Preparing elementary-level teachers to teach in alignment with the eight Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practices could prove to be a daunting endeavor. However, the process may be catalyzed by leveraging elements of teacher science instruction that inherently attend to the practice standards. In this study, we investigated the science instruction of three grade 3–5 elementary-level teachers. We used observation, interviews, and surveys to determine the level to which the teachers perceived they taught and engaged in teaching science aligned with the eight NGSS practices. We found that the teachers were partially, and intrinsically implementing several of these practices in their instruction, and at the same time could not articulate the eight NGSS practices. Our results suggest there may be ample opportunity to build on the current science instruction of elementary-level teachers to bring their instruction into alignment with the NGSS. We found that teachers’ perceive professional development, school culture, and access to additional instructional resources to be essential to their adoption of the NGSS practices.

中文翻译：

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寻找一致性：小学教师对下一代科学标准实践的看法和整合

准备初级教师按照八项下一代科学标准 (NGSS) 实践进行教学可能是一项艰巨的工作。然而，这个过程可以通过利用本质上关注实践标准的教师科学教学元素来促进。在这项研究中，我们调查了三位 3-5 年级小学教师的科学教学。我们使用观察、访谈和调查来确定教师认为他们所教授和从事的科学教学与八项 NGSS 实践相一致的水平。我们发现教师在他们的教学中部分地和本质上实施了其中的几种实践，同时无法阐明八种 NGSS 实践。我们的结果表明，可能有足够的机会在小学教师当前的科学教学的基础上，使他们的教学与 NGSS 保持一致。我们发现教师认为专业发展、学校文化和获得额外教学资源对他们采用 NGSS 实践至关重要。