Dr. Michael Cummings, PSU Emeritus Professor of Geology, will discuss implementation of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for students in Oregon. University/District Partnership grants funded through No Child Left Behind supported multi-district partnerships in eastern Oregon between 2002 and 2018. The partnerships provided professional development in science. In 2015, Oregon joined other states to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) which significantly changes the way science is taught in public schools. Supporting teachers as they made the shift from the old way of teaching science to the expectations of NGSS has been the focus of professional development since 2015. Dr. Michael Cummings will describe three examples that illustrate working with teachers and districts to implement NGSS. These include: 1) Project based learning in the Mitchell School District, 2) Groundwater studies in Harney basin at Crane Union High School, and 3) Integration and implementation of NGSS in multi-grade classrooms.
Photo credit: NAGT
Michael Cummings grew up in Prentice, Wisconsin, a small, rural community in northern Wisconsin. His university degrees are from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, University of Minnesota-Duluth and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1979 he has been a faculty member of the Department of Geology, Portland State University.
