Concord Consortium: Revolutionizing STEM Education Through Technology
Introduction
The Concord Consortium has been at the forefront of transforming STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education since 1994. By developing open educational resources that leverage technology to expand and deepen STEM inquiry, the Concord Consortium strives to revitalize STEM education and address the current crisis in the field. Their scientifically accurate models and activities, funded by the National Science Foundation and other granting agencies, are developed by curriculum experts and are designed to be trustworthy and effective in the classroom.
The Need for Innovation in STEM Education
The current crisis in STEM education is a defining problem. However, the intersection of educational research, learning technologies, and the technology revolution provides a unique opportunity to address this challenge. The Concord Consortium recognizes this opportunity and is committed to providing high-quality, free technology-based educational innovations.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a Framework
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide a framework and examples for STEM learning. Grounded in the National Academy of Science’s Framework for K-12 Science Education, these new K-12 science standards have been developed to provide students with an internationally benchmarked science education, and signify a new direction for STEM education. The NGSS hold the potential for helping focus the current national concern for improving STEM education. They will undoubtedly help bring clarity and unity to the patchwork of state standards developed throughout the standards movement in the past decades.
NGSS Pathfinder
The Concord Consortium's NGSS Pathfinder provides numerous examples of how the NGSS-and especially its Practices and Crosscutting Concepts-are central to their work in STEM education. Using computational models and probe-based activities, elementary students can watch biological evolution, middle school students can analyze and interpret data to understand the genetic basis of inheritance, and high school and college students can argue from evidence in discussing interactions between molecules. With these technology-supported activities, students can engage in doing real science as they plan and carry out investigations, use models, analyze data, and design solutions. Students should learn science by doing science. The set of NGSS-aligned investigations for each discipline is designed to introduce and scaffold engagement in science practices and build an understanding of the interplay between experimental design, data collection, analysis, and explanation. In the process of investigating their world, students generate data using traditional lab tools, sensors, and simulations, then bring their data into our Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP), which was developed specifically to facilitate sensemaking with data.
Concord Consortium's Approach to STEM Education
The Concord Consortium creates technology-rich resources that allow students to explore scientific concepts through interactive simulations, data analysis tools, and virtual labs. These resources are designed to be used in classrooms, museums, and homes, extending learning opportunities beyond the traditional school setting.
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However, it is important to ensure that the learning value of these resources is not lost. By carefully designing and implementing these tools, the Concord Consortium aims to maximize their impact on student learning. In the process, we will build a greater understanding about how these learning opportunities interact than ever before. The William K. Bowes, Jr. initiative. This project represents a novel, exciting and far-reaching advance in STEM learning.
Virtual Labs and Digital Tools
Engage your students with scientifically accurate virtual labs and hands-on digital tools. Since 1994, the Concord Consortium has been developing open educational resources that expand and deepen STEM inquiry with technology. These scientifically accurate models and activities have been funded by the National Science Foundation and other private and federal granting agencies, and developed by curriculum experts-so you know you can trust them in your classroom!
Online Geoscience Resources
This online collection of transformative geoscience resources includes Earth system models, data visualization tools, and curriculum modules. Each module is designed for middle and high school students and is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Teacher Editions, which include detailed background information, tips, and exemplar student responses, are available to help teachers guide their students through each module. Classroom management tools, reports, and a real-time dashboard to help teachers track their students' progress are also available.
Climate Change Example
Earth's temperature has increased over the past 120 years due to increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Through a series of guided questions, students explore interactions between factors that affect Earth's climate. To prepare to use this module with students, first run the Teacher Edition. The Teacher Edition adds a layer of teacher tips to the student version of the module, providing you with in-depth support and classroom support materials. By the end of the Teacher Edition, you will be familiar with the curriculum and uncertainty-infused scientific argumentation.
Interactions Curricular Materials
The Interactions curricular materials focus on developing an understanding of the forces and energy involved in atomic and molecular interactions. These materials are designed to be completely online for classrooms where students have personal (or shared) computers. They integrate activities into a chemistry class, providing students with several activities throughout the unit. Students develop a model of electric interactions to explain electrostatic phenomena, exploring the relationship between electric potential energy and electric forces. These materials help students understand energy during phase changes and chemical reactions, and how molecular interactions result in shapes necessary for biological functions. Students can also use energy to describe how a fever can disrupt biologically important molecules (proteins).
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License
The Interactions curricular materials are provided under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. If redistributing the materials you must give appropriate credit and indicate if any changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the materials for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. Curricular materials are available below.
Demonstrations and Experiments
The Concord Consortium provides various demonstrations and experiments to enhance understanding of scientific principles:
- Energy Exchange: Explore the energy exchange between colliding objects and observe how energy transfer occurs under various circumstances.
- Molecular Interactions: Compare the change in potential energy when you separate molecules from each versus when you break molecules apart.
- Pendulum Swings: Set the initial height of a pendulum and observe how potential, kinetic, and thermal energy change during pendulum swings.
- Chemical Reactions: Observe the effects of temperature on chemical reactions.
- Charged Particles: Manipulate the location and magnitude of charges to get a positively charged particle to hit a target.
Professional Development and Support
Research shows professional development significantly improves implementation. To support educators in effectively using their resources, the Concord Consortium offers professional development opportunities. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1232388.
Teacher Guide
Need a hand? Get help for registering, setting up a class, assigning resources, viewing reports, and more, in the Teacher Guide.
Key Principles of Concord Consortium's Resources
- Student-Centered Learning: Encouraging students to formulate their own questions and discussing what they already know.
- Inquiry-Based Activities: Engaging students in hands-on activities and using online simulations to collect evidence.
- Data Analysis: Utilizing tools like CODAP to facilitate sensemaking with data.
- Real-World Applications: Connecting scientific concepts to real-world phenomena and events.
- Inquiry: Lights, Camera, Inquiry. ~ The 95 Percent Solution, American Scientist.
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