STEM in the Early Early Education Round Table

Laura Johnson, Ed. M. Jenne Parks, M.Ed. Dale McManis, Ph.D.

May 8, 2014

STEM IN EARLY EDUCATION ROUND TABLE

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STEM in Early Education Round Table WHO ARE YOU?

¡  Fill out the survey for a chance to win a gif t cer tif icate. ¡  Your questions will be answered in the follow-up Q&A blog. ¡  Stick around for your chance to win a

STEM kit from Hatch!

FOLLOWING THE WEBINAR


Join the Conversation!


@lkjohnson6 @DrLDMcManis

@HatchEarlyChild #HatchExperts

TODAY’S SPEAKERS


Laura Johnson, Ed.M. Harvard University

Jenne Parks, M.Ed. Hatch Early Learning

Dale McManis, Ph.D. Hatch Early Learning

What is STEM? •  STEM itself is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

•  Fun Fact: Na9onal Science Founda9on (NSF) began using “SMET” as shorthand for “science, mathema9cs, engineering, & technology” in 90s.

•  An NSF program officer complained “SMET” sounded much like “smut,” the switch was made to the “STEM” acronym.

Sanders 2009

POLL How much emphasis is placed on STEM Educa9on in your ECE work/program? o  Huge and well-‐established o  Gaining momentum o  Very inconsistent o  Basically not happening o  I don’t work directly in ECE

Spoiler Alert! STEM & ECE are Perfect Together….

Both share a focus on: •  Explora9on, discovery, crea9vity •  Integrated, mul9-‐disciplinarian approach •  Learner-‐centeredness in a social context

STEM Educa@on •  STEM educa9on can be thought of as a “meta-‐discipline” •  Integrated STEM educa9on: “Transforming tradi9onal

classrooms from teacher-‐centered instruc9on into inquiry-‐based, problem solving, discovery zones where children engage with content to find solu9ons to problems (Fioriello, 2010).”

Fioriello 2010 in Howard-‐Brown & Mar9nez 2012

And the “A” in STEAM? •  Many people propose using the term STEAM where the A

indicates the arts. •  This is suggested as individuals must also be crea9ve and use

cri9cal thinking skills which are supported through exposure to and experience with the arts.

Image from psarts.org

Integrated STEM Educa@on •  First, what it’s NOT! – Not intended to be a new stand-‐alone school subject with “integra9ve STEM educa9on” licensing and regula9ons

•  What it is! –  Thinking about bringing elements from the four areas together in lessons

–  Finding ways to build cross-‐disciplinarian teams Image from Purdue Univ

Why So Much Focus on Early Learners? •  Interest & mo9va9on high in pre-‐k and early elementary

•  Even though under-‐taught BUT

•  Drops off drama9cally by middle elementary •  Even though more instruc9on

ECE Can Help It “S@ck”

Much like ECE, integra9ve STEM educa9on is firmly grounded in decades of cogni9ve science, par9cularly construc9vism.

Shared themes: •  “Learning is a construc/ve, not a recep/ve, process. •  Mo/va/on and beliefs are integral to cogni/on. •  Social interac/on is fundamental to cogni/ve development. •  Knowledge, strategies, and exper/se are contextual.” Bruning et al 2004 in Sanders 2009

ECE Challenges for STEM Ed •  Inconsistency in teacher training for STEM •  Diverse learning standards •  Lack of funding •  Lack of good curriculum & materials •  False dichotomy of play vs instruc@on •  Teacher discomfort w/content But PD can make a huge difference! EDC & NSF 2013; Howard-‐Brown & Mar9nez 2012

Image from marathonna9on.us

Trajectories for STEM Closing Message…. Dr. Doug Clements advises that learning trajectories that are research-‐based and embedded in curricula are a cri9cal facet of effec9ve early STEM educa9on: “STEM learning trajectories start with a goal and involve a developmental progression—students’ successive levels of thinking related to the goal. Based on their understanding of students’ thinking, teachers fine-‐tune ac9vi9es to help students move along the developmental progression to achieve the goal.” EDC & NSF 2013

Over to Laura….

“We've arranged a civiliza9on in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescrip9on for disaster.” – Carl Sagan, American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author

•  In the past 10 years the number of STEM jobs grew three @mes faster than non-‐STEM jobs.

Why is STEM educa9on a na9onal priority?


•  In the next 10 years the Bureau of Labor Sta9s9cs expects the United States to create 9.2 million jobs in STEM fields.



•  In the next 10 years the Bureau of Labor Sta9s9cs expects the United States to create 9.2 million jobs in STEM fields.

•  On average, STEM workers earn 26 percent more than their counterparts.


Indicators of Effec9ve PreK Curriculum •  Children are ac@ve and engaged. •  Valued content is learned through inves@ga@on and focused, inten@onal teaching.

•  Curriculum builds on prior learning and experiences.

•  Curriculum is comprehensive. •  Curriculum is likely to benefit children.

-‐ NAEYC/NAECS-‐SDE

STEM + early childhood = future success

Illustra9on by Kali Ciesemier

curiosity

crea9vity

collabora9on

cri9cal thinking

curiosity crea9vity

collabora9on cri9cal thinking

STEM in ECE

curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE

Asking “why?” and “how?”

curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE


Helping children think about their own thought

process

“If the child is going to control and direct his own thinking, in the kind of way we have been considering, he must become conscious of it.”

-‐ Jean Piaget

curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE



process Using

mathema9cal and scien9fic language

curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE



process

Linking concepts

across a variety of situa9ons

Using mathema9cal and scien9fic language

How many of you are familiar with Piaget’s concepts of “schema” and “adapta9on?”

o  I’ve never heard of them. o  I’ve heard of them, but don’t understand them. o  I somewhat understand them. o  I have an in-‐depth understanding of those concepts.

Poll

New Situa9on Disequilibrium

Assimila9on

Equilibrium

Ini9al Schema for Dogs

Process of Adapta9on: Assimila9on Reorganized Ini9al Schema

including Barking

Exis9ng Schema for Dogs

Process of Adapta9on: Accommoda9on

Exis9ng Schema for Dogs

New Schema for Cats


Assimila9on

Equilibrium

Accommoda9on


Assimila9on

Equilibrium

Accommoda9on

Process of Adapta9on: Assimila9on and Accomoda9on

curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE


Providing opportuni9es for open-‐ended explora9on


process

Linking concepts



curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE



Encouraging crea9ve thought


process

Linking concepts



curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE


Star9ng from real world experiences

Providing opportuni9es for open-‐ended

explora9on



process

Linking concepts



curiosity crea9vity


STEM in ECE


Star9ng from real world experiences




process

Linking concepts



On to Jenne!

STEM KIT: ENGINEERING ROBOTICS

ENIGNEERING A ROBOT

MOBILIZING A ROBOT

STEM KIT: UP, OVER & ON WE GO!

5

STEM KIT: UP, OVER & ON WE GO!

STEM Kit: It’s All in the Box!

STEM KIT: GRAVITY-‐ IF IT GOES UP, WILL IT COME DOWN?



¡  EDC & NSF. 2013. STEM Smar t Brief : Nur turing STEM Ski l ls in Young Learners PreK-3r d . http://successfulstemeducation.org/resources/nur turing-stem-ski l ls -young-learners-prek%E2%80%933

¡  McManis LD. 2014. Research-Basis Whitepaper for Hatch Innovations: Solut ions for Success in an Early Learning Environment. http://hatchearly learning.com/?wpfb_dl=110

¡  Sanders M. 2009. STEM, STEM Education, STEMmania. The Technology Teacher , Dec/Jan , 20-26. http://esdstem.pbworks.com/f/TTT+STEM+Ar t ic le_1.pdf

¡  Howard-Brown B. & Mar t inez D. 2012. Engaging Diverse Learners Through the Provision of STEM Education Oppor tunit ies. http://secc.sedl .org/resources/briefs/diverse_learners_STEM/

¡  Bredekamp S. & Pikulski J . 2005. Principles of an Ef fect ive Preschool Curr iculum. http://www.eduplace.com/prek/pdf/prek-naeyc.pdf

SOURCES

STEM in Ear ly Educat ion Round Table QUESTIONS?


…and STEM k i ts that he lp ch i ldren to b lossom.

TECHNOLOGY THAT REALLY WORKS

HANDy Engineering Robotics It’s All in the Box!

IN TWO WEEKS!

Family Engagement Through Music: How Music Can Support Parent Involvement in Children’s Learning at School and at Home Lili Levinowitz, Ph.D. & Lauren Guilmartin, M.A. Thursday, May 22nd 2014 2-3:30 PM ET


THE WINNER IS…


THANKS! SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS!
