 | | October 2017 | | Engineering's Role in Three-Dimensional Learning |  | This month's Next Gen Navigator is all about engineering, an important element of three-dimensional learning. The science standards call for students of all ages to engage in the Science and Engineering Practices. By deeply exploring these practices, students will understand that they have the tools to meet the challenges of living in the 21st century. Children are natural engineers; at an early age, they begin building with blocks, sand, sticks, and other materials. It's important to capitalize on their natural abilities by encouraging them to closely examine their engineering designs and explore possible weaknesses. We can then help them problem-solve, imagine, build, test, and if necessary, redesign. Enjoy!
Kathy Renfrew
Field Editor, Next Gen Navigator | The Engineering Design Process: A Middle School Approach | Middle school students have many opportunities to engage in the practices of designers and engineers in this innovative classroom. Teachers Catherine Boland and Sean Gormley provide students with engineering work that reflects what happens in the community and the real world around them. Students collaborate to problem-solve and find solutions, test ideas, revise when necessary. This article will be especially powerful for middle school teachers looking for inspiration or validation. Read More |
| Engineering: From Trial-and-Error to NGSS-Aligned | Upon reading David Grossman's piece, many might say "Whew, I am not alone." His thinking process models the engineering design process. He imagines the way the science and engineering should occur, but upon testing and reflection, revises his instruction to meet the expectation of the new standards and provide quality engineering learning opportunities for his students. Read More |
| Wonder, Walls, and Waves: A Student-Led, Inquiry-Based Approach to Engineering Design in Elementary Classrooms | In Susan Koch's first-grade classroom, engineering is integrated into the everyday learning experiences that often begin with questions from students. Her piece provides a close look at how we can enhance children's natural capabilities and the curiosity in a student-centered classroom. Read More |
| Digging Deeper—Peeling Back the Practices: What Did High School Students Think? | High school teacher Andrea Ames enlivens the Digging Deeper column by inviting us into her classroom to see how students approach the practice of designing a solution. She also gives us a lens for assessing multi-dimensional teaching. Read More |
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|  | | | | | These classroom resources are vetted by our teacher curators, who recommend ways they can be adapted to more closely reflect the vision of the NGSS. |  |
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| | | | Register Now for a Discover the NGSS Train-the-Trainer Workshop Near You | | | |
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| | New Collaboration Between LinkEngineering and TeachEngineering Digital Library | The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has announced the collaboration between its LinkEngineering.org website and TeachEngineering.org, a digital library with more than 1,550 standards-aligned, engineering-focused K–12 curricular resources. The integration blends the community features of the NAE site with the content from TeachEngineering.org, creating new opportunities for educators to promote student interest and success in engineering. | |
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| | Engineering is Elementary | The EiE Project helps children in grades 1–8 develop engineering and technological literacy. EiE provides curriculum development and dissemination, professional development (PD), and educational research. | |
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| | Teaching NGSS Engineering Design Through Media | Teaching NGSS Engineering Design Through Media is a collection of activities and professional development resources drawn from programs such as WGBH's Design Squad Nation and the Engineering is Elementary project at the Museum of Science, Boston. These media-based resources will deepen teacher understanding of the standards and spark an interest in engineering in students at all levels. | |
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| | NAS Workshop on Science Investigations and Engineering Design This November 2 | The National Academies of Science Committee on Science Investigations and Engineering Design Experiences in Grades 6–12 will hold a public workshop on Nov. 2 to gather information that will inform their study. They will examine research on science investigations and engineering design conducted since publication of America's Lab Report and use this research to inform the revision of the original report. Registration is required, as space is limited. Learn more about the project here, and register for the workshop here. | |
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| | Using Engineering Design in the Classroom | This four-minute video from the Teaching Channel will help educators engage students in the engineering design process. It explores why it's important to start the process with individual designs, how this process encourages students to lead their own learning, and how to adapt the process to work with different grade levels. | |
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| | | | | | Problem: You're eager to expand your physics curriculum and engage your students with engineering content, but you don't know how. Solution: Use the approach and lessons in this book to infuse engineering into what you're already teaching. The book provides 24 flexible, engineering-infused physics lessons that cover mechanics, optics, electricity, and thermodynamics. Lessons also include examples of student work; incorporate strategies for assessment, teaching, and student learning; and connect to the Framework and the NGSS. | |
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| | | The design challenges in this compendium will spur your students to jump right in and engage throughout the entire class. The 30 articles have been compiled from NSTA's grade-level journals Science and Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher (TST). Read a free sample chapter. | |
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| | | This children's book is about a young girl who is quiet during the day, but at night is a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets who dreams of becoming a great engineer. | |
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| | | The NGSS urge science teachers to include engineering practices and ideas in their already full science curriculum. But many teachers don't know where to start. Authors of this article from TST describe the engineering design process and how it parallels scientific practices and offers teachers suggestions for incorporating engineering design into current classroom curricula. (Free for NSTA members; small fee for non-members) | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Slow chats allow for personalized learning and great conversations on demand. A question will be tweeted to the hashtag #NGSSslowchat every Mon. –Thur. over a period of six weeks. Each week will focus on a section of the book (first section spread over two weeks). |
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| | | Visit the NGSS@NSTA Hub to read all the latest NGSS news |
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