Implementation
One of the first questions people ask is where to start. Next Generation Science Standards contain an enormous body of information that can seem overwhelming to approach. However, teachers can begin to implement NGSS without changing a single thing about how they teach. There will be changes eventually, but the first step to changing any system is to analyze the system as it is to see what is currently happening. The system being changed with NGSS is the classroom and curriculum. Science teachers are already good at their job, or they wouldn't be here. They know what students need to know and how to get it across. NGSS is taking what is already known and showing a way to make it explicit in the classroom while giving us a framework to help students build those connections and mental maps that are challenging to develop. Below are links to an overview of NGSS and a four-step process outlining suggestions for implementation that can be utilized at all levels K-12.