For this SMART Goal portfolio assignment in ELED 432: Children and Science, I

decided to meet the goal of learning more about the Next Generation Science Standards and
how they guide science instruction in the classroom. In order to demonstrate my process of
meeting this goal, I have created this online e-Portfolio with all of the content from a semesters
worth of work.
My first content, in the SOLs tab, is a complete collection of all the Virginia science
Standards of Learning for fifth grade. These seven standards explain the general
understandings that students will need to know in order to have gained knowledge of the
scientific world around them along with the key concepts that students will learn from instruction
that is guided by these standards.
Next, in the NGSS tab, is a complete collection of all the Next Generation Science
Standards that are related to fifth grade science instruction. These sixteen standards also
explain the general understandings that students need to know in order to have gained
knowledge of the scientific world around them in relation to the four content focuses of Physical
Science, Life Science, Earth Systems, and Engineering, Technology, and Applications of
Science.
After I completed the researching and recording the content for these two portions of my
portfolio, I created a crosswalk documentation for the two sets of standards, thereby
understanding and explaining the similarities and differences between the Next Generation
Science Standards and the Virginia science Standards of Learning.
Finally, as part of another assignment in the same class, I completed a lesson plan
project where I created and implemented science instruction in my fifth grade practicum
placement. In order to tie this assignment back to my SMART goal, I included standards from
both the SOLs and NGSS as guides in my instruction and standards for the students to meet
from my instruction. I also unwrapped these standards in terms of the cognitive rigor level
according to Blooms Taxonomy and the related understandings, knowledge, and actions that
students would need to have or complete in order to meet these two-sourced standards.

The contents of this portfolio demonstrate my efforts in meeting my goal because they
show that I have taken the time and effort in researching the Next Generation Science
Standards. The contents also demonstrate my efforts in meeting my goal in that I have created
a crosswalk documentation to prove that I not only looked up the NGSS related to fifth grade
science instruction, but that I have read, examined, and understood these standards and how
they can be applied to science instruction.
Through the completion of this portfolio to become more knowledgeable about the Next
Generation Science Standards and thereby to become a better science educator in the future, I
have learned that I created an interesting, informative, and attainable goal. I also learned that,
while there are different sources of standards for student learning, there is general consensus in
the content and knowledge that students should know to be scientifically literate citizens of our
world. I have also learned that it is good to utilize multiple sources for standards when planning
an instructional experience for students. This is because these differing sources will offer more
usable content as guides in the lesson and will be helpful in students becoming more diverse,
knowledgeable learners. Finally, I have learned overall that the Next Generation Science
Standards really are created for the next generation of students in that they are very
progressive standards and bring focus to the ways that students can help protect and save the
Earth and the natural systems and resources that are too often taken for granted by the human
race. This overall learning that I attained while completing my goal will help me, as an
elementary school teacher, to be a better prepared, more knowledgeable, and understanding
educator of science.