University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

NABT 2015 (Hug)

A Practical Guide to Aligning Existing Materials to the NGSS

Want to better align your curriculum to the NGSS? Gain experience and advice on using the EQuIP rubric to evaluate an example lesson, while developers and teachers share their approach to revising and implementing lessons and units for the NGSS.

This workshop is directed toward educators who are familiar with the NGSS and who wish to gain hands-on experience and advice on how to better align existing curriculum materials to the NGSS strands.
We will use an example from the “Do you see what I see?” unit, originally developed by Project NEURON in 2012 before the final release of the NGSS. This unit has subsequently been revised in 2014/2015 into a “new” unit, using the EQuIP rubric for better alignment to the NGSS. All Project NEURON materials are available to educators online for free.

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce attendees to the EQuIP rubric and allow them to practice using it with a hands-on evaluation of an example lesson from the “old” unit. Project NEURON developers and teachers will then share practical advice and decisions made for the “new” unit.
To start, we will briefly review the goals and intentions behind the NGSS before introducing attendees to an example of a lesson from the “old” unit. We will assist educators within small groups to perform Step 1 of the EQuIP rubric: Review Materials, which includes becoming familiar with the rubric itself as well as the lesson materials.

Next, attendees will continue work in small groups with the guidance of the workshop leaders to practice the next two Steps of the EQuIP rubric: 2) Alignment to the NGSS, and 3) Instructional Supports and Monitoring Student Progress. Although there will not be enough time to evaluate the lesson through the “lens” of each criterion, 1 or 2 example criterions will be chosen for Steps 2 and 3 so that attendees will become familiar with the process of using the EQuIP rubric. Throughout the main activity, attendees will be encouraged to share questions, thoughts, and comments on the process.

After participants have gained some hands-on experience using the EQuIP rubric, developers of the unit and lessons will share their own experiences and approach to using the rubric, and the subsequent revisions that occurred to create the “new” unit. Because there are many ways in which materials can be adapted to NGSS, we will encourage attendee participation in the discussion so that everyone can share ideas. In addition, a teacher who has implemented the “new” materials in her class will share her experiences with the process of aligning her teaching practices with NGSS and share tips for teachers who wish to do the same.

Barbara Hug,* & Hillary Lauren. (2015, November). A practical guide to aligning existing materials to the NGSS. Workshop at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Professional Development Conference, Providence, RI.

*Conference presenter

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