Science & Engineering Practices and Cross- Cutting Standards

Science & Engineering Practices

1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)

2. Developing and using tools

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

A Science Framework for K-12 Science Education National Research Council, 2012

Cross Cutting Concepts

1. Patterns. Observed patterns of forms & events guide organization & classification, & they prompt questions about relationships & the factors that influence them.

2. Cause & Effect: Mechanism & Explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of science is investigating & explaining causal relationships & the mechanisms by which they are mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts & used to predict & explain events in new contexts.

3. Scale, Proportion, & Quantity. In considering phenomena, it is critical to recognize what is relevant at different measures of a size, time, & energy & to recognize how changes in scale, proportion, or quantity affect a system’s structure or performance.

4. Systems & System Models. Defining the system under study (specifying its boundaries & making explicit a model of that system) provides tools for understanding & testing ideas that are applicable throughout science & engineering.

5. Energy & Matter: Flows, Cycles, & Conservation. Tracking fluxes of energy & matter into, out of, & within systems helps one understand the systems’ possibilities & limitations.

6. Structure & Function. The way in which an object or living thing is shaped & its substance determine many of its properties & functions.

7. Stability & Change. For natural & built systems alike, conditions of stability & determinants of rates of change or evolution of a system are critical elements of study.

Next Generation Science Standards, April 2013