Validating the Preschool Scientific and Engineering Practices (PreSEP) Instrument for Play-Based Learning Environments

• In Event: Early Childhood Assessments

Abstract

Children are natural scientists and engineers, demonstrating curiosity about the world around them through play. While the importance of play has long been recognized as critical to learning, little has been done to explore connections between play and engagement with STEM. The release of the Next Generation Science Standards (Lead States, 2013) has generated renewed focus on fostering STEM learning in early childhood and has given researchers and educators language with which to articulate children’s engagement with science. This mixed methods study elucidates the validation of the PreSEP instrument which captures preschoolers’ engagement with the eight NGSS scientific and engineering practices at multiple levels and which offers promise as a tool to help educators better support preschoolers’ engagement with STEM.

Authors

• Alison Riley Miller, Bowdoin College

• Lauren Saenz, Bowdoin College

• Martha Eshoo, Bowdoin College Children's Center