The Nature of Science
Mathematical Reasoning & Science
Learning Objectives• The impact of the Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS)• The nature of science• Theories• Investigations• Applying critical thinking skills to science claims• Teaching through experiences (Alien Genetics)• Science/Math overlap
The NGSS (Next Generation Science
Standards)
Their impact on ABLE instruction and the GED® 2014 Test1
NGSSThe NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) are a framework for science proficiency.
The NGSS view science as:•a body of knowledge;•an evidence-based, model and theory building enterprise; and•a discipline that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge.
NGSS• The NGSS framework
consists of three dimensions that will be combined to form each standard.
• Dimension 1: Practices• Dimension 2: Crosscutting
Concepts• Dimension 3: Disciplinary
Core Ideas
NGSSDimension 1: Practices •Scientific practices/behaviors used to build models and theories about the natural world•Engineering practices used to design and build models and systems•The range of cognitive, social, and physical practices required in science and engineering
NGSS
Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts
•Crosscutting concepts apply to all domains of science.•They organize the various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world.
NGSSDimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts
Crosscutting concepts include:•Patterns, similarity, and diversity•Cause and effect•Scale, proportion, and quantity•Systems and system models•Energy and matter•Structure and function•Stability and change
NGSSDimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas•The most important (core) ideas in science and engineering•The focus of curriculum, instruction, and assessment•Grouped into four domains:
− physical sciences − life sciences− earth and space sciences
− engineering, technology, and application
NGSS
The impact of the NGSS
•Science portion of the 2014 GED® Test1
•Practices how scientists/engineers work•Science as a concept, no longer a storehouse of facts•New focus on engineering, technology, and applications of science
The Nature of Science
Understanding the role of science in our lives
The Nature of ScienceScience is:
•a way of understanding the natural world.•based on the premise that our senses can give us accurate information about the universe.•always subject to testing and revision.
The Nature of Science
The Nature of ScienceScience is a way of understanding the natural world by trying to answer questions about the natural world.
1. What’s there?
2. How does it work?
3. How did it come to be this way?
The Nature of ScienceThe Process
The Nature of Science
the·o·ry1.a possible explanation: SPECULATION
2.coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena: PRINCIPLE, LAW, DOCTRINE
The Nature of Science
fact1.something that actually exists; reality; truth: actuality, reality
2.a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true
3.something known to exist or to have happened
The Nature of Science
Theories of Gravity
•Theory of Universal Gravitation, 1666,Sir Isaac Newton
•General Theory of Relativity, 1915, Albert Einstein
NGSS and The Nature of Science
2014 GED® TESTScience Principals
NGSSNature
of Science
Session Resources1GED Testing Service®. 2014 GED® Test. Accessed August 15, 2013.
http://www.GEDtestingservice.com.
2National Science Foundation. Science and Engineering Indicators: 2012. Accessed August 15, 2013. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c6.
3Highlights from Program for International Student Assessment [PISA] 2009. Assessments. Accessed August 15, 2013. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011004.