THE CLEAN COLLECTION OF RESOURCES IS NGSS ALIGNED. NOW WHAT?

When first encountered, the Next Generation Science Standards can be intimidating. These standards are almost as complex as the art of teaching itself and require more training and study than past sets of k12 science standards. Master teachers who have been in the secondary setting have been using state standards derived from the National Science Education Standards and the AAAS Benchmarks for years. However, the NGSS are a whole new way of thinking about what we teach and how we teach it, requiring an integrated approach between content, practices and crosscutting concepts.

The NGSS emphasizes Earth and Space Science and with that, there is a greater need for resources that meet these demands. The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network or CLEAN collection of resources contains over 600 modules, lessons, activities, simulations, videos, and diagrams that have been rigorously peer reviewed by both educators and scientists. This collection is now entirely aligned with the NGSS and can be sorted based on Performance Expectations (PEs), Crosscutting Concepts (CCs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) and Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs).

This presentation will demonstrate how items in the CLEAN collection were aligned at the NGSS “bullet level”. Once aligned, gaps and overlaps within the collection are identified and future resource collection efforts can focus on finding and developing resources that address any conceptual gaps in the Disciplinary Core Ideas and Crosscutting Concepts, as well as skill-level gaps emphasized by the Science and Engineering Practices. Furthermore, preservice and inservice teacher training can utilize the CLEAN collection to demonstrate how the NGSS can be implemented in a more cohesive and purposeful manner.