STEM Learning from Books Prior to Formal Education

项目总结/摘要 促进儿童早期STEM知识的发展有助于儿童为成功做好准备， 正式入学，这反过来又对未来的职业成功产生连锁影响。共享图书阅读 STEM儿童读物可以成为促进STEM知识获取的简单而有效的手段 早期发展。然而，目前对是否以及如何共享图书的了解有限。 阅读促进了在正规教育之前获得STEM知识。目前的研究调查 通过检查现有STEM书籍的质量，从共享书籍阅读中获取STEM知识 在儿童的环境中，以及这些书籍如何影响儿童在共享书籍阅读环境中的学习。 具体目标1确定STEM儿童书籍是否为以下儿童提供支持性和要求性的环境： 获取符合基本学习原则的STEM知识。研究1将是一个文本分析 现成的儿童STEM书籍。STEM书籍将被编码，以确定它们是否支持 编码，通过凝聚力和维护主题，以及他们要求的程度 儿童通过提问和包括互动提示来进行主动处理。具体目标2调查 如何支持和需求学习干的事实目前在儿童的书籍和照顾者的风格的阅读 他们的孩子互动，以促进STEM学习。在研究2中，照顾者将阅读给他们的孩子发表 STEM书籍的支持和需求水平各不相同。然后孩子们将被测试他们对事实的回忆 在书中学到的。本研究将评估，在一个自然主义的背景下，是否照顾者的文本外谈话， 受书籍文本特征的影响，影响儿童对STEM事实的回忆。研究3使用实验 控制和操纵支持和需求文本特征如何影响STEM学习。所有这些 研究考虑基本的学习原则，并采取生态有效的方法来确定儿童如何 通过共享书籍阅读的情境学习STEM信息。这项工作将产生广泛的影响， 促进入学准备和以后的学术成就。此外，通过这项研究，该研究员将 在7个方面进行培训。具体而言，研究员将1）获得STEM新领域的知识- 相关的语义知识; 2）学习新的编码技术，用于分析书籍和儿童 互动; 3）获得更多的统计和计算机编程培训; 4）学习翻译研究 5）增加指导学生研究的经验; 6）获得教学技能， 领域相关的研究专业知识;和7）提高写作赠款的熟练程度。研究员的研究 环境是支持研究和培训的理想选择。发起人是语义知识专家 和照顾者精心制作的风格，并在指导和教学荣誉;合作者有专业知识， 文本分析;实验室拥有优秀的资源，有大量的参与者，必要的空间和设备， 以及一个致力于实验室工作人员;和部门有优秀的研究人员在认知和发展。

Project Summary/Abstract Promoting the development of STEM knowledge early in childhood helps to prepare children for success in formal school entry, which, in turn, has cascading implications for future career success. Shared book reading of STEM children’s books can be a simple and effective means for promoting STEM knowledge acquisition early in development. However, there is currently limited understanding of whether and how shared book reading promotes STEM knowledge acquisition prior to formal education. The current research investigates STEM knowledge acquisition from shared book reading by examining both the quality of available STEM books in children’s environments and how such books influence children’s learning in shared book reading contexts. Specific Aim 1 identifies whether STEM children’s books provide supportive and demanding contexts for acquiring STEM knowledge consistent with basic learning principles. Study 1 will be a textual analysis of readily available children’s STEM books. The STEM books will be coded for whether they provide support for encoding, through being cohesive and maintaining topics, and for the extent to which they are demanding of children’s active processing by asking questions and including interactive prompts. Specific Aim 2 investigates how support and demand for learning STEM facts present in children’s books and caregiver styles of reading to their children interact to facilitate STEM learning. In Study 2, caregivers will read to their child published STEM books that vary in their levels of support and demand. Then children will be tested on their recall of facts learned in the books. This study will assess, in a naturalistic context, whether caregivers’ extra-textual talk is affected by the books’ textual features to influence children’s recall of STEM facts. Study 3 uses experimental control and manipulates how support and demand textual features influence STEM learning. Together, these studies consider basic learning principles and take an ecologically valid approach to identifying how children learn STEM information through contexts of shared book reading. This work will have broad implications for promoting school-readiness and later academic achievement. Additionally, through this research, the fellow will receive training in 7 areas. Specifically, the fellow will 1) acquire knowledge in a new STEM domain of STEM- related semantic knowledge; 2) learn new coding techniques for the analysis of books and caregiver-child interactions; 3) acquire more training in statistics and computer programming; 4) learn to translate research findings to the public; 5) increase experience in mentoring students in research; 6) gain skills in teaching in a domain related to research expertise; and 7) increase proficiency in writing grants. The fellow’s research environment is ideal for supporting the research and training. The sponsor is an expert in semantic knowledge and caregiver elaborative styles and has honors in mentoring and teaching; the collaborator has expertise in textual analysis; the lab has excellent resources with a large participant pool, necessary space and equipment, as well as a committed lab staff; and the department has excellent researchers in Cognition and Development.