NSTA is all about supporting teachers in understanding and implementing three-dimensional instruction in their classrooms. The first edition of the Next Gen Navigator, a new monthly e-newsletter from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) out this week will help us do just that. It is an ideal name as we think about how we will navigate the many paths we might take while striving to implement new teaching approaches established in the Framework for K-12 Science Education (Framework) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in PreK-16 classrooms. When you navigate you are determining the route, but we all know the first route chosen is not always the smoothest or least bumpy. This is also true when thinking about implementing new standards. We may not all travel the same road, but we are all trying to reach the same destination. This wonderful name was chosen for us by one of our members, Jean Flanagan, and this was purposeful because this resource is meant to be a support for the field. 

This e-newsletter will give you insights on the many ways your colleagues are thinking, learning, exploring, and experimenting with three-dimensional learning and the many facets of the NGSS. It will connect you to our expanding number of resources—such as the NGSS@NSTA Hub, journals, web seminars, virtual conferences, and other professional learning opportunities—as well as those outside NSTA. It is also a place for teachers to share successes and challenges, build a greater understanding, and read the latest news around standards.

This first issue focuses on teachers and their journey to understand and implement the NGSS. One thing we all need to do as we move forward in our learning around new teaching approaches is to give ourselves permission to make mistakes on our journey and use what we learned from those mistakes to move forward. We will consider how having a growth mindset provides us with the space to make those mistakes.

We are very excited to share this inaugural issue with you and invite you to be a part of it. We want to hear what you are doing in the classroom with your students, as well as lessons that worked, or didn’t work, on your journey. Reach us at nextgennavigator@nsta.org.

Above all, we want this newsletter to guide you whatever route you have chosen to navigate NGSS.

If the first edition of Next Gen Navigator found its way to your inbox, great! If not and you want to receive this monthly e-newsletter, sign up here.

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Kathy Renfrew

Kathy Renfrew is the field editor for Next Gen Navigator. She is K-5 Science coordinator on the Proficiency Based Learning Team at the Vermont Agency of Education, as well as an NGSS@NSTA curator and online advisor in the NSTA Learning Center. She is also worked with a committee of educators and Achieve to develop model content frameworks for elementary science, particularly for grades 4 and 5. Kathy previously taught grades 4 through 6 in a self-contained classroom for more than 30 years. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and a 2000 recipient of the elementary Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. 

 

 

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

2017 National Conference

• Los Angeles: March 30–April 2, 2017

STEM Forum & Expo

• Kissimmee/Orlando: July 12–14, 2017

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