Next Gen PET: An effective, NGSS-aligned curriculum for future elementary teachers*

The physical science preparation of prospective elementary school teachers has the potential for long-lasting and far-reaching impact. To this end, the Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking (Next Gen PET) curriculum has been designed to provide students with learning experiences aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. Versions of the research-based, guided-inquiry materials are available for either small or large enrollments, and covering either physics or physical science content. These options provide instructors with flexibility regarding content and implementation format, as documented by case studies of faculty members’ course designs. An extensive online instructor's guide* includes student and instructor materials, homework activities, videos of experiments and demonstrations, classroom video clips of student interactions, test banks, and more. An associated online faculty learning community** provides an opportunity for faculty to collaboratively improve their instruction, study student thinking and conduct classroom-based research using the Next Gen PET curriculum. The materials are in use by over 50 faculty around the U.S., and a study of over 1,500 students found significant improvements on multiple-choice and constructed-response tasks following the course. This talk will describe the curriculum, instructor resources, student learning outcomes, and online faculty community.

* http://nextgenpet.iat.com
** http://www.ngpfolc.org