Crosscutting Concepts in NGSS: The third leg

Our world is literally and figuratively supported by triangles. We are sheltered from the elements under triangular roofs, we carry our maple creamies atop cones of sugar, we check and balance our government’s power with three branches, we cringe if pizza is not cut into its iconic shape, and the writers of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) valued three dimensional learning. When one side of the triangle is neglected the strength of its geometry is diminished. This weakening occurs regardless of whether it is rot in the roof’s rafters, apathy and corruption in politics, or omission of an entire dimension in a curricular framework

In developing the NGSS, the committee divided the recommendations into three overarching categories. The Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) organize the broad content topics by age appropriateness. Science and Engineering Practices the skills necessary for doing meaningful research and experimentation. And the Crosscutting Concepts outline the connections between all science domains. The framers of the standards fully recognize the challenges of this unorthodox three part structure. 

The NGSS integrate the three dimensions . . .  As a result of this innovation, the NGSS look completely different than previous science standards and implementing them requires a major shift in classroom instruction and learning (Next Generation Science Standards: Executive summary, 2013).

Despite the challenges, the drafters of the NGSS also recognized the strength in this learning triade if all three legs were implemented with fidelity. 

Self-perceptions can be blinding. From my perspective, I was that woke, veteran science teacher that transitioned from the old school Vermont Framework to the sleek interconnected NGSS with grace, enthusiasm, and success. While other teachers complained about the complexity of the content, I relished in the elegance of the connections and welcomed the value placed on doing rather than memorizing science. I congratulated myself on my ability to move myself and my colleagues towards large thematic units rather than constantly shifting between two-week content blasts. For me, the NGSS was truly a revolutionizing document that has guided and shaped my practice over the past seven years, yet was not embracing its full potential as I was unintentionally ignoring an entire leg of the NGSS triangle. The Crosscutting Concepts seem so obvious and naturally ingrained in everything we teach, I never gave the categories much thought. Only after attending a modest one day course sponsored by Vermont Science Teachers’ Association (VSTA), was my NGSS perspective rocked, realigned and strengthened. Peter McLaren from Next Gen Education, LCC convinced me of the importance of this third leg of the NGSS that I had conveniently overlooked and underappreciated. My last minute decision to attend the course, has resulted in a greater appreciation for the framework’s ability to guide educators in the development and implementation of interesting, rigorous and relevant learning opportunities. 

For me, this primer on Crosscutting Concepts was like putting on glasses for the first time after years of denying that my long-distance vision was failing. Ideas and concepts that I am familiar with as a science teacher were immediately brought into sharper focus. Using only the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) – despite their broad themes – the learning still drifts towards learning that is right or wrong, Goggleable, and memorizable. Putting the Cross Cutting glasses onto the DCIs, turns a content question into a thought-provoking reflection on how our natural world works. 

Let me walk you through an example that McLaren used to demonstrate the potential for incorporating the Cross Cutting Concepts. The key is to first identify a compelling phenomenon that relates to the concept students are exploring. McLaren used a YouTube video of a collapsing railroad tanker.  If thinking only about the DCIs, the short clip where a tanker spontaneously collapses brings up possible concepts including density, pressure, and gas laws. The table below highlights how incorporating the Crosscutting Concept language can convert an already interesting, thought provoking exercise into a clear and focused discussion of the science concepts we want students to understand and how the content connects to the world these learners experience and observe. 

Examples of questions clarified & strengthened using the Crosscutting Concepts lens.  Guiding Phenomenon: Collapsing Railroad Tanker
Crosscutting Concept	Questions aligned with specific Crosscutting Concepts	Questions clearly using the Crosscutting Concepts language
Patterns	What were the conditions when this occurred (time of day, weather, etc.)?	What kind of patterns can be observed by looking at multiple tanker videos (spatial, temporal)?
Cause & Effect	What were the conditions when this occurred (time of day, weather, etc.)?	What could be some possible causes for the collapse?
Scale, Quantity, & Proportion	Does the size of the tanker have anything to do with the collapse?	Describe and draw the phenomenon at scale.
Systems & System Models	What are the different components resulting in the collapse?	Illustrate the system and include relevant interactions among the components of the system.
Energy & Matter	What could have caused the tanker to collapse?	How is the movement of matter connected to the flow of energy in this process?
Structure & Function	Does the shape of the container have anything to do with the collapse? Would a rectangular tanker have the same action?	Explain how the structure or shape of the tanker may have influenced the collapse.
Stability & Change	What caused the dramatic change in its state? What conditions may have changed?	Under what conditions is the system stable? Over what time period and conditions does the system change?

With only a one day seminar under my professional belt, I am a newbie to the Crosscutting Concept world. For the moment, I am relishing this new perspective and regaining my balance atop the stabilized and strengthened NGSS pyramid. How do you balance the three dimensions of NGSS in your instruction? Do you find this additional leg empowering and enhancing or cumbersome and unnecessary? For those of you interestested in learning more about ways to incorporate Crosscutting Concepts leg of the triangle into your classrooms, there is a second VSTA offering scheduled for April 16 in Middlebury.   

Next Generation Science Standards: Executive summary, June 2013, 

https://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/Final%20Release%20NGSS%20Front%20Matter%20-%206.17.13%20Update_0.pdf, Accessed February 18, 2020. 

Board of Trustees, The Rowland Foundation