Coaching and Reflective Practice for Promoting Preschool STEM Education
Type of Presentation
Regular Session
Location
Session Four
Topic Category
Strand 1: STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
Targeted Age Group
Adult Learners
Start Date
22-1-2022 1:00 PM
End Date
22-1-2022 2:00 PM
COinS
Jan 22nd, 1:00 PM
Jan 22nd, 2:00 PM
Coaching and Reflective Practice for Promoting Preschool STEM Education
Session Four
Full Session Description
This university-Head Start partnership project was designed to support teachers’ integration of intentional STEM experiences into daily classroom practices in ways that support children’s science and mathematics development. A comprehensive professional learning model was leveraged to support teachers’ STEM implementation, which included: stand and deliver professional development, STEM coaches modeling classroom activities, STEM coach feedback after live observations, and teacher self-reflection. Reflective supervision, through live and video feedback, provided a core set of supports for teachers’ learning and implementing STEM lessons. Classroom observations of teacher practices suggest improvements in teachers’ instructional practices, which included language/vocabulary and discourse (e.g., open-ended questions) that encouraged reasoning and analysis. Approaches for documenting teachers’ implementation of STEM activities will be shared as a guide for professional practice. Challenges and solutions with implementing this approach in Head Start will be shared.