NGSS Breakdown: The Space Station View

I thought I'd write out a bit of what I understand about the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).  This is not even a birds-eye view of NGSS, it's the space-station view.  There are plenty of better reviews, but here's mine.

NGSS is based off of A Framework for K-12 Science Education, a brief 400 page explanation on how we need to be teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM, from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

NGSS is intended to be a benchmark for the science that all informed citizens must know.  Not everyone needs to know the clotting cascade but everyone should know how to interpret a graph and understand basic ecology.  Students interested in honors and AP courses for college transcripts can still take them, but all students must meet the minimum NGSS Standards.

NGSS is concerned with these three branches of science:

1. Earth Science - Earth & Universe, Earth's Systems, Earth and Human Activity
2. Physical Science - Matter & its Interactions, Motion/Stability, Energy, Waves
3. Life Science - Organic Structures, Ecosystems, Heredity, Evolution

NGSS Breakdown

NGSS delivery has 3 Dimensions:

1. Dimension 1: Science and Engineering Practices - This is concerned primarily with what all students must be able to Know and Do.
   There are 8 subtopics
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions) for engineering
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
2. Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts - This is primarily concerned with Fundamental Questions and Bridging Concepts.  After all, you can't really teach biology without understanding basic earth and physical science.
   There are 7 subtopics
1. Patterns
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity
4. Systems and System Models
5. Energy and Matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
6. Structure and function
7. Stability and change
3. Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas -  This is concerned with Content delivered in a logical Progression. Here we get to specific science content.  In 1st grade, a student may learn about using their senses to tell whether something is warm or cool; in 11th grade, students may learn how to take the temperature of a substance using different thermal scales.
   There are 44 subtopics that I will not include here.  Take a look at how the core ideas are presented over a student's entire K-12 career: K-12 Core Disciplinary Ideas (.pdf)

Bozeman Biology has an excellent YouTube channel and a terrific website, BozemanScience.com, that offers a range of science-related videos.  Paul Anderson does a good job explaining NGSS and is in the process of producing individual videos on each aspect of the standards.  

I'm very optimistic about the state of science education once this is all rolled out.  At its core, NGSS works on leading students beyond data memorization and information regurgitation to critical thinking and problem solving.  The current No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards are quite long in the tooth and NGSS is coming.  ...eventually.  ...maybe in 5 years.