NGSS: How Can AACT Help?
By Emily Bones on July 15, 2015
Many teachers of chemistry across the country are faced with implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the coming years. These standards give new meaning to the phrase “three dimensions” and add new vocabulary in science dialog, including disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and science and engineering practices (SEPs). The NGSS training currently available emphasizes the idea of teaching science with a 3-D approach.
But what does that mean?
AACT wants to support you, teachers, as best we can as you implement NGSS. Training for the new standards is time consuming and costly, so AACT would like to feature as much advice on its website as possible. We have a number of resources available currently, but we want to know what you want and need. Currently, we offer the following resources:
| Title | Description | Grade level |
| Where to Start | A blog post with five easy steps of how to begin NGSS adoption. | All |
| NGSS in the Chemistry Classroom | In this webinar, an experienced teacher and ACS textbook editor explain how to evaluate current classroom resources to ensure they are NGSS compliant. | High school mainly, but middle school teachers can benefit |
| Using NGSS in the Chemistry Classroom | This Chemistry Solutions is a follow up to the NGSS webinar. The presenters address unanswered questions from the webinar, sharing information about NGSS implementation. | All |
| Uncovering Student Thinking through the Science Literacy Framework | An experience teacher writes in Chemistry Solutions about what the Science Literacy Framework is and how it can be used to satisfy NGSS (and Common Core) expectation. | High school mainly, but middle and elementary school teachers can benefit |
| How Social Media Improved My Teaching | The intent of this article is to share with teachers how social media can be a beneficial tool, but many NGSS connections are mentioned as specific examples in this Chemistry Solutions article. | High school mainly, but middle and elementary school teachers can benefit |
A number of our classroom resources, contributed by teachers across the country, highlight how a lesson satisfies dimensions of NGSS. Here is an example of one lesson from each grade level and how the standards are communicated.
- Elementary School—Strawberry DNA & CSI
- Middle School—The Building Blocks of Photosynthesis
- High School—Tic-Tac-Toe Review
Because teachers in the AACT community submit these lessons, the extent to which each lesson is aligned with NGSS varies. Our long-term goal is to make this alignment more prevalent and robust in our lessons.
What tricks have you found useful to satisfy the three dimensions (DCIs, CCCs, and SEPs) without reinventing the wheel? What thoughts do you have about NGSS in general, when it comes to chemistry? How do you ensure your lessons comply with NGSS expectations? And what else can we do to support you and NGSS implementation and adoption?
Please share with us your requests, thoughts, tips, and desires by leaving a comment below, emailing AACTeditor@acs.org, or tweeting to @AACTconnect with #NGSShelp. Together, we can figure out how best to adopt NGSS in lessons about chemistry.