2011 STEM Summit and Early Education and Out of School Time

1. 2011 STEM Summit and Early Education and Out of School Time

2. Brain Building In Progress • Build a STEM Foundation! • Curiosity • Observation • Interaction • Language acquisition • Problem solving “a statewide, public-private partnership with the United Way to raise awareness of the importance of our youngest citizens’ early development to their future success” www.BrainBuildingInProgress.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZawNmpoXvI

3. ECE and OST Build STEM Learning • Support overall academic growth, especially literacy and numeracy • Develop children’s critical thinking and reasoning skills • Enhance later interest in STEM study and careers • Tap and sustain children’s natural curiosity and sense of wonder • Broaden children’s experiences and understanding of the world around them.

4. ECE and OST are Uniquely Positioned to Support STEM Education • Children spend substantial time in ECE/OST settings • OST has more freedom than schools to offer extended STEM activities, such as project-based and experiential learning • ECE/OST educators are attuned to children’s developmental needs and how to excite them about STEM learning • ECE/OST programs prevent “summer learning loss” in all content areas

5. STEM Crosswalk with EEC Initiatives

6. Core Competency Linkages to STEM • Area 1: Understanding the Growth and Development of Children and Youth • General principals of child and youth development (A1) (A2) • Sensory development (C5) (C6) • Cognitive development (E10) (E11) • Individual differences in development (G14) • Area 2: Guiding and Interacting with Children and Youth • Acceptance of all children and youth (A1) • Area 3: Partnering with Families and Communities • Respect for diverse cultures and communities (A1) • Communication/relationships with families (B4) • Family involvement (C5) • Improving partnerships with schools and communities (E9) (E10)

7. Core Competency Linkages to STEM • Area 4: Health, Safety and Nutrition • Nutrition (F18) • Physical Fitness and Activity H21) • Area 5: Learning Environments and Implementing Curriculum • Learning Environments and Implementing Curriculum (A1) (A2) (A3) • Curriculum (B5, B6, B7 andB8) • Area 6: Observation, Assessment, and Documentation • Planning for individualized learning (D5) • Area 8: Professionalism and Leadership • Professional development (D12) (D15)

8. Preschool Guidelines Linkages to STEM • Guideline: Mathematics • Number Sense • Patterns & Relationships • Shapes & Spatial Sense • Guideline: Science and Technology/Engineering • Inquiry Skills • Earth and Space Sciences • Life Sciences • Guideline: Health Education • Physical Development • Safety & Health Care • Measurement • Data Collection & Analysis • Living Things & Their Environment • The Physical Sciences • Technology & Engineering

9. Infant and Toddler Guidelines Linkages to STEM • Guideline: Cognitive Development • Develops memory skills; performs simple actions to make things happen and displays a beginning understanding of cause and effect • Develops problem solving skills • Explores materials and discovers mathematical concepts • Develops early scientific skills through exploration and discovery

10. The Common Core and STEM • Skills developed from birth to 5 through play and early language development are the foundation for success in STEM and in gaining meaning from curriculum. • These skills are used in language arts and mathematics to varying degrees: • interpretation, analysis, evaluation, • explanation, description, organization,  • comparison and contrast,  • inquiry  • symbolization and representation.

11. The Common Core and STEM Offering intentional, systemic opportunities to develop and use these skills in peer and adult relationships provides the foundation for future growth BUT Most educators haven’t had the opportunity to build systemic, intentional practice around these ideas. STEM provides engaging content for application of these skills and creates curiosity in children that can later develop into interest.

12. The STEM Challenge: • Historically, STEM has been targeted at students during the school day. • Children need exposure to STEM concepts beginning in early education. • STEM activities in less formal OST settings reinforce in-school learning for school age children and spark their interest. Opportunity: • The STEM Summit can inform policy maker, business leaders, and others about the opportunities early education and OST provides for STEM education. • “Brain Building in Progress” can get the message across. Progress: • First ever discussion strand on early education and OST at the 2011 STEM Summit! Goal: • Build on the momentum by advancing understanding of the value of STEM curricula in early education and OST.

13. MA’s STEM Plan has 5 Key Quantitative Goals: • Increase student interest in STEM. • …at early ages (including preschool and elementary • school) to increase student motivation to attain higher • levels of STEM academic achievement/performance. • Increase STEM achievement of PreK­12 students. • Increase the percentage of students who demonstrate readiness for college­level study in STEM fields. • Increase the number of students who graduate from a post­secondary institution with a degree in a STEM field. • Increase the number/percentage of STEM classes led by effective educators, from PreK­16. • Future measure of STEM qualifications of Pre‐K‐16 educators (TBD; likely will vary by level…)

14. and 4 Qualitative Goals for Transformation: • Community engagement • Every MA community will foster increased student interest in STEM … to spark and sustain student awareness of, interest in and motivation to pursue advanced STEM education and related careers… • Parents, educators, employers, student leaders and STEM professionals will be advocates to influence, support and sustain student commitment to STEM from Pre‐K through post‐secondary education • PreK‐16 students will have access to rigorous academic and technical preparation in the STEM subjects and be encouraged to engage in experiential and applied learning opportunities. • Collaboration is critical…to engage students at various points along the STEM pipeline – from preschool to career. • Academic coherence • MA STEM standards, curriculum frameworks, instruction and assessments will… • Align vertically across grade levels and horizontally across subject strands ... • Connect community‐based experiential and project‐focused learning resources to PreK‐12 curricula…

15. and 4 Qualitative Goals for Transformation: • Educator development • Every student will learn from highly effective educators in every STEM subject area at every grade level, PreK‐16. MA educators will… • Possess deep subject matter knowledge that spans grade levels; be skilled in the pedagogy of inquiry and problem solving; and be prepared to incorporate experiential and applied learning…into coherent classroom instruction. • Make effective use of technology as a tool for learning… • Seek out innovative ways to further improve their understanding of their student’s strengths and weaknesses, through data analysis and the creation of active assessments. • STEM employers and STEM professionals • Employers and STEM professionals (from industry and education) can provide opportunities for experiential learning, both inside and outside the classroom by... • Participating in educator professional development and communicating their expectations for students... Serving as mentors, internship/co‐op supervisors, leaders of community‐based after‐school and expanded learning time programs…

16. Getting Ready: 2nd Annual Pre-Summit Strategy Meeting • Wheelock’s Aspire Institute facilitated a meeting of EEC grantees and educators to prepare and strategize for the Summit. • A review of past year and current efforts and activities to promote STEM in ECE and OST settings. • A panel presentation from content experts – what can we do to continue to make the case for STEM in ECE and OST settings? • Strategy sessions with colleagues to identify the following: • Best approaches for engaging policymakers, businesses and funders. • Capacity development activities that the state and other partners can pursue to strengthen STEM learning in ECE and OST settings.

17. Early Education 1: STEM in the World - Building the Foundation in the Early Years / PEEP & the Big Wide World A universal pedagogy that takes STEM from theory to practice in the early stages of brain development. WGBH has been developing curriculum that supports STEM in the early years, working with 3-5 year olds to ensure that critical thinking, math and science habits of mind, inquisitiveness/curiosity about the world and our environment help shape the next generation of leaders. We will also explore the importance of this early investment in our society and our economic future. Early Education 2: Preparing Adults to Support Brain Building in Progress - Programs in the Lead A presentation of programs successfully integrating science, technology, engineering, and math into the classroom followed by a group strategy session facilitated by EEC Commissioner Sherri Killins and Wheelock President Jackie Jenkins-Scott on the roles of the state, business, and higher education in developing the policies, resources, and activities needed to improve STEM access in our environment.

18. "An Evaluation of the Peep Explorer's Guide in Preschool Classrooms" Gay Mohrbacher, WGBH, Peep in the Big Wide World • Multi-media initiative funded by the National Science Foundation and Northrop Grumman • Available on public television, V-me (Spanish TV), web, and in classrooms • Peep emphasizes science through learning: • Direct experience with materials • Science topics that are part of daily life (indoors and outdoors) • Extended inquiry and exploration over time • Emphasis on reflection and reasoning • Outreach Goals • Model inquiry process skills • Encourage support of children’s hands-on science and math explorations • Provide resources – Peep Explorers Guide

19. Integration of STEM into the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework “Raising the bar for tomorrow’s leaders through innovation and collaboration across Head Start Programs” Anne D’Errico, Director; GLCAC, Inc Head Start • Initiated skyping pilot with 3 towns in Puerto Rico • A collaboration was created by Head Start programs to promote bi-lingualsim and to create opportunities to introduce new technology. • Initiative designed to integrate program’s Dual Language Learning Curriculum into existing Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework • Resulted in measurable growth in children’s language and skills

20. Creative Minds - Extension Activities in Math, Science and Engineering Katie Magrane, Mass. Afterschool Partnership • Creative Minds Out of School arts curriculum was designed by the Mass. Afterschool Partnership (MAP) with the Mass. Cultural Council (MCC), the state’s art and culture agency, and Davis Publications, a leading publisher of arts education materials. • Second edition includes extension activities in Math, Science and Engineering that are directly connected to the MA Curriculum Frameworks. Goal: Show children grades K-5, in a hands-on approach, how STEM content can be discovered in all learning environments. An innovative approach of connecting STEM education with Art and Design.

21. Panel Discussion We’ve seen some creative ways to weave STEM concepts into early education and out of school time. • What is needed to make this kind of learning possible? • What are the challenges and next steps? • For educators? • For programs? • For professional development providers including higher education?