Project 2061

An electronic newsletter for the science education community

September/October 2006

Completing the Atlas Story

Second volume of popular resource nears publication

Atlas of Science Literacy is well-known to many in K–12 education for rendering the learning goals in Benchmarks for Science Literacy into growth-of-understanding maps. But many Atlas users also know that the book does not currently include all of the learning goals found in Benchmarks. About 45 percent of the learning goals remain to be mapped and that is what the second volume of Atlas will do: complete the story by translating the remaining learning goals into strand maps that show how students might learn key ideas and skills in important topics as they progress from kindergarten through grade 12.

To get a sense of the gaps that the second Atlas volume fills in, take a look at Chapter 4: The Physical Setting in Benchmarks and the existing Atlas of Science Literacy. Every Benchmark learning goal in the Structure of Matter section is represented in a strand map in the first Atlas. By contrast, just about half of the Forces of Nature benchmarks have been mapped, and only a small portion of the Energy Transformations benchmarks are represented in Atlas maps so far. (See page 148 of the first Atlas for a “Distribution of Mapped Benchmarks” figure that covers all of the Benchmarks chapters.) Consequently, four new maps for Chapter 4 are among the more than 40 maps to be published in the second Atlas, scheduled for publication in 2007. (View list of maps.)

The Atlas Advantage

With more than 20,000 copies of Atlas sold since 2001 and Atlas workshops in continued demand, the new volume is anticipated by a wide audience. K–12 teachers, teacher educators, university professors, and administrators have all found the Atlas maps valuable for bringing much-needed coherence to curricula, instruction, and assessment.

The unique format of Atlas strand maps helps educators visualize the “big picture” of what students can be expected to learn as they move from one grade level to the next. Exploring the connections among key ideas and skills also helps educators to

• better understand the intent of national, state, and local standards and how those standards relate to each other;

• design curriculum more effectively and select materials that are aligned with and teach to specific learning goals; and

• decide whether assessment and instruction are aligned to specific standards and take account of students' growth of understanding.

In the new collection, the map design has been refined to be even more explicit about the relationships among ideas within and across maps. And as in the first volume, each map will be accompanied by comments on relevant issues and a summary of the cognitive research that relates to the map’s topic. An index in the new book will cover both volumes to help readers find maps and specific benchmarks easily.

A Complete Set

The careful process of map design requires input and discussion by many scientists and teachers at several stages. When the first draft of a map is completed after consulting Benchmarks for Science Literacy, Science for All Americans, and research on student learning, the draft goes through several rounds of internal review within Project 2061. Next, the map is examined by external reviewers, including curriculum developers and education researchers knowledgeable in the science content and K-12 education. Senior staff at Project 2061 then incorporate the reviewers’ comments and make further refinements to the map, reconsidering the complexity of relationships among the learning goals and the interconnections among related maps.

Together, the two volumes of Atlas represent the meticulous work of many people dedicated to thinking through the fabric of science understanding we expect students to learn. Although readers will soon have a complete set of maps that includes all of the learning goals in Benchmarks, the work of bringing the ideas needed for science literacy together in meaningful ways for students is ongoing. Project 2061’s hope is that the new collection of maps will inspire readers to take a more coherent approach to science teaching and learning.

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Atlas of Science Literacy, Volume 2 will be available separately or as part of a two-volume set. The second volume, as the first, is to be jointly published by AAAS Project 2061 and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).

For more information about Atlas of Science Literacy, Volume 2, please contact:

Project 2061 Director: Dr. Jo Ellen Roseman, (202) 326-6752

Senior Program Associate: Ted Willard

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