Lesson 2: Identifying CCCs, SEPs, & DCIs in Earth Science Classes
Objective:
Learners will... Analyze the structure and components of the standards for Earth Science.
Purpose: Do we already use CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs in our Earth Science classroom?
In this lesson, we will be recognize how we already use these components in our everyday teaching. Implementing these new objectives is rather changing our pedagogy and vocabulary when we teach. Follow the assignment below to see how CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs are already incorporated in our Earth Science lessons.
Assignment:
1: Reference back to this Google Folder: Google Folder Link
2: In the template completed from Lesson 1, Reflect on how you use each CCC, SEP, & DCI in your CURRENT Earth Science teaching. See example below.
EXAMPLE TEMPLATE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jHgrTryVACrcW9IcgRZ3fA-HA6O04crx9mnKjo57r8o/edit?usp=sharing
3: Be sure to share you document in the Google Folder on our Unit 1 homepage under "Collaboration Task"
Be sure to use your own filled in table from lesson 1.
Lesson Summary
Even before the NGSS, many Earth Science curricula already incorporated elements of CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs, although they might not have been explicitly labeled as such. Here's how they were often integrated:
1. Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs):
Patterns: Earth Science often involves the identification and analysis of patterns, such as weather patterns, geological formations, and climate cycles.
Cause and effect: Understanding cause-and-effect relationships is central to Earth Science, whether it's the relationship between plate tectonics and earthquakes or the impact of human activities on the environment.
Scale, proportion, and quantity: Earth Science deals with phenomena ranging from microscopic mineral structures to global climate systems, requiring an understanding of scale, proportion, and quantity.
Systems and system models: Earth Science often explores Earth's various systems, such as the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, and how they interact with each other.
Energy and matter: Concepts of energy transfer, conservation, and the cycling of matter are integral to Earth Science topics like the water cycle, rock cycle, and energy transfer within Earth's systems.
Structure and function: Earth Science investigates the structure of Earth's layers, the composition of minerals and rocks, and how these structures contribute to Earth's functions and processes.
Stability and change: Earth Science examines both the stability of Earth's systems over time (e.g., geological time scales) and the changes that occur due to natural processes and human activities.
2. Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs):
Planning and carrying out investigations: Earth Science often involves fieldwork, data collection, and experimentation to understand natural phenomena, such as collecting rock samples or measuring atmospheric conditions.
Analyzing and interpreting data: Students in Earth Science classes analyze data from various sources, including graphs, maps, and scientific instruments, to draw conclusions and make predictions.
Constructing explanations and designing solutions: Students explain geological processes, climate phenomena, and environmental issues based on evidence and propose solutions to address environmental challenges.
Engaging in argument from evidence: Earth Science education encourages students to engage in scientific arguments based on evidence, such as debating the causes of climate change or the efficacy of different conservation strategies.
3. Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs):
Earth Science curricula traditionally cover core ideas such as plate tectonics, Earth's structure and composition, the water cycle, weather and climate, geological processes, and human impacts on the environment.
While these elements may have been present in Earth Science teaching prior to the NGSS, the NGSS framework provides a more explicit and integrated approach to incorporating CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs into science education. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of these three dimensions and encourages active engagement in scientific inquiry and engineering design, leading to a deeper understanding of Earth Science concepts and processes.
Reflection Question:[edit | edit source]
Please add the your response to your reflective journal.
How will we have to change the way we teach Earth Science to intentionally implement CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs? Explain.