The National Standards in the U.S

The National Science Education Standards in the United States of America present a vision of a scientifically literate populace. The standards outline what students need to know, understand, and be able to do to be scientifically literate at different grade levels. They describe an educational system in which all students demonstrate high levels of performance, and teachers are empowered to make the decisions essential for effective learning, and communities of teachers and students are focused on learning science in addition to the supportive educational programs and systems that nurture achievement. (National Science Education Standards, 1996.)

The intent of the standards is “Science for all students” as the standards apply to all the students regardless of age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science. The National Science Education Standards also highlight the need to give students the opportunity to learn science. The Standards note that students cannot achieve high levels of performance without access to skilled professional teachers, adequate classroom time, a

rich array of learning materials, accommodating workspaces, and the resources of the communities surrounding their schools. Responsibility for providing this support falls on all those involved with the science education system. In addition, the Standards rest on the premise that science is an active process. The Standards highlight that learning science is something that students do, not something done to them. They mention that the “hands-on” activities are essential but not enough as the Standards call for more than “Science as a process,” Students learn such skills as observing, experimenting, and making conclusions. The National Science Education Standards highlight that inquiry is central to science learning. When engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, test those explanations against current scientific knowledge, and communicate their ideas to others. (National Science Education Standards, 1996.) Also Tyler et al. (2018) have found that NGSS teaching allows more equitable access to learning. When initially presented with phenomena, students are often captivated and very curious, and the NGSS are designed to encourage students to ask questions accordingly. Teachers reported that this initial period during which all students are pondering the phenomenon but none of them are yet able to explain in puts all the members of the class on an equal playing field. (Tyler et al., 2018.)

Also, the National Science Education Standards consider and support inquiry as to the central strategy for science teaching. The goal of the National Science Education Standards is to develop students into “scientifically literate citizens.” As mentioned in the introduction, the importance of the teachers’ role in implementing Inquiry-based teaching in science has highlighted, which gives the teacher the central role in student learning and educational processes. (Seung et al., 2014.) This means that teachers can decide whether they will implement inquiry-based learning in their science teaching at all. Especially after the Common Core Standards changed the emphasis away from science teaching towards the language arts and mathematics, the standards do not explicitly guide how inquiry-based learning should be used in science teaching, which completely leaves the decision to the teachers who teach science.

The National Science Education Standards also conceptualizes inquiry in two ways. First, inquiry refers to teaching methods and strategies intended to help students enhance their understanding

of science content. The second interpretation of the standards refers to the inquiry as to the process skills and abilities students should understand and be able to perform. It has also been stated that the first aspect denotes inquiry as an instructional approach in that inquiry is a means, and the understanding of science content is the end. On the contrary, the second aspect represents an inquiry as an instructional outcome in which the subject matter serves to facilitate the development of scientific inquiry skills as the ends. The inquiry should not be viewed exclusively as either a means or an end, as such a view could lead to overestimating the importance of one aspect over the other. Thus, when investigating inquiry in science education, attention should be given to inquiry as an instructional approach and inquiry as an instructional outcome. (Teig, 2021.)

On the other hand, the National Science Education Standards mention that the importance of inquiry does not mean that all teachers should pursue a single approach to teaching science as it noted that teachers need to use many different strategies to develop the understandings and abilities described in the Standards. The Standards should not either be seen as requiring a specific curriculum because the content embodied in the Standards can be organized and presented with many different emphases and perspectives in many different curricula. Instead, the Standards provide criteria that people at the local, state, and national levels can use to judge what actions will serve the vision of a scientifically literate society. In addition, it is mentioned that the National Science Education Standards should be seen as a dynamic understanding that is always open to review and revision. (National Science Education Standards, 1996.)

Also, Tyler et al. (2018) note that teachers, administrators, and evaluators have observed a range of benefits to students resulting from NGSS instruction. Teachers and administrators have reported that students are engaged in the hands-on activities and the engagement has increased in individual students who previously had not participated or succeeded in class. Beyond engagement, teachers recounted that their students are learning in a deeper way by making connections to other content areas, to the world outside the classroom, and to previously learned science content. Also, the teachers reported that students are gaining insight into their own learning, contrasting what they thought they knew with what they have learned. Another aspect

of engagement that emerged with many teachers was that students’ engagement and learning can be a process that does not stop at the end of the class. For example, some teachers reported that students routinely refer to their personal science notebooks for evidence recorded during previous investigations. In addition, the teachers reported that students are sharing what they have done and learned in science class with their friends and family. (Tyler et al., 2018.)