Science and Engineering Practices and Science Process Skills Presentation
One of the most important goals of education is to teach students to think. Science contributes to this goal with its emphasis on hypothesizing, thinking about the physical world, and reasoning from observations and data. The term science process skills is commonly used to describe such processes and is reflective of the behavior of scientists.
Create an 8-10 slide digital presentation that you could share with your peers who teach in another content area. Describe and compare two Science and Engineering Practices from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Appendix F and three Science Processes in the Science Process Skills (https://narst.org/research-matters/science-process-skills). Be sure to include a title slide, reference slide, and presenters notes.
Choose one practice or process and provide a 250-500 word rationale as to why it is your favorite. Be sure to describe a complex performance that would teach the practice or process set, aligned to science or health standards from your state.
Support your presentation with 2-3 scholarly resources.
Top of Form
Top of Form
Science and Engineering Practices from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) ACEI 2.2, 2.6; InTASC 4(a), 4(j), 4(n)]
20.0
Presentation clearly description and compares the NGSS science and engineering practices It includes several distinctive supporting details and/or examples.
Science Processes in the Science Process Skills ACEI 2.2, 2.6; InTASC 4(a), 4(j), 4(n)]
20.0
Presentation clearly describes and compares the science process skills. Includes several distinctive supporting details and/or examples.
Practice or Process Rationale InTASC 4(b), 4(j)
15.0
The chosen practice or process describes clearly and with detail, a complex performance that would teach the practices or process set.
Presentation of Content
10.0
The content is written clearly and concisely. Ideas universally progress and relate to each other. The project includes motivating questions and advanced organizers. The project gives the audience a clear sense of the main idea.
Layout
10.0
The layout is visually pleasing and contributes to the overall message with appropriate use of headings, subheadings, and white space. Text is appropriate in length for the target audience and to the point. The background and colors enhance the readability of the text.
Slide Notes and Research Citations
10.0
Title slide and thorough slide notes are present. In-text citations and a reference slide are complete and correct. Sources are credible. The documentation of cited sources is free of error.
Language Use and Audience Awareness (includes sentence construction, word choice, etc.)
5.0
The writer uses a variety of sentence constructions, figures of speech, and word choice in distinctive and creative ways that are appropriate to purpose, discipline, and scope.
Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style)
5.0
Sources are completely and correctly documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is free of error.
Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)
5.0
Writer is clearly in control of standard, written, academic English.
Total Percentage 100
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Bottom of Form April 2013 NGSS Release Page 1 of 33
APPENDIX F Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS
A Science Framework for K-12 Science Education provides the blueprint for developing the Next
Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The Framework expresses a vision in science education that
requires students to operate at the nexus of three dimensions of learning: Science and Engineering
Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas. The Framework identified a small number
of disciplinary core ideas that all students should learn with increasing depth and sophistication, from
Kindergarten through grade twelve. Key to the vision expressed in the Framework is for students to learn
these disciplinary core ideas in the context of science and engineering practices. The importance of
combining science and engineering practices and disciplinary core ideas is stated in the Framework as
follows:
Standards and performance expectations that are aligned to the framework must take into
account that students cannot fully understand scientific and engineering ideas without
engaging in the practices of inquiry and the discourses by which such ideas are
developed and refined. At the same time, they cannot learn or show competence in
practices except in the context of specific content. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 218)
The Framework specifies that each performance expectation must combine a relevant practice of science
or engineering, with a core disciplinary idea and crosscutting concept, appropriate for students of the
designated grade level. That guideline is perhaps the most significant way in which the NGSS differs
from prior standards documents. In the future, science assessments will not assess students understanding
of core ideas separately from their abilities to use the practices of science and engineering. They will be
assessed together, showing students not only know science concepts; but also, students can use their
understanding to investigate the natural world through the practices of science inquiry, or solve
meaningful problems through the practices of engineering design. The Framework uses the term
practices, rather than science processes or inquiry skills for a specific reason:
We use the term practices instead of a term such as skills to emphasize that
engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is
specific to each practice. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 30)
The eight practices of science and engineering that the Framework identifies as essential for all students
to learn and describes in detail are listed below:
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Rationale
Chapter 3 of the Framework describes each of the eight practices of science and engineering and presents
the following rationale for why they are essential.
Engaging in the practices of science helps students understand how scientific knowledge
develops; such direct involvement gives them an appreciation of the wide range of
approaches that are used to investigate, model, and explain the world. Engaging in the
practices of engineering likewise helps students understand the work of engineers, as
well as the links between engineering and science. Participation in these practices also
April 2013 NGSS Release Page 2 of 33
helps students form an understanding of the crosscutting concepts and disciplinary ideas
of science and engineering; moreover, it makes students knowledge more meaningful
and embeds it more deeply into their worldview.
The actual doing of science or engineering can also pique students curiosity, capture
their interest, and motivate their continued study; the insights thus gained help them
recognize that the work of scientists and engineers is a creative endeavorone that has
deeply affected the world they live in. Students may then recognize that science and
engineering can contribute to meeting many of the major challenges that confront society
today, such as generating sufficient energy, preventing and treating disease, maintaining
supplies of fresh water and food, and addressing climate change.
Any education that focuses predominantly on the detailed products of scientific labor
the facts of sciencewithout developing an understanding of how those facts were
established or that ignores the many important applications of science in the world
misrepresents science and marginalizes the importance of engineering. (NRC
Framework 2012, pp. 42-43)
As suggested in the rationale, above, Chapter 3 derives the eight practices based on an analysis of what
professional scientists and engineers do. It is recommended that users of the NGSS read that chapter
carefully, as it provides valuable insights into the nature of science and engineering, as well as the
connections between these two closely allied fields. The intent of this section of the NGSS appendices is
more limitedto describe what each of these eight practices implies about what students can do. Its
purpose is to enable readers to better understand the performance expectations. The Practices Matrix is
included, which lists the specific capabilities included in each practice for each grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8,
9-12).
Guiding Principles
The development process of the standards provided insights into science and engineering practices.
These insights are shared in the following guiding principles:
Students in grades K-12 should engage in all eight practices over each grade band. All eight
practices are accessible at some level to young children; students abilities to use the practices
grow over time. However, the NGSS only identifies the capabilities students are expected to
acquire by the end of each grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12). Curriculum developers and
teachers determine strategies that advance students abilities to use the practices.
Practices grow in complexity and sophistication across the grades. The Framework suggests
how students capabilities to use each of the practices should progress as they mature and engage
in science learning. For example, the practice of planning and carrying out investigations
begins at the kindergarten level with guided situations in which students have assistance in
identifying phenomena to be investigated, and how to observe, measure, and record outcomes. By
upper elementary school, students should be able to plan their own investigations. The nature of
investigations that students should be able to plan and carry out is also expected to increase as
students mature, including the complexity of questions to be studied, the ability to determine what
kind of investigation is needed to answer different kinds of questions, whether or not variables
need to be controlled and if so, which are most important, and at the high school level, how to
take measurement error into account. As listed in the tables in this chapter, each of the eight
practices has its own progression, from kindergarten to grade 12. While these progressions are
derived from Chapter 3 of the Framework, they are refined based on experiences in crafting the
NGSS and feedback received from reviewers.
Each practice may reflect science or engineering. Each of the eight practices can be used in the
service of scientific inquiry or engineering design. The best way to ensure a practice is being used
April 2013 NGSS Release Page 3 of 33
for science or engineering is to ask about the goal of the activity. Is the goal to answer a question?
If so, students are doing science. Is the purpose to define and solve a problem? If so, students are
doing engineering. Box 3-2 on pages 50-53 of the Framework provides a side-by-side comparison
of how scientists and engineers use these practices. This chapter briefly summarizes what it
looks like for a student to use each practice for science or engineering.
Practices represent what students are expected to do, and are not teaching methods or
curriculum. The Framework occasionally offers suggestions for instruction, such as how a
science unit might begin with a scientific investigation, which then leads to the solution of an
engineering problem. The NGSS avoids such suggestions since the goal is to describe what
students should be able to do, rather than how they should be taught. For example, it was
suggested for the NGSS to recommend certain teaching strategies such as using biomimicrythe
application of biological features to solve engineering design problems. Although instructional
units that make use of biomimicry seem well-aligned with the spirit of the Framework to
encourage integration of core ideas and practices, biomimicry and similar teaching approaches
are more closely related to curriculum and instruction than to assessment. Hence, the decision
was made not to include biomimicry in the NGSS.
The eight practices are not separate; they intentionally overlap and interconnect. As
explained by Bell, et al. (2012), the eight practices do not operate in isolation. Rather, they tend to
unfold sequentially, and even overlap. For example, the practice of asking questions may lead
to the practice of modeling or planning and carrying out an investigation, which in turn may
lead to analyzing and interpreting data. The practice of mathematical and computational
thinking may include some aspects of analyzing and interpreting data. Just as it is important
for students to carry out each of the individual practices, it is important for them to see the
connections among the eight practices.
Performance expectations focus on some but not all capabilities associated with a practice.
The Framework identifies a number of features or components of each practice. The practices
matrix, described in this section, lists the components of each practice as a bulleted list within
each grade band. As the performance expectations were developed, it became clear that its too
much to expect each performance to reflect all components of a given practice. The most
appropriate aspect of the practice is identified for each performance expectation.
Engagement in practices is language intensive and requires students to participate in
classroom science discourse. The practices offer rich opportunities and demands for language
learning while advancing science learning for all students (Lee, Quinn, & Valds, in press).
English language learners, students with disabilities that involve language processing, students
with limited literacy development, and students who are speakers of social or regional varieties of
English that are generally referred to as non-Standard English stand to gain from science
learning that involves language-intensive scientific and engineering practices. When supported
appropriately, these students are capable of learning science through their emerging language and
comprehending and carrying out sophisticated language functions (e.g., arguing from evidence,
providing explanations, developing models) using less-than-perfect English. By engaging in such
practices, moreover, they simultaneously build on their understanding of science and their
language proficiency (i.e., capacity to do more with language).
On the following pages, each of the eight practices is briefly described. Each description ends with a table
illustrating the components of the practice that students are expected to master at the end of each grade
band. All eight tables comprise the practices matrix. During development of the NGSS, the practices
matrix was revised several times to reflect improved understanding of how the practices connect with the
disciplinary core ideas.
April 2013 NGSS Release Page 4 of 33
Practice 1 Asking Questions and Defining Problems
Students at any grade level should be able to ask questions of each other about the texts
they read, the features of the phenomena they observe, and the conclusions they draw
from their models or scientific investigations. For engineering, they should ask questions
to define the problem to be solved and to elicit ideas that lead to the constraints and
specifications for its solution. (NRC Framework 2012, p. 56)
Scientific questions arise in a variety of ways. They can be driven by curiosity about the world, inspired
by the predictions of a model, theory, or findings from previous investigations, or they can be stimulated
by the need to solve a problem. Scientific questions are distinguished from other types of questions in that
the answers lie in explanations supported by empirical evidence, including evidence gathered by others or
through investigation.
While science begins with questions, engineering begins with defining a problem to solve. However,
engineering may also involve asking questions to define a problem, such as: What is the need or desire
that underlies the problem? What are the criteria for a successful solution? Other questions arise when
generating ideas, or testing possible solutions, such as: What are the possible trade-offs? What evidence
is necessary to determine which solution is best?
Asking questions and defining problems also involves asking questions about data, claims that are made,
and proposed designs. It is important to realize that asking a question also leads to involvement in another
practice. A student can ask a question about data that will lead to further analysis and interpretation. Or a
student might ask a question that leads to planning and design, an investigation, or the refinement of a
design.
Whether engaged in science or engineering, the ability to ask good questions and clearly define problems
is essential for everyone. The following progression of Practice 1 summarizes what students should be
able to do by the end of each grade band. Each of the examples of asking questions below leads to
students engaging in other scientific practices.
Grades K-2 Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12
Asking questions and
defining problems in K2
builds on prior
experiences and
progresses to simple
descriptive questions that
can be tested.
Ask questions based
on observations to find
more information
about the natural
and/or designed
world(s).
Ask and/or identify
questions that can be
answered by an
investigation.
Define a simple
problem that can be
solved through the
development of a new
or improved object or
tool.
Asking questions and defining
problems in 35 builds on K2
experiences and progresses to
specifying qualitative
relationships.
Ask questions about what
would happen if a variable is
changed.
Identify scientific (testable)
and non-scientific (non-
testable) questions.
Ask questions that can be
investigated and predict
reasonable outcomes based
on patterns such as cause and
effect relationships.
Use prior knowledge to
describe problems that can be
solved.
Define a simple design
problem that can be solved
through the development of
an object, tool, process, or
system and includes several
criteria for success and
constraints on materials, time,
or cost.
Asking questions and defining problems
in 68 builds on K5 experiences and
progresses to specifying relationships
between variables, and clarifying
arguments and models.
Ask questions
o that arise from careful observation
of phenomena, models, or
unexpected results, to clarify
and/or seek additional information.
o to identify and/or clarify evidence
and/or the premise(s) of an
argument.
o to determine relationships between
independent and dependent
variables and relationships in
models.
o to clarify and/or refine a model, an
explanation, or an engineering
problem.
o that require sufficient and
appropriate empirical evidence to
answer.
o that can be investigated within the
scope of the classroom, outdoor
environment, and museums and
other public facilities with
available resources and, when
Asking questions and defining
problems in 912 builds on K8
experiences and progresses to
formulating, refining, and
evaluating empirically testable
questions and design problems
using models and simulations.
Ask questions
o that arise from careful
observation of phenomena,
or unexpected results, to
clarify and/or seek
additional information.
o that arise from examining
models or a theory, to
clarify and/or seek
additional information and
relationships.
o to determine relationships,
including quantitative
relationships, between
independent and
dependent variables.
o to clarify and refine a
model, an explanation, or
an engineering problem.
Evaluate a question to
determine if it is testable and
April 2013 NGSS Release Page 5 of 33
appropriate, frame a hypothesis
based on observations and
scientific principles.
o that challenge the premise(s) of an
argument or the interpretation of a
data set.
Define a design problem that can be
solved through the development of an
object, tool, process or system and
includes multiple criteria and
constraints, including scientific
knowledge that may limit possible
solutions.
relevant.
Ask questions that can be
investigated within the scope
of the school laboratory,
research facilities, or field
(e.g., outdoor environment)
with available resources and,
when appropriate, frame a
hypothesis based on a model
or theory.
Ask and/or evaluate questions
that challenge the premise(s)
of an argument, the
interpretation of a data set, or
the suitability of a design.
Define a design problem that
involves the development of a
process or system with
interacting components and
criteria and constraints that
may include social, technical,
and/or environmental
considerations.
April 2013 NGSS Release Page 6 of 33
Practice 2 Developing and Using Models
Modeling can begin in the earliest grades, with students models progressing from
concrete pictures and/or physical scale models (e.g., a toy car) to more abstract
representations of relevant relationships in later grades, such as a diagram representing
forces on a particular object in a system. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 58)
Models include diagrams, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer
simulations. Although models do not correspond exactly to the real world, they bring certain features into
focus while obscuring others. All models contain approximations and assumptions that limit the range of
validity and predictive power, so it is important for students to recognize their limitations.
In science, models are used to represent a system (or parts of a system) under study, to aid in the
development of questions and explanations, to generate data that can be used to make predictions, and to
communicate ideas to others. Students can be expected to evaluate and refine models through an iterative
cycle of comparing their predictions with the real world and then adjusting them to gain insights into the
phenomenon being modeled. As such, models are based upon evidence. When new evidence is uncovered
that the models cant explain, models are modified.
In engineering, models may be used to analyze a system to see where or under what conditions flaws
might develop, or to test possible solutions to a problem. Models can also be used to visualize and refine a
design, to communicate a designs features to others, and as prototypes for testing design performance.
Grades K-2 Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12
Modeling in K2 builds on prior
experiences and progresses to
include using and developing
models (i.e., diagram, drawing,
physical replica, diorama,
dramatization, or storyboard) that
represent concrete events or
design solutions.
Distinguish between a model
and the actual object, process,
and/or events the model
represents.
Compare models to identify
common features and
differences.
Develop and/or use a model to
represent amounts,
relationships, relative scales
(bigger, smaller), and/or
patterns in the natural and
designed world(s).
Develop a simple model based
on evidence to represent a
proposed object or tool.
Modeling in 35 builds on K2
experiences and progresses to
building and revising simple
models and using models to
represent events and design
solutions.
Identify limitations of models.
Collaboratively develop and/or
revise a model based on
evidence that shows the
relationships among variables
for frequent and regular
occurring events.
Develop a model using an
analogy, example, or abstract
representation to describe a
scientific principle or design
solution.
Develop and/or use models to
describe and/or predict
phenomena.
Develop a diagram or simple
physical prototype to convey a
proposed object, tool, or
process.
Use a model to test cause and
effect relationships or
interactions concerning the
functioning of a natural or
designed system.
Modeling in 68 builds on K5
experiences and progresses to
developing, using, and revising
models to describe, test, and predict
more abstract phenomena and design
systems.
Evaluate limitations of a model for
a proposed object or tool.
Develop or modify a model
based on evidence to match what
happens if a variable or component
of a system is changed.
Use and/or develop a model of
simple systems with uncertain and
less predictable factors.
Develop and/or revise a model to
show the relationships among
variables, including those that are
not observable but predict
observable phenomena.
Develop and/or use a model to
predict and/or describe
phenomena.
Develop a model to describe
unobservable mechanisms.
Develop and/or use a model to
generate data to test ideas about
phenomena in natural or designed
systems, including those
representing inputs and outputs,
and those at unobservable scales.
Modeling in 912 builds on K8
experiences and progresses to using,
synthesizing, and developing models
to predict and show relationships
among variables between systems
and their components in the natural
and designed worlds.
Evaluate merits and limitations of
two different models of the same
proposed tool, process,
mechanism or system in order to
select or revise a model that best
fits the evidence or design criteria.
Design a test of a model to
ascertain its reliability.
Develop, revise, and/or use a
model based on evidence to
illustrate and/or predict the
relationships between systems or
between components of a system.
Develop and/or use multiple types
of models to provide mechanistic
accounts and/or predict
phenomena, and move flexibly
between model types based on
merits and limitations.
Develop a complex model that
allows for manipulation and
testing of a proposed process or
system.
Develop and/or use a model
(including mathematical and
computational) to generate data to
support explanations, predict
phenomena, analyze systems,
and/or solve problems.
April 2013 NGSS Release Page 7 of 33
Practice 3 Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Students should have opportunities to plan and carry out several different kinds of
investigations during their K-12 years. At all levels, they should engage in investigations that
range from those structured by the teacherin order to expose an issue or question that they
would be unlikely to explore on their own (e.g., measuring specific properties of materials)
to those that emerge from students own questions. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 61)
Scientific investigations may be undertaken to describe a phenomenon, or to test a theory or model for
how the world works. The purpose of engineering investigations might be to find out how to fix or
improve the functioning of a technological system or to compare different solutions to see which best
solves a problem. Whether students are doing science or engineering, it is always important for them to
state the goal of an investigation, predict outcomes, and plan a course of action that will provide the best
evidence to support their conclusions. Students should design investigations that generate data to provide
evidence to support claims they make about phenomena. Data arent evidence until used in the process of
supporting a claim. Students should use reasoning and scientific ideas, principles, and theories to show
why data can be considered evidence.
Over time, students are expected to become more systematic and careful in their methods. In laboratory
experiments, students are expected to decide which variables should be treated as results or outputs,
which should be treated as inputs and intentionally varied from trial to trial, and which should be
controlled, or kept the same across trials. In the case of field observations, planning involves deciding
how to collect different samples of data under different conditions, even though not all conditions are
under the direct control of the investigator. Planning and carrying out investigations may include elements
of all of the other practices.
Grades K-2 Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12
Planning and carrying out
investigations to answer
questions or test solutions to
problems in K2 builds on
prior experiences and
progresses to simple
investigations, based on fair
tests, which provide data to
support explanations or design
solutions.
With guidance, plan and
conduct an investigation in
collaboration with peers (for
K).
Plan and conduct an
investigation collaboratively
to produce data to serve as
the basis for evidence to
answer a question.
Evaluate different ways of
observing and/or measuring
a phenomenon to determine
which way can answer a
question.
Make observations
(firsthand or from media)
and/or measurements to
collect data that can be used
to make comparisons.
Make observations
(firsthand or from media)
and/or measurements of a
proposed object or tool or
solution to determine if it
Planning and carrying out
investigations to answer
questions or test solutions to
problems in 35 builds on K
2 experiences and progresses
to include investigations that
control variables and provide
evidence to support
explanations or design
solutions.
Plan and conduct an
investigation
collaboratively to produce
data to serve as the basis
for evidence, using fair
tests in which variables are
controlled and the number
of trials considered.
Evaluate appropriate
methods and/or tools for
collecting data.
Make observations and/or
measurements to produce
data to serve as the basis
for evidence for an
explanation of a
phenomenon or test a
design solution.
Make predictions about
what would happen if a
variable changes.
Test two different models
of the same proposed
object, tool, or process to
Planning and carrying out
investigations in 6-8 builds on
K-5 experiences and
progresses to include
investigations that use
multiple variables and
provide evidence to support
explanations or solutions.
Plan an investigation
individually and
collaboratively, and in the
design: identify
independent and dependent
variables and controls,
what tools are needed to do
the gathering, how
measurements will be
recorded, and how many
data are needed to support
a claim.
Conduct an investigation
and/or evaluate and/or
revise the experimental
design to produce data to
serve as the basis for
evidence that meet the
goals of the investigation.
Evaluate the accuracy of
various methods for
collecting data.
Collect data to produce
data to serve as the basis
for evidence to answer
scientific questions or test
Planning and carrying out investigations in
9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and
progresses to include investigations that
provide evidence for and test conceptual,
mathematical, physical, and empirical
models.
Plan an investigation or test a design
individually and collaboratively to
produce data to serve as the basis for
evidence as part of building and
revising models, supporting
explanations for phenomena, or testing
solutions to problems. Consider
possible confounding variables or
effects and evaluate the investigations
design to ensure variables are
controlled.
Plan and conduct an investigation
individually and collaboratively to
produce data to serve as the basis for
evidence, and in the design: decide on
types, how much, and accuracy of data
needed to produce reliable
measurements and consider limitations
