Mira Costa Science Department implements Next Generation Science Standards as new 2016-2017 science curriculum

By Zach Rosenberg

Staff Writer

The Mira Costa Science Department implemented a new science curriculum change called NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) for the 2016-2017 school year which will focus on labs and hands-on activities.

Mira Costa’s previous science curriculum, called the California State Science Standards was implemented in 1998 and was based more on lectures and powerpoint notes. The curriculum required science students to take the multiple choice state testing. According to the co-chair of the science department Jessica Bledsoe, it was ineffective in teaching students the material.

“The [old] standards-based system from 1988 was wildly ineffective at appropriately assessing student learning,” Bledsoe said. “[The old system] had fact-based recall.” 

The Mira Costa High School Science Department decided to look for a new curriculum in the Spring of 2015. The Department had a board meeting on Thursday, June 2 discussing the minor details and touch-ups of NGSS with all the science teachers, and now it is on the verge of being published and used by all of the science classes.

“What I like about the new framework is that it is challenging teachers to think about their content in unique ways to enhance student comprehension of the topics as a whole,” Bledsoe said.

NGSS is founded by two frameworks professors, Thomas Adams and Phil Lafontaine, and encourages students to learn through labs and activities that allow the students to use problem-solving skills. There will be less notes and book reading homework, more at-home activities and exams will consist primarily of more short answer problems as opposed to fact-based multiple choice questions.

“I like the change because it makes me feel like I’m learning skills I can apply to the real world instead of just memorizing science definitions that I won’t remember two months from now,” Advanced Placement biology student junior Amalie Vergnolle said.

The science curriculum will take lots of time to perfect and will be a working progress for years, according to Biology teacher Robert Calderon. The change also has many requirements that teachers must meet, and with meetings, they will train and discuss perfecting the system. 

“We live in a world with ever increasing amounts of information at our fingertips, and what is becoming more important is how we can use and make sense of that information,” Mira Costa biology teacher Olie Smith said. “The transition may be a challenge, but I believe it is long overdue and will be worth the effort.”