Science Standards Revisions and the
Implications for Local Curriculum Design
Michael Heinz
Science Coordinator
Office of Math and
Science Education
“Welcome to the Museum of Science and Industry.”
Pop Quiz!
1. Define the term “Inquiry.”
2. What are the “Habits of Mind”?
3. Define “Lab Science Course.”
Your task is to review and revise the
NJCCCS for science, identifying what
students (1.4 X 106) should know and
be able to do by the end of 12th
grade.
How would you approach this task?
Science Core Writing Team
• Rick Duschl – Rutgers then PSU
• Michael Heinz - Office of Math and
Science Education
• Missy Holzer – Chatam High School
• Carlo Parravano – Merck Institute for
Science Education
• Sharon Sherman – TCNJ
• Lisa Solmose – LSC/ Office of Math and
Science Education
Logic Model
• Bring together the
best and brightest
people devoid of
personal agendas.
• Develop Learning
Progressions.
• What should students
be able to DO if they
• Identify WHAT are the
understand X?
fundamental concepts
and principles of
• Provide clear and
science.
concise language for
teachers.
Contributors and First Round
Review
•
•
•
•
•
•
NJ Math and Science Education Coalition
Rider University
The College of New Jersey
Raritan Valley Community College
Rutgers University
Kean University
Essential Features of Inquiry
• Learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions.
• Learners give priority to evidence, which allows them to
develop and evaluate explanations that address
scientifically oriented questions.
• Learners formulate explanations from evidence to
address scientifically oriented questions.
• Learners evaluate their explanations in light of alternative
explanations, particularly those reflecting scientific
understanding.
• Learners communicate and justify their proposed
explanations (NRC, 2000).
Habits of Mind
• Students should actively participate in scientific
investigations and use cognitive and manipulative skills
associated with the formulation of scientific explanations
(NRC, 1996).
• Students should use evidence, apply logic, and construct
arguments for their proposed explanations. (Duschl,
2004).
• The revised standards emphasize the importance of
students, rather than teachers, creating scientific
arguments and explanations for observations made
during investigations (NRC, 2007).
Lab Science Courses
• Laboratory Science Courses are
those courses where students are
systematically provided ongoing
opportunities to interact directly
with the material world (or data
drawn from the material world),
using tools, data collection
techniques, models, and theories
of science (NRC, 2006).
This definition includes the following student activities:
• Physical manipulation of the real-world substances
or systems under investigation.
This may include such activities as chemistry
experiments, plant or animal dissections in biology,
and investigation of rocks or minerals for identification
in earth science.
This definition includes the following student activities:
• Interaction with simulations.
Physical models have been used throughout the history
of science teaching (Lunetta, 1998). Today, students
can work with computerized models, or simulations,
representing aspects of natural phenomena that
cannot be observed directly, because they are very
large, very small, very slow, very fast, or very
complex. Using simulations, students may model the
interaction of molecules in chemistry or manipulate
models of cells, animal or plant systems, wave
motion, weather patterns, or geological formations.
This definition includes the following student activities:
• Interaction with data drawn from the real world.
Students may interact with real-world data that are
obtained and represented in a variety of forms. For
example, they may study photographs to examine
characteristics of the moon or other heavenly bodies
or analyze emission and absorption spectra in the
light from stars. Data may be incorporated in films,
DVDs, computer programs, or other formats.
This definition includes the following student activities:
• Access to large databases.
In many fields of science, researchers have arranged
for empirical data to be normalized and aggregated—
for example, genome databases, astronomy image
collections, databases of climatic events over long
time periods, biological field observations. With the
help of the Internet, some students sitting in science
class can now access these authentic and timely
scientific data. Students can manipulate and analyze
these data drawn from the real world in new forms of
laboratory experiences (Bell, 2005).
This definition includes the following student activities:
• Remote access to scientific instruments and
observations.
A few classrooms around the nation experience
laboratory activities enabled by Internet links to
remote instruments. Some students and teachers
study insects by accessing and controlling an
environmental scanning electron microscope
(Thakkar et al., 2000), while others control automated
telescopes (Gould, 2004).
This definition does NOT includes the following
student activities:
• It does NOT include student manipulation or analysis
of data created by a teacher to replace or substitute for
direct interaction with the material world. For example, if
a physics teacher presented students with a constructed
data set on the weight and required pulling force for
boxes pulled across desks with different surfaces, asking
the students to analyze these data, the students’
problem-solving activity would not constitute a laboratory
experience according to the definition.
How will the science
standards revisions impact
our curriculum?
It depends….
Contact Information
Mike Heinz
Office of Math and Science Education
michael.heinz@doe.state.nj.us
http://www.nj.gov/education/aps/cccs/science/
PHYSICAL SCIENCE (5.2): Physical science principles, including fundamental ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are
powerful conceptual tools for making sense of phenomena in physical, living, Earth, and space systems.
A. Properties of Matter: All objects and substances in the natural world are composed of matter. Matter has two
fundamental properties: matter takes up space, and matter has inertia.
Pre-K
5.2.P.A1
Observe,
manipulat
e, sort and
describe
objects
and
materials
in the
classroom
and
outdoor
environme
nt based
on size,
shape,
color,
texture
and
weight.
By the end of
grade 2
By the end of
grade 4
Content:
Objects are made
of parts.
Content:
Some objects are
composed of a
single substance;
others are
composed of more
than one substance.
Objects can be
described in terms
of the materials
that they are made
of and their
physical
properties.
5.2.2A1: Sort and
describe objects
based on the
materials they are
made of and their
physical
properties.
5.2.4 A 1: Identify
objects that are
composed of a
single substance
and those that are
composed of more
than one substance
using simple tools
found in the
classroom.
By the
end of
grade 6
By the end of
grade 8
By the end of grade 12
Content:
All substances are
composed of one
or more of
approximately one
hundred elements.
Content:
Electrons, protons, and neutrons
are parts of the atom and have
measurable properties including
mass and, in the case of protons
and electrons, charge.
5.2.8 A 1: Analyze
and explain the
implications of the
statement “all
substances are
composed of
elements.”
The nuclei of atoms are composed
of protons and neutrons.
A kind of force that is only evident
at nuclear distances holds the
particles of the nucleus together
against the electrical repulsion
between the protons.
5.2.12 A 1: Use atomic models to
predict the behaviors of atoms in
interactions.
Bell, P. (2005). The school science laboratory: Considerations of learning, technology, and scientific
practice. Paper prepared for the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision.
Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/July_1213_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html.
Duschl, R. (2004). The HS lab experience: Reconsidering the role of evidence, explanation, and the
language of science. Paper prepared for the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and
Vision, July 12-13, National Research Council, Washington, DC. Available at:
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/July_12-13_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html
[accessed Nov. 2004].
Gould, R. (2004). About micro observatory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Available at: http://mowww.harvard.edu/MicroObservatory/ [accessed Sept. 2004].
Lunetta, V. (1998). The school science laboratory: Historical perspectives and contexts for contemporary
teaching. In B.J. Fraser and K.G. Tobin (Eds.), International handbook of science education (pp. 249262). London, England: Kluwer Academic.
National Research Council. (2006). America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science.
Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Board on Science Education, Center for Education,
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Washington, DC: The National Academies
Press
Thakkar, U., Carragher, B., Carroll, L., Conway, C., Grosser, B., Kisseberth, N., Potter, C.S., Robinson,
S., Sinn-Hanlon, J., Stone, D., and Weber, D. (2000). Formative evaluation of Bugscope: A sustainable
world wide laboratory for K-12. Paper prepared for the annual meeting of the American Educational
Research Association, Special Interest Group on Advanced Technologies for Learning, April 24-28, New
Orleans, LA. Available at: http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/publications/index.htm#papers [accessed
May 2005].