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Designing a Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
1. What is the purpose of the work?
2. Why is this effort needed?
3. What is meant by a “conceptual framework”?
4. What are core ideas in science?
5. How will the core ideas be identified? What kinds of evidence is the committee considering?
6. How is the project organized and who is involved?
7. Who are the members of the expert study committee and how were they chosen?
8. Who are the members of the NRC design teams and how do they function?
9. Are there science teachers on the committee and/or design teams?
10. Will stakeholders, such as science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, higher education faculty, and scientists, have a chance to provide input? If so, when, and how will this input be used?
11. What is the timeline for completing the framework?
12. After the conceptual framework is completed, what comes next?
1. What is the purpose of the work?
With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Research Council’s (NRC) Board on Science Education (BOSE) is developing a conceptual framework to guide the development of new science education standards. The framework effort is led by a committee of experts who will develop a draft conceptual framework, gather feedback from a range of stakeholders, revise the framework in light of the feedback, and release a final framework to the public.
A group of collaborating partners, including Achieve, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will provide advice to the project and engage their constituencies in the feedback process. The framework will then be used as the basis for writing new science education standards, a process that will be led by Achieve. The framework will also be available for immediate use by states, curriculum and assessment developers, and leaders of professional development for teachers.
Information about each of the collaborating partners can be found at the following websites:
NRC-BOSE www.nas.edu/bose
Achieve www.achieve.org
National Science Teachers Association www.nsta.org/about/standardsupdate.aspx
American Association for the Advancement of Science http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/
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2. Why is this effort needed?
Science influences a multitude of every day decisions a person makes. Decisions about what to eat, how to reduce ones energy use, or what treatment option to select for a medical condition are affected by the decision maker’s knowledge of science. Furthermore, today’s students will be voting on issues which are deeply embedded in science. In addition, the U.S. has economic reasons to improve student science achievement. Innovation is key to U.S. competitiveness and economic growth—and science education provides a critical foundation for developing innovators. Employers have difficulty finding enough science-savvy, highly skilled workers at every level—from technicians to PhD’s. Not surprisingly, a broad range of stakeholders, including policymakers and the business and higher education communities, are deeply concerned with improving science education.
There is a general consensus in the science education community that the time is right to take a new look at science education standards. The National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the AAAS documents Science for All Americans and Benchmarks for Science Literacy were published over 15 years ago. Since then, a growing body of research on teaching and learning science has provided a better understanding of how students learn science that must be reflected in a new framework and a next generation of science education standards. Only a few of the 50 separate state science education standards have been revised and updated to reflect this recent research. In addition, we have learned from efforts to implement science education standards over the past 10-15 years. We know a great deal more now about how standards are implemented at the state level and the challenges inherent in translating standards into curriculum, instruction, and assessment. For example, there is general agreement that most current standards lead to curricula and textbooks that contain too many topics covered in too little depth. The new conceptual framework aims to address this issue.
NRC’s development of a new conceptual framework is the first step in a process that can inform state level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country.
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3. What is meant by a “conceptual framework”?
The conceptual framework developed by the NRC will provide an overarching vision of what it means to be proficient in science; it will rest on a view of science as both a body of knowledge and an evidence-based, model and theory building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. It will present and explain the interrelationships among core ideas, concepts and practices. The framework will identify core ideas in science and key practices that can guide an effort to create a set of standards that will allow for teaching of science in greater depth. Importantly, the framework will be guided by recent research in how students learn science effectively.
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4. What are core ideas in science?
Core ideas are those ideas that have the greatest explanatory value in the disciplines of science. Identification of these core ideas will help organize and focus science curriculum, instruction and assessments on the most important aspects of science. The framework will illustrate how students can engage with these ideas over multiple grades.
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5. How will the core ideas be identified? What kinds of evidence is the committee considering?
The committee, with input from the design teams, is charged with developing and applying a set of criteria to identify the relevant core ideas for K-12 level science. Design teams working in four domains – life sciences, physical sciences, earth and space sciences, and engineering and technology -- support the work of the committee. The committee and design teams are working from a variety of existing documents such as the National Science Education Standards developed by the NRC and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy developed by AAAS. More recent documents such as the NAEP 2009 Science Framework and the College Board “Science Standards for College Success” will also be reviewed. The committee is also examining relevant research on teaching and learning science. Much of this research has been summarized in previous reports from the NRC including How People Learn, Taking Science to School, Learning Science in Informal Environments and Systems for State Science Assessment. The project will also incorporate key insights from NSTA’s Science Anchors initiative.
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6. How is the project organized and who is involved?
An NRC expert study committee was named in January 2010 and is working to develop and define a conceptual framework that will identify and articulate the core ideas in science around which standards should be developed. The committee will also explore research and development needed to collect evidence to inform future revisions of the framework.
There are four organizations collaborating in the work. Each of these four groups brings unique knowledge and experience to this project. Each is assuming different roles during different stages of the work.
During development of the framework, the NRC has a lead role because of its long history of providing independent scientific guidance to the nation. NSTA is the leading organization in the country for science teachers and educators, from kindergarten through college, and will be the lead agency for gathering feedback from science educators on a draft conceptual framework. AAAS represents expertise in both science and science education. During the framework phase, AAAS will lead the effort to gather feedback from the science community at large and from experts in science education. Achieve will obtain feedback on the draft conceptual framework from state-level policymakers and content experts.
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7. Who are the members of the expert study committee and how were they chosen?
Two hallmarks of study committees of the National Research Council are that they are composed of the foremost experts in their fields and that a diversity of expertise is represented. The Study Committee consists of 18 members who bring to the table a deep and broad knowledge in the sciences, science learning, practice, and education policy. Bios for each of the members can be found on this site.
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8. Who are the members of the NRC design teams and how do they function?
The NRC design teams bring additional expertise in discipline areas and education to bear on the study. Members of these teams include scientists and educators. The four teams provide draft material for the committee to consider. Information on design teams can be found on this site.
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9. Are there science teachers on the committee and/or design teams?
Four members on the study committee are former K-12 teachers. Three are still very active in science education and professional development at the state and district levels. There are additional science teachers serving on the design teams.
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10. Will stakeholders, such as science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, higher education faculty, and scientists, have a chance to provide input? If so, when, and how will this input be used?
When a draft framework is developed, NSTA will gather feedback through focus groups from science educators, AAAS will invite scientists and science educators to provide feedback, Achieve will gather feedback from state leaders and content experts, and the Council of State Science Supervisors will bring together state and district science supervisors to gather their input. In addition, the NRC is reaching out to a number of professional organizations in science and in science education to ensure inclusion of some of their education leaders in the focus group process. Focus groups will address specific questions that the committee generates regarding the conceptual framework.
In addition the draft conceptual framework and a questionnaire will be posted on this site in July 2010, making the draft framework available to the public and providing a mechanism for feedback.
The comments will be organized and used by the committee as it considers revisions to the framework.
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11. What is the timeline for completing the framework?
The NRC study committee is scheduled to meet multiple times this calendar year with much work to be done between meetings. A draft framework will be completed in summer, and a final framework is expected to be available in late spring 2011.
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12. After the conceptual framework is completed, what comes next?
The framework will be made available for immediate use by states, curriculum and assessment developers, and leaders of professional development for teachers. Achieve will use the conceptual framework to develop next generation science education standards. These will be faithful to the NRC framework, internationally benchmarked, and rigorous — focusing on essential concepts and practices so students have the time and opportunity to develop in-depth understanding.
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