CREATING NGSS-STYLE UNITS FOR HIGH SCHOOL COURSES USING CLEAN AND OTHER RESOURCE COLLECTIONS

AP Environmental Science is one of the broadest Advanced Placement science courses and includes many of the literacy principles for the Earth Sciences (ESLI, 2009), Atmospheric science (UCAR, 2008), Climate (NOAA, 2006), Oceans (Ocean Literacy Network, 2013), and Energy (DOE, 2013). It is highly relevant to students and engages them in the three dimensional learning promoted by the NGSS. For example, students may use the scientific practice of developing and using models to create and augment of model of their local ecosystem to understand ecosystem dynamics. Students learn about the Earth’s systems (both living and nonliving), global changes in atmosphere and oceans, resource use and pollution (College Board/AP, 2013). While the course points to environmental problems, it is critical to maintain a “solutions mindset”. For this, teachers need well-reviewed resources for the classroom.

The CLEAN collection of resources is a rigorously vetted and reviewed set of teaching activities, modules, animations, videos, and visuals that have been “tagged” for the NGSS components they address. Using CLEAN and other reviewed resource collections, it is now possible to design multiple units of study drawing in specific aspects of the NGSS. Each unit has its own set of Science and Engineering Practices, Cross-Cutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas to enable students to be more successful on assessments designed to address the Performance Expectations.

Using NGSS as a guide, units have been created using the resources from CLEAN and other similar resource collections. Examples of two such units, Earth & Atmospheric History and Energy Choices, will be presented along with the process used to create these units.