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Resource credit: Science Gal TPT

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*resource credit Ashley Blood*

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Goals For Productive Discussion and Nine Talk Moves

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Goals For Productive Discussion and Nine Talk Moves

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Accountable Talk

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*Inspired by Ashley Blood's PD*

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Read to find out more!

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Now that the previous blog helped us gain a stronger understanding of the three dimensions of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), let's shift our attention to the key innovation for NGSS: sense-making.

What is Sense-Making in NGSS?

Science is fundamentally about making sense of the natural world. Sense-making is the conceptual process in which a learner actively engages with the natural or designed world, wonders about it, and then develops, tests, and refines ideas.

We often use the phrase "figure something out." When you are trying to figure something out, you are trying to make sense of it. You are engaged in the process of sense-making. Essentially, sense-making is about actively trying to figure out the way the world works (for scientific questions) and exploring how to create or alter things to achieve design goals (for engineering questions).

Integrating Sense-Making with Knowledge

NGSS is shifting instruction away from simply knowing science to emphasizing using science and engineering practices to make sense of the world or solve problems.

Information-based instruction is still important: we still want our students to know science. Students must have information in order to make sense of the information. The converse is not true-students can know information without being able to make sense of it. Take Figure 1 for example. A student could memorize and "know" all of the words/terms in the diagram, without having any understanding of what those terms do or mean. The result is that students may know science without being able to use it-which is what NGSS aims to correct.

Figure 1.

In traditional science classrooms, an observer might be sparked to ask, "What are you learning about right now?" and receive responses such as, "We are learning about photosynthesis." The observer's question and the students' remote response are indicative of how science was taught in the past: through learning and memorizing of facts. The goal of NGSS is for observers to walk into our reformed science classrooms today and ask, "What are you trying to figure out right now?" and receive responses such as, "We're trying to figure out how the tiny seed becomes this huge oak tree." This type of observation and student response exemplifies the reformed NGSS classroom: students are figuring out the world and using sense-making in the classroom.

Sense-Making Ties the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) Together

As we discussed in our previous blog, there are three categories of Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs): Investigating Practices, Sense-Making Practices, and Critiquing Practices. SEPs are how we build, test, refine, and use knowledge to either investigate or solve problems.
Figure 2.

McNeill, Katsh-Singer & Pelletier, 2015

While sense-making is its own dedicated SEP category, the sense-making process ties the SEPs together. Sense-making is part of investigating and critiquing practices, too, and you need all of the SEPs in order to make sense of the world. The SEPs always operate in conjunction with each other-never in isolation-and sense-making is the common thread.

Figure 3.

Schwarz, C. V., Passmore, C., & Reiser, B. J. (2017)
Let's look at an example. Figure 4 shows the sense-making process that NGSS guides students to follow as they try to figure things out.

Figure 4.

The process essentially boils down to these four questions:

1. What are we trying to figure out?

2. How will we figure it out?

3. How do we keep track of what we are figuring out?

4. How does it all fit together? What does it mean?

Notice how SEPs from the other categories are used in students' sense-making process. Sense-making is both used throughout the SEPs, and cannot be accomplished without the other SEPs.

Developing and Using Models (SEP 2) as an Anchor Practice

There are three SEPs under the "Sense-Making Practices" category: Analyzing and Interpreting Data (SEP 4), Constructing Explanations (SEP 5), and Developing and Using Models (SEP 2). Developing and Using Models is extremely important: it is a productive anchor for all of the other science and engineering practices-or, a vehicle by which the other SEPs can be learned.
Figure 5.

Rich Hedman & Cindy Passmore, 2013
Figure 5 illustrates the connection of Developing and Using Models (SEP 2) with all of the other SEPs:

Models help identify questions and predict answers (SEP 1)

Models help point to empirical investigations (SEP 3)

Models are the filter through which data are interpreted (SEP 4)

Models are revised and applied to "answer" or explain, predict and solve (SEP 4 & SEP 6)

We use Mathematics to formulate some models and mathematical reasoning to evaluate models (SEP 5)

Argumentation is involved in both developing and evaluating models (SEP 7)

Models hold and organize relevant information and become the focus of communicating ideas (SEP 8)

Models are broadly defined as a set of ideas about how something in the world works. Essentially, models are the tools we use for visualizing and making sense of the natural world. Using models throughout instruction not only helps students learn the other SEPs, but also helps students understand how and when models can be used to figure out something in the world around them-now and in the future.

Applying Sense-Making & Developing and Using Models to the Classroom

Like we said, NGSS is moving instruction away from just providing resources for students to learn or memorize-and toward helping students "figure out." That means one of the most important shifts for teachers in transitioning into NGSS is learning how to facilitate the sense-making process with students. This shift allows students to make sense of phenomena and problems in the classroom (which demonstrates a deep understanding of the three dimensions).

This often raises a really good question: How? How do I start shifting my instruction from focusing on information to focusing on sense-making?

Models in science serve as the functional unit of scientific thought. A core model can anchor science instruction that includes all of the NGSS science and engineering practices. Simply put: developing and using models are a powerful tool educators can use to start the transition to a sense-making classroom.

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Illuminate Education is a provider of educational technology and services offering innovative data, assessment and student information solutions. Serving K-12 schools, our cloud-based software and services currently assist more than 1,600 school districts in promoting student achievement and success. Ready to discover your one-stop shop for your district's educational needs? Let's talk.

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Sense-Making is the Core of NGSS - Illuminate Education

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Now that the previous blog helped us gain a stronger understanding of the three dimensions of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), let's shift our attention to the key innovation for NGSS: sense-making. What is Sense-Making in NGSS? Science is fundamentally about making sense of the natural world.

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Read this article to learn more about the NGSS

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The continuous expansion of scientific knowledge makes it nearly impossible to teach all of the pieces of a given science discipline (in detail) for K-12 students. The role of science education is not to teach the memorization of facts, but to prepare students with core knowledge that they can build upon, on their own, in the future. Preparing our students with a set of core ideas and practices allows them to continue their development as scientific learners, users of scientific knowledge, and possibly, as producers of this knowledge.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have moved teaching science away from covering many isolated facts, toward helping students build a rich network of connected ideas. This network serves as a conceptual tool for explaining phenomena, solving problems, making decisions, and acquiring new ideas.

NGSS focuses on three-dimensional learning which include the following three dimensions: Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs). The NGSS present standards as knowledge-in-use performance expectations, and each performance expectation integrates the three dimensions.

So what does all of that mean?

Even though NGSS have been around for some time, there can still be confusion around the dimensions. A deep understanding of the three dimensions of NGSS-and how they work together-is essential for developing instruction that both proceeds coherently over time and allows students to build this rich conceptual framework. Let's walk through an overview to start the journey of gaining a deep understanding of the three dimensions-and their value to the teaching and learning of 21 st century science.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs)
What are NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs)?
Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) form the basis of what most educators would consider "content knowledge," also known as scientific facts. DCIs are central to every science field, and guide scientists and learners in observing, thinking, explaining phenomena, solving problems, and asking/finding answers to new questions.

These core ideas are organized into NGSS' four disciplines of science: Physical Science (PS), Life Sciences (LS), Earth and Space Sciences (ESS), and Engineering, Technology and the Applications of Science (ETS). NGSS advises that in order for an idea to be considered core, it "should meet at least two of the following criteria and ideally all four:

Have broad importance across multiple sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing concept of a single discipline;

Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems;

Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge;

Be teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication."

NGSS DCIs vs Previous Standards: An Example
DCIs are structured differently from how the previous standards were structured. Each DCI is a conceptual whole that helps guide students' thinking. They also link to other DCIs to help students form a deeper understanding that they can use to make sense of the world around them. They move classroom teaching away from having students memorize a number of disconnected facts and concepts, to where students develop a connected understanding of a few powerful concepts that they use to make sense of the world and design solutions to problems. Let's look at an example comparing an older science standard to NGSS:

Older science standard 1.a: Students know cells function similarly in all living organisms.

NGSS - MS-LS1-2: Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

In the NGSS performance expectation, students are called upon to show knowledge in one of the selected core ideas (or scientific facts) designated for Life Science at middle school 6-8 (e.g., knowledge of cell function and parts, such as nucleus, chloroplasts, mitochondria, cell membrane, and cell wall). That is the DCI. The other two dimensions (SEPs and CCCs) are present in the performance expectation, as well.

Science and Engineering Practices
What are NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)?
The Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) describe a) the major science practices that scientists employ as they investigate and build models/theories about the world and b) a key set of engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build systems.

The SEPs are not independent, but rather overlap and work synergistically in classrooms. They can be grouped into 3 categories: Investigating Practices, Sensemaking Practices, and Critiquing Practices.

McNeill, Katsh-Singer & Pelletier, 2015

Investigating Practices: These practices focus on students asking questions, planning and conducting investigations, and using mathematical and computational thinking about the natural world-resulting in the production of data.

Sensemaking Practices: These practices include the many ways that students can analyze and make sense of data while developing models and constructing explanations about the natural world.

Critiquing Practices: These practices are often left out of K-12 science education. Critiquing practices emphasize students evaluating and arguing about different models and explanations, which ultimately helps them develop stronger understandings about the natural world. This category also includes Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information.

Fitting the SEPs Together

McNeill, Katsh-Singer & Pelletier, 2015

It can be overwhelming to think about the SEPs-especially for those that are new to NGSS. Essentially, students first use their investigating practices (asking questions, planning/conducting investigations, computational/mathematical thinking), to get their data. Once they have data from the investigating practices, they are able to use their sensemaking practices to develop and use models, analyze and interpret the data, and start to construct explanations. Now, with their explanations and/or models, they can focus on critiquing practic es to engage in argument based on evidence and obtain/evaluate/communicate information.
SEP Example
Let's return to our original example:

Older science standard 1.a: Students know cells function similarly in all living organisms.

NGSS - MS-LS1-2: Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

This performance expectation integrates the Sensemaking Practice of Developing and Using Models. The idea of standards including both content (DCIs) and practices (SEPs) is not necessarily new. However, the third dimension of Crosscutting Concepts can take more getting used to.

Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs)
What are NGSS Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs)?
Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) provide students with a conceptual framework that helps students make sense of new content. They emphasize the need to consider not only disciplinary content, but also the ideas and practices that cut across the science disciplines. CCCs serve as intellectual tools for connecting important ideas across different domains, and provide students with an organizational framework based on behavior and function.

CCCs generally work together to provide clarity in making sense of a phenomena. We can organize the CCCs into three categories: Causality, Systems, and Patterns.

Moulding et al., 2015

Patterns guide organization and classification. They prompt questions about relationships and the factors that influence those relationships. Identifying patterns helps scientists to identify phenomena and predict outcomes.

Systems provide students with a way to understand the interactions of a system's components and the concepts that define the system. Scale & Proportion, Change & Stability, and Matter & Energy fall into this category.

Causality is the central CCC: it is the HOW and the WHY. Causality is the key to making sense of a phenomenon. Cause and Effect and Structure & Function fall under this group.

CCC Example:
When we return to our example, we see that the Crosscutting Concept of Causality (specifically Structure & Function) is used in the performance expectation:

Older science standard 1.a: Students know cells function similarly in all living organisms.

NGSS - MS-LS1-2:Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

Why are the CCCs on equal footing with the SEPs and DCIs?
To illustrate the importance of CCCs, let's use an example from a cognitive psychology research study. It focused on the distinction between how expert and novice chess players organize ideas.

Chess experts and novices were shown pieces randomly arranged on a chess board. They were asked to recreate the arrangement of pieces on the board from memory. Novices tended to remember only individual pieces and their position in space. Experts, however, grouped pieces together based on the strategic moves that the piece could make in the game. The experts could then use this conceptual framework to organize and make sense of any configuration of pieces on the board. In general, novices rely on surface features (isolated facts or formulas) to organize ideas, while experts develop and use a conceptual framework, sorting new knowledge using big ideas or broad categories. Sound familiar?

Using surface features like novices is the old way of learning science. Using a conceptual framework like the experts is the new NGSS way of learning science! CCCs help students think like experts by providing them with a conceptual framework around which they can build their understanding and new ideas.

NGSS Performance Expectations: Putting DCIs, SEPs & CCCs Together

As we said, performance expectations integrate the three dimensions: DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs. Let's look at our example one last time:

Older science standard 1.a: Students know cells function similarly in all living organisms.

NGSS - MS-LS1-2:Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

DCI: LS1.A - Describe the function of a cell as a whole and parts of cells

SEP: Sensemaking Practices - Develop and use a model

CCC: Causality - Contribute to the function

Understanding the three dimensions of NGSS is a critical first step toward preparing students for NGSS performance expectations-but, it's only the beginning. If you have other specific questions about NGSS, leave a comment or contact us!

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Illuminate Education is a provider of educational technology and services offering innovative data, assessment and student information solutions. Serving K-12 schools, our cloud-based software and services currently assist more than 1,600 school districts in promoting student achievement and success. Ready to discover your one-stop shop for your district's educational needs? Let's talk.

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NGSS Without Dimensions = NGSS Without Proficiency - Illuminate Education

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The continuous expansion of scientific knowledge makes it nearly impossible to teach all of the pieces of a given science discipline (in detail) for K-12 students. The role of science education is not to teach the memorization of facts, but to prepare students with core knowledge that they can build upon, on their own, in...