Educational reform is never far from the top of the priority list of many nationally. Distressing statistics of students in foreign countries outperforming Americans loom over our entire schooling system, prompting a never-ending debate over learning philosophy and a surplus of tests designed to supposedly measure progress.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), created in 2011, aims to revise science plans to be more strategically organized, and to more thoroughly integrate technology and engineering into students’ experiences and understandings.
Not all districts have adopted the NGSS as it is still pending for approval by New York State. ICSD has not officially put NGSS into effect, but teachers are making swift moves to begin its implementation.
“We anticipate that the state will be adopting them soon,” Superintendent Brown said in an interview. “We’re just making the transition. The sooner we can crosswalk, the better.”
Rather than a change in curriculum, the standards are a modification of student performance expectations. This method of standardization allows for flexibility in terms of classroom process and learning technique, while still maintaining a universal level of achievement for all students.
The creators of the NGSS are hoping the new standards will raise the standard of learning for students across the country, and its specially-designed aspects, like application of technology, will have long-term effects on American success in global science and industry.
NGSS aims for a more relevant science education at every grade level, better preparing students to participate in modern industry and compete globally, both in school and later in the workforce.
Throughout the summer, there have been definite steps being taken at ICSD to begin to incorporate them during the new school year. “Teachers have gotten together often over the last year, and they did a lot this summer, to unpack the standards, talk about what they are, the shift,” Brown said in the interview.
In preparation of the integration of NGSS standards into classrooms, the Board of Education appointed former South Hill science teacher Jennifer Wilkie as Teacher on Special Assignment in science, technology, engineering, and math in its last August 25 meeting. Her job will be to work to integrate NGSS concepts into the science curriculum in the district in a way that is representative of ICSD’s mission and philosophy, she said in an email.
“[NGSS] will improve teaching in ICSD,” she wrote, citing the success of a pilot lesson she and her colleague Chris Barley administered last year with elementary-level students, in which students examined their role in the ecosystem through study of local geography and wildlife. Based on new educational standards, this case study allowed students to interact with peers and their natural community while adhering to the standardized expectations of scientific understanding.
However, Wilkie maintained that “What we do with those standards in Ithaca is the big question.” The success of any type of curriculum or standard shift depends entirely on those directly involved—the students and teachers: how open they are to change and how much they are willing to put into their lessons and education, she said.
John Yoon contributed to this report.