This award is being used to convene a 2.5-day workshop and associated activities in order to align science education resources developed and used by the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program with the newly-released Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). GLOBE is a world-wide partnership between students, teachers, and scientists to learn more about Earth's systems through local scientific investigations of globally relevant measurements. As such, GLOBE provides rich opportunities to both discuss Earth-related scientific concepts and implement inquiry-based pedagogies that are prominent throughout the NGSS. The Iowa Academy of Science, a US GLOBE Partner since 1999, is hosting a national workshop and related pre- and post-activities to develop the GLOBE Program alignment to the NGSS. The workshop is bringing together educators, professional development providers and scientists experienced with GLOBE and the NGSS to develop an alignment document between GLOBE and NGSS. The participants will work in small groups, utilizing the Achieve Open Education Rubrics (OER) and a consensus process to evaluate the GLOBE Program protocols, classroom activities, Elementary GLOBE, and other GLOBE resources for their alignment to NGSS. Webinars are being conducted prior to the workshop to recruit participants and prepare potential participants for the activities of the workshop. After the workshop, a draft alignment document will be circulated to the U.S. GLOBE Partners, and others, for review and comment. The final document will provide alignments between GLOBE resources and NGSS that are organized sequentially by grade, NGSS topic, and GLOBE investigation area. In addition to the alignment, recommendations for integrating the alignment into GLOBE Professional development will be included. A series of webinars for GLOBE Partners and educators will be conducted to practice use of the new resource in their own NGSS implementation plans; archived recordings will be made available to the GLOBE Program for use in ongoing professional development. It is expected that alignment of GLOBE materials to the NGSS will facilitate their inclusion in the classroom as the NGSS begin to be implemented in early adoption states, beginning in Fall 2013.
Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), founded in 1994, is a world-wide partnership between students, teachers, and scientists to learn more about the Earth’s systems through local scientific investigations of globally relevant measurements. The Iowa Academy of Science, a US GLOBE Partner since 1999, was awarded funding to support a national workshop and related pre- and post-activities to develop the GLOBE Program alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards. As states begin to roll-out the Next Generation Science Standards, schools and teachers will need access to soundly developed real world investigations to engage their students. Because the GLOBE Program engages students in learning about science by doing science and is strongly aligned with the scientific missions of NASA and NOAA, alignment between the GLOBE Program and the Next Generation Science Standards shall assist K-12 educators in adoption states with the integration and implementation of NGSS. The GLOBE Program will support successful adoption of NGSS by integrating the alignment document into its delivery and dissemination strategy. US GLOBE Partners will use the alignment in workshops to assist teachers in the development of real-world science experiences for their students. The methods used in this project shall serve as a model for other national programs in their development of NGSS alignment documents. The GLOBE Program and Next Generation Science Standards Alignment Workshop brought together 22 educators, professional development providers and scientists experienced with GLOBE and the Next Generation Science Standards for two and ½ days to develop the draft alignment document between GLOBE and NGSS. Webinars conducted prior to the workshop assisted in participant recruitment and prepared participants for the activities of the workshop. During the workshop, participants worked in small groups, organized by grade level specialty and topic, to review the connections between GLOBE resources and the standards. After the workshop, participant generated data was developed into a draft alignment document that was circulated through both GLOBE community and public review processes. In addition to the alignment, recommendations for integrating the alignment into GLOBE Professional development are provided in the post-workshop webinars. A presentation by the three Project Leadership team members at the 2014 National Science Teachers Association National Conference, in Boston, described the project process, goals, and outcomes. A Guide to Connections between the GLOBE Program and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), now available for use by educators through download from the GLOBE website (www.globe.gov), shall contribute to the roll out and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards by providing teachers, curriculum consultants, and GLOBE Trainers/community members with guidance in the development of GLOBE classroom units that prepare students to demonstrate mastery of the NGSS.. The 7 project webinar recordings (also available at www.globe.gov) provide an introduction to NGSS and support for educators and GLOBE trainers in the use of GLOBE resources to implement NGSS. The webinars may also be used by curriculum developers and other programs as guidance in developing their own alignment to NGSS. The project database, provided to the GLOBE Program Implementation Office, includes lists of unmatched GLOBE Program activities and NGSS standards. This resource may be used by the GLOBE Implementation Office or a GLOBE Partnerships in the future development of new or adaption of current GLOBE activities. The project database also includes a list of GLOBE resources that engage students in doing at least one part of a NGSS Student Performance Expectation. GLOBE resources on this list could potentially be developed into NGSS Assessments. This table may be used by the GLOBE Program Implementation Office or a GLOBE Partnership to develop GLOBE based NGSS Assessments for use by K-12 schools.
