Hestenes Reading Response Thomas Plaxco

 I found Hestenes to be in line in many ways with the NGSS standards, if perhaps a bit prototypical.  Of course, this is fair given the fact that Hestenes wrote this article over 20 years prior.  Naturally, it embodies similar themes to the NGSS standards, but it places emphasis on different areas and focuses on others less.

At its core, for Hestenes, the education of science is fundamentally that of models.  While Hestenes goes to lengths to qualify this and stress that access to scientific information is still an essential aspect of one's scientific learning, the focus of Hestenes's ideal is undoubtedly that of modeling.  For Hestenes, modeling represents the only real way for students to learn science, as the practice of science as the author argues is simply the creation and refinement of models, albeit more complicated ones.

Certainly this is in line with NGSS standards, particularly with the focus on model-making and the collection/interpretation of data.  However, NGSS standards and Hestenes's theory do differ in some small, yet important ways.  These deal primarily with the issue of what is focused on in the classroom.

For example, Hestenes discussed at length the importance of providing context to historical scientific breakthroughs, as illustrated by modeling.  While one could certainly argue this is a somewhat implicit goal of NGSS standards, it is something not stated as explicitly as Hestenes.  By contrast, the NGSS standards of using mathematics and developing argumentative skills are certainly ideas that would be valued by Hestenes, but they are not necessarily explicit goals.  Rather, I feel that Hestenes would argue that mathematical literacy is somewhat of an implied tool to be used in model formulation and data evaluation, as is the role in argumentation and communication in refining one's models.

That being said, I believe there is an important distinction between what is implied and what is stated.  For Hestenes, while I feel they certainly share similar goals in forming/nurturing scientific literacy, the focus or implementation seems to have slightly different goals.