ED34C-06
SUPPORTING NGSS-CONGRUENT INSTRUCTION IN EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE THROUGH EDUCATOR IMPLEMENTATION AND FEEDBACK: REFINING THE DIG TEXAS BLUEPRINTS

Wednesday, 16 December 2015: 17:15
104 (Moscone South)
Belinda E Jacobs, Cedar Ridge High School, Round Rock Independent School District, Round Rock, TX, United States, Katherine Kelly Ellins, Univ of Texas-Inst for Geophys, Austin, TX, United States, Eric M Riggs, Texas A & M University College Station, College Station, TX, United States, Laura F Serpa, Univ. of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, United States and Eric Stocks, University of Texas at Tyler, Educational Psychology, Tyler, TX, United States
Abstract:
The development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a framework around which to guide K-12 science instruction has generated a call for rigorous curricula that meets the demand for developing a workforce with expertise in tackling modern Earth science challenges. The Diversity and Innovation in Geosciences (DIG) Texas Blueprints project addresses this need for quality, aligned curricula with educator-vetted, freely available resources carefully selected and compiled into three week thematic units that have been aligned with the Earth Science Literacy Principles and the NGSS. These units can then be packaged into customized blueprints for a year-long Earth & Space Science course that engages students in the relevant disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices.

As part of supporting NGSS-congruent instruction, each unit has extensive scaffolding notes for the learning activities selected for that unit. Designed with both the new and veteran teacher in mind, these scaffolding notes yield information regarding advanced teacher preparation, student prerequisite skills, and potential challenges that might arise during classroom implementation. Feedback from Texas high school teachers implementing the DIG Texas Blueprints in the classroom, in addition to that of university secondary education majors in a preparation course utilizing the blueprints, instigated the most recent revisions to these scaffolding notes. The DIG Texas Blueprints Educator Intern Team charged with these revisions then determined which learning activities became candidates for either inclusion in the refined units, retention as an additional resource, or elimination from the blueprints.

This presentation will focus on the development of these scaffolding notes and their role in supporting congruence with the NGSS. A review of the second year of implementation of the blueprints and the feedback that generated the final revisions will be shared, as well as the current accessibility status of the DIG Texas Blueprints resources

<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>