New Tool: Using Phenomena in NGSS-Designed Lessons and Units

Posted on November 05, 2016

Science education started to shift instruction to focus students on exploring and explaining natural phenomena when it shifted to inquiry-based science instruction starting in the 1960s. This focus on having students learn and apply science ideas by making sense of phenomena has continued to deepen—including with the new vision for K-12 science education. Philip Bell worked with staff from Achieve and the Next Gen Science Storylines project to distill in this STEM Teaching Tool how a phenomena-centered approach to science instruction fits with the 3D learning model in the NRC Framework and the Next Generation Science Standards. There are additional resources to go with this resource, including an overview video and other related professional learning resources.