The Future of STEM Education Policy: National Perspectives and Minnesota Impact

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

As the US moves toward implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Minnesota reviews them, how can we embrace these developments and help inform policy decisions? What are the implications of the recent national reports such as A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas, Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Integration in K-12 Education: Status, Prospects, and an Agenda for Research for improving science education? What sort of policy support can help move them into widespread use?

Dr. Heidi Schweingruber, Deputy Director of the Board on Science Education at the National Research Council, delivered a keynote address on the framework behind the NGSS and the challenges posed by their implementation. A panel of Minnesota STEM teachers and researchers responded with perspectives from their work.

Panelists included:

• Doug Paulson, K-12 STEM Specialist with the Minnesota Department of Education
• Margaret Anderson Kelliher, President and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association
• Joe Alfano, K-5 STEM Coordinator with the Minneapolis Public Schools
• Karl Smith, Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering and Co-Executive Director, University of Minnesota STEM Education Center

Click here to download the presentation slides.

Event videos

Overview of the NGSS framework.

Students learn science by engaging in scientific and
engineering practices.

NGSS takes into account the ways engineering and science
complement one another

NGSS are a technical document that outline performance expectations, they are not a curriculum.

NGSS-aligned curricula need to create a scientific community
in the classroom.

NGSS allows for tailoring to local strengths and resources.

The full keynote presentation can be viewed here.