In the U.S., science teachers are expected to align content curriculum with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Oftentimes this leads to a focus on developing student's disciplinary content knowledge and ability to engage in science practices. While this is certainly a focus of the NGSS, the framework for K-12 Science Education, which led to the cultivation of the Next Generation Science Standards, suggests that science education should provide all students with the knowledge and skills to investigate socio-scientific issues locally and globally. We believe that this requires teachers to embed cultural relevance, social justice, and equity into their science content. For some teachers, this can be challenging, intimidating, and seemingly unattainable due to a lack of support, experiences in their own science learning, access to resources, and funding. Coupled with the absence of specific science content entry points for addressing social, local, and personal issues in the NGSS, especially the physical sciences, this can lead to tensions for science teachers. To help elevate these very real tensions for science teachers, specifically practitioners of chemistry, in this session we present a model of how we engaged students in the study of heavy-metal contamination in Chicago through youth participatory investigation in chemistry classrooms. This model provides a mechanism for science teachers to develop a content-specific approach to studying environmental issues at the high school level. Outline of the curricular plan presented in this session: 1. YPS Model used to Facilitate Curriculum Development and Integration 2. Chemistry Content Needed to Study Heavy-Metal Contamination in Chemistry 3. Scope, Sequence, and Alignment with NGSS for Physical Sciences 4. Student Work Samples and Avenues of Continual Engagement 5. Limits of Pedagogical Content Knowledge and the Affordance of Community Knowledge

Learn from youth participatory science as a vehicle to study heavy-metal contamination in a high school chemistry classroom

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.