National Science Education Standards for Science Education Programs	GALAXY Classroom Science Program	California Science Standards
A. All elements of the K-12 science program must be consistent with the other National Science Education Standards and with one another and developed within and across grades to meet a clearly stated set of goals.	A. The GALAXY science program is consistent with other National Science Education Standards with the goal of fostering scientifically literate, inquiring students	When California students master the content and develop the skills contained in these standards they will be well equipped for the 21st century. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.
B. The program of study in science for all students should be developmentally appropriate, interesting, and relevant to students lives; emphasize student understanding through inquiry; and be connected with other school subjects.	B. All the hands-on inquiry based investigations are developmentally appropriate, engaging for students, and involve common materials, organisms, events, and problems in the students' lives. Students share their ideas in weekly faxes and journals. Oral language skills are practiced through discussion of the broadcast and investigations. Connections throughout the curriculum are suggested weekly in the teacher guides.	That students have the opportunity to build connections that link the science in these standards to technology and societal impacts and issues
C. The science program should be coordinated with the mathematics program to enhance student use and understanding of mathematics in the study of science and to improve student understanding of mathematics.	C. Students gather and organize data weekly in order to make sense of their observations. Students organize data in order to share their discoveries with other schools.	Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: develop questions, and write instructions others can follow in carrying out the procedure.
D. The K-12 science program must give students access to appropriate and sufficient resources, including quality teachers, time, materials and equipment, adequate and safe space, and the community	D. GALAXY programs promote professional development through institutes, satellite broadcasts for teachers, and ongoing curriculum support via phone, fax, and e-mail. Time is efficiently used in the GALAXY classroom by integrating curriculum areas thematically. Most materials needed for the hands-on inquiry sessions are provided in the S.N.O.O.P.S. Science Kit. Others are common materials found in the school or locally. The world beyond the classroom is accessed through the use of fax, e-mail, and interactive broadcasts.	supporting teacher professional development, and increasing allocations to the elementary, middle, and high schools for laboratories and Laboratory equipment and supplies are three key areas that if supported will pay dividends in the form of student achievement.
E. All students in the K-12 science program must have equitable access to opportunities to achieve the National Science Standards.	E. All broadcasts are available in English, Spanish, and open caption. Opportunities for responding to the show or other schools include drawing and faxing, or typing e-mail. Hands-on, collaborative inquiry of real materials or organisms reaches all students. The network of schools provides teachers and students the opportunity to partner with others who may have special needs	that students have the opportunity to learn science by doing standards-based problems, investigations, and experiments in laboratories
F. Schools must work as communities that encourage, support, and sustain teachers as they implement an effective science program.	F. Ongoing professional support is available to all teachers through a toll-free telephone and fax number. GALAXY teachers have a fax directory of all GALAXY schools; providing them with a network of support.	One important strategy for supporting teachers new to the profession is mentoring
THE CHANGING EMPHASIS	THE CHANGING EMPHASIS
The National Science Standards envision change throughout the system. The program standards encompass the following changes to emphasize: Coordinating the development of the K-12 science program across all levels. Aligning curriculum, teaching, and assessment. Allocating resources necessary for hands-on inquiry teaching aligned with the Standards. Curriculum that supports the Standards and includes a variety of components, such as laboratories emphasizing inquiry and field trips. Connecting science to other school subjects, such as mathematics and social studies. Providing challenging opportunities for all students to learn science. o Involving successful teachers of science in the hiring process. Treating teachers as professionals whose work requires opportunities for continual learning and networking. Promoting collegiality among teachers as a team to improve the school. Teachers as decision makers.	The GALAXY Classroom programs support the implementation of change in the schools to reflect National Standards by: Providing developmentally appropriate science programs correlated to the National Standards. Aligning curriculum, teaching, and assessment Providing materials, training and teacher guides conducting hands-on inquiry in the classroom. Including a variety of components in the curriculum, such as investigations that involve students in inquiry, and sharing of inquiries with other classrooms around the country. Connecting science to all other school subjects, particularly mathematics, social studies, and language arts. Providing challenging opportunities for all students to learn science. o Involving successful teachers of S.N.O.O.P.S. in the process of training others. Treating teachers as professionals whose work requires opportunities for continual learning and networking. Promoting collegiality among teachers as a team to improve the school.	At each grade in the standards document a progressive list of investigation and experimentation standards appears that the commission feels are essential to science. These standards should be woven together with the life, physical, and earth science standards at the time the material is taught. That students have the opportunity to build connections that link the science in these standards to technology and societal impacts and issues. The standards represent the specific academic core content of science. They are relatively silent on building understanding of the interdependence between science and technology and how to help students learn the distinction between them. Science, technology, and societal issues are also strongly linked to issues such as community health, population, natural resources, environmental quality, and natural and human-induced hazards and global challenges.