Initial Publication Date: June 19, 2015

Registration Details

This half-day workshop is part of the GSA Short Course 4-Pack. For $50, select any two workshops from the four (add 517A or 517B). Early registration ends on September 15. To sign up for a workshop, use the GSA meeting registration ( This site may be offline. ) .


517D. Extreme Makeover Geosciences Style

Infusing Existing Curricula with the Spirit of the New Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): Integrating Content, Scientific and Design Practices, and Cross-Cutting Themes

Co-sponsored by NAGT and the Geoscience Education Division of GSA

Saturday, October 18, 2014 - 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
 Part of the GSA Short Course 4-Pack

Instructor: Aida Awad, Maine East High School; Susan Buhr Sullivan, Univ. of Colorado; Sara Harris, Univ. of British Columbia; Cheryl Manning, Evergreen High School

Workshop description

What happens when you give your existing curricula an extreme makeover? During this half-day workshop, we'll work together to infuse existing curricula with the spirit of the Next Generation Science Standards: integrating content, scientific and design practices, and cross-cutting themes. Increase your impact by including more systems thinking, modeling, designing solutions to global challenges, and quantitative thinking in your instruction. The approach we will take is relevant to instruction from pre-college through undergraduate levels and teacher professional development. The workshop will include an introduction to the Next Generation Science Standards, an opportunity to experience teaching material examples before and after, and working in small groups to makeover one of your own lessons or units.

Before you go

Please complete the pre-survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K2V22WY so we know more about you and your teaching goals. Your response will be most helpful to us if you you complete the survey by Thursday, October 16.

Please review the NGSS performance expectations at http://www.nextgenscience.org/search-standards-dci toidentifyone or two performance expectations (standards) that are most relevant for your current teaching,and for which you have existing starting point curricula. Earth science performance standards start with the label ESS, or you may find relevant performance expectations under other categories. If you do not have existing curricula for your performance expectation, please find a starting place activity (suggested source http://serc.carleton.edu/index.html) or you may use one of our examples to start.

Please bring:

  • A computer to the workshop if possible so you may view online templates, websites and resources.
  • Your existing curricula if appropriate, or use our "before" curricula when you get to the workshop.
  • Your curriculum guide or other relevant standards documents from your district or department.

The workshop will be held at Harbour Centre, Boardroom 2290 from 1p-5p October 18. Please arrive slightly early to get settled and be sure you don't miss anything. We look forward to meeting you and spending time on this important task.

Workshop program

1:00-1:20

Introduction to NGSS, workshop agenda

1:20-1:45

Exercise: Storms and Flooding Lab

Examine an activity before and after "NGSS-ification."

1:45-3:15

Where are you going? Examine relevant standards, identify clues to learning goals such as nouns, verbs, assessment boundaries within the performance expectation. Examine three foundations-core ideas, practices, themes

What do you want learners to learn? Draft active learning goals based on performance expectations.

How will you assess learning? Develop possible ideas for assessments

3:15-4:00

Activity alignment: Use the EQUIP rubric to identify alignment and gaps between the goal and the current activity.

Iterate: How do your learning goals, assessment or activity choices need to change? How does this activity fit within a unit?

4:00-4:30

Gallery walk

Give and receive comment on products

4:30-5:00

Wrap-up and Evaluation

Resources

  • NextGenScience.org
    Find everything you need to know about the new NGSS.
  • Workshop slides These are the workshop slides.
  • This is the template for the "Unpacking Activity" from Aida Awad Unwrapping NGSS CCSS Template (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 14kB Nov6 14)
  • This is the description of different assessment types from Sara Harris Assessment Types for Jigsaw Demo (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 11kB Nov6 14)
  • This is the "Before" version of the Storms and Flooding lab from Cheryl ManningStorms and Flooding Lab "Before" (Microsoft Word 42kB Nov6 14)
  • This is the "After" version of the Storms and Flooding lab from Cheryl ManningStorms and Flooding Lab "After" (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 13kB Nov6 14)
  • These are the cards for the alignment activity-Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, Cross Cutting themes used to identify gaps and alignments. CCC Card (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 188kB Nov6 14) SEP Cards (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 180kB Nov6 14)DCI Cards (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 179kB Nov6 14)
  • Resources handout.Resources handout (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 7kB Nov6 14)

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