For a school district, the adoption of instructional materials is a costly investment with long-term impacts. This decision-making process is critically important because instructional materials can either support or inhibit improvements in teaching and learning.
Historically, the selection process can be as simple as an individual leafing through materials—sometimes referred to as a “thumb test”—or as intensive as a year-long process involving teams of teachers and administrators. BSCS Science Learning and its collaborators have designed the NextGen TIME program for districts that are prepared to make an investment in the process to go beyond mere selection of materials to planning for implementation in order to maximize the benefit of their instructional materials.
NextGen TIME is a suite of tools and processes designed for professional development of leaders at the state, district, and school levels. Over the course of the NextGen TIME program, teams of educators are guided through the evaluation, selection, and planning for implementation of materials that will help teachers enact the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in their classrooms. All program tools are freely available.
This resource was developed in partnership with Achieve K-12 and Alliance at WestEd
and was funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Videos of science classrooms provide opportunities for rich analysis of classroom instruction, teacher moves, and student thinking. BSCS Science Learning has made our best K-12 videos and associated resources freely available for teacher learning and growth.
Explore what BSCS Videoverse has to offer!
BSCS Videoverse takes you inside classrooms with a growing collection of 2-20 minute video clips spanning a variety of topics including:
- Science Discipline
- Science Topic
- Grade Band & Grade Level
- Activity Focus
- Science and Engineering Practice
- Crosscutting Concept
Many videos also come with associated resources, including: transcripts with context for the video content, lesson plans, student handouts, and other teacher materials.
Who will benefit from BSCS Videoverse?
We launched BSCS Videoverse to support a variety of science educator audiences:
- preservice teacher educators using video resources in their teacher preparation programs,
- teachers looking to enhance their own instructional practices,
- professional learning leaders working with a group of science teachers, and
- researchers considering growth in student understanding or the impact of different teacher moves in classroom settings.
Nineteen US states—representing nearly forty percent of students—have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). An additional 20 states have developed their own standards influenced by the Framework for K-12 Science Education. A district’s decision to introduce new science standards can be highly rewarding for teachers and students, especially when supported by an intentional process for planning and implementation.
BSCS Science Learning and its collaborators designed Five Tools and Processes to help professional development leaders work with teachers on curriculum, instruction, and assessment to achieve the vision of NGSS. At the heart of the Five Tools is the translation of science concepts, practices, and performance expectations into a plan for NGSS-aligned units of instruction.
All Five Tools resources are freely available.
This resource was developed in partnership with American Museum of Natural History and K-12 Alliance at WestEd
and was funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York.