Please share your thoughts---

[Eric Brunsell]

I appreciate feedback on the "course" and what you would like to see in the future.  

I am thinking about offering a "course" on the practices for next year.  It would be based on modules with a sufficient amount of time to complete so that it is respectful of your time.  I wouldn't be able to do it for free, but it would be a LOT less than a traditional graduate course.  Interested?

[sare...@yahoo.com]

I took away the following:

-the standards are not curriculum and should not be used as a simple check-off sheet.  However I have already had conversations with my principal and other admins in which they stated the NGSS are my curriculum.  I do not have much I can use to persuade them to see the standards as the minimum and NOT the total scope of science instruction other than a short blurb from one of the cover letters to the NGSS and my own saying “I took a course and the instructor said…..”

-the standards stress investigation and analysis of data which will require a shift in how material is present and assessed but there is little known about how states will assess these standards.  I have been concerned about the teaching of science process skills for years and have been working to find way to improve the PD for current science teachers.  I was hoping that this course would help me find other resources and information for persuading administration to make significant changes in the PD offered.  However there was little said on HOW to actually go about this and the general impression I got was that PD will be needed but that it is widely hit-or-miss and there is no consensus on what should be the priority for training in a a school that is adopting the NGSS.  

-Life, Earth and Physical sciences are all represented which is a major shift from the traditional HS B-C-P sequence. 

 

Overall, this course has been very disappointing.  I had expected to get some concrete ideas and strategies for working on implementation of the NGSS within my district.  The course did not add much to my understanding and did not provide me with many leads for networking. All the same, it might be you get what you pay for and this course only cost me my time.  I could read the material on my own time and had already started but I know that I benefit from hearing the views of others and bouncing ideas around as I process the material and was looking forward to joining a professional learning community that was actively sharing information and points of view. So I found the discussion and interaction was severely lacking.  I’m not sure how many participants were in the course but I noticed that only about 5-15 seemed active in the discussion boards.  Even the discussion boards weren’t much of a discussion, most posts show they were read less than 20 times, many less than 10 times and few have more than 1 or 2 responses.  I did try to post responses with questions that could lead to further discussions but the threads never materialized, instead it felt more like standing in a room where each person stood up, said their idea to the few in the room listening and then sat back down else never bothering to pay attention for the rest of the time.  I attended the on-line chat very Wed. which had less than 10 participants, and the last two chats had less than 5.

[fende]

I enjoyed the idea of the course, and felt that it did a great job for folks who might not be as versed in the structure of the NGSS to begin thinking about what it might mean for them.  I liked the connection to the Twitter chats, and thought the Chatzy aspect was nice as well (though I didn't partake).  Most importantly, I liked the connection to other educators.  Though I only communicated with a few folks (the discussion forums after the first week or two didn't seem to yield much discussion), I believe this is where, moving forward, truly innovative work with NGSS can take place.  I would rarely have the chance to ask colleagues in KY, RI (congrats on adoption!), MS, or WI about what they're doing with NGSS face-to-face, but MOOCs and chats provide an opportunity to really learn from each other.

I don't believe I would pay for another course about NGSS itself. . . I feel pretty versed in the content of the Framework and how to "use" the standards.  What would be much more valuable for me, and what I am truly looking for moving forward, is a consortium of educators that could join together both online and F2F to discuss implementation strategies, best practices, and student work.  That would be phenomenal.

Thanks, Eric, for providing this course.

[Tammy Huenink]

I really enjoyed working with this MOOC.  I am glad this material will be available next school year since I would like to use them in our 6-12 department meetings that I co lead.

[pat...@wolfnet.net]

On Saturday, May 25, 2013 10:20:45 AM UTC-5, Eric Brunsell wrote:

> I appreciate feedback on the "course" and what you would like to see in the future.  
>
>
> I am thinking about offering a "course" on the practices for next year.  It would be based on modules with a sufficient amount of time to complete so that it is respectful of your time.  I wouldn't be able to do it for free, but it would be a LOT less than a traditional graduate course.  Interested?

I am not interested in a graduate course in NGSS, I am interested in exploring programs that can be implemented within a District that uses the NGSS. If NGSS is to work, the entire K-12 District has to buy-in. I feel the only way to ensure this is through comprehensive programming. As a potential curriculum director, I cannot expect a staff to do this on their own. Especially with such a push toward improving Math & Language skills. Science can get pushed to the side. Yet, science is where the jobs are! I need a program teachers can start using that incorporates NGSS with Reading LA and math skills that is backed by data and allows us to test student growth AND is reasonably priced. If anyone hears of something that fits that bill, I'd love to hear about it. I'm hoping the industry jumps on this as I am really excited to begin to fully implement NGSS.

[sare...@yahoo.com]

Me too@ 

This is exactly one of the resources I was hoping to encounter as part of this course.  I would love to have the chance for discussion and planning of a comprehensive program that I could show to others as a model to follow. 

[Deborah Hilscher Middle School]

This course did a terrific job of providing background on the format of the standards. Although I have delved into them prior, it was helpful to review them with your video clips. I really enjoyed hearing the viewpoint of colleagues.

 

When I reflected on the discussion component, I was not as much as a participant as I should have been.  I loved reading the discussion strands that were begun but did not comment.My primary excuse was the time of year. 

 

I am excited by the future. I think there are a lot of components of  quality science instruction included. I have believed the focus should have always been on "doing science" not memorizing facts about science.  I am also concerned about how the implementation is going to play out in the disctricts especially with the financial contrainsts.

 

In the future I would like work on implementation with colleages who instruct similar age level and content.   for example what does "Using argument based on empirical evicence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probabilty of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively" look like in the 7th grade classroom. What concepts must be taught and how will it be assessed?

 

On Saturday, May 25, 2013 10:20:45 AM UTC-5, Eric Brunsell wrote:

[emq...@gmail.com]

Like any course, I think you get out of it what you and your colleagues taking the course put into it. Unfortunately, the timing was tricky for me, as our district is implementing a lot of new state mandates (aren't we all??) and the spring gets quite hectic with school functions and obligations. However, the videos were clear, as were the readings. I think if you offer another course, you could build in an expectation to respond to X number of colleagues, or ask X number of questions to colleagues in the discussion threads - this may help with getting more "conversations" going.

I am "on the fence" about taking another course as it would depend on the exact activities and the timing. I wouldn't want to join and then not be able to do it justice!

Thank you for this opportunity!

On Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:20:45 AM UTC-4, Eric Brunsell wrote:

[Theresa Stockel]

I enjoyed the feedback from so many different voices! I am still working on one of the earlier projects: designing a course using the disciplinary core ideas. That is far more complicated a task than the scope of a MOOC can encompass, especially at the end of he school year.

I would definitely be interested in a specific course, with more details, involving the practices. Specific help on what the practices look like would be a big help.

[kristen_keenan]

I am presenting this month to a couple of schools about NGSS, and I plan to use the "Examining the Standards" activity with the teachers along with the Modified Understanding by Design Template.  I would also like to create a Moodle Course for me to use when training teachers or for our districts to access if they want to do their own PD with teachers, so I want to incorporate the videos and other resources for the Moodle.  I have loved the resources you have provided as they have helped me to design the materials I will use when training teachers on NGSS.

On Saturday, May 25, 2013 11:20:45 AM UTC-4, Eric Brunsell wrote:

[nde...@gmail.com]

This NGSS MOOC was a great benefit to me. It helped me grasp the idea of the NGSS and crosscutting concepts. It was helpful to hear the latest terminology and put a definition to the terms. I hope to begin to put it all into practice as soon as time permits. It will unfold and make more sense as I use it in my classroom. Having this new knowledge will only help to make me stronger in the classroom and hopefully help my students even more.