NGSS Science and Engineering Education Community
This resource is part of a California State University (CSU) systemwide initiative designed to prepare teaches to be world-class in both the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics. The website promotes the scholarship of teaching and learning, and builds community among CSU faculty and K-12 college educators participating in reforms to prepare future and current elementary and secondary teachers for the NGSS.
The homepage leads to specifics on the NGSS and Engineering Designs and Applications, the integration of science and mathematics, and science and literacy, as well as specific resources by audience (e.g., preservice teachers and educator professional development). It includes a rich collection on digital innovations and applications, with links for users to explore their utility, as well as an entire collection on evaluation and assessment. Project examples and cases, and a portal on conferences and events for educators, add to the library of resources.
This resource has an updated navigation panel to announce webinars and the latest resources on the NGSS and other resources available to educators (e.g., on online pedagogical resources, universal design, and digital libraries). Also, as part of the Preservice links, CSU East Bay developed a new, highly accessible, focused, and standards-based sequence composed of four online lecture courses and four lab courses designed to prepare teachers to earn the state’s teaching Authorization in Foundational Level General Science (FLGS). All materials and instructions are available online. The goal of this program is to support preservice and inservice teachers in developing the expertise to become authorized to teach science in grades 6 through 8. An additional goal is to enhance K-8 teachers’ content knowledge for delivering high-quality science instruction throughout the elementary and middle school grades.
The Educator Professional Development link emphasizes the Integrated Middle School Science program, with Lesson Study and Professional Learning Community partnerships, a multi-tiered PD model to support science in participating districts in the region. It also offers a link to the instructional cases developed, with three modules and twelve lessons focused on key science discipline-based concepts and processes.