On June 25, 2013 the Maryland State Board of Education adopted the
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a set of rigorous and internationally benchmarked standards for K-12 science education. Twenty-six states including Maryland and their broad-based lead teams worked collaboratively with a 41-member writing team and partners throughout the country to develop the NGSS. Since that time, educators from around the state have met to determine the best way for Maryland teachers to transition from the existing Maryland State Curriculum to the NGSS.
Next Generation Science Standards for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Workforce
The links in this section take you to the Next Generation Science Standards website where you will find comprehensive descriptions of the standards, the process of developing the standards and resources to better understand and teach them.
The NGSS are composed of the
three dimensions from the
NRC Framework. The National Research Council’s (NRC)
Framework describes a vision of what it means to be proficient in science; it rests on a view of science as both a body of knowledge and an evidence-based, model and theory building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. It presents three dimensions that will be combined to form each standard:
Dimension 1: Practices
The practices describe behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world and the key set of engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build models and systems.
The NRC uses the term practices instead of a term like "skills" to emphasize that engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is specific to each practice. Part of the NRC's intent is to better explain and extend what is meant by "inquiry" in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires.
Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts
Crosscutting concepts describe concepts that bridge disciplinary boundaries, having explanatory value throughout much of science and engineering. These crosscutting concepts have application across all domains of science. They are a way of linking the different domains of science. The seven crosscutting concepts include: Patterns; Cause and effect; Scale, proportion and quantity; Systems and system models; Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation; Structure and function; Stability and change. The Framework emphasizes that these concepts need to be made explicit for students because they provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world.
Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas
Disciplinary core ideas have the power to focus K–12
science curriculum, instruction, and assessments on the most important aspects of science. To be considered core, the ideas met 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.
Disciplinary ideas are grouped in four major domains:
physical sciences; the
life sciences; the
earth and space sciences; and
engineering, technology and applications of science.
There are three ways to view the standards:
Mary C. H. Weller
Coordinator for Science
Division of Curriculum, Instructional Improvement and Professional Learning
Phone: 410-767-0329 Fax: 410-333-1146
Email: Mary.Weller@maryland.gov
Jeremy HaackScience Specialist
Division of Curriculum, Instructional Improvement and Professional Learning
Phone: 410-767-4663 Fax: 410-333-1146Email: jeremy.haack@maryland.gov
Kirsten JacksonEnvironmental Literacy Specialist
Division of Curriculum, Instructional Improvement and Professional LearningPhone: 410-767-0323 Fax: 410-333-1146
Email:
Kirsten.Jackson1@maryland.gov
Jeremy R. Marcus-Wenger
Science Assessment Specialist
Division of Assessment, Accountability and Information Technology
Phone: 410-767-0860
Fax:410-333-0052