4 ways to enhance STEM in preK classrooms

3. Find a comprehensive, standards-aligned curriculum that encourages learning-by-doing.

While technology can serve as an effective learning tool for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, it’s also important to find curriculum programs that are aligned to current standards and that provide resources for both students and teachers—especially since science isn’t typically an area of strength for many early childhood educators.

Indeed, in our district, one issue we faced was that we felt that our state-adopted prekindergarten curriculum was lacking in science. As such, teachers didn’t incorporate much science into their daily classroom activities, and the science they did have was surface-level so students didn’t dig very deep.

To turn things around, in fall 2014 we began using a program called STEMscopes™ Early Explorer. The STEM curriculum program is built from the ground up to Head Start, state and national preK and kindergarten guidelines, and it is scaffolded to prepare students for NGSS kindergarten standards. What we particularly like is that it encourages learning-by-doing by bringing together centers, big books, hands-on kits and activities to prepare students in preK classrooms for elementary school. It also includes teacher background, materials lists, vocabulary cards, center set-up videos, and a “burning question” for each lesson to support teachers as well.

4. Involve parents, too.

To engage parents in their children’s learning, we send home letters (in English and Spanish) at the beginning and end of each STEM curriculum module. The letters explain what we’re focusing on and give parents ideas of questions they can ask their children on the way home from school or at the dinner table. Parents say that their children are now talking about STEM more and even want to redo experiments at home. We also receive great feedback on the vocabulary children are using at home.

Increasing STEM learning by 6,120 minutes in one year

Since 2014, we’ve seen a substantial increase in our students’ STEM knowledge, skills and vocabulary, as well as their time-on-task.

In an implementation study conducted during the 2014-15 school year, teachers said that they were better able to incorporate STEM throughout their preK classrooms and the entire day. In fact, by spring 2015, teachers reported spending an average of 36 minutes per day on STEM instruction, compared to just two minutes a day before they began using STEMscopes. The result was an additional 6,120 minutes of STEM learning that year.

In Waco ISD, we have a very strong prekindergarten program and our focus on STEM makes it even richer. As a result, our students now have a strong foundation in STEM. In addition, many teachers say that while previously science was their weakest area, it’s now one of their biggest areas of focus—and their favorite part of the day.

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