicate information in a highly digestible way. It also gets students interacting with one another and advancing scientific discussions.

Better Literacy = Better STEAM Learning

Both Common Core and NGSS emphasize the importance of speaking, listening and communicating about mathematical and scientific concepts. Integrating literacy tools into STEAM subjects does more than help students and teachers fulfill objectives. Better literacy helps students identify and more thoroughly understand key concepts. With teachers' help, they can build on these skills to explore on their own, master subjects, and continue to use these skills wherever they go in their educational career and beyond.

About the Author

Ann Lorey is a middle school Common Core and science coach in the Palo Alto Unified School District.

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integrating common core into steam education

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next generation science standards best practices

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Integrating Literacy into STEAM Lessons -- THE Journal

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Both Common Core and NGSS emphasize the importance of speaking, listening and communicating about mathematical and scientific concepts. Integrating literacy tools into STEAM subjects does more than help students and teachers fulfill objectives. Better literacy helps students identify and more thoroughly understand key concepts.

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Understanding The Maker Movement in Education

The Maker Movement: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants to Own the Future: To better make the case for making, learn about the maker movement's pedagogical roots. (Edutopia, 2014)

How the Maker Movement Is Moving Into Classrooms: Get familiar with maker terminology and trends: Maker Faires, fab labs, hackerspaces, makerspaces, and more. (Edutopia, 2014)

How the Maker Movement Connects Students to Engineering and Tech: Watch a video to see how one eighth grade student uses his passion for electronics to teach fellow students about 3D printing, Arduinos, and other hands-on lessons in STEM skills. (Edutopia, 2014)

Meaningful Making: Projects and Inspirations for Fab Labs and Makerspaces: In this free online book, the Stanford University FabLearn Fellows take you on a tour of making and digital fabrication in education; explore project ideas, articles, best practices, and assessment strategies. (FabLearn, 2016)

Dive Into the Maker Movement: Accompany an educator on a visit to the fab lab at New York City's Marymount School to learn more about how the maker movement is making its way into schools. (Edutopia, 2013)

Trees of Knowledge: Learn how one teacher creates learning landscapes with materials, tools, and projects to enable curiosity to take root and knowledge to grow. (Edutopia, 2014)

Research Roundup, Some Studies on Making and Learning: Explore the research supporting the case for making in education. (Makerspace)

Getting Started With Making in Schools

Make the Most of the Maker Movement: Take a look at five suggestions for early adopters of maker approaches in schools. (Edutopia, 2014)

Middle School Maker Journey: Top 20 Technologies and Tools: Examine a list of 20 great tools that can help facilitate great projects and experiences in your makerspace. This post is fifth in a series describing one middle school educator's year-long journey with making -- read all the other posts to learn more about his journey. (Edutopia, 2015)

Supporting Maker Education District-Wide: Review critical components to consider in order to effectively implement maker education within a school district. (Edutopia, 2015)

Maker Education Resources: Explore lesson plans, tools, and tips on integrating maker education in the classroom. (Sonoma County Office of Education)

MakerEd's Resource Library: Browse a library full of resources on everything maker: project ideas, assessment tools, makerspace design tips, and professional development tools. (Maker Ed)

A Blueprint: Maker Programs for Youth: Download a PDF guide on how to design and implement a maker program in your school, community, or just about anywhere. (New York Hall of Science)

What's Next for Maker Education: Find information, resources, and professional-development opportunities in this online guide, including Edsurge's recent coverage on funding and building a makerspace, creating more equitable maker communities, expert tips, Maker Faire, and more. An earlier guide on "How to Build a Maker Community" is also worth a view. (Edsurge, 2016)

Launching School Makerspaces

Building Maker Mindsets and Culture

Designing Classroom Makerspaces for Transformative Learning: Discover how integrating maker culture into curriculum can transform how learning happens in schools. (Edutopia, 2013)

Capture the Learning: Crafting the Maker Mindset: Review a few simple steps for incorporating a maker mindset into how you plan classroom activities. (Edutopia, 2014)

Creating an Authentic Maker Education Rubric: Download a three-part rubric to guide students through process, understanding, and product. An editable version is also available. (Edutopia, 2015)

Design Thinking, Making, and Learning From the Heart: To better understand how to incorporate design thinking into maker education, learn how students engaged their senses and empathy through a WWI memorial project. (Edutopia, 2015)

How Maker Culture Builds Stronger Learning Communities: Learn about an innovative youth leadership program called Public Workshop and how they partnered with high school students to remake their environment. (Edutopia, 2015)

Selecting Maker Tools and Projects

Reaching All Makers

'Diversity Does Not Happen By Accident' and Other Lessons About Equity in the Maker Movement: Explore takeaways from a panel of researchers and practitioners on equity and making, organized by the Stanford School of Education. (Edsurge, 2016)

The New Face of STEAM: See how one school implements culturally responsive instruction in their STEAM Lab, a space that is part makerspace, part artists' studio, and part fabrication laboratory. (Edutopia, 2016)

Encouraging Neurodiversity in Your Makerspace or Classroom: Learn how students with neurological differences bring unique qualities of focus, nonlinear thinking, recall, and brainstorming enthusiasm to a makerspace or classroom. (Edutopia, 2016)

Design Challenge: DIY Assistive Game Controllers: Consider using tools like Makey Makey to transform game controllers into devices that students of any ability can enjoy. (Edutopia, 2014)

Makerspaces for Students With Special Needs: Discover how students with special needs and neurological differences can benefit from the hands-on process, experimental nature, and visible results of maker education. (Edutopia, 2014)

Maker Movement: Bridging the Gap Between Girls and STEM: Find out how girls at the Ellis School are empowered to identify for themselves what personal and community challenges they want to address through making. (ISTE, 2014)

Examples From Schools That Work

Edutopia's flagship series highlights practices and case studies from K-12 schools and districts that are improving the way students learn. Below, dive into real-world examples of maker education in practice.

At Albemarle County Public Schools, maker education fosters student autonomy, ignites student interest, and empowers students to embrace their own learning.

A Student Maker and the Birth of a Startup: Read one student's account of how he responded to a summer maker challenge and ended up demonstrating his sports training product prototype at a White House tech innovation fair.

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The Maker Movement: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants to Own the Future: To better make the case for making, learn about the maker movement's pedagogical roots. (Edutopia, 2014) How the Maker Movement Is Moving Into Classrooms: Get familiar with maker terminology and trends: Maker Faires, fab labs, hackerspaces, makerspaces, and more.