powerpoint presentation › sites... · 2016-05-02 · engineering, math •steam •science,...

5/2/2016

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Adapting STEM Activities for Young Children and Their Families

Rebecca Parlakian, M.A., Ed. – [email protected]

Jodi Whiteman, M.A. – [email protected]

What is ZERO TO THREE?

ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development.

Copyright © 2016 ZERO TO THREE. All rights reserved. 2

Parents

Professionals

Policy-Makers

Objectives

Copyright © 2015 by ZERO TO THREE

• Outline specific science, engineering and math skills that develop in the early years

• Identify strategies that early interventionists can use to adapt STEM skills for children with special needs

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STEM & STEAM

• STEM

• Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

• STEAM

• Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math

Let’s Warm Our Brains Up

• Turn to someone sitting next to you and share 3 uses of a paper clip, other than holding papers together.

Paper Clip Question

• This challenge was given as part of an experiment into divergent thinking ability at different ages.

• Researchers George Land and Beth Jarman found that:

• 98% of kindergarteners (age 5) scored at the genius level in divergent thinking.

• When the same group of students was tested again at 10 years old, 32% of the children scored at the genius level.

• By age 15, the same group of students was tested and only 10% of students scored at the genius level.

• And, when 200,000 adults were tested with the paper clip problem, can you guess how many of them tested at the genius level?

• Only 2%!

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Engineering in Early Childhood

Engineering

• What does “Engineering” mean to you?

• Engineering is…

• The application of mathematics, empirical evidence, and scientific and practical knowledge in order to invent, innovate, design, build, or solve a problem.

• The use of math, science, and technology to solve real-world problems.

Engineering and Babies?

Skill Age

Children seem to be born with innate expectations about what is possible/expected and impossible, i.e., how things work

Birth

Intentional communication emerges 8 months +

Emerging problem-solving skills 9 months +

Children begin to combine objects in play 9-12 months

Children begin to understand cause-and-effectChildren begin to test cause-and-effect

3.5 months +5 months +

Children begin building simple structures (stacks of blocks)

12 months +

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Engineering and Toddlers

Skill Age

Solves simple problems using tools 17-24 months

Activates mechanical toy 18-22 months

Builds tower using 2 cubes 3 cubes4 cubes6 cubes

12-16 months16-18 months18-22 months22-24 months

Stacks rings Stacks rings in order

13-15 months30-36 months

Identifies object with their use 24-28 months

Understands negative reasoning— “No more” “Not a spoon”

24-36 months

Powerful “What” Questions

• What happened there?

• What did you try?

• What have you changed about what you are making?

• What are some of the ideas you have talked about that you haven’t tried yet?

• What have you seen other people trying?

• What do you notice about ________?

• What do you think will happen if we _____?

(Boston Children’s Museum, STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide)

Preschoolers and Engineering

Skill Age

Points to or places object on top/bottom when asked 32-42 months

Same as above for in front, in back, around, through 36+ months

Names an item when shown parts 32-42 months

Sequences a 3-picture story that has been read 36-44 months

Answers questions logically when asked a “what if” question

42-47 months

Points to common objects according to function 45-48 months

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Engineering Design Process

Engineering Is Elementary, Museum of Science, Boston, MA

ASK

• What is the problem?

• What have others done?

• What are the constraints?

IMAGINE

• What are some solutions?

• Brainstorm ideas.

• Choose the best one.

PLAN

• Draw a diagram.

• Make lists of materials you will need.

CREATE

• Follow your plan and create it.

• Test it out!

IMPROVE

• Talk about what works, what doesn’t, and what could work better.

• Modify your design to make it better.

• Test it out!

(Cunningham & Hester, 2007, p. 5)

Engineering Design Process

Adaptations: Ramps & Balls

• Age Range: 18 months – 3 years

• Activity:

• To experiment with ramps and balls

• To discover impact of changing angle of ramp

• To discover how to make the balls roll farther

• To work with a partner

• Your Challenge: Identify adaptations to this activity for toddlers with a:

• Motoric/Physical Disability

• Social/Communicative Disability

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Motoric Adaptations

• Consider size/materials used for ramp; modify as needed

• Add handle to ramp to make it easier to grasp/adjust

• Ensure balls are easily graspable (consider size/texture)

• Consider positioning of activity– is it easier for the child to sit at chair and work at table or sit on floor and work there?

• Conduct task analysis to identify component skills

• Target component skills (ie, graspand release skills) prior to activityto facilitate child’s participation

Social/Communicative Adaptations

• Use social story to describe the roles of each child in the activity

• Pre-teach vocabulary associated with activity

• Use a first/then chart to establish sequencing for the activity

• Teach signs or other ways to allow the child to communicate his/her prediction about how far the ball will go and/or how to move the ramp

• Use visual cue for taking turns

• Prompt children to make eyecontact when they changeturns

• Prompt children to work together to adjust ramp or retrieve balls, scaffolding as needed


Math in Early Childhood

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Time to Get Up and Move

Write your favorite number from 1-20 that has personal significance to you on the post-it.

For example: 2 - I have 2 children and 2 dogs.

Talk with 3 other people nearby, sharing your number and why you chose it.

After getting into your groups, line up in order from 1-20.

What Math Skills Did You Use?

• Number recognition: “We both have the number 3.”

• Writing numbers: “I wrote down the number 3.”

• Saying counting words in order: Getting into order 1-10.

• Understanding that written numbers are symbols for number quantities.

• Understanding the relationship between numbers and quantities.

These skills all relate to number sense.

MATH CONCEPTS AND SKILLS

• Number Concepts & Quantities

• Number Relationships & Operations

• Geometry & Spatial Sense

• Patterns

• Measurement & Comparison

Check out www.zerotothree.org/earlymath

Mathematics Knowledge &

Skills Domains

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SO, WHY DOES EARLY MATH MATTER?

When children master math skills early on, they have a strong foundation for ongoing and more complex math learning.

Children’s early math skills predict BOTH their later math and reading skills in grade 3!

Number sense is an emerging construct (Berch, 1998) that refers to a child’s fluidity and flexibility with numbers, the sense of what numbers mean and an ability to perform mental mathematics and to look at the world and make comparisons (p. 18).

Special Focus: What Is Number Sense?

Number Sense, Infants, and Toddlers

• Between the ages of one and two, some children will understand, but not be able to explain the concepts of “more.”

• Some two-year-olds may understand the words “one” and “two.” Most will be able to follow simple directions, such as asking them to “take one” or “pick two.”

• Many two-year-olds will know they are two and can hold up two fingers to show you.

• As they approach age three, they will try to recite the number sequence but often get numbers out of order.

(http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/math/milestones/baby-toddler/)

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Number Sense and Preschoolers

• During their third year, many children can tell their age and hold up that many fingers to demonstrate.

• During the fourth year, many can accurately count up to five items, some can count up to 10, and a few can count to 20.

• Many four-year-olds can tell what number comes after a given number in a sequence up to 10.

• Given two numbers between one and 10, many five-year-olds can tell which of the two is larger.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/math/milestones/preschool-kindergarten/

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Number Sense: Step 1

• Subitizing refers to a child’s ability to immediately recognize the total number of items in a collection and label it with an appropriate number word.

Institute for Education Sciences, 2013.


• Meaningful Object Counting is counting in a one-to-one fashion and recognizing that the last number word used while counting is the same as the total (this is called the cardinality principle).



Counting-Based Comparisons of groups larger than 3

• Children use meaningful object counting to determine the larger of two collections

• Can use terms like more/less, bigger/smaller


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• Number-After Knowledge

Familiarity with the counting sequence enables a child to have number-after knowledge—i.e., to enter the number sequence at any point and specify the next number, instead of always counting from one.



• Mental Comparisons of Close or Neighboring Numbers

Children’s ability to efficiently and mentally determine the larger of two adjacent or close numbers (e.g., that “nine” is larger than “eight”).

9 is larger than 8



• Number After Equals One More

Children’s ability to conclude that the “next” number in the counting sequence is exactly one more than the previous number.


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Number Sense: What You Can Do

• Use simple mathematical vocabulary related to number sense: Big/bigger/biggest, small, more, fewer, enough, not enough

• Make a routine of counting objects/people in your daily routines

• Narrate math concepts: “One spoon for you, one spoon for me”

• Point out how sets are transformed if items are added to or removed: “Look, we put 2 puppy treats in Spotty’s bowl. If he eats one, how many are left?”

• Offer safe objects that young children can group and re-group. Use comparison language to describe the groups. Count the groups.

Adaptations: Filling Muffin Tins

• Age Range: 12 months – 24 months

• Activity:

• To develop an innate understanding of one-to-one correspondence

• To hear the counting sequence from 1-12

• To repeat the counting sequence for 1-2 (by 24 months)

• To offer 1 item when asked (by 18 months)

• To sustain interest/attention in the activity

• Your Challenge: Identify adaptations to this activity for young toddlers with a:

• Mild/Moderate Cognitive Disability

• Visual Disability

Mild/Moderate Cognitive Disability

• Focus on number sequence 1-3; once mastered, shift to 1-6

• Embed many repetitions of number sequence across the day, counting steps, snack food, toys, etc. up to 3

• Use simple language to reinforce the one-to-one concept: “One car in one muffin cup.”

• Point while counting: “One car, two cars, three cars”

• Use pauses as a prompt: “One car…”

• Let the child know: “Your turn to count.” Prompt him/her to point at each item while counting (hand over hand only if needed).

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Visual Disability

• Allow the child ample time to explore the affordances of the muffin tin before beginning activity.

• Allow the child ample time to explore eachitem before putting it in the muffin tin.

• Use brightly colored or plastic muffin liners to provide a bright/textured visual target for the child

• When repeating the activity another time/day, ensure all materials are the same so the child can focus on the concept and not re-learning the materials

• Consider offering objects that make a sound to place in muffin cups, ie, shaker eggs. Child can shake each egg as they place in the cup.


Science in Early Childhood

What is Science?

• Science is both a body of knowledge that represents the current understanding of natural systems and the processwhereby that body of knowledge has been established... Both elements are essential...

(Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007, p. 26)

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Scientific Process Skills

• Observing;

• Asking questions;

• Describing;

• Predicting;

• Providing explanations;

• Using tools and instruments to extend the senses and improve observations;

• Engaging in “what if” investigations;

• Planning investigations;

• Recording what happens during these investigations;

• Interpreting; and

• Communicating and sharing ideas.

(Hamlin & Wisneski, 2012)

Infants and Toddlers

• Innate curiosity about how the world works

• Desire to explore/experiment

• Approach to learning is primarily through the senses

• Fully understand cause-and-effect by 36 months

Preschoolers

• Language skills now allow them to use action verbs, descriptive language, spatial descriptors, and more complicated nouns (e.g., ‘cicada’ or ‘migrate’ or ‘evaporate’).

• Symbolic skills allow them to use one object to represent another object or idea

• Cognitive skills mean that that they are able to make logical connections, predictions, and imagine what might happen next

• Regulatory skills mean they can focus and persist for longer period

• Social skills mean they can collaborate and share ideas with others

• Yet: Children still think differently.Magical thinking persists throughthe early elementary years.

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Supporting Scientific Thinking

• Ask a ‘what’ question (ages 18 m – 3.5 y): “What did you find?” “What did you discover?” “What are the ants doing?”

• Ask a ‘why’ or ‘how’ question (ages 3.5+)

• Make an observation

• Make an “I wonder…” statement

• Suggest an addition or modification

• Suggest a re-test

• Suggest engaging a partner

• Provide modeling to scaffold discovery

• Offer a new material or tool to support exploration

Adaptations: Sensory Path

• Age Range: 6 months – 12 months

• Activity:

• To explore (touch) tactile stimuli

• To notice, manage, and communicate preferences for different tactile stimuli

• To be exposed to descriptive language (rough, soft, bumpy, smooth, etc.)

• To sustain interest/attention in the activity

• Your Challenge: Identify adaptations to this activity for young toddlers with a:

• Sensory processing disorder

• Communication delay/disability

Sensory Challenges

• Begin with one preferred texture

• Consider doing ‘heavy work’ prior to sensory path

• Use smaller amounts of each texture (less interaction with non-preferred textures)

• Allow child to choose which textures to touch and how long to touch

• Model a sign or simple language (yes! no!) to describe preferences

• Touch non-preferred textures yourself, narrating how they feel

• Allow child to touch textures with mitten or with another object (like a pointer)

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Communication Delay/Disability

• Identify target vocabulary for the activity (soft, bumpy, rough, etc.)

• Create PECs or identify signs for target vocabulary—the younger the child, the fewer the words.

• Introduce spoken words, PECs or signs as you and the child explore the activity. Model language use at the level expected for the child.

• Remove a preferred texture and place within sight but out of reach; wait to see if the child will request. Prompt to elicit the texture word or simple requesting language.

• Narrate child’s nonverbal language

• Ask questions: “What tile is your favorite?” “What tile feels good to you?” “What tile feels bad to you?”

• Respond promptly to children’s words, vocalizations, and/or nonverbal communication attempts.

Closing Thought

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." -Sydney J. Harris

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