Nurturing STEM in Early Childhood for Military Connected Families
Abstract
Nurturing STEM in Early Childhood for Military Connected Families (NURTURES) is a STEM program that provides a holistic approach to Early Childhood (EC) science education. It targets 135 teachers, ~2,700 students, and ~10,800 family members in preschool through grade 3. NURTURES combines teacher professional development (PD) (composed of a two-week Summer Institute (SI) and academic year support including monthly online learning community meetings and one-on-one coaching) with family engagement in scientific inquiry via family science activity take-home packs (FSP) and Community Events hosted at schools or in the community. Teaching EC science has been linked to student gains in reading, writing, and mathematics. However, science, and in particular inquiry-based science, is rarely taught to young children. NURTURES addresses this problem by adapting a proven-effective innovative program from a typical face-to-face format to an asynchronous modality and distant delivery to expand its reach to EC teachers serving military-connected children and families. NURTURES is well suited for the mobility of military families because our research has demonstrated value-added impacts on students’ learning that carry over into middle school. Objectives include: 1) improving teaching and learning outcomes through science integrated with technology, engineering, and mathematics, 2) providing an innovative approach that combines teacher PD with family and community engagement, 3) inspiring and developing early STEM talent, 4) helping foster the future STEM workforce early in a child’s education, 5) adding to DoD STEM programs by offering programming that includes preschool and early grade students, 6) improving the capacity of educational systems by including families and communities, 7) teaching families how to engage children in STEM learning to promote lifelong STEM learning, 8) focusing on broad geographic areas of the US, giving priority to underrepresented and underserved communities to cultivate diverse student interest and ability in STEM, 9) enhancing the educational experiences of students, parents, and teachers, and 10) providing a strategy for program sustainability. The University of Toledo (UT), Georgia State University (GSU), and Washington School Research Associates (WSRA) will team with military-connected partners that include military bases, military-connected schools, and Purple Star schools with all branches of the military represented. UT, GSU, and WSRA will serve as program facilitators. In year 1 of this 3-year project, we will provide face-to-face SIs (hosted by each higher education partner) at Purple Star Schools in Ohio and schools linked to Fort Benning and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Synchronous communication will connect the 3 sites. Video of sessions will provide material to be used online later. Year 2 will offer blended PD where participants meet in person and facilitators use packaged video (developed from the prior summer), Guidebooks, and inquiry materials to run their respective SIs. Year 3 will offer a fully asynchronous experience to teachers throughout the USA. The technical infrastructure will utilize established, cross-platform online systems that are widely accessible, thereby offering a pathway to sustainability of the program. SIs will introduce teachers to the process of distributing the FSP and best practices for hosting Community Events. The Community Events are flexible so that teachers can link them to their local area. At the conclusion of the project, we will have identified the affordances and constraints of changing the NURTURES program to online and distant delivery focusing on fidelity (quality), outcomes, and sustainability for military-connected participants. A mixed-methods approach is used in both the research and evaluation plans providing a comprehensive look at the effectiveness and impact of the program on teachers, students, and families.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 07, 2021
- Source ID
- HQ00342010035
Entities
People
- Charlene Czerniak
Organizations
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- University of Toledo
- Washington Headquarters Services