National Science Education Standards

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ensuring that agreed-upon plans for time, space, and resources are carried out. They must model the behaviors they seek by becoming learners themselves with the teaching staff. They are advocates for the school program in the district and community. They monitor the work of the school and the staff and provide corrective feedback that enhances effective functioning. There are many possible ways to structure a community of learners that reflect the norms and demands described in this standard. However, regardless of the structure, roles and responsibilities must be explicit and accountability clearly assigned.

Changing Emphases

The National Science Education Standards envision change throughout the system. The program standards encompass the following changes in emphases:

LESS EMPHASIS ON	MORE EMPHASIS ON
Developing science programs at different grade levels independently of one another	Coordinating the development of the K-12 science program across grade levels
Using assessments unrelated to curriculum and teaching	Aligning curriculum, teaching, and assessment
Maintaining current resource allocations for books	Allocating resources necessary for hands-on inquiry teaching aligned with the Standards
Textbook- and lecture-driven curriculum	Curriculum that supports the Standards and includes a variety of components, such as laboratories emphasizing inquiry and field trips
Broad coverage of unconnected factual information	Curriculum that includes natural phenomena and science-related social issues that students encounter in everyday life
Treating science as a subject isolated from other school subjects	Connecting science to other school subjects, such as mathematics and social studies
Science learning opportunities that favor one group of students	Providing challenging opportunities for all students to learn science
Limiting hiring decisions to the administration	Involving successful teachers of science in the hiring process
Maintaining the isolation of teachers	Treating teachers as professionals whose work requires opportunities for continual learning and networking
Supporting competition	Promoting collegiality among teachers as a team to improve the school
Teachers as followers	Teachers as decision makers

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