Standards

Science Framework Seen as Valued Resource for Educators

May 22, 2013 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

As science educators look at the Next Generation Science Standards, some experts and fellow teachers have a piece of advice: Don’t forget to read—and reread—the National Research Council framework.

While the standards are often described as a “technical document,” the framework, published in 2011, is an accessible narrative that not only served as a blueprint for the standards, but also explains the ideas behind them, makes the case for why they are needed, and says what they aim to accomplish.

“Teachers need to have their hands on that framework because it is very helpful,” said Denise M. Truver, a 3rd grade teacher at Walter E. Ranger Elementary School in Tiverton, R.I., who has been engaged in professional development to better understand the new standards.

“The framework has kind of been our bible during this work,” she said. “I think it’s an amazing text.” She added: “It gives me a ton of background content knowledge, while it also gives me what students should know at the end of each grade span.”

The congressionally chartered NRC assembled an 18-member panel of experts in science and science education to craft the framework, led by Helen R. Quinn, a professor emeritus of physics at Stanford University.

“The standards themselves are best understood in the context of the framework, so those two documents should be traveling the world together,” said Philip Bell, a professor of the learning sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, who served on the NRC panel.

The document isn’t billed just as a guide for the standards, but also as an aid for curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district administrators, leaders in science teacher education, and science educators in “informal settings.”

Its 13 chapters cover a lot of terrain, from guiding assumptions to a careful explanation of the three dimensions of the standards: science and engineering practices, cross-cutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. It also devotes a chapter to implementation issues.

“Standards provide a vision for teaching and learning, but the vision cannot be realized unless the standards permeate the education system and guide curriculum, instruction, teacher preparation and professional development, and student assessment,” it says.

Coverage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education is supported by a grant from the Noyce Foundation. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 22, 2013 edition of Education Week as NRC Framework Seen as Valued Resource for Educators

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Standards Florida's New African American History Standards: What's Behind the Backlash
The state's new standards drew national criticism and leave teachers with questions.
9 min read
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar in West Columbia, S.C. July 18, 2023. For DeSantis, Tuesday was supposed to mark a major moment to help reset his stagnant Republican presidential campaign. But yet again, the moment was overshadowed by Donald Trump. The former president was the overwhelming focus for much of the day as DeSantis spoke out at a press conference and sat for a highly anticipated interview designed to reassure anxious donors and primary voters that he's still well-positioned to defeat Trump.
Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference in West Columbia, S.C., on July 18, 2023. Florida officials approved new African American history standards that drew national backlash, and which DeSantis defended.
Sean Rayford/AP
Standards Here’s What’s in Florida’s New African American History Standards
Standards were expanded in the younger grades, but critics question the framing of many of the new standards.
1 min read
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida State Board of Education in the teaching of Black history.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on July 21, 2023. Harris spoke out against the new standards adopted by the Florida state board of education in the teaching of Black history.
Fran Ruchalski/The Florida Times-Union via AP
Standards Opinion How One State Found Common Ground to Produce New History Standards
A veteran board member discusses how the state school board pushed past partisanship to offer a richer, more inclusive history for students.
10 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Standards The Architects of the Standards Movement Say They Missed a Big Piece
Decisions about materials and methods can lead to big variances in the quality of instruction that children receive.
4 min read
Image of stairs on a blueprint, with a red flag at the top of the stairs.
Feodora Chiosea/iStock/Getty