Partnerships Among Researchers, Teachers, and Families: Co-Constructing Science and Engineering Curriculum for Head Start Dual Language Learners

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: STEM Learning and Instruction in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Increased focus on STEM education in preschool provides a major opportunity to invigorate early childhood curricula and to provide teachers with much needed support for motivating engagement with STEM in and out of the classroom. Increasingly, researchers and practitioners are forging collaborative relationships to develop and learn about effective curricula. A conceptual model of researcher-program partnership will be presented and illustrated through a current NSF-funded, science- and engineering-centered preschool curriculum development project, the ultimate goal of which is to improve school readiness for dual language learners (DLLs). Integrative curricular materials and resources will be presented, and the initial development and implementation phases with two urban Head Start partner programs will be described.

Authors

• Christine M McWayne, Tufts University

• Jayanthi Mistry, Tufts University

• Kimberly Brenneman, Heising-Simons Foundation

• Betty S. Zan, University of Northern Iowa

• Daryl B. Greenfield, University of Miami