Supporting Science Inquiry, Interest, and STEM Thinking for Young Dual Language Learners

支持年轻双语学习者的科学探究、兴趣和 STEM 思维

• 批准号: 1949266
• 负责人: Jessica Young
• 金额: $ 150万
• 依托单位: Education Development Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1949266&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Supporting; Science; Inquiry; Interest; STEM

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) knowledge and skills are essential for navigating the demands of life and work in the 21st century. Although all young children are curious and highly-motivated explorers and problem-solvers, children from marginalized communities, including Latinx Dual Language Learners (DLLs), face early and persistent opportunity gaps that limit their participation in the types of science experiences that support and sustain their early STEM dispositions, identities, and interests when schools and teachers do not recognize the STEM knowledge and practices of their families. In order to address this issue, formal and informal science learning settings must provide inclusive high-quality science and STEM experiences for young DLLs, their families, and teachers that honor the role of language in science inquiry and learning. This means centering family and community members as children’s STEM advocates and role models; creating and sustaining mutually respectful and responsive home-school-community STEM partnerships; building teachers’ capacity to create classroom cultures of inquiry that support English and home language development; and addressing the importance of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives in STEM education and the workforce. All of the important adults in children’s lives need to work together to nurture children’s STEM dispositions and confidence in ways that will spark and sustain their interests in pursuing future STEM opportunities. The Supporting Science Inquiry, Interest, and STEM Thinking for Young Dual Language Learners project will build knowledge about STEM learning systems for prekindergarten (PreK) Latinx DLLs through family, teacher, and community supports. The project is designed to increase PreK DLLs’ participation in high-quality, language-rich science inquiry that promotes their science/literacy learning and increases their STEM interest and self-confidence. In collaboration with the Connecticut Science Center and the Connecticut Consolidated School District of New Britain, this project led by the Education Development Center will bring innovative technologies and learning experiences that align with the district’s approach of guided play and family engagement as pathways to expanding STEM opportunities for PreK Latinx DLLs.The goals of the project are to: (1) increase DLL families’ perceptions of themselves as critical partners in their children’s science learning; (2) build PreK DLL teachers’ capacity to provide rich science/literacy experiences and partner with families; (3) increase children’s, families’, and teachers’ knowledge of STEM careers; and (4) improve PreK DLLs’ science, language, and literacy skills and their interest and self-confidence in doing science. The program includes collaborative parent/teacher workshops, Play Lab drop-in sessions, science/literacy kits and digital resources, coaching and professional learning communities, and STEM community helpers. Using an iterative research design approach, the project team will develop and refine each of the project components with input from families, teachers, and content experts and conduct a quasi-experimental design pilot study to assess how participation in project activities affects parents, teachers, and DLL PreK children. The project will contribute knowledge to the field about how inquiry-based, literacy-rich science increases DLLs’ cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. Research findings will provide an understanding of how families, teachers, and community members can collaborate in ways to enrich DLLs’ science inquiry. With its explicit focus on PreK DLLs, this project will broaden participation and provide potential for DLLs’ active participation in the STEM workforce of the future. It also has the potential to positively impact parents’ and teachers’ own sense of themselves as capable of doing, learning, and talking about science and STEM. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

STEM（科学，技术，工程，数学）知识和技能是必不可少的导航生活和工作的要求在21世纪世纪。虽然所有的幼儿都是好奇心强、积极性高的探索者和问题解决者，但来自边缘化社区的儿童，包括拉丁双语学习者（DLL），面临着早期和持续的机会差距，限制了他们参与支持和维持其早期STEM倾向、身份和兴趣的科学体验类型，而学校和教师不承认他们家庭的STEM知识和实践。为了解决这个问题，正式和非正式的科学学习环境必须为年轻的DLL，他们的家庭和教师提供包容性的高质量科学和STEM体验，荣誉在科学探究和学习中的作用。这意味着将家庭和社区成员作为儿童STEM的倡导者和榜样;建立和维持相互尊重和响应的家庭-学校-社区STEM伙伴关系;培养教师创造支持英语和家庭语言发展的课堂探究文化的能力;并解决STEM教育和劳动力中不同背景，文化和观点的重要性。 儿童生活中所有重要的成年人都需要共同努力，以激发和维持他们追求未来STEM机会的兴趣的方式培养儿童的STEM倾向和信心。支持科学探究，兴趣和年轻的双语学习者的STEM思维项目将通过家庭，教师和社区的支持，为幼儿园前（PreK）Latinx DLL建立有关STEM学习系统的知识。该项目旨在增加PreK DLL参与高质量，语言丰富的科学探究，促进他们的科学/识字学习，提高他们的STEM兴趣和自信心。在与康涅狄格科学中心和康涅狄格州新不列颠联合学区的合作中，这个由教育发展中心领导的项目将带来创新的技术和学习经验，这些技术和学习经验与该地区的指导性游戏和家庭参与的方法相一致，作为扩大PreK Latinx DLL的STEM机会的途径。该项目的目标是：（1）增加DLL家庭对自己作为孩子科学学习重要伙伴的认识;（2）培养PreK DLL教师提供丰富科学/扫盲经验并与家庭合作的能力;（3）增加孩子、家庭和教师对STEM职业的了解;（4）提高学生的科学、语言和读写能力，提高他们从事科学研究的兴趣和自信心。该计划包括协作家长/教师研讨会、Play Lab随堂课程、科学/识字套件和数字资源、辅导和专业学习社区以及STEM社区助手。使用迭代研究设计方法，项目团队将开发和完善每个项目组件与家庭，教师和内容专家的投入，并进行准实验设计试点研究，以评估参与项目活动如何影响家长，教师和DLL PreK儿童。该项目将为该领域提供关于如何以探究为基础的，知识丰富的科学增加DLL的认知和非认知结果的知识。研究结果将提供家庭，教师和社区成员如何合作的方式，以丰富DLL的科学探究的理解。通过明确关注PreK DLL，该项目将扩大参与范围，并为DLL积极参与未来的STEM劳动力提供潜力。它也有可能积极影响家长和教师自己的感觉，因为他们有能力做，学习和谈论科学和STEM。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验（ITEST）计划资助，该计划支持建立对实践，计划元素，背景和过程的理解的项目，有助于增加学生对科学，技术，工程，信息和通信技术（ICT）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。