12/20/2013
Representing the American
Society of Agronomy in the
Development of the Next
Generation Science Standards
Brian Marsh
University of California
Cooperative Extension – Kern County
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U.S. K-12 Education
• 2009 Programme for International Student
Assessment
• 15-year-old students in the U.S. performing about
average in reading and science, and below
average in math
• Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in
reading, 17th in science and 25th in math.
• 20+ years ago U.S. students ranked 1st
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U.S. K-12 Education
•
•
1990s
– "Accountability Movement" began as states started being held to
mandatory tests of student achievement, which were expected to
demonstrate a common core of knowledge that all citizens should
have to be successful.
1996
– The nation’s governors and corporate leaders founded Achieve, Inc.
as a bi-partisan organization to raise academic standards, graduation
requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability
in all 50 states.
– Initial motivation for the development of the Common Core State
Standards was part of the American Diploma Project (ADP).
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Ready or Not:
Creating a High School Diploma That Counts
•
2004, Achieve, Inc.
– employers and colleges are demanding more of high school graduates
than in the past.
– current high-school exit expectations fall well short of [employer and
college] demands.
– the major problem is that high school graduates were not provided
with the skills and knowledge they needed to succeed.
– while students and their parents may still believe that the diploma
reflects adequate preparation for the intellectual demands of adult
life, in reality it falls far short of this common-sense goal.
– the diploma itself lost its value because graduates could not compete
successfully beyond high school, and that the solution to this problem
is a common set of rigorous standards.
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Common Core Standards
•
•
2009
– the National Governors Association convened a group of educators
to work on developing the standards.
The initiative's stated purpose is to
– provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are
expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to
do to help them.
– the standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real
world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people
need for success in college and careers, which will place American
students in a position in which they can compete in a global
economy.
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Mathematics » Grade 6 » Introduction
In Grade 6, instructional time should focus on four
critical areas: (1) connecting ratio and rate to whole
number multiplication and division and using concepts
of ratio and rate to solve problems; (2) completing
understanding of division of fractions and extending
the notion of number to the system of rational
numbers, which includes negative numbers; (3) writing,
interpreting, and using expressions and equations; and
(4) developing understanding of statistical thinking.
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English Language Arts Standards
6-12 Introduction
The following standards offer a focus for instruction
each year and help ensure that students gain adequate
exposure to a range of texts and tasks. Rigor is also
infused through the requirement that students read
increasingly complex texts through the grades.
Students advancing through the grades are expected to
meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or
further develop skills and understandings mastered in
preceding grades.
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Key Ideas and Details
• CCSS>ELA-Literacy.RL.6.2
• Determine a theme or
central idea of a text and
how it is conveyed
through particular details;
provide a summary of the
text distinct from
personal opinions or
judgments.
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Who leads the Common Core
State Standards Initiative?
• The nation’s governors and education
commissioners, through their representative
organizations the led the development and continue
to lead the initiative.
• National Governors Association (NGA)
• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
• Teachers, parents, school administrators, experts and
state leaders provided input
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Backlash
• Loss of local control of curriculum and
instruction
• Overly reliant on standardized tests
– testing & text book companies
• The Common Core kills innovation
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Federal Control?
“Reinforcing its threat to punish California for dumping its
old standardized state tests next spring, the U.S. Department
of Education said that decision could cost the state at least
$3.5 billion.”
San Jose Mercury News
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Backlash
•
Lower test scores?
Kentucky experience
New Mexico, Mississippi
– significantly lower 1st year
– some improvement 2nd & 3rd year
- higher scores
- used different test
Maine
– test scores reflected demographics/poverty
• The nonprofit Fair Test
– “argues that assessments developed to measure the Common Core standards will
mean more, but not much better, tests in schools that are already suffering from too
much testing and teaching to the test.”
– “Common Core costs school districts a great deal of money and reduce resources for
things that inspire children, such as art and music classes.”
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What is education?
“…the goal of the well-rounded child is lost. We know how
to assess sophisticated science projects using experts, but
this is not part of the standardized test conversation. We
know how to audition a child for the orchestra, or evaluate
an art portfolio, or recognize well-written poetry. We speak
about civic literacy and citizen public service, but these too
are outside the national conversation. “
Jim Shon
Director, Hawai‘i Educational Policy Center
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Resetting Grade Standards
• Change in when certain ideas are
taught
• Are younger minds able to understand
the concept?
• With lack of understanding comes
frustration and a mindset that can
prevent learning in the future
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Fewer Topics
Deeper Development/Investigation
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The Committee on a Conceptual Framework
“The overarching goal of our framework for K-12 science
education is to ensure that by the end of 12th grade, all
students have some appreciation of the beauty and wonder
of science; possess sufficient knowledge of science and
engineering to engage in public discussions on related issues;
are careful consumers of scientific and technological
information related to their everyday lives; are able to
continue to learn about science outside school; and have the
skills to enter careers of their choice, including (but not
limited to) careers in science, engineering, and technology.”
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Science and Engineering Require Both
Knowledge and Practice
Science is not just a body of knowledge that reflects
current understanding of the world;
it is also a set of practices used to establish, extend,
and refine that knowledge.
Both elements—knowledge and practice—are
essential.
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The broad set of expectations for students articulated in the framework is
intended to guide the development of new standards that in turn guide revisions
to science-related curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional
development for educators.
A coherent and consistent approach throughout grades K-12 is key to realizing
the vision for science and engineering education embodied in the framework:
that students, over multiple years of school, actively engage in science and
engineering practices and apply crosscutting concepts to deepen
their understanding of each fields’ disciplinary core ideas.
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The Three Dimensions of the Framework
• Scientific and
engineering practices
• Crosscutting concepts
• Core ideas in four
disciplinary areas
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The Three Dimensions of the Framework
Scientific and Engineering Practices
– Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for
engineering)
– Developing and using models
– Planning and carrying out investigations
– Analyzing and interpreting data
– Using mathematics and computational thinking
– Constructing explanations (for science) and designing
solutions (for engineering)
– Engaging in argument from evidence
– Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
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The Three Dimensions of the Framework
Crosscutting Concepts
– Patterns
– Cause and effect: Mechanism
and explanation
– Scale, proportion, and quantity
– Systems and system models
– Energy and matter: Flows,
cycles, and conservation
– Structure and function
– Stability and change
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The Three Dimensions of the Framework
Disciplinary Core Ideas
–
–
–
–
Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
Earth and Space Sciences
Engineering, Technology, and the Applications of Science
Engineering,
Technology &
Application
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Life Sciences
•
LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
–
–
–
–
•
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
–
–
–
–
•
A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior
LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
–
–
•
A: Structure and Function
B: Growth and Development of Organisms
C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
D: Information Processing
A: Inheritance of Traits
B: Variation of Traits
LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
–
–
–
–
A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
B: Natural Selection
C: Adaptation
D: Biodiversity and Humans
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Structure and Function
Grade Band Endpoints for LS1.A
By the end of grade 2. All organisms have external parts. Plants also have different parts (roots,
stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive, grow, and produce more plants.
By the end of grade 5. Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve
various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction.
By the end of grade 8. All living things are made up of cells. They may consist of one single cell
(unicellular) or many different numbers and types of cells (multicellular). Unicellular organisms
(microorganisms), like multicellular organisms, need food, water, a way to dispose of waste, and an
environment in which they can live.
By the end of grade 12. Systems of specialized cells within organisms help them perform the
essential functions of life, which involve chemical reactions that take place between different types
of molecules, such as water, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. All cells contain genetic
information in the form of DNA, which is where genes are located. Genes contain the
instructions that code for the configuration of molecules called proteins, which carry out the work
of cells. Multicellular organisms have a hierarchical structural organization, in which any one system
is made up of numerous parts and is itself a component of the next level.
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Growth and Development of Organisms
Grade Band Endpoints for LS1.B
By the end of grade 2. Plants and animals have predictable characteristics at different stages of development.
Plants and animals grow and change. Adult plants and animals can have young.
By the end of grade 5. Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants
and animals have unique and diverse life cycles that include being born (sprouting in plants), growing,
developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying.
By the end of grade 8. Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information
to their offspring. Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and
specialized features (such as attractively colored flowers) for reproduction. Plant growth can continue
throughout the plant’s life through production of plant matter in photosynthesis. Genetic factors as well as local
conditions affect the size of the adult plant.
By the end of grade 12. In multicellular organisms, growth occurs via a process called mitosis: a fertilized cell
divides successively into many cells, with each parent cell passing identical genetic material to two daughter
cells. As successive subdivisions of an embryo’s cells occur, programmed genetic instructions and small
differences in their immediate environments activate or inactivate different genes, which cause the cells to
develop differently—a process called differentiation. Cellular division and differentiation produce and maintain
a complex organism, composed of systems of tissues and organs that work together to meet the needs of the
entire body. In sexual reproduction, a specialized type of cell division called meiosis occurs and results in the
production of sex cells, such as gametes (sperm and eggs) or spores, which contain only one member from each
chromosome pair in the parent cell.
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Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
Grade Band Endpoints for LS1.C
By the end of grade 2. All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food
from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow.
By the end of grade 5. Animals and plants alike generally need to take in air and water, animals
must take in food, and plants need light and minerals; anaerobic life, such as bacteria in the gut,
functions without air. Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from air and water and
process matter they have formed to maintain their internal conditions (e.g., at night).
By the end of grade 8. Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the
energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water
through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used
immediately or stored for growth or later use.
By the end of grade 12. The process of photosynthesis converts light energy to stored chemical
energy by converting carbon dioxide plus water into sugars plus released oxygen. The sugar
molecules thus formed contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and some trace minerals that are
used to make amino acids and other carbon-based molecules that can be assembled into larger
molecules (such as proteins or DNA), used for example to form new cells. As matter and energy
flow through different organizational levels of living systems, chemical elements are recombined
in different ways to form different products. As a result of these chemical reactions, energy is
transferred from one system of interacting molecules to another.
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Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
Grade Band Endpoints for LS2.B
By the end of grade 2. Organisms obtain the materials they need to grow and survive from the environment. Many of these
materials come from organisms and are used again by other organisms.
By the end of grade 5. Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live
and die. Organisms obtain gases, water, and minerals from the environment and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back
into the environment.
By the end of grade 8. Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers
(generally plants and other organisms that engage in photosynthesis), consumers, and decomposers as the three groups
interact—primarily for food— within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every
level, for example when molecules from food react with oxygen captured from the environment, the carbon dioxide and water
thus produced are transferred back to the environment, and ultimately so are waste products, such as fecal material.
Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in
aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and
nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
By the end of grade 12. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration (including anaerobic processes) provide most of the energy for
life processes. Plants or algae form the lowest level of the food web. At each link upward in a food web, only a small fraction of
the matter consumed at the lower level is transferred upward, to produce growth and release energy in cellular
respiration at the higher level. Given this inefficiency, there are generally fewer organisms at higher levels of a food web, and
there is a limit to the number of organisms that an ecosystem can sustain. The chemical elements that make up the molecules of
organisms pass through food webs and into and out of the atmosphere and soil, and are combined and recombined in different
ways. At each link in an ecosystem, matter and energy are conserved; some matter reacts to release energy for life functions,
some matter is stored in newly made structures, and much is discarded. Competition among species is ultimately competition
for the matter and energy needed for life. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of the carbon cycle,
in which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical,
geological, and biological processes.
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STEM Ed in Rural Areas
• July 10, 2012
– Ellen Bergfeld
– Michael Feder
Office of Science and Technology Policy
– the 1-2 areas (BIG issues) relating to STEM
education that we would recommend that the
President pay attention to/act on
• July 11, 2012
1. Agronomy, crop, soil, and environmental science
requirements be integrated into K-12 STEM
guidelines.
2. Programs be developed in conjunction with 4-H,
FFA, and other relevant organizations to educate
K-12 students about the interdisciplinary
sciences underpinning agriculture.
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Sharon Clay
“One of the Indicators of
Achievement for the Big
Audacious Goal (Strategic
Planning document) for
the Agronomic profession
is to have 6th graders want
to be agronomists.”
Personal Communication
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Sharon Clay
“To do this we need to have more K-12 activities. In
addition, in the long range goals, it speaks to more K-12
curriculum development, creating educational
materials for K-12 that bridge teachers to learning
objectives, and develop curriculum and activities in
partnership with others such as National Science
Teachers Association.”
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Help for Teachers
• K-6 teachers
– Don’t usually have a
science background
– Anxious about teaching
science subjects
– Looking for help
• Lesson plans
• Class activities
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Web site for plant
related class
activities that
correspond to
Next Gen Science
Standards
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SSSA
websites
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Ag in the Classroom
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For Fee Sites
NSTA annual meeting
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Web site for plant related
Science Fair Projects
• Project ideas
• How to conduct
investigations
• What makes an effective
presentation (oral & poster)
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Siemens Competition
USA Today
Math: Science: Technology
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Future News Release
Recognizing Tomorrow’s Leaders
What ever sponsor
Bayer CropScience
Dow Agrosciences
DuPont
etc.
Competition in Plant Science
2014 Competition Finalists
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