GLOBE Program and Next Generation Science Standards Alignment Workshop

Iowa Academy Of Science, Cedar Falls IA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is being used to convene a 2.5-day workshop and associated activities in order to align science education resources developed and used by the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program with the newly-released Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). GLOBE is a world-wide partnership between students, teachers, and scientists to learn more about Earth's systems through local scientific investigations of globally relevant measurements. As such, GLOBE provides rich opportunities to both discuss Earth-related scientific concepts and implement inquiry-based pedagogies that are prominent throughout the NGSS. The Iowa Academy of Science, a US GLOBE Partner since 1999, is hosting a national workshop and related pre- and post-activities to develop the GLOBE Program alignment to the NGSS. The workshop is bringing together educators, professional development providers and scientists experienced with GLOBE and the NGSS to develop an alignment document between GLOBE and NGSS. The participants will work in small groups, utilizing the Achieve Open Education Rubrics (OER) and a consensus process to evaluate the GLOBE Program protocols, classroom activities, Elementary GLOBE, and other GLOBE resources for their alignment to NGSS. Webinars are being conducted prior to the workshop to recruit participants and prepare potential participants for the activities of the workshop. After the workshop, a draft alignment document will be circulated to the U.S. GLOBE Partners, and others, for review and comment. The final document will provide alignments between GLOBE resources and NGSS that are organized sequentially by grade, NGSS topic, and GLOBE investigation area. In addition to the alignment, recommendations for integrating the alignment into GLOBE Professional development will be included. A series of webinars for GLOBE Partners and educators will be conducted to practice use of the new resource in their own NGSS implementation plans; archived recordings will be made available to the GLOBE Program for use in ongoing professional development. It is expected that alignment of GLOBE materials to the NGSS will facilitate their inclusion in the classroom as the NGSS begin to be implemented in early adoption states, beginning in Fall 2013.