Pepper Resource Library Highlight - STEM Builder

What’s the value in the Pepper Resource Library? Having great resources in a convenient, easy to get to place. In a recent conversation about the Resource Library, I used the analogy that I could check out a Harry Potter book from any library, but the one up the street was the most convenient so that’s where I go. Pepper’s Resource Library is just like that. There are great resources all over the Internet, but teachers don’t have time to scour the Web for great resources. The value in Pepper’s Resource Library is that great resources are collected and categorized for educators in an easy to get to location.

We’ve been focusing on Science lately and a great resource available to teachers is STEM Builder. STEM Builder provides thousands digital resources in science, math, technology, and engineering in the form of of online animations, experiments, and videos. STEM Builder is focused on strengthening student vocabulary, conceptual understanding, and problem solving skills. Users can search for information in any of the STEM categories (science, math, technology, and engineering) or search by keyword, grade level, or standard. Teachers can also narrow down their searching by using the links across the top of the page which include: Guided Practice, Videos, Activities, Experiments, Games, Graphing Tools, Modeling, Demos, Virtual Reality, and Science Experiments. 

The site’s vocabulary tools are exceptionally strong with a dynamic visual component that aids users by having mouseovers or clicks to include additional images, labeling, and in some cases, animation. Many words have Spanish translation and some also contain audio. Teachers can use STEM Builder to preview online experiments, create self-paced math lessons, and find instructional videos for content teaching. Practice exercises and games are also available for teachers to use with students for re-teaching, follow-up, and challenge activities.

Be sure to visit and explore STEM Builder in Pepper’s Resource Library. Also, be on the lookout for new Science courses geared around the Next Generation Science Standards. You can see all of our Pepper course offerings on our website.

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Next Generation Science Standards: Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Workforce

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have been developed through a collaborative, state-led process. These new standards are rich in content and arranged across disciplines and grades in order to provide all students an internationally-benchmarked science education.The NGSS are based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council.

This Framework was created to provide a sound, evidence-based foundation for science standards by looking at current scientific research. This research includes the ways the students learn science effectively and identifies the science all K–12 students should know. The NGSS are based on the Framework and will prepare students for college and careers. The Framework presents what it means to be proficient in science and presents three dimensions that are incorporated into each standard. 

The three dimensions include: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas. Practices refers to “life skills” and  describes behaviors of scientists, related specifically to engineering. Strengthening the engineering aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards will clarify for students the relevance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the four STEM fields) to everyday life. Crosscutting Concepts have application across all areas of science. They provide links to the different domains of science. They include: patterns, similarity and diversity, cause and effect, scale, proportion and quantity, systems and system models, energy and matter, structure and function, stability and change. To be considered a Disciplinary Core Idea, the ideas should meet at least two of the following criteria and ideally all four:

• Have broad importance across multiple  sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing concept of a single discipline;
• Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems;
• Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge;
• Be teachable and learnable over multiple grades at increasing levels of depth and sophistication.

Disciplinary ideas are grouped in four domains: the physical sciences; the life sciences; the earth and space sciences; and engineering, technology and applications of science.

According to the Next Generation Science Standards website, “when we think science education, we tend to think preparation for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which are wellsprings of innovation in our economy. Why then is ensuring scientific and technological literacy for all students of equal concern? Over the past decades, demands have shifted in favor of skilled jobs requiring more education than the unskilled jobs they replaced. Moreover, many of the fastest growing occupations are those where science and mathematics play a central.”

Pepper is releasing new Science courses that will help teachers look at the new Next Generation Science Standards and prepare them for classroom implementation. Be sure to check out all our Pepper course offerings.

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