The objective of the Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (Mi-STAR) curriculum design process is to generate a sequence of middle school integrated science units that address NGSS, are Michigan-centric, use inquiry-based lessons, and demonstrate 21^st-century applications. Mi-STAR’s process depends upon the collaboration of scientists/engineers and middle school teachers.

The NGSS provide a unique opportunity for the Earth and space science community to work together in new ways toward a common goal of full implementation of the Earth and space science domain of the NGSS, and toward teaching and learning in three dimensions: practices, crosscutting concepts and disciplinary core ideas.

The geoscience community has a vested interest in the use of the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In those K-12 schools where the ideas from those documents are being implemented, Earth and Space Science courses and content will have a more prominent role than they have in most classrooms up to this time. It is important, therefore, that members of the geoscience community support the implementation of those ideas in ways that are guided by information about the practical needs of teachers, schools, and students.