ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Standards such as the NSES are generally intended to represent minimum
performances.  The growth and vitality in a field comes in the exceeding of
standards.  This is different from standard procedures, which are important
in some situations, but risk stifling creativity if over applied.  Standards
are more closely allied to best practices, which can evolve through time as
innovations are tested and found superior.

I think the NSES are a very helpful document.  They are available online for
free download (requires filling out minimal registration form) at
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4962.  The Standards are drawn from
the best research into teaching and learning science and they apply not just
to what is taught, but also how it is taught, how it is supervised and how
it is supported. For those interested particularly in inquiry, the follow-up
volume Inquiry in the NSES is also very useful.

Another helpful source of teaching standards might be the inquiry science
teaching rubric in Inquire Within by Douglas Llewellyn
http://www.amazon.com/Inquire-Within-Implementing-Inquiry-Based-Standards/dp/0761977457

Dave Smith

On 10/10/07, Jeff Courtman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Just to play the devil's advocate, without having read the
> standards.......
>
> Is there any danger to setting standards?  One of the things that has
> always attracted me to this field is that it hasn't become moribund
> through codification.
>



-- 
David L. Smith
Da Vinci Science Center
Allentown, PA
http://www.davinci-center.org

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