<-----  Comprehensive NGSS Lessons will touch on all three dimensions

NGSS Dimension 1:  Science and Engineering Practices

Science and engineering practices are the same skills that scientists use to answer questions and engineers use to solve problems in the real world.

An NGSS curriculum should teach the 8 science and engineering practices identified by the National Research Council:

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

2. Developing and using models

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

By stressing the importance of these practices, NGSS is emphasizing that science is not just isolated facts. When students engage in the practices, they learn through NGSS performance tasks how scientific knowledge develops by working through the same practices that scientists and engineers use. This participation also creates a more meaningful learning experience because students are doing science, which, in turn, better prepares them for NGSS performance assessments.

NGSS Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts

NGSS curriculum crosscutting concepts are those concepts that apply across all scientific disciplines. They provide students with an organizational framework based on behavior and function that connects ideas from different scientific disciplines in an NGSS curriculum. These concepts play an important role in NGSS three-dimensional learning. For example, students can see how energy and matter are essential to understanding Life Sciences, but also for understanding Physical Science, Earth Science, and Engineering.

NGSS Crosscutting Concepts:

• Patterns

• Cause and effect

• Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

• Systems and System Models

• Energy and Matter

• Structure and Function

• Stability and Change

 NGSS Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas

Disciplinary Core Ideas form the basis of what most educators would consider STEM "content knowledge," also known as scientific facts, in an NGSS curriculum.

These core ideas are grouped into four content domains:

• Physical sciences

• Life sciences

• Earth sciences

• Engineering, technology, and application of science

The elements of the three dimensions required for each NGSS performance expectation are clearly designated. NGSS also includes supporting elements, which provide the bounds of a scenario that students may be presented with when asked to perform expected learning outcomes on future standardized tests.

By successfully creating hands-on science and NGSS three-dimensional learning experiences, teachers can achieve maximum student engagement and outcomes within the context of the NGSS performance expectations.