The impact of an integrated Pre-K STEM curriculum on teachers' engineering content knowledge, self-efficacy, and teaching practices

Sibuma, Bernadette; Wunnava, Susmitha; John, Melissa-Sue; Anggoro, Florencia K.; Dubosarsky, Mia

doi:10.1109/isecon.2018.8340489

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The diversity of expertise, a shared goal, and mutual respect that each member had for others on the team enabled the creation of innovative units. The iterative process of testing-feedback-revision-testing resulted in a high-quality curriculum that has been recently piloted in additional preschool classrooms to assess the potential impacts of the curriculum on teacher and student outcomes (Sibuma et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Iterative Participatory Approach to Developing an Early Childhood Problem-based STEM Curriculum

John

Sibuma

Wunnava

et al. 2018

European Journal of STEM Education

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This paper describes an iterative participatory curriculum design approach to developing a problem-based STEM curriculum for preschool children. The curriculum aims to teach young children problem-solving using an adapted version of the engineering design process (EDP). Despite evidence showing that a rigorous, integrated STEM curriculum promotes cognitive development and curiosity, very little STEM or engineering instruction occurs in classrooms for three-to five-year-old children, and few studies include teachers in the curriculum design process. Research has shown that, when children experience an engineering curriculum, they show an increase in engagement, in the number of engineering behaviors displayed, and in persistence in completing activities. As well, when teachers are involved in designing curriculum, they are more likely to feel empowered and sustain implementation. Qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with 13 preschool teachers after the development process showed that teachers who participated in the process perceived increased knowledge and self-efficacy in teaching STEM in their classrooms. These reflections support using a participatory curriculum design approach for empowering teachers and enhancing self-efficacy in teaching STEM to young children. High teacher self-efficacy has been associated with positive classroom outcomes and teacher retention in the profession.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Iterative Participatory Approach to Developing an Early Childhood Problem-based STEM Curriculum

John

Sibuma

Wunnava

et al. 2018

European Journal of STEM Education

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“…Central to each of these studies is a set of developmentally-appropriate engineering activities that allow parents and young children to access and engage in engineering practices. While there are now options for pre-kindergarten engineering curriculum packages and activities [19], [35] and design principles outlined for K-12 engineering experiences [36], most are intended for traditional classroom contexts with a teacher or early childhood educator facilitating groups of young students moving through a structured set of lessons. Given our focus on family learning and engagement around engineering, it was essential to create and refine activities that were flexible, accessible, and able to be used without educator facilitation.…”

Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the nature of engineering during home-based engineering activities designed for Spanish- and English-speaking families with young children (Fundamental, Diversity)

Wagner,

Svarovsky,

Lettau

et al.

2023 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Dame. She earned her Master of Education degree from Notre Dame in 2019 while teaching middle school science. She has collaborated with faculty in the Center for STEM on engineering research for several years, most recently leading an undergraduate research lab on early childhood engineering research. In the Center, she also supports other research projects and undergraduate labs on topics of high school science pedagogy and student engagement in science.

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Learning Environments that Improve STEM Capabilities in Israel: Constructional Play and Preschoolers’ Engineering Habits of Mind

Spektor-Levy

Shechter

2022

Play and STEM Education in the Early Years

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The impact of an integrated Pre-K STEM curriculum on teachers' engineering content knowledge, self-efficacy, and teaching practices

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

An Iterative Participatory Approach to Developing an Early Childhood Problem-based STEM Curriculum

An Iterative Participatory Approach to Developing an Early Childhood Problem-based STEM Curriculum

Exploring the nature of engineering during home-based engineering activities designed for Spanish- and English-speaking families with young children (Fundamental, Diversity)

Learning Environments that Improve STEM Capabilities in Israel: Constructional Play and Preschoolers’ Engineering Habits of Mind

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