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Level 3 achieved.
But more importantly Level 3 is what #NGSS is about. And this shift is hard for teachers and students. https://twitter.com/WIREDScience/status/1198937378892718080
But more importantly Level 3 is what #NGSS is about. And this shift is hard for teachers and students. https://twitter.com/WIREDScience/status/1198937378892718080
Teachers who have been in the classroom more than 12 years struggle to change their teaching style. Additionally they are teaching the way they were taught and so their personal experience informs them that this style of teaching is effective.
Ts who have been in the classroom 12 years or less learned to teach at Level 1. This was how they were instructed in their teaching programs and is what was encouraged at all levels through No Child Left Behind. This was the era of rote memorization and multiple choice tests.
These teachers struggle to design curriculum because it was never encouraged or required and is a skill that takes practice. This has created the impression for some that teachers cannot be experts at curriculum writing and it should be left to textbook companies.
Level 3 Ts have always existed in education. These are the teachers of legend who students remember long after leaving school. They have designed and implemented curriculum that engages students and deeply challenges students thinking. Unfortunately they have not been the norm.
Level 3 Ts continue to do this despite shifts in standards or legislation.
Now #NGSS asks all teachers to do this and this change is hard.
Where Level 3 teachers work and are respected the shift is faster and more successful.
Where’s they are absent or not respected it’s slow
Now #NGSS asks all teachers to do this and this change is hard.
Where Level 3 teachers work and are respected the shift is faster and more successful.
Where’s they are absent or not respected it’s slow
For teachers to move to Level 3 the solution is professional development and the recognition of Level 3 teachers where they exist.
The system must overtly encourage and reward these teachers to shift the culture and encourage others.
The system must overtly encourage and reward these teachers to shift the culture and encourage others.
The shift is hard on students and families as well.
Many students have been raised on a steady diet of worksheet completion and rote memorization. The students seek to complete tasks to earn points without much thinking or problem solving.
Many students have been raised on a steady diet of worksheet completion and rote memorization. The students seek to complete tasks to earn points without much thinking or problem solving.
This has created a culture where students often come to teachers hoping to turn in missing work simply to get points at the end of a grading period.
The Ss are not to be shamed for this - they are simply operating in a system where the reward was work completion not learning.
The Ss are not to be shamed for this - they are simply operating in a system where the reward was work completion not learning.
As students encounter #NGSS in classrooms they are shocked by the change.
It takes time and patience to help them see their new goal is thinking and that there isn’t a single correct answer but the justification of solutions with evidence.
It takes time and patience to help them see their new goal is thinking and that there isn’t a single correct answer but the justification of solutions with evidence.
This can create friction between teachers families and administrators as parents seek understanding about why they’re formerly high achieving student is now struggling.
This means that administrator understanding of #NGSS is critical.
This means that administrator understanding of #NGSS is critical.
Administrators with an understanding of #NGSS can better communicate with families and will view Level 3 teachers positively instead of seeing them as teachers who make families unhappy and increase administrator workload due to phone calls.
Teachers must also be kind and understanding with their student. They must make the classroom a safe place for students to learn how to think and feel safe taking risks as they attempt to explain phenomena.
In order to achieve Level 3 for all teachers and students there must be support and lots of professional development- both in pedagogy and content.
Teachers can’t guide students toward deeper understanding unless they have deep understanding of their own.
Teachers can’t guide students toward deeper understanding unless they have deep understanding of their own.
It is no longer good enough to know slightly more than a textbook- teachers must really understand their content particularly Earth Science as this is the realm of deep and interesting phenomena where students can apply Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
If you know or work with #NGSS Ts or Ss support them. Encourage them. Reassure them that struggling is the point and where the learning takes place.
Really Level 3 is not just about the classroom but about all of society. It is the level of problem solving and working together. It is how we can use scientific understanding to create the world we want.
And it may just save us from ourselves.
And it may just save us from ourselves.
