Hi Readers,
Just a head’s up that I’ll be blogging from the National Science Teachers Association’s annual conference in Chicago over the next couple days. As many as 10,000 K-12 teachers are expected for the gathering, which is sure to have a heavy focus on the Next Generation Science Standards.
NSTA was a partner in developing the common science standards and has been a vocal supporter since their release in April 2013. So far 13 states and the District of Columbia have officially adopted the standards. For some local context, Illinois adopted them a year ago, though I heard anecdotally that many teachers in Chicago began using the standards before that.
The standards have recently been the subject of some controversy regarding their take on global warming. (Mainly, the standards state that it’s happening.)
One conference highlight to look out for is tomorrow’s speech by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. According to the media release, the secretary will give “an overview of the progress he has seen in American education and his thoughts on what the schools of tomorrow will look like.” He’ll then join “an interactive panel discussion” with four K-12 science teachers.
(Will there be jeers from members of the National Education Association—the group that called on him to resign at their own annual conference last summer? That’s TBD.)
You can look for conference updates here on the Curriculum Matters blog, on my Twitter feed (@LianaHeitin), and at #NSTA15.