Pi-WRF and NGSS
The concept of weather and climate cuts across most science disciplines and this makes the Pi-WRF a natural fit for NGSS.
We emphasize the design of Pi-WRF teaching boxes around the NGSS performance expectations and 3D learning approach in order to give educators the flexibility to connect the idea of weather forecasting and exploration to students’ interest and life experiences. Designing Pi-WRF activities around this approach would develop students’ coherent understanding of the interesting and intricate relationships between the weather, climate and other science domains.
The Pi-WRF application provides an interface that allows users to integrate and analyze weather data alongside other environmental data such as the amount of green gases in the atmosphere. While the application provides real and ideal weather data that teachers can use to analyze and answer several questions, it also includes libraries that support the analysis of structured data that exist in csv, xlsx, netcdf, and other tabular forms. As such educators can collect data about different events related to weather and analyze them either independently or in conjunction with weather data using Pi-WRF.
Using Pi-WRF educators can introduce students to the concepts of weather, weather simulation and modeling, map reading, data analysis and visualization, and the communication of scientific findings.
Overview of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are designed to set expectations for the skills and knowledge K-12 students should be able to apply across different science disciplines. NGSS adopts a research-based approach to K-12 science education that affords educators the flexibility to design learning experiences that connect science to students’ interests and their everyday experiences.
NGSS promotes a three-dimensional approach (3D learning) to K-12 science learning that includes: (a) Crosscutting Concepts, (b) Science and Engineering Practices, and (c) Disciplinary Core Ideas. The three dimensions are integral components of every NGSS standard and these dimensions work together to develop a rich understanding of science in K-12 students.
A brief overview of the NGSS 3D learning components is provided below (more information can be found on NGSS official website).
Practices: NGSS practices describe the real-world behaviors and engineering techniques that scientists adopt as they investigate and develop theories about the world around them. Examples include, engineering design, scientific inquiry, problem solving, and computational thinking.
Crosscutting Concepts: These are bodies of knowledge and practices that have application across all domains of science and they help students develop a coherent view of the world. Examples include: Measurement; Energy and matter; Systems; Structure and function.
Disciplinary Core Ideas: These are science contents and activities that have broad implications across different fields and are related to students’ real life experiences. NGSS emphasizes that a core idea should meet at least two of the following four criteria:
- Have broad importance across multiple science and engineering disciplines.
- Connected to students’ interest and real life experiences.
- Can be taught and learned across multiple grades with increasing depth and breadth.
- Provide a key tool for investigating more complex ideas and solving problems.
Disciplinary core ideas are grouped into four domains including: (1) Physical sciences, (2) Earth and space sciences, (3) Life sciences, and (4) Engineering, technology, and application of science.
While the concept of weather reasearch and forcasting is most related to the earth and soace sciences domain, its impacts cut across all four domains identified above.
The next sections provide an overview of NGSS’s 3D learning approach followed by some performance expectations that can be addressed using Pi-WRF at the middle and high school levels.
Note:
Since the concept and implication of weather cuts across most disciplines, we encourage educators to explore more ways that Pi-WRF can be used to achieve science standards across middle and high school grade levels.