HIGHER EDUCATION CONNECTIONS WITH THE K-12 NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS): A DRIVING FORCE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have been adopted/adapted by 33 percent of US states since released in 2013. Structured in a three-dimensional framework – Practice, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts – the NGSS has a significant impact on science teacher preparation programs under the dimension of Practice. The Practice dimension requires teachers to be involved in scientific research in higher education courses to better understand and model scientific (and engineering) practice in the K-12 classroom. That said, how does higher education meet the Practice requirements under our current course structures for pre-service teachers since many of these courses are content specific lacking authentic research development? Are research courses available? Can/should research be embedded in existing courses? Are internships to conduct scientific research available locally during the academic year? Let us explore the possibilities in Q&A.