(Implementing STEAM into the Early Childhood ClassroomJustification Paper) (B)

User Assumptions

This unit, along with the six online lessons, has been designed for adult learners. The learners will be early childhood educators interested in joining a cohort for this Implementing STEAM into the Early Childhood Classroom unit. These early childhood educators all work for the same franchise preschool with schools across the United States. The first face-to-face cohort will take place in the Philadelphia market. These participants will do the online lessons prior to the face-to-face workshops. There is a description on the web pages as to what will happen after the online lessons. The cohort will consist of a maximum of 25 participants. The cohort will be a mix of ages (23-70), races, genders and education level. All participants will have some post high school education. It is also required that participants are comfortable using technology to complete this cohort. These are all stated as prerequisites in the unit of instruction. The variety of participants will bring some different experiences and uniqueness to the group. Depending on the demand for this Unit, the unit will be repeated for more cohorts and markets. They will be instructed to read through entire web site prior to starting individual lessons. The overview will discuss this with them. The web site gives information for each lesson to be completed properly.

Graphic Descriptions

Image

Justification

In early childhood education, child-centered learning is a way of helping children learn. Jean Piaget was at the forefront of this movement. It is where the all the learning and materials center around the child. As you can see, I choose to write this with the child in the center to give the impression of everything revolving around the child. I chose the colors to bring in the childish and fun into the word.

It can be really hard sometimes to defend what early educators teach in the classroom. Families have their own ideas on how things should be taught, done or not taught. Therefore, it is always nice to be able to have some back up or explanation ready to show families the importance of what is being taught. When it comes to early education, one of the big learning desires is the ability to read. Yes, reading and writing will always be a forefront learning domain. However, this image will not only help early educators to see the importance of adding STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) into every day planning, but educate families as well. It shows that the child gets more educated (colorful) as they learn about STEAM. They also see their learning in their reflection.

This is the banner for the entire unit, which includes the six online lessons and the seven face-to-face workshops. This image is seen throughout the whole web site to remind participants that STEAM is incorporated by science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

This image will show the participants the process of their learning that will take place. They will start with the introduction (the steam engine), followed by the cars (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math). The online lessons will be following the same process, minus the presentations. The earning train will end with the participant presentations at the end of the unit. The steam above the train shows the learning outcome verbs that will take place: learn, define, create, demonstrate, and access.

Even in early childhood education, getting children to use their higher level thinking skills is becoming a very important aspect of the young learners. I chose to create this as if it is getting higher and higher. I used the lighter gray to fade into darker colors in higher. Then I made thinking high and dark in the image to represent higher thinking skills.

When educating any learners, it is important to think of the individualization of the teachings. I have chosen to use the individualized, because each child deserves to be taught to their individual skills and styles. As you can see, I chose to spread out the word individualized to give the impression that each letter is individual. I have also given them each their own color to really give them that individual look.

When a participant attends a training, they do want to gain knowledge on the actual topic being discussed. However, one thing early childhood educators really like to take with them is new ideas. With this image, the participants are given ideas of items to add to their lesson plans for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. The other part of trainings that early childhood educators like is to share their own great ideas. When there is a class of many brains with many experiences, great ideas come about. This image also will invite the participants to share their own great ideas.

Adult learners can sometimes be similar to young learners. One thing that an educator needs to be aware of is the learning styles within the learning environment. All learners are different and may need to learn differently. Having images to help explain key points can be very helpful. When it comes to early childhood educators, we want to make sure the images relate to the field of early childhood as well. This helps the teachers really see how important hands-on learning is in the early learning environment.

This image brings all aspects of the unit and online lessons together. It shows the participants that they will learn, define, create, demonstrate, and assess about science in their classroom. This image doesnt defy the other topics, just fades them out as science becomes the star for this particular online lesson and face-to-face workshop. The colors also correlate with the banner for the unit and the process of the whole unit.

This image brings all aspects of the unit and online lessons together. It shows the participants that they will learn, define, create, demonstrate, and assess about technology in their classroom. This image doesnt defy the other topics, just fades them out as technology becomes the star for this particular online lesson and face-to-face workshop. The colors also correlate with the banner for the unit and the process of the whole unit.

This image brings all aspects of the unit and online lessons together. It shows the participants that they will learn, define, create, demonstrate, and assess about engineering in their classroom. This image doesnt defy the other topics, just fades them out as engineering becomes the star for this particular online lesson and face-to-face workshop. The colors also correlate with the banner for the unit and the process of the whole unit.

This image brings all aspects of the unit and online lessons together. It shows the participants that they will learn, define, create, demonstrate, and assess about art in their classroom. This image doesnt defy the other topics, just fades them out as art becomes the star for this particular online lesson and face-to-face workshop. The colors also correlate with the banner for the unit and the process of the whole unit.

This image brings all aspects of the unit and online lessons together. It shows the participants that they will learn, define, create, demonstrate, and assess about math in their classroom. This image doesnt defy the other topics, just fades them out as math becomes the star for this particular online lesson and face-to-face workshop. The colors also correlate with the banner for the unit and the process of the whole unit.

STEAM is an acronym that represents the five areas of learning that will be enhanced during my unit. I chose this word seeing as it is the main idea. I have chosen to create STEAM to look like steam coming out of the lower corner of the image. I chose to make it black and gray and slowing fade, just as steam would act.

This image will remain throughout the web site pages. This will be on each online lesson and continue as an icon for the whole unit. The reason this images has been chosen is to remind the learners that this whole unit is a cycle it will continue on, not just during the online lessons and face-to-face workshops but throughout their future teachings as well.

At the end of any training, workshop, or learning experience, it is always a nice idea to give an overview of what was learned. Since this training will be over six online lessons and seven different face-to-face workshops, I think it's important to give my adult learners a reminder of what some of the key points were throughout. I decided to create a top ten reminders list for these early childhood educators to take back to their classrooms. I would let them know that they could post up in their classrooms to help keep them on track on implementing STEAM into the classroom. It could also serve as talking points for families that may not understand what STEAM is all about. They also have an option on the last lesson to print this out for a nice take-away.

Design Process

Content

When it came to deciding on the content process I wanted to make it flow in a normal progression. I decided that the workshops would follow STEAM as it is written. The online lessons and workshops would start with S-science. They would be followed by T-technology, E-engineering, A-arts, and M-math. However, I knew that I couldnt just start with science. There needed to be an introduction. I also wanted to end bringing it all together. Therefore, I added the presentation workshop to wrap things up. I liked adding the train image that brings the whole image and theme of STEAM to life. The online courses have been added as a preview of what the seven face-to-face workshops will have to offer. The online courses require participants to do the footwork. I wanted to make them do some research and put the effort forward to learn about STEAM. This is to help participants to take ownership of their own learning. This can be a very powerful tool in ones own learning. The online courses reflection papers can be used as a needs assessment for the face-to-face workshops.

Web Site

The web site progresses in the same manner as the unit itself. It follows the STEAM train along its journey. I wanted the web site pages to be easily accessible. I added links at the top so that participants can navigate as they wish. For those that want to jump around they can. For those that want to move through the pages in a more book-like fashion they can use the next buttons. I created all the pages with a similar look. This helps to keep things as a unit. I added justification links to each image. This way the participants can click on these links to learn what the image is all about at the time they are being exposed rather than waiting till the end or flipping back and forth to the justification paper. I put the justification page on the trainer page with all other behind the scenes information for the unit. I felt that this is where it was more beneficial.

Sources or References:

Bers,M.U., & Portsmore,M. (2005). Teaching partnerships: Early childhood and engineering students teaching math and science through robotics. Journal of Science Education and Technology.

Bers,M.U., Seddighin,S., & Sullivan,A. (2013). Ready for robotics: Bringing together the T and E of STEM in early childhood teacher education. Technology and Teacher Education, 21(3), 355-377.

Brenneman,K. (2009, November). Let's find out! Preschoolers as scientific explorers. Teaching Young Children, 7(1), 54-60.

Chesloff,J.D. (2013, 6). STEM education must start in early childhood. Education Week, 1-4.

Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill.

Moomaw,S., & Davis,J.A. (2010, September). STEM comes to preschool. Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Science, 17-22.

Root-Bernstein,R., & Root-Bernstein,M. (2013, February). The art and craft of science. Scientific discovery and innovation can depend on engaging more students in the arts. Educational Leadership, 16-21.

Sharapan,H. (2012, January). From STEM to STEAM: How early childhood educators can apply Fred Rogers' approach. Young Children, 36-40.

Sherwood,E.A., & Freshwater,A. (2006, September). Exploring motion. Teaching Young Children, 6(3), 18-21.