Orange County Public Schools
WINNER
The Trouble with Bubbles!
STEM in PreK
March 11, 2015
Orange County Public Schools
LEARNING GOAL
Teachers will understand how to
intentionally implement activities in their
classroom that integrate science, technology,
engineering and math.
Orange County Public Schools
Evidence
4
I implement activities in my classroom that
integrate science, technology, engineering and
math and can explain why to my
administrator, paraprofessional(s) and
parents.
I can explain the importance of STEM
activities during a pre-conference with my
administrator, meetings/trainings with
parents, and discussion with the
paraprofessional(s).
3
I implement activities in my classroom that
I intentionally include STEM activities in my
integrate science, technology, engineering and daily plans because I understand the
math.
importance.
2
I can identify STEM activities but I don’t
always feel comfortable using them in my
classroom.
I may include a STEM activity I find
interesting and easy.
1
STEM? Isn’t that part of a plant?
I have heard the term STEM but I am not
sure am not sure what the letters stand for.
Orange County Public Schools
Science (a way of thinking)…nurturing a sense of curiosity. It’s about
observing, experimenting, predicting, discovering, investigating,
questioning and wondering.
Technology (a way of doing)…a fancy word for tools…crayons, pencils,
paper, rulers, measuring tapes, magnifying glasses, balances…
Engineering (a way of doing)…identifying a problem, thinking about
solutions, and trying them out (e.g. making a more stable base when
building with blocks)…if at first you don’t succeed…
Math (a way of measuring)…comparing, sorting, looking for patterns,
identifying shapes…language such as using words such as bigger, smaller,
higher, lower, longer, shorter, farther, closer…
Orange County Public Schools
A Child’s Brain
The first three to five years of life are
a unique period of growth for a child’s
brain. Every second, young children’s
brains develop 700 synapses, the
neural connections that provide the
foundation for language, reasoning,
problem-solving, social skills,
behavior and emotional health.
Orange County Public Schools
30 Million Word Gap
Refresh your memory…in the past we
have talked about the Hart and Risley
study in which two researchers spent
time in the homes of 42 families with
young children over the course of three
years…based in information obtained
they determined there could be as
much as a 30 million word gap between
young children entering school.
Orange County Public Schools
Closing the Gap
• Researchers are finding out is the gap is just as
pronounced for math skills as for literacy
abilities
• This math achievement gap begins early, even
before kindergarten
• Some children can be 18 months behind their
peers when they start kindergarten
Orange County Public Schools
Just like vocabulary is an early predictor of later reading
ability, research shows that early exposure to math is linked
to later abilities in math and other subjects such as reading
and science. Early exposure is also a predictor of high
school graduation and college attendance.
An article in Science concludes, “Preschool children’s
knowledge of mathematics predicts their later school
success into elementary and even high school. Further, it
predicts reading achievement even better than early
reading skills.”
Orange County Public Schools
Young Children and Science Learning
National Science Teachers Association identifies key principles
• Even
young children have the capacity to engage in scientific
practices and develop understanding at a conceptual level.
• Play/engaging in experiential learning is essential in helping
young children develop science skills.
• Young children need to have multiple and varied opportunities
over time that allow them to engage in science exploration and
discovery.
Orange County Public Schools
Academic Learning and
Intellectual Learning
Academic learning “by definition is the stuff that is
clear like the alphabet, it’s no logic, it just has to be
memorized… and it does have to be learned
eventually.”
Intellectual Learning “has to do with reasoning,
hypothesizing, and predicting, theorizing, and so
forth and that’s natural.”
~Lilian Katz interview on Bam Radio
Orange County Public Schools
OMG…one more thing!
According to Dr. Sherri Killins, “What STEM does is
give a label to what you are already doing…helping
children explore, observe, ask questions, predict,
integrate their learning…it’s what we have done in
early childhood education.”
Orange County Public Schools
Teaching Intentionally
Intentionality refers to how teachers interact with
children. Robert Pianta defines intentionality as
“directed, designed interaction between children and
teachers in which teachers purposefully challenge,
scaffold, and extend children’s skills”.
~Robert C. Pianta, Founding Director, Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning
Orange County Public Schools
STEM throughout the Day
Arrival: Sort fruit/veggies with plastic food or pictures
Circle Time: Bring in a bag of apples to share, let kids feel/smell apples
from the bag. Read the book Applesauce by Shirley Kurtz. Talk about
how applesauce is made.
Outside time: Notice trees and see what kinds of things are growing in
the trees. Draw pictures or dictate what they see in their STEM
journal.
Snack: Make homemade applesauce with the class (volunteers and
facilities permitting) or simply serve apple sauce and talk about how
it is made.
School Home Connection: Tell parents about your activities, encourage
parents to ask their children how the apples turned into applesauce.
Let children bring their STEM journals home to share their drawings.
~Boston’s Children’s Museum’s STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide
Orange County Public Schools
So…
• It’s noticing what children do
everyday and asking the
“right” questions
• And the best part about it
is…we don’t need to have the
answers to create memorable
STEM experiences
Orange County Public Schools
Why is this not the best question
to ask?
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WHAT questions not WHY questions
“Why” questions imply a
right/wrong answer
“What” questions focus on
what children are noticing and
doing
• Build students' confidence
• Make them feel like experts
• Springboard for teachers and
students to investigate
together
• Emphasis is on observing
and communicating
-Boston’s Children’s Museum’s STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide
Sentence
Orange prompts
County Public Schools
• “How might you build that?”
• “What other ____ can you think of?”
• “Let’s make a list of all the ____ we can think of.”
• “What would we need if we wanted to make ____?”
• “Let’s figure out how we would do/make that.”
• “Okay, now that we’ve planned it, let’s make it!”
• We’re making a ____. Want to help?”
• “Let’s get started!”
The SECA Reporter Spring 2014 Issue
Sentence
Orange prompts
County Public Schools
• “How does that work?”
• “How do we know … ?”
•
•
•
•
•
“Which one do you think will … ?”
“Let’s see what happens when we ….”
“What’s the difference between ____ and ____?”
“How can we sort these?”
“Which ones go together?”
• “How could we make it go faster?”
• “Uh oh, we have a problem here. How are we going to figure this
out?”
• “What would you do if ____ were to happen?”
• “What happened?”
The SECA Reporter Spring 2014 Issue
Orange County Public Schools
Bubbles
(sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
Blowing bubbles up so high
Floating, floating in the sky.
Filled with colors, filled with air
Popping here and popping there.
Blowing bubbles up so high
Floating, floating in the sky.
Orange County Public Schools
Orange County Public Schools
Don’t panic! It’s only science . . . and
technology and engineering and math.
You can do it, and so can young children!
It’s all about noticing behaviors, asking
good questions, encouraging children to
repeat their actions and observe, and
cheering them on.
Orange County Public Schools
For all you do!!!
Orange County Public Schools
Orange County Public Schools
Contact us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns
Janice Penn
Stephanie Thomas
Janice.Penn@ocps.net
Stephanie.Thomas2@ocps.net
Component #
2100002