STEMscopes™ NGSS 3D is a phenomena-based STEM curriculum that provides K-12 teachers with everything they need to address the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science and Engineering Practices that form each standard of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Built from the ground up to the NGSS, STEMscopes NGSS 3D combines a comprehensive digital curriculum, supplemental print materials, and hands-on exploration kits with embedded professional development to support student and teacher success. It includes customizable, coherent, storyline-driven bundles that immerse students in overarching STEM phenomena while linking the three dimensions across lesson modules. Within each bundle, three layers of phenomena — anchoring, investigative, and everyday phenomena — drive student inquiry. Together, these real-world and interactive phenomena inform the bundle’s overarching mission activity, claim-evidence-reasoning assessments, and student-led inquiry through lesson activities. The result is a coherent storyline that challenges students to refer back to the mission, add new information as they explore new phenomena, and apply the three dimensions to their understanding of the phenomena in each lesson.

With STEMscopes NGSS 3D, teachers are spending less time planning and aligning lessons to the NGSS, and students are improving their performance on state assessments and developing a passion for STEM.

Formats:

STEMscopes NGSS 3D is built using HTML5, enabling anytime access from any mobile device, tablet, or computer.

Primary website URL:

http://stemscopes.com/ngss.php

Problem solved:

The NGSS can be complex and hard to unpack. To complicate matters, many curricula fall short of NGSS expectations, and two of the biggest gaps have to do with phenomena and three dimensional learning. STEMscopes NGSS 3D solves these problems with an award-winning curriculum design and embedded professional development that make it easier for new and veteran teachers alike to teach to the rigor and depth demanded by the NGSS.

Built from the ground up to the NGSS, STEMscopes NGSS 3D is a phenomena-based curriculum that provides everything teachers need to address the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science and Engineering Practices that form each standard of the NGSS. All three dimensions are seamlessly woven together in lesson activities so students come to understand the NGSS not as discrete facts and skills, but as the process of applying science in their lives. Student learning modules — units (bundles), chapters (scopes), and lessons (hands-on explorations) — logically flow between and build upon each other to form sequenced missions that drive student inquiry.

With STEMscopes NGSS 3D, teachers are spending less time planning and aligning lessons to the NGSS, and more time addressing 3D learning through student-driven inquiry of phenomena. Students are learning by doing, working as scientists and engineers in the classroom, developing a passion for STEM, and improving their performance on state assessments.

Grade or age rang:

K-12

Core or supplemental?

STEMscopes NGSS 3D can be used as a core or supplementary STEM or science curriculum in traditional, blended, and 1:1 classrooms.

Standards:

STEM / Science – Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Lesson time needed?

Each teacher or school can decide how much time to spend on the program.

Pricing model:

STEMscopes NGSS 3D is affordably priced, with pricing as low as $5.45 per student per year.

Additional services:

STEMscopes NGSS 3D includes a 24/7 professional development portal for teachers, with resources such as embedded videos and on-demand webinars. These just-in-time, bite-sized morsels of professional development are provided at the anticipated point of need to provide seamless learning and help teachers thoroughly understand the resources available to them.

While additional services are not required, schools and districts also have the option to purchase STEMscopes Product Training for K-12 classroom teachers, teacher leaders, school administrators, curriculum specialists, and instructional coaches. This training includes instructor-guided exploration of the curriculum’s features, resources, and navigation to help educators develop an understanding of how STEMscopes is set up, where resources are located, and how to glide through lesson planning. Educators actively practice using curriculum materials and embedded high-impact instructional strategies such as facilitating student discourse or using questions to elicit higher order thinking. These professional learning sessions can be customized to address a district’s or school’s unique needs, resources, and schedules. Options include face-to-face sessions, full-day training, and online and webinar sessions.

What makes STEMscopes NGSS 3D unique?

Phenomena are the core of science learning. They push students to move from learning about topics to figuring out why and how things happen. They are the wonders that drive student inquiry and engagement. STEMscopes NGSS 3D is a phenomena-based STEM curriculum that is built on Disciplinary Core Ideas, Crosscutting Concepts, and Science and Engineering Practices. Using the three dimensions of the NGSS, students engage in the inquiry, explanation, and application of phenomena, similar to how scientists and engineers approach problem solving in the real world today.

Within STEMscopes NGSS 3D, teachers can choose to use premade, coherent, storyline-driven bundles to help students move from one content area to another in a logical flow, or they can reconfigure the bundles to create storylines tailored to their unique classroom dynamics and students’ interests. Each bundle begins with an anchoring phenomena event, driving question, and a mission action plan (performance expectation). Together, these drive the instructional focus of the scopes within a bundle. Scopes are tied to investigative and everyday phenomena, forming a bridge that progressively builds students’ knowledge toward the bundle’s anchoring phenomena and culminates in the bundle’s mission action plan.

Characteristics:

STEMscopes NGSS 3D is built on a digital platform, enhanced by print, and brought to life in hands-on kits. Each chapter (scope) is based upon the scientifically-proven 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) lesson model. Lesson elements within each scope are scaffolded to build upon previous elements’ three dimensional learning, allowing a gradual release of control from teacher-led to student-led learning. Along the way, teachers have access to Intervention and Acceleration (IA) lessons to differentiate instruction based on students’ needs. This 5E+IA lesson model engages students with all areas of the NGSS and helps them develop a deeper understanding through problem-based learning, engineering challenges, scientific investigations, math and literacy connections, and culminating claim-evidence-reasoning assessments.

In addition, STEMscopes NGSS 3D delivers different types of content — including interactive simulations, text, images, videos, and hands-on activities — to help students develop a more complete sense of STEM by learning through a variety of modalities. It also provides rubrics, assessments, and reports to help teachers track student progress and support their success.

Here’s what users are saying:

“STEMscopes NGSS helped us quickly get the ball rolling toward the Next Generation Science Standards. It provides opportunities for hands-on learning and a variety of ways to teach and explore science. The more diverse the opportunities are for learning science, the better the chances of getting students exactly what they need and the better they’ll perform when faced with new challenges.”

— Don E. Cowart II, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Coventry Public Schools, Rhode Island

“When a new curriculum gets adopted, teachers worry that they’ll need a lot of professional development and that they’ll have to spend hours planning to implement it. They didn’t do that with STEMscopes. They jumped in really quickly. STEMscopes is very intuitive and simple to use. I see students being more inquisitive and better problem solvers with STEMscopes.”

— Cyndi Ganfield, Principal of Aumsville Elementary, Cascade School District, Oregon

“STEMscopes answered our question of how to implement the NGSS. It also appealed to us because it’s online and provides opportunities for the four Cs — creating, communicating, collaborating, and critical thinking.”

— Dr. Noreen Duffy Copeland, Principal of Holy Ghost Catholic School, Albuquerque, New Mexico