Science
NGSS-aligned instruction in biology, chemistry, physics, and the earth and space sciences, plus the critical thinking that builds scientific literacy.
How you'll see progress
Parents receive a written summary after every session; I make both qualitative observations and track measurable assessment data. Students old enough to make sense of their own data see it too. Reviewing your own progress builds the metacognitive and self-reflection habits that executive function depends on.
Three dimensions, taught together
The Next Generation Science Standards, based on A Framework for K-12 Science Education, set out to rebuild science instruction around inquiry-based learning and deep conceptual understanding. They are built on three dimensions meant to be taught together, not in sequence: the practices scientists use, the concepts that cut across every discipline, and the core content of each field. In practice, the first two are the ones that get dropped when instruction is rushed, which is how a student can memorize the parts of a cell and still have no idea how to judge a claim. Select a dimension to read more.
What scientists and engineers do, and what students should be able to do themselves:
- Asking questions and defining problems
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Ideas that show up in every scientific discipline, and give students a way to transfer thinking from one to another:
- Patterns
- Cause and effect
- Scale, proportion, and quantity
- Systems and system models
- Energy and matter
- Structure and function
- Stability and change
The content itself, organized into four domains that carry across grade levels:
- Physical sciences: matter, motion, energy, and forces
- Life sciences: organisms, ecosystems, heredity, and evolution
- Earth and space sciences: Earth's systems, its place in the universe, and human impact
- Engineering, technology, and applications of science: defining problems, designing solutions, and evaluating trade-offs
I can teach all four. The fourth is the one most often skipped, and it's the one my background speaks to most directly: I've worked as an engineer, done laboratory science, and built computational models, so design, testing, iteration, and applied problem-solving come out of my own hands-on experience.
Dimensions as defined in A Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012), the basis for the Next Generation Science Standards.
Conceptual foundations
Ambitious standards only work if they are implemented well. Without sufficient professional development to help teachers put them into practice, the quality of science instruction varies widely from classroom to classroom.
I deliver science instruction with clarity. Through explicit instruction, I address learning gaps, clarify misconceptions, and teach background knowledge (vocabulary and math skills) necessary for all students to succeed in the classroom. Sessions are tailored to your student's current coursework and goals, whether that's catching up on a specific unit, building a stronger foundation before the next school year, or going deeper out of curiosity.
Executive function in the science classroom
Science asks more of executive function than most subjects:
- Planning and sequencing an experiment
- Troubleshooting when a procedure doesn't behave as expected
- Communicating results clearly
These skills are rarely taught on their own, so a student who understands the science can still struggle with the work around it. Executive function coaching is built into every session, so we work on them alongside the content.
Course-level support
My content expertise is informed by completed university-level coursework in biology, general chemistry, physics, geology, and bioengineering. That range covers the standard high school sequence and the advanced courses built on top of it. The emphasis stays on how systems work and why a process behaves the way it does, which is what a formula sheet cannot supply.
For AP and IB courses, I teach the content, not the exam. I don't offer dedicated test-taking strategies for AP or IB assessments; what I do is make sure a student genuinely understands the material those exams cover.
Where the math comes in
High school science leans heavily on math that students haven't always solidified, like proportional reasoning in chemistry, or algebra in physics. Because I teach both, I can close those gaps directly instead of working around them.
Laboratory technique, taken seriously
I place additional emphasis on laboratory technique in advanced courses, because high school programs are generally thin here compared to university-level ones. Controls, measurement, sources of error, documentation: understanding why a procedure is built the way it is makes lab work transferable, and students headed into science majors are expected to arrive with it.
Core & AP
- Biology / AP Biology / IB Biology
- Chemistry / AP Chemistry / IB Chemistry
- Physics / AP Physics 1 & 2 / AP Physics C: Mechanics / IB Physics
- AP Environmental Science / IB Environmental Systems and Societies (SL only)
Additional courses
- Earth Science / Earth & Space Science
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Biotechnology
- Materials Science
These courses aren't offered at every school, and where they are, curriculum and pacing can vary more than in core/AP courses. Mention your student's specific course during your consultation.
Thinking critically on contemporary issues
A major criticism of NGSS is that it does not adequately address scientific literacy. Its founding framework names citizenship alongside college and career readiness, but standards and state tests are built overwhelmingly around the latter. Meanwhile, everyone makes consequential decisions involving science daily, some life or death, and none of them waiting for a degree:
- Whether to get a vaccine, and how to weigh a doctor's recommendation against something read online
- What to make of a claim about food safety, water quality, or air quality
- How to judge the risks and benefits of a new technology
- Which sources to trust when experts appear to disagree
This matters most for the majority of high schoolers who don't intend to enter STEM fields. When science is framed only as preparation for a scientific career, students who aren't headed that way reasonably conclude the subject isn't relevant to them. Framing it around decisions they will face as patients, consumers, and voters changes what the class is for.
That same skill set (reading scientific text, interpreting data, graphs, and experimental results) is what standardized test science sections like the ACT measure. As with AP and IB coursework, I teach the underlying content and reasoning. I do not offer dedicated test-prep strategies.
Recognizing misinformation
Misinformation rarely announces itself. It borrows the surface features of science: a citation, a chart, a confident expert. There's no list of false claims to memorize. Students learn a consistent set of questions to ask:
- Who ran this, and what were they actually measuring?
- What would count as evidence against it?
- Does the claim being made match the study behind it?
Recognizing the shape of a weak argument keeps working long after a specific controversy has moved on.
You don't have to be a scientist
Scientific text works differently from narrative text: dense vocabulary, information carried in figures and captions, claims that have to be separated from the evidence behind them. These reading skills are teachable, and they are not specialist knowledge. The same habits that help a student interpret a lab write-up carry over to a news story about a drug trial, a nutrition label, or a public health recommendation.
Why scientific literacy is worth teaching directly
of eighth graders scored below NAEP Basic in science in 2024, the largest share since 2011. Students at the 10th and 25th percentiles recorded the lowest scores in the assessment's history.
Roughly 4 in 10 American adults score in the high range on a basic science knowledge assessment, averaging 6.7 correct out of 11 questions on things like recognizing a hypothesis or interpreting a simple study.
Scientific literacy must be explicitly taught, separate from Disciplinary Core Ideas.
Ready to talk about your student's science goals?
Book a free consultation and we'll figure out where to start.