Collaborative effort focuses on updating, implementing new science standards

Jul. 16, 2012
Collaborative effort focuses on updating, implementing new science standards
Diane Smith and Jessamy Brown | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Varada Salimath, 15, feels the weight of a generation who will have to consider the country's future in space travel, robotics, the environment and cloning.

"The reason I take science so seriously at school is no matter what career you end up doing, if you want to be an informed citizen you have to understand science," said Salimath, a Denton High School sophomore who is considering a career in neuroscience and says her dream college is Princeton University.

"If we want to stay No. 1, we're going to have to be good at science and math because that's what's going to keep us on top. That's what's going to keep us innovating. We ultimately want to build a better world, and students are a huge important part of that," she said.

Salimath's words echo those of presidents, educators, scientists and business leaders who say science is evolving too fast to ignore. Many say students need to be science literate so they can innovate, compete and maneuver with the latest technology. If the United States wants to compete on the world stage, teachers and science lessons must evolve, too.

It's largely with this agenda in mind that the National Research Council, states, educators and scientists are updating national standards in science instruction.

The Next Generation Science Standards involve identifying what all K-12 students must know in physics, life science, Earth/space science and engineering. It is a collaboration among the council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Achieve, an independent, bipartisan education reform organization based in Washington, D.C. Once completed, the standards will be ready for adoption by the states.

"We want to make sure our students are going to meet the demands of the 21st century," said Stephen Pruitt, Achieve's vice president for content, research and development.

Talk of national science standards, however, is stirring a debate in Texas, where members of the State Board of Education say they don't plan to adopt them anytime soon, in part because the state recently overhauled its science standards.

State officials are also concerned that Texas, by agreeing to go along with the standards, would surrender too much control to outside sources, possibly the U.S. Education Department.

Board member Thomas Ratliff said an overhaul would "throw professional development and teachers and students in an absolute freefall."

"I just can't imagine there is any likelihood or chance that it could happen," Ratliff said. "I think the further away from the children the standards are developed, the worse they are. They have to be all things to all people."

Not universal

Not all states have committed to the new standards, which are expected to be completed in early 2013. Many, like Texas, are revising science standards on their own schedule.

Pruitt said the new standards aim to make all students science literate and ready for college and the workforce, and will incorporate critical-thinking skills while also weaving engineering and math into science lessons. The standards are a foundation that local school districts and educators can use in developing curriculum.

For example, instead of memorizing the parts of a plant, students will learn how the plant functions and affects nearby plants. Students will learn how to apply the scientific method and learn which tools are best for testing theories.

"We are not creating new science," Pruitt said. "Newton's laws were the same when he discovered them in the 19th century as they are today." Ramon Lopez, a physics professor at the University of Texas at Arlington who is helping write the new standards, said they are just part of a conversation. He is one of four Texans on the writing team.

"I am sure that the next time that Texas revises its science standards it will take a look at the NGSS, along with other recommendations by scientific organizations that contribute to the national conversation about what kind of science students should learn," Lopez said. "Some states will adopt the NGSS and others will not, but each state will try to provide a 21st-century education to its students."

At the same time, the College Board, which promotes college readiness programs, is retooling instruction of Advanced Placement biology and chemistry. Students taking AP biology next school year will learn under a template that emphasizes inquiry, reasoning skills, data collection and analysis, and math. A new AP chemistry instruction plan will be used in 2013.

'Dumbing down'

Business leaders and educators have supported higher national standards, saying American students must be critical thinkers who aren't afraid of science.

"We need the students to get turned on by the challenge of problem solving and curiosity about the application of what they are learning," said Cynthia Fisher Miller, senior director of workforce and education at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

Business leaders say workers in industries including aerospace engineering, manufacturing, healthcare and logistics need to be comfortable with science and math.

"Math and science are the ticket to our tomorrow," said Devoyd Jennings, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. "We are not where we need to be."

Jennings said that too often the discussion over science education turns political.

The Texas Republican Party's 2012 platform, for example, opposes "critical thinking skills and similar programs" that focus on "behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."

The platform also supports equal treatment for all sides of scientific theories.

"We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced," the platform says. "Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind."

Jennings said this type of position contributes to the "dumbing down" of education.

"It's hurting us as a country, and it is hurting Texas," he said.

State board member Patricia Hardy of Weatherford said it is too soon to overhaul science education again, noting that it would cost textbook companies and other providers of materials.

Texas last reviewed its science standards in 2009.The contentious process drew national attention, and the board eventually adopted science standards that encourage study of all sides of scientific theories.

"If we were to jump ship and go over to this other [set of standards], we would have wasted a lot of time and energy," Hardy said. "When we push back against national standards, it is not really the elements that are in the science standard we are opposed to. It's the idea that we prefer a state-run educational system.

"We want the state to be responsible for education. That isn't to say that we can't take ideas and consider them," Hardy said. "We don't want the federal government telling us how to run the schools. They can tell us this is being developed by outside sources, but I don't ... believe the Department of Education doesn't have its thumb on this."

History of electron

Science teachers say they are working with a more sophisticated, tech-savvy group of learners. High school students today discuss topics that in years past were research projects for Nobel Prize winners, said Todd Abronowitz, a chemistry teacher who is helping train science teachers at TCU's AP Institute. The institute hosted 560 teachers this summer who trained to teach AP classes.

"You can now read the history of the electron on the Kindle that is powered by electrons," Abronowitz said. "You can't predict where we are going to be in 20 years."

Middle school science teachers who attended the AP Institute said teachers can't just dictate facts to students. Students question ideas and theories and can search for answers instantly.

Young students say it is important that teachers show how science concepts apply to the real world and make lessons engaging.

At a science camp at the University of North Texas last week, elementary and middle school students completed hands-on projects and experiments aimed at making science fun and interesting.

They designed and built traps to collect and study aquatic insects and pressed leaves between wood as botanists do. Older students used physics, chemistry and biology concepts as they created a mythical animal species and made models using wire and papier-mache.

Eshan Sayani, 12, an eighth-grader at Briarhill Middle School in the Lewisville school district, said he enjoys science because it involves trying to prove an idea using a process.

"In school, all we do is write stuff down from a textbook and take quizzes and tests," said Eshan, who wants to attend Stanford University and become a doctor.

Renato Lopez, 11, who will be a sixth-grader at Crownover Middle School in Denton in the fall, said he wants to become a chemist.

"I've always dreamed of wearing a lab coat and glasses, and once I even dreamed of curing cancer," Renato said. "But I know that I'm going to have to work hard and study hard to make that happen. And that's why I'm not at home all the time playing video games."