If I go daily into my classroom, close the door, and teach the NGSS the best I can, how will I ever know if I'm really doing it well? This is an especially important question in a time when NGSS-aligned tests have not been developed by our state yet. In the past, we could look at the results of state tests and gauge how well we were teaching the content that was tested. Without any tests, how can we gauge our success in teaching the NGSS? These questions have led me to realize that 2016-2017 needs to be a year of calibration for me as I seek to make sure my instruction is reaches the depth required by the NGSS.
The first tool that is essential in calibrating NGSS instruction is colleagues. Collaboration is no longer a luxury, it is essential. As the NGSS asks us to go deeper and farther than we've ever gone in instruction, collaboration can help us get there. Each of us comes to the science classroom with different backgrounds and areas of expertise. None of us is an expert in all of the disciplinary core ideas, but our collective knowledge and experiences make us smarter together.
The second tool for calibration is the evidence statements. Achieve, Inc. has created these statements to help us know the depths at which our students need to be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. They help us know what to look for at specific grade levels when a performance expectation asks our students to "create a model" or accomplish any other task. (Use this link to find evidence statements for every performance expectation in the NGSS.)
Combining these two can make us even better. This year, as I meet with my colleagues in PLC groups, we'll be able to spend time with the evidence statements, calibrating our instruction and activities to meet the depth required in the standards. Then we can evaluate the student responses to see where they fall on a continuum of responses. In this way, we, as teachers, can improve our instruction as we help the students grow in their understanding and practice of science.
How will you calibrate your instruction this year?
The first tool that is essential in calibrating NGSS instruction is colleagues. Collaboration is no longer a luxury, it is essential. As the NGSS asks us to go deeper and farther than we've ever gone in instruction, collaboration can help us get there. Each of us comes to the science classroom with different backgrounds and areas of expertise. None of us is an expert in all of the disciplinary core ideas, but our collective knowledge and experiences make us smarter together.
The second tool for calibration is the evidence statements. Achieve, Inc. has created these statements to help us know the depths at which our students need to be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. They help us know what to look for at specific grade levels when a performance expectation asks our students to "create a model" or accomplish any other task. (Use this link to find evidence statements for every performance expectation in the NGSS.)
Combining these two can make us even better. This year, as I meet with my colleagues in PLC groups, we'll be able to spend time with the evidence statements, calibrating our instruction and activities to meet the depth required in the standards. Then we can evaluate the student responses to see where they fall on a continuum of responses. In this way, we, as teachers, can improve our instruction as we help the students grow in their understanding and practice of science.
How will you calibrate your instruction this year?
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