Science

Three Dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

In 2012, the National Research Council published A Framework for K-12 Science Education, which served as the inspiration and foundation of the Next Generation Science Standards, which were adopted by Washington in 2013. The Framework was written by a panel of scientists and engineers who identified the key practices of their fields (the Science and Engineering Practices), the most important ideas in science that would be built through grades K-12 (the Disciplinary Core Ideas), and the reasoning or sense-making concepts that were of use in all domains of science and engineering (the Crosscutting Concepts). Together, these three dimensions represent science and engineering as they occur in the real world and how they should be learned by students.

Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs)

The eight Science and Engineering Practices are a set of knowledge and skills needed to engage in the authentic work of science and engineering:

• Asking questions (science) and defining problems (engineering)
• Developing and using models
• Planning and carrying out investigations
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Using mathematics and computational thinking
• Constructing explanations (science) and designing solutions (engineering)
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

These practices work together to form the core activities of scientists and engineering. Note that "the scientific method" is not itself a science and engineering practice, nor does it include all eight of the science and engineering practices. While controlled experiments are a vital component of both science and engineering, there are many other valuable investigation types and ways to gather evidence. Students should develop expertise in a wide range of investigative practices, including, but not limited to, controlled experiments.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs)

The 13 Disciplinary Core Ideas are categorized into four main groups, with each idea having multiple smaller components. These ideas build vertically throughout K-12 to form a learning progression that focuses more on central ideas and less on details or minutiae.

Physical science:

• Matter and its interactions (PS1)
• Motion and stability: Forces and interactions (PS2)
• Energy (PS3)
• Waves and their applications in technologies for information transfer (PS4)

Life science:

• From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes (LS1)
• Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics (LS2)
• Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits (LS3)
• Biological evolution: Unity and diversity (LS4)

Earth and space science:

• Earth's place in the universe (ESS1)
• Earth's systems (ESS2)
• Earth and human activity (ESS3)

Engineering, technology, and applications of science:

• Engineering design (ETS1)
• Links among engineering, technology, science, and society (ETS2)

Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs)

The seven Crosscutting Concepts unite the disciplinary core ideas, promote an integrated view of learning and understanding, and are central reasoning and sense-making strategies. Crosscutting Concepts should be layered into instruction as reasoning and sense making tools for students and have tremendous value as lenses or prompts for debriefing lessons.

• Patterns
• Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
• Scale, proportion, and quantity
• Systems and system models
• Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
• Structure and function
• Stability and change

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