Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators (2022) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 11-30
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From page 11... ...
Building a solid foundation in science and engineering in preschool through the elementary grades sets the stage for later success -- both by sustaining and enhancing children's natural enthusiasm for learning about the world around them and by establishing the knowledge and skills they need to approach the more challenging science and engineering topics introduced in later grades. Yet across the United States, children in elementary classrooms receive instruction in science an average of just 20 or so minutes a day, a few days a week, and engineering instruction far less frequently (Banilower et al., 2018)
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. The 16-member expert committee included individuals with expertise in early childhood education and development, elementary science and engineering learning and pedagogy, preservice and in-service teacher professional learning, as well as assessment, curriculum materials, and content integration.
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will help to prepare children with a strong foundation for science and engineering learning in the elementary grades? • What are promising instructional approaches for enhancing science and engineering (including computational thinking)
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; "prekindergarten" is the term often associated with public prekindergarten programs, which often serve children age 5; whereas "preschool" is often associated with programs serving children ages 3–5. Moreover, in states and programs where Head Start funds and state prekindergarten funds are combined to serve children and families to expand reach, preschool is used as a more encompassing term.
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. To the extent possible, the committee explored how computational thinking is defined in the Framework (NRC, 2012)
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At the third meeting, the content integration discussion was expanded to include other content areas such as engineering, computer science, and computational thinking. The committee also engaged with scholars who could help unpack the evidence on what is happening in preschools with respect to science and engineering learning.
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. In addition to peer-reviewed scholarship and technical reports, the committee also turned at times to descriptive work published in practitioner journals to round out descriptions of instructional approaches, when
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For example, some of what has been found about preparing elementary teachers of science likely also applies to preparing elementary teachers of engineering or to preparing preschool teachers of science. In those instances, though, the committee takes care to clarify where the evidence base is sparse and notes where such extrapolations seem unwarranted.
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Committee members further discussed how particular children are often removed from science or engineering learning opportunities, and that this seems often to be the case for emergent multilingual learners, children with learning disabilities and/or learning differences, and
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The committee builds upon the multidimensional stance of science and engineering learning that intentionally combines science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, identities, and interest, as appropriate, within particular contexts and with particular children. Moreover, this form of learning would also connect to learners' goals, resources, and interests, and consider how those elements inform learners' language, literacy, mathematics, computational thinking, and social skills and knowledge.
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Historically marginalized learners in science and engineering, including Black, Brown, and Indigenous children and other children of color, children with learning disabilities and/or learning differences, emergent multilingual learners,3 and children marginalized on the basis of gender, all deserve the opportunity to engage with science and engineering to make sense of the natural and designed world. The literature is replete with examples of challenges, but literature on ways to address those challenges is more recent and is advancing quickly.
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Educators can begin this effort by recognizing how their own identities shape their thinking about science and engineering teaching and learning in classrooms. Furthermore, teachers need to be supported in designing science and engineering learning environments and engaging in practices and pedagogies that support the full range of learners in their classrooms (NASEM, 2020)
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The committee recognizes, though, that there is still much work to be done to advance and achieve equity and justice in science and engineering learning, including describing and accounting for consequences of intersecting identities in this work. Where possible, the report addresses research findings from multiple dimensions of identity (including based on race, [dis]
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what contexts -- and how they might be • Unlikely to change larger structures of productively leveraged in science and science and engineering professional engineering learning environments. practices.
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. TABLE 1-2 Four Approaches to Equity and Nonexhaustive Examples of Each The Roles of Teachers, Teacher Forms of Learning Activity Education, and Professional The Roles of Curricular and Design Learning Materials Approach #1: Increasing opportunity and access to high-quality science and engineering learning and instruction.
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Family knowledge and Teachers Curricular materials practices are regularly • learn to see and respond to • make Eurocentric invited and incorporated the richness in children's science and into emerging classroom sensemaking, even if it does engineering norms knowledge. not reflect fully formed and practices explicit; canonical science ideas, space is made for Children conduct or "look and sound" like multiple ways of investigations that include Eurocentric (and white, knowing, being, and data collection from both the middle class)
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and positionality, Western answer their own or Eurocentric science and questions about Children investigate how engineering, and children's community-relevant Black, Indigenous, and and families' engagement in issues and make other communities of color science and engineering. decisions for ethical experience disproportionate • learn about the futures.
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From page 28... ...
In Approach 3, expanding what constitutes science and engineering, curriculum materials could support teachers and children in making space for multiple ways of knowing and doing science and engineering. For example, children could be encouraged to express their sensemaking using words in everyday language (including languages other than English)
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From page 29... ...
Although there is a gap between the current status quo and the vision put forward in this report, equitably recognizing and leveraging all of these strengths -- individually, collectively, and systemically -- will help the educational endeavor move closer to the vision. To help move toward this vision, this report examines the research on opportunities to engage with science and engineering learning in preschool through elementary grades.
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Chapter 9 describes how policies and leadership can facilitate high-quality science and engineering learning in preschool through elementary grades. Finally, Chapter 10 presents the conclusions and recommendations and identifies key areas that warrant future research.
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