NGSS, PE, DCI, CCC/CC, SEP. Do these abbreviations sound familiar but also look a bit like alphabet soup? There are many acronyms to keep up with these days between text lingo and workplace terms. It can feel quite overwhelming, so let’s break it all down.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations (PE) are made up of the three dimensions: disciplinary core ideas (DCI), crosscutting concepts (CCC/CC), and science and engineering practices (SEP). Whether you’re an NGSS state or a Framework state or have state-specific standards, you’ve likely come across these terms. You can see how your state aligns with PhD Science® in our alignment studies.
What are the Next Generation Science Standards, and how were they developed?
Since there was already mention of the Framework, let’s start there. The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences developed A Framework for K–12 Science Education. The Framework served as the foundational research that ultimately led to the development of the NGSS. The goal was to apply research to determine what science content all K–12 students should know and incorporate how students can learn it most effectively.
What are the three dimensions?
To ensure that students are taught science most effectively, the team behind the NGSS realized that knowledge and practice should be intertwined. Therefore, the PEs integrate relevant SEPs and CCs with targeted DCIs. Students uncover DCIs by engaging in the SEPs with the SEPs at the core of everything that students do to make sense of the concepts. The CCs allow students to see the connections across science domains and grade levels, as these are applied in varied contexts and aren’t covered in isolation. The three dimensions together serve as the lens students use to make sense of phenomena (observable events).
This leads to an apt analogy. Consider the PEs as a microscope.
The DCIs are the content on a slide that is under the microscope’s focus.
The SEPs are how students engage and use the tool of the microscope.
The CCs bring it all into focus with different lenses changing the scale.
How does PhD Science address the NGSS and the three dimensions?
PhD Science is designed not only to integrate the three dimensions but also to engage students in sensemaking with the three dimensions. The teacher–writers took careful consideration in the crafting of the program and use authentic, real-world phenomena to enrich students’ knowledge building of scientific concepts. The program addresses the NGSS in the topics covered and includes the standards with dimensions broken down in the Teach book.
For instance, in Level 3 Module 2 on survival and change, students work to answer the driving question: How have butterflies survived on Earth for millions of years? In the Module Overview, you’ll find that the lesson objectives cover both Earth and life sciences along with details of three dimensions addressed throughout the module.
As you get into our lessons and lesson parts, you’ll find resources to prepare the classroom for instruction. Additionally, this is where you’ll find the breakdown of materials needed for each part.
No matter your familiarity with the NGSS, PhD Science has the supports you need to implement high-quality, phenomenon-based science. You can explore the concepts covered, phenomena investigated, and questions answered in the curriculum module map. Also, take the opportunity to learn more about K–6 PhD Science and review the materials for free. The K–2 version is available as open educational resource (OER) PDFs.
Read The Makings of a High-Quality Science Curriculum blog post.
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Great Minds PBC is a public benefit corporation and a subsidiary of Great Minds, a nonprofit organization. A group of education leaders founded Great Minds® in 2007 to advocate for a more content-rich, comprehensive education for all children. In pursuit of that mission, Great Minds brings together teachers and scholars to create exemplary instructional materials that provide joyful rigor to learning, spark and reward curiosity, and impart knowledge with equal parts delight.
Topics: Featured Science High-Quality Curriculum Getting Started - PhD Science
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