Self Study Report on STEM Overview of Early Childhood Approach
All science classes taught in the Early Childhood Division at Levine (2 year olds, 3-year olds and Pre-K) are presented as a hands-on discovery based experience . A strong emphasis is on a “sense of place” so that children can begin to understand where in the city, the state, the country, the world and the solar system they are as well as a hint of where we are in time. The curriculum is 100% related to STEM. The four most basic sciences are highlighted—chemistry, physics, biology and earth science. Overview of Lower and Middle School Approaches The STEM curriculum, adopted in 2018, utilizes Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the National Research Council’s (NRC) three-dimensional framework: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. The practices dimension describes behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world and the key set of engineering practices that engineers use as they design and build models and systems. The model and flow used is the Engineering Design Process to emphasize that engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is specific to each practice. The practice’s intent is to better explain and extend what is meant by “inquiry” in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires. Strengthening the engineering aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards will clarify for students the relevance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the four STEM fields) to everyday life. The second dimension, crosscutting concepts, has application across all domains of science. As such, it is a way of linking the different domains of science. They include: patterns, similarity, and diversity; cause and effect; scale, proportion and quantity; systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; stability and change. The framework emphasizes that these concepts need to be made explicit for students because they provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world. The third dimension, disciplinary core ideas, has the power to focus our K-8 science curriculum, instruction, and assessments on the most important aspects of science. To be considered core, the ideas should meet at least two of the following criteria and ideally all four: • Have broad importance across multiple sciences or engineering disciplines or be a key organizing concept of a single discipline; • Provide a key tool for understanding or investigating more complex ideas and solving problems; • Relate to the interests and life experiences of students or be connected to societal or personal concerns that require scientific or technological knowledge;
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