Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators

Science and Engineering in Preschool Through Elementary Grades: The Brilliance of Children and the Strengths of Educators
Author: National Academies Of Sciences Engineeri
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2022-07-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780309684170

Starting in early childhood, children are capable of learning sophisticated science and engineering concepts and engage in disciplinary practices. They are deeply curious about the world around them and eager to investigate the many questions they have about their environment. Educators can develop learning environments that support the development and demonstration of proficiencies in science and engineering, including making connections across the contexts of learning, which can help children see their ideas, interests, and practices as meaningful not just for school, but also in their lives. Unfortunately, in many preschool and elementary schools science gets relatively little attention compared to English language arts and mathematics. In addition, many early childhood and elementary teachers do not have extensive grounding in science and engineering content. Science and Engineering in Preschool through Elementary Grades provides evidence-based guidance on effective approaches to preschool through elementary science and engineering instruction that supports the success of all students. This report evaluates the state of the evidence on learning experiences prior to school; promising instructional approaches and what is needed for implementation to include teacher professional development, curriculum, and instructional materials; and the policies and practices at all levels that constrain or facilitate efforts to enhance preschool through elementary science and engineering. Building a solid foundation in science and engineering in the elementary grades sets the stage for later success, both by sustaining and enhancing students' natural enthusiasm for science and engineering and by establishing the knowledge and skills they need to approach the more challenging topics introduced in later grades. Through evidence-based guidance on effective approaches to preschool through elementary science and engineering instruction, this report will help teachers to support the success of all students.

My First Day of School

My First Day of School
Author: Michelle Medlock Adams
Publisher: WorthyKids
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-07-11
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780824916572

In this lively board book, a young boy starts his first day of school not knowing what to expect. Follow along as he explores his classroom, makes new friends, and enjoys all the creative and interesting activities school can offer. My First Day of School helps first-time students, from preschoolers to kindergartners, understand what happens at school, while providing parents the opportunity to answer questions their child may have. An enthusiastic narrator and bright, cheerful illustrations will have first-time students eagerly anticipating their first day of school.

Dancing in Your School

Dancing in Your School
Author: Anne Dunkin
Publisher: Dance Horizons
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780871272850

The more than 70 dance activities included in this handbook give educators the tools to use dance in their classrooms, gyms, and playgrounds. Combining theory with practice, this introduction to dance history and terminology provides a foundation for the lesson plans tailored for physical education, kinesthetic learning, and arts education contexts. Although complete on their own, each lesson plan can be customized to fit into any curriculum. Appendices on equipment and dance-education networking resources are included, along with a specialized index categorized into age-appropriate dance activities, sample lesson plans, and group dances.

Purposeful Play

Purposeful Play
Author: Kristine Mraz
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780325077888

Play is serious business. Whether it's reenacting a favorite book (comprehension and close reading), negotiating the rules for a game (speaking and listening), or collaborating over building blocks (college and career readiness and STEM), Kristi Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler see every day how play helps students reach standards and goals in ways that in-their-seat instruction alone can't do. And not just during playtimes. "We believe there is play in work and work in play," they write. "It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum." In Purposeful Play, they share ways to: optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day. "We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional. Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.

Educating Hearts and Minds

Educating Hearts and Minds
Author: Catherine C. Lewis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 1995-01-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780521458320

How do children become eager, motivated learners and caring, responsible citizens? Educating Hearts and Minds, first published in 1995, is a portrait of Japanese preschool and early elementary education which examines these questions. Its thesis - which will surprise many Americans - is that Japanese schools are successful because they meet children's needs for friendship, belonging, and contribution. This book brings to life what actually happens inside Japanese classrooms. What do children learn? How do they learn? What values are emphasised, and how are they taught? In a sharp departure from most previous accounts, this book suggests that Japanese education succeeds because all children - not just the brightest or best-behaved - somehow come to feel like valued members of the school community. Ironically, Japanese teachers credit John Dewey and other progressive Western educators for many of the techniques that make Japanese schools both caring and challenging. This book brings to a wider readership the voices of Japanese classroom teachers - voices that are at once deeply consonant with Western aspirations and deeply provocative.

Approaches to Early Childhood and Elementary Education

Approaches to Early Childhood and Elementary Education
Author: Francis Wardle
Publisher:
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2009
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This book covers a vast range of different philosophical and practical approaches to early education, from Free/Open schools and Waldorf education, to the Core Curriculum and the learning standards approach of the U.S. federal No Child Left Behind Act. By the early years it is meant the ages from infancy through the end of elementary school. While some of the approaches, such as Montessori and Reggio Emilia, are best known for the pre-school years, and the standards approach is best know for American K-12 education, there is more and more overlap and merging across early childhood and elementary education approaches, world-wide. All the approaches covered in this text can be seen in programs from infancy through the end of elementary school, even if each may focus on a certain age within this time frame. We are seeing major changes in infant, pre-kindergarten and elementary school education approaches, world-wide. These changes are the result of several major factors, including the extensive and powerful new brain research; globalisation of markets, ideas, and the Internet; rapid demographic shifts in many developed countries, and a move to more universal education in developing countries and more universal pre-school programs in developed countries. Thus, the focus of this book in describing a variety of current education approaches, with a detailed description of their historical and philosophical foundations and their current practice is very timely.

English Learners in STEM Subjects

English Learners in STEM Subjects
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2019-01-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309479088

The imperative that all students, including English learners (ELs), achieve high academic standards and have opportunities to participate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning has become even more urgent and complex given shifts in science and mathematics standards. As a group, these students are underrepresented in STEM fields in college and in the workforce at a time when the demand for workers and professionals in STEM fields is unmet and increasing. However, English learners bring a wealth of resources to STEM learning, including knowledge and interest in STEM-related content that is born out of their experiences in their homes and communities, home languages, variation in discourse practices, and, in some cases, experiences with schooling in other countries. English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives examines the research on ELs' learning, teaching, and assessment in STEM subjects and provides guidance on how to improve learning outcomes in STEM for these students. This report considers the complex social and academic use of language delineated in the new mathematics and science standards, the diversity of the population of ELs, and the integration of English as a second language instruction with core instructional programs in STEM.

Tools of the Mind

Tools of the Mind
Author: Elena Bodrova
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2024-04-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1040005438

Now in its third edition, this classic text remains the seminal resource for in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students, and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and the West. Featuring two new chapters on brain development and scaffolding in the zone of proximal development, as well as additional content on technology, dual language learners, and students with disabilities, this new edition provides the latest research evidence supporting the basics of the cultural-historical approach alongside Vygotskian-based practical implications. With concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development, this book is essential reading for students of early childhood theory and development.

The Most Important Year

The Most Important Year
Author: Suzanne Bouffard
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0399184961

An eye-opening look inside pre-K in America and what it will take to give all children the best start in school possible. At the heart of this groundbreaking book are two urgent questions: What do our young children need in the earliest years of school, and how do we ensure that they all get it? Cutting-edge research has proven that early childhood education is crucial for all children to gain the academic and emotional skills they need to succeed later in life. Children who attend quality pre-K programs have a host of positive outcomes including better language, literacy, problem-solving and math skills down the line, and they have a leg up on what appears to be the most essential skill to develop at age four: strong self-control. But even with this overwhelming evidence, early childhood education is at a crossroads in America. We know that children can and do benefit, but we also know that too many of our littlest learners don’t get that chance—millions of parents can’t find spots for their children, or their preschoolers end up in poor quality programs. With engrossing storytelling, journalist Suzanne Bouffard takes us inside some of the country’s best pre-K classrooms to reveal the sometimes surprising ingredients that make them work—and to understand why some programs are doing the opposite of what is best for children. It also chronicles the stories of families and teachers from many backgrounds as they struggle to give their children a good start in school. This book is a call to arms when we are at a crucial moment, and perhaps on the verge of a missed opportunity: We now have the means and the will to have universal pre-kindergarten, but we are also in grave danger of not getting it right.