Engaging K-8 Preservice Science Teachers Through an NGSS-Based Climate Change Project

An interdisciplinary climate change project aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was developed and implemented in an undergraduate chemistry course for K-8 preservice science teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three demonstration activities aligned with NGSS and the Framework for K-12 Science Education are included in this project, which can be adopted and implemented in science classes in primary/middle schools. This project demonstrated to students how to align the activities with NGSS and the three-dimensional framework, as well as how to select phenomena on the basis of local relevant context and using the 5E instructional model in the teaching of the project. The preservice science teachers also learned chemistry concepts related to climate change through the project. Moreover, this project provides the opportunity for instructors to introduce the teaching of NGSS-based science activities to preservice science teachers using phenomena-based learning and a 5E instructional model.