Education Commons^™

Universal Design For Learning (Udl) In Inclusive Preschool Science Classrooms, Marla J. Lohmann, Katrina A. Hovey, Ariane N. Gauvreau

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Science instruction is a critical aspect of early learning. Teachers can support young children’s learning about scientific concepts through the use of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which is a proactive approach to instructional planning that helps ensure success for all learners. This teaching techniques article offers preschool teachers practical solutions for implementing in the UDL framework for science instruction in their classrooms.

Increasing Science Curriculum In Preschool, Sandra Rogel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Early preschool curriculum often needs more attention to science. When the science curriculum is missing from the preschool curriculum, children may not recognize early science concepts, develop little interest in scientific concepts, and lack sufficient skills for kindergarten readiness. When preschool children are exposed to a science curriculum, they begin to apply scientific concepts, acquire scientific language, and develop scientific thinking. Therefore, to address the insufficiency of science in the preschool curriculum, I developed a three-day lesson for 3 to 5-year-olds at MCOE Early Learning Program at Creekside in Salinas, California.

Preschool Number Of The Day, Christine Shepard

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research project was completed by a researcher was interested in the preschool math curriculum. More specifically, in the numbers and how their relationships including one to one counting and producing the amount when given a number in preschool. This researcher has taught preschool for 7 years. The students were able to participate in the study. One class of students did not receive the number of the day lessons, while the other students received the lessons throughout the entire school year. The study was part of our learning standards aligning to the Iowa Early Learning Standards and Gold Teaching …

Measuring Preschool Parents’ Attitudes Towards Science: Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of A Parent Version Of The Dimension Of Attitudes Towards Science Instrument., Alexandra E. Adair

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Presently, no measure or theoretical framework exists for preschool parents’ attitudes towards science. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measure of preschool parents’ attitudes towards science with a corresponding theoretical framework, as well as explore related constructs. To develop the measure, I adapted Wendt and Rockinson-Szapkiw’s (2017) English translation of van Aalderen-Smeets & Walma van der Molen’s (2013) Dimensions of Science (DAS) scale by making it appropriate for use with preschool parents.

The Preschool Parents Dimensions of Science Scale (PP-DAS) was pilot tested and revised before being administered to 330 preschool parents in the United …

Understanding Early Childhood Engineering Interest Development As A Family-Level Systems Phenomenon: Findings From The Head Start On Engineering Project, Scott Pattison, Gina Svarovsky, Smirla Ramos-MontañEz, Ivel Gontan, Shannon Weiss, VeróNika NúÑEz, Pam Corrie, Cynthia Smith, Marcie Benne

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

There is growing recognition that interest is critical for engaging and supporting learners from diverse communities in engineering and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics. Although interest research has historically focused on older children, studies demonstrate that preschool-age and younger children also develop persistent, individualized interests in different objects, activities, and topics and that these early interests have important implications for ongoing learning and development. Unfortunately, there is relatively little research on engineering learning in early childhood and almost no work specific to the concept of interest. To begin to address this need, we conducted in-depth case study …

Introducing Science Education In Early Childhood, Marissa M. Arciniega

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The increasing focus on literacy development and kindergarten readiness in preschool has created a lack of science education in early childhood education. In recent research, Head Start found that of the four academic readiness domains for preschoolers (i.e., language, literacy, math, and science), science is the lowest-performing area amongst students in their program (Bustamante, White, & Greenfield, 2018). Research is showing that declining performance in science is partly due to the lack of science education in classrooms. Lack of science is not only affecting school performance down the road, but it also limits children in receiving the benefits of early …

A Case Study: Number Apps In Preschool, Amy Beth Adkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

iPads are increasingly present in education. This research explores their role developing fundamental mathematics concepts. It investigates preschoolers’ interactions with mathematics apps, and affordances and constraints accessed. It was conducted over fourteen weeks; students played mathematics apps for thirty minutes a week. The qualitative case study design included participants who varied in mathematics and technological skill. Data was collected through assessments, interviews, questionnaires, videotapes, and artifacts. Results determined that students access constraints or affordances based on ability level. Findings indicate iPads are beneficial tools for preschool classrooms. Preschoolers showed an increase in math ability when using iPads.

Water Play, Jane E. Cline, Brandy A. Smith

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The inclusion of activities to develop sensory awareness, spatial thinking, and physical dexterity, operationalized through hands-on science lessons such as water play, have long been part of early childhood education. This practical article addresses Next Generation Science Standards K-2 ETS1-3 and K-2 ETS1-2 by having four-year-old prekindergarten students direct the path of water on a vertical pegboard water table with strategically-placed, attached plastic cups with holes drilled into them that leak streams of water into each other. Students enhanced their retelling of the story of the Billy Goats Gruff by placing student-made watercolor artwork along the path of the water, …

Preschool Teachers' Attitudes And Beliefs Toward Science, Sharon Henry Lloyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, a current initiative, Advancing Active STEM Education for Our Youngest Learners, aims to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to understand preschool teachers' proficiency with science and address the problem of whether or not science learning opportunities are provided to young children based on teachers' attitudes and beliefs. A theoretical framework for establishing teachers' attitudes toward science developed by van Aalderen-Smeets, van der Molen, and Asma, along with Bandura's theory of self-efficacy were the foundations for this research. Research questions explored preschool teachers' attitudes and …

Investigating The Status Of Early Numeracy Skills In Bilingual Dual Language Learner Latino Children Attending Head Start And The Association With Parent Demographic Characteristics, Chavely Lissette Iglesias

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on mathematics achievement has become increasingly important with today's technological advances and demand for specialized knowledge. Though there is much literature regarding mathematics achievement in monolingual speakers, little is known regarding the mathematical abilities of Dual Language Learner (DLL) Latino children. This study examined the early numeracy skills in English and Spanish of 132 DLL Latino children attending Head Start programs in five counties across Florida. Relationships and differences among their performance in both languages were examined, along with the contribution of specific parent demographic variables to math achievement. Findings indicated that DLL Latino Head Start children's performance on …

Understanding Children's Mathematical Learning: The Relationship To Instruction In Preschool Classrooms, Renee B. Whelan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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A Good Start To Numeracy : Effective Numeracy Strategies From Research And Practice In Early Childhood, Brian Doig, Barry Mcrae, Ken Rowe

Student learning processes

The Commonwealth-funded Project Good Start was a longitudinal study of children during their year before school and the first year of school, involving preschool centres and schools across Australia. It considered the questions: how can effective numeracy programs be identified at both year-before-school and the early years of school; and what constitutes evidence of effectiveness. This report provides a review of the international and Australian research literature on numeracy in early childhood that complements the Department of Education, Science and Training’s major review of the numeracy literature undertaken by Deakin University. It is designed to provide early childhood professionals and …