New Jersey schools have begun adopting Next Generation Science Standards and one educator is so impressed with the move, he penned a piece explaining why the move is a giant leap in education.

With the NGSS, teachers also become coaches, much like the Facilitated Learning method. The NGSS features a main focus on eight specific practices. These practices include: asking questions and defining problems, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

Brian Carey has been teaching and supervising science instruction for 18 years and he raves about finally finding a way to help students see their own potential as “science people" in his piece.

“All students, no matter their background or learning environment, have what it takes to learn—and enjoy—science,” said Carey.

“Given that today's jobs, even those not directly tied to a science field, require that young people possess a solid understanding of science, technology, engineering and math, it is paramount that students receive a high-quality science education. Increasingly, that means engaging them in instruction that places them in the roles of scientists.”

Carey says he vigorously applauds New Jersey’s decision to adopt the NGSS because it raises the bar in terms of what students need to know and how they learn, through the integration of core scientific ideas.

“Those of us already working to implement the NGSS in our classrooms know it is a remarkable shift. It is helping us to engage more students, more deeply,” said Carey.

“After all, rigor doesn't spring from the difficulty of the text or the amount of digits used in a calculation; rigor comes from the application of learning.”

The NGSS standards are continuing to make their way into school districts and it looks like educators in science feel much more comfortable facilitating this learning.

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Article by Navindra Persaud, Education World Contributor.