We’re in this Together: A Lesson for NGSS Transition
Author: Anna Babarinde
Published: 05.11.15
Over spring break, I had the unique opportunity to join a group of students, including many of my own, on a trip to Mexico to build houses. The experience was incredible. The trip’s motto expressed by youth leader Cory Myers was, “We’re all in this together!” and that was evident throughout the entire week.
It was amazing to work alongside my students on something none of us were experts at and to accomplish what none of us could have on our own. We engaged in problem solving with real-world application and high stakes—particularly when tackling electrical wiring! After hard-fought battles, things came together, the house was finished, and we celebrated as a team. When all was said and done, we had a shared experience and left with more understanding of and respect for each other’s capacities. It was an exhausting week, but one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
AP Biology, Another Team Learning Experience
The Mexico trip resonates with my teaching experience, particularly this year with the AP curriculum revised to focus on student-driven inquiry. Here, the teacher takes on the role of supporter and doesn’t control the learning experiences in the same way as before. Because AP Biology was new to me and my students, we learned and experienced the course together. I’ve been in charge—I’ve kept the track of the big picture and navigated the class through the curriculum—but there has been a lot of give and take. We’ve been “in it together” much more than has traditionally been the case in education.
And the result? Rich learning has happened on all sides. We developed a sense of camaraderie and a deep respect for each other as learners and thinkers.
I just held my last class before the AP test. Giving my students a pep talk and sending them out with cheers on both sides felt strange. It was like sending players off to the big game without the person who’s been working with them along the way. It made me acutely aware of how much my role has been that of coach and how powerful this has been in the classroom.
I acknowledge that being so close to the end may put me in danger of looking at the experience through rose-colored glasses. Has the year been easy? Most certainly not! It’s hard work to learn alongside the students. It adds an element of the unknown that’s difficult for a teacher who likes to be prepared and organized. Doing something completely new while simultaneously being in charge of others feels vulnerable and risky. And since it’s an AP course, everyone is expecting a result.
No, I can’t say it’s been a totally smooth year, but I can definitely say it’s been significant for me and the students. It was worth the risk.
Transition to NGSS: Worth the Risk
My experience is one that is poised to become widespread as we transition to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). By nature of how they’re designed and because they’re so new, NGSS will encourage teachers and students to be “in this together.” The standards emphasize what students can do with information and encourage them to make connections between big ideas. This makes learning experiences much more student-driven and much less predictable. It also shifts the teacher’s role toward one of coaching—that is, guiding and encouraging students as they develop their own skills and learn to make their own connections.
NGSS invites teachers to be learners as well, engaging with new content, connections, and student insights and investigations.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who says the NGSS transition will be an easy one. NGSS requires teachers to learn new material and strategies, and to let go of things they’ve come to count on. The transition will mean hard work developing new lessons and helping students think and question in ways they’re not used to. Teachers and students alike will feel vulnerable as they try something new, while knowing that others are watching and expecting a result.
After this year, no one is more empathetic than I am about how all of this feels: daunting, frightening, and overwhelming. But at the same time, this transition has the potential to be exciting, impactful, and fulfilling. And we can be encouraged that, at every level, we’re in it together. No one knows exactly what the NGSS transition looks like, so we’re all learning from each other. In the process, we have the chance to develop deeper respect and understanding for each other and for science.
Regardless of your educational role, I invite you to take the risk and jump in to see what will happen as we engage in this transition together. When a few students and adults took the risk in Mexico, the result was houses for those who didn’t have any. In my classroom, the result was a “team” that knows more about science, but also has a greater respect for each other and more understanding about how to ask questions and design solutions for our world.
What might the result be if we all jump in? The possibilities are endless.
Blog: Exploring NGSS
