The NGSS are best understood in the context of the National Academy’s Framework for K-12 Science Education. It is highly suggested that teachers and administrators read the Framework first before attempting to implement the standards.
The NGSS are best understood in the context of the National Academy’s Framework for K-12 Science Education. It is highly suggested that teachers and administrators read the Framework first before attempting to implement the standards.
What are the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)? The NGSS are a set of performance expectations that describe what students should know and be able to do at various stages in their K-12 development, and were written with wide-scale student assessment in mind. The NGSS are not written as curriculum: they do not provide details about what students need in order to master a big idea. The NGSS do not provide explicit guidelines to teachers about instructional approaches; educators are expected to use their discretion when making decisions about pacing, order, and teaching method.
Why should I care about the NGSS? The NGSS is a result of a nationwide attempt to increase science literacy for all. Physics is fundamental to this effort. The writing of the NGSS was based upon work by the National Academies and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was written by 41 science educators and leaders from 26 Lead States. Even if your school district or state has not adopted the NGSS, understanding them is key to engaging in the national discussion about science education.
What do the NGSS look like? Below is a sample standard related to physics. The NGSS are performance objectives (defining a student action for assessment) that include both depth of content (Disciplinary Core Ideas), skills (Science and Engineering Practices), and interconnections with other science disciplines (Crosscutting Concepts). The NGSS are also aligned with Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts / Literacy and Mathematics. See “Reading the NGSS” in this guide for a much more detailed explanation of how these facets of each standard are related to one another.
Ex.: HS-PS3-5. Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electrical or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction. [Clarification Statement: Examples of models could include drawings, diagrams, and texts, such as drawings of what happens when two charges of opposite polarity are near each other.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to systems containing two objects.]
Where do I find physics content in the NGSS? Because the NGSS place heavy emphasis on the interdisciplinary nature of science and engineering, the standards are not explicitly organized by subject. Although physics can be found (alongside chemistry) in the Physical Science grouping of standards, physics concepts can also be found in the study of Earth and Space Science (i.e. gravity), Life Sciences (i.e. energy flow), and Engineering standards.
How would adoption of the NGSS affect the physics courses that I teach? The answer to this is dependent upon both your existing teaching style and course content. While most standard high school physics courses will include the “big topics” addressed by the NGSS (Motion, Forces, Energy, and Waves), the NGSS also places a heavy emphasis on interdisciplinary understandings and engineering. Teachers might find that they need to make more room for teaching these additional skills, shift their instructional approach, and/or to take more professional development themselves in order to help students address these standards.
What is the AAPT’s position on the NGSS? The AAPT supports the spirit and purpose of NGSS as implemented in the context of the Framework, but does not endorse any set of standards.
Where can I learn more about the NGSS? Get new resources that align with and support the use of the NGSS at http://aapt.org/k12. Visit http://www.nextgenscience.org to read and learn more about each of the NGSS performance expectations. See “Resources for Implementing the NGSS” near the end of this booklet.
