Brand new science learning standards - "What is my scholar learning in chemistry?"

The New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) were adopted in 2016 based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This update to learning standards will make all science courses look different than when all of us took science in high school.

The 1996 NYS Science Standards had an emphasis on facts about content, like "Oxygen has an atomic number of 8 meaning it has 8 protons". The 2016 and beyond NYSSLS has a great emphasis on conceptual understanding, critical thinking skills, modeling understanding, and analyzing, evaluating, and creating claims.

The standards are not a watered down version of the 1996 standards, but instead a new way of thinking about science learning. The NYSSLS are divided into 3 core areas:

1. Cross-cutting concepts (CCCs) - these are the concepts that are true across all of the sciences that make science as a way of knowing and exploring the world from different ways of knowing. These concepts extend through biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics.

2. Disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) - these are the key ideas and understandings within the discipline of chemistry that are important for students to learn to have a strong understanding of chemistry as they transition to college and career. Unlike the 1996 standards emphasis on facts like "Oxygen has an atomic number of 8", the new standards aim to have students learn concepts that they can extend and transfer to multiple scenarios such as "The periodic table orders elements horizontally by the number of protons in the atom's nucleus and places those with similar chemical properties in columns. The repeating patterns of this table reflect patterns of outer electron states. (HS-PS1-1)"

3. Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) - these are not simply the lab skills required to be a scientist or chemist, but the practices that scientists and chemists use to define problems, plan experiments, conduct experiments, evaluate data, use math and computational thinking, assess claims and counterclaims, draw conclusions, and communicate their findings. These skills are critical for becoming scientifically literate citizens in our world, advocating for self and other, and for college and career no matter what your scholar may pursue.

Traditionally, science classes would start their school year with a "Scientific Method" unit - General Chemistry begins the year in a very similar way, but with the updated and new Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) that we will be using and practicing all year long.

This year in particular I am excited to share that we are collaborating with other urban, suburban, and rural school districts in our area on a collaborative unit exploring these Science and Engineering Practices through understanding COVID-19 and its impact on our community. You can learn more about that unit, by clicking here.

While Regents assessments will not reflect this change until 2024 in chemistry, all students across the state are beginning to be taught from these new standards at the K-12 level. The first assessments of the new standards are taking place at younger grades already. Therefore, at East we are being tenacious and introducing these new standards in our teaching and learning as of the 2019-2020 school year. The General Chemistry curriculum is now based on the updated standards NYSSLS for chemistry.