Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Supporting Preschool Children’s STEM Learning with Parent-Involved Early Engineering Education

  • Published:
Early Childhood Education Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examines the development of a STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and parent-involved engineering design curriculum for early childhood education and investigates its design principles and contributions to children’s STEM-related learning. This research utilized a design-based research methodology broken into three main phases (preliminary research, prototyping, and assessment). The data were gathered over a 2-year span, and the curriculum was designed and revised during the prototyping phase’s three iterative cycles. This paper presents the findings of a field test that involved two early childhood education teachers, five preschool children, and five parents. Findings validated eight key design principles of the curriculum and revealed that the curriculum contributes to the knowledge, skills, feelings, and dispositions children have towards STEM. The findings suggest that the developed curriculum can be used as a novel way of integrating STEM into early childhood education, with a particular focus on engineering, while encouraging parental involvement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

(modified from First Author, 2019, p. 150)

Fig. 4

(modified from Stone-MacDonald et al. (2015, p. 12)

Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, C. G. (2013). Girls, STEM, and children’s books: A review of the literature concerning girls’ interest, motivation and ability in STEM, complemented by a mixed methods content analysis of award winning informational children’s books (1538237) [Master’s thesis, University of Washington]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

  • Ashbrook, P., & Nellor, S. (2015). Integrating design. Science and Children, 53(1), 24–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagiati, A. (2011). Early engineering: A developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children (3512219) [Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis Global.

  • Bagiati, A., & Evangelou, D. (2015). Engineering curriculum in the preschool classroom: The teacher’s experience. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 23(1), 112–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagiati, A., & Evangelou, D. (2016). Practicing engineering while building with blocks: Identifying engineering thinking. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(1), 67–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagiati, A., & Evangelou, D. (2018). Identifying engineering in a PreK classroom: An observation protocol to support guided project-based instruction. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 83–111). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baranovich, D. L., Fong, P. C., & Hutagalung, F. (2019). Parental scaffolding in mathematics homework among Malaysian private preschoolers: A case study. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(1), 173–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berk, L., & Winsler, A. (1995). Schaffolding children’s learning: Vygotsky and early childhood education. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blank, J., & Lynch, S. (2018). The design process: Engineering practices in preschool. Young Children, 73(4), 89–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenneman, K., Lange, A., & Nayfeld, I. (2019). Integrating STEM into preschool education; designing a professional development model in diverse settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(1), 15–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2007). Effects of a preschool mathematics curriculum: Summative research on the building blocks project. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 38(2), 136–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, A., Joseph, D., & Bielaczyc, K. (2004). Design research: Theoretical and methodological issues. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 15–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, C. M. (2009). Engineering is elementary. The Bridge, 30(3), 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, C. M., & Lachapelle, C. P. (2016). Designing engineering experiences to engage all students. Educational Designer, 3(9), 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, C. M., Lachapelle, C. P., & Davis, M. E. (2018). Engineering concepts, practices, and trajectories for early childhood education. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 135–174). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. E., Cunningham, C. M., & Lachapelle, C. P. (2017). They can’t spell” engineering” but they can do it: Designing an engineering curriculum for the preschool classroom. Zero to Three, 37(5), 4–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorie, B., & Cardella, M. E. (2014). Engineering at home. In Ş. Purzer, J. Strobel, & M. Cardella (Eds.), Engineering in pre-college settings: Research in synthesizing research, policy, and practices (pp. 254–265). Indiana, IN: Purdue University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorie, B., Cardella, M. E., & Svarovsky, G. N. (2014). Capturing the design thinking of young children interacting with a parent [Paper 52]. 121st ASEE annual conference & exposition. Indianapolis, IN.

  • Dorie, B. L., Jones, T. R., Pollock, M. C., & Cardella, M. (2014). Parents as critical influence: Insights from five different studies [Paper 55]. 121st ASEE annual conference & exposition. Indianapolis, IN.

  • Dubosarsky, M., John, M. S., Anggoro, F., Wunnava, S., & Celik, U. (2018). Seeds of STEM: The development of a problem-based STEM curriculum for early childhood classrooms. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 249–269). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterday, M. W., Lewis, D. R., & Gerber, E. M. (2014). Design-based research process: Problems, phases, and applications. Boulder, CO: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkin, M., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2018). Books, butterflies, and ‘bots: Integrating engineering and robotics into early childhood curricula. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 225–248). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • English, L. D. (2018). Early engineering: An introduction to young children’s potential. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 1–8). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flick, U. (2014). Mapping the field. In U. Flick (Ed.), The Sage handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 3–18). Great Britain: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, J. E., & R. Schirrmacher. (2014). Art and creative development for young children. (N. Aral & G. Duman. Trans.) Ankara: Nobel Publishing (Original work published 2012).

  • Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2006). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunning, A. M., Marrero, M. E., & Morell, Z. (2016). Family learning opportunities in engineering and science. Electronic Journal of Science Education, 20(7), 1–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haden, C. A., Jant, E. A., Hoffman, P. C., Marcus, M., Geddes, J. R., & Gaskins, S. (2014). Supporting family conversations and children’s STEM learning in a children’s museum. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(3), 333–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hastings, S. L. (2010). Triangulation. In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of research design (pp. 1537–1539). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helm, J. H., & Katz, L. G. (2001). Young investigators: The project approach in the early years. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoisington, C., & Winokur, J. (2015). Seven strategies for supporting the “E” in young children’s STEM learning. Science and Children, 53(1), 44–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ihmeideh, F., & Oliemat, E. (2015). The effectiveness of family involvement in early childhood programmes: Perceptions of kindergarten principals and teachers. Early Child Development and Care, 185(2), 181–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isabelle, A. D., & Valle, N. Z. (2016). Inspiring STEM minds: Biographies and activities for elementary classrooms. Rotterdam, WA: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, L. G. (1994). What should young children be learning? Child Care Information Exchange, 11(94), 23–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, L. G. (1999). Curriculum disputes in early childhood education. Retrieved from ERIC database (ED436298).

  • Knight, M., & Cunningham, C. M. (2004). Draw an engineer test (DAET): Development of a tool to investigate students’ ideas about engineers and engineering [Session 2530]. ASEE annual conference and exposition. Salt Lake City, UT.

  • Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1997). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lange, A. A., Brenneman, K., & Mano, H. (2019). Teaching STEM in the preschool classroom: Exploring big ideas with 3-to 5-year-olds. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lippard, C. N., Riley, K. L., & Lamm, M. H. (2018). Encouraging the development of engineering habits of mind in prekindergarten learners. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 19–36). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lottero-Perdue, P., Bowditch, M., Kagan, M., Robinson-Cheek, L., Webb, T., Meller, M., et al. (2016). An engineering design process for early childhood: Trying (again) to engineer an egg package. Science and Children, 54(3), 70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, K. L., Tiarani, V., Irving, K. E., Kajfez, R., Lin, H., Giasi, T., et al. (2018). Engineering design challenges in early childhood education: Effects on student cognition and interest. European Journal of STEM Education, 3(3), 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAfee, O., & Leong, D. (2012). Assessing and guiding young children’s development and learning. New Jersey, NJ: Pearson Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClure, E. R., Guernsey, L., Clements, D. H., Bales, S. N., Nichols, J., Kendall-Taylor, N., et al. (2017). STEM starts early: Grounding science, technology, engineering, and math education in early childhood. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan, C., Fleer, M., & Edwards, S. (2010). Early childhood curriculum: Planning, assessment, and implementation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moomaw, S. (2013). Teaching STEM in the early years: Activities for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moomaw, S., & Davis, J. (2010). STEM comes to preschool. Young Children, 65(5), 12–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, T. J., Glancy, A. W., Tank, K. M., Kersten, J. A., & Smith, K. A. (2014a). A framework for quality K-12 engineering education: Research and development. Journal of Pre-college Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 4(1), 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, T. J., Stohlmann, M. S., Wang, H., Tank, K. M., Glancy, A. W., & Roehrig, G. H. (2014b). Implementation and integration of engineering in K-12 STEM education. In S. Purzer, J. Strobel, & M. Cardella (Eds.), Engineering in pre-college settings: Research into practice (pp. 35–60). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, T. J., Tank, K. M., & English, L. (2018). Engineering in the early grades: Harnessing children’s natural ways of thinking. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 9–18). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Increasing the roles and significance of teachers in policymaking for k-12 engineering education: Proceedings of a convocation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

  • National Academy of Engineering (NAE) & National Research Council (NRC). (2009). Engineering in K–12 education: Understanding the status and improving the prospects. In L. Katehi, G. Pearson, & M. Feder (Eds.). Washington: National Academies Press.

  • National Research Council (NRC). (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: The National Academies press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naukkarinen, J. K., & Bairoh, S. (2020). STEM: A help or hinderance in attracting more girls to engineering? The Journal of Engineering Education (JEE), 109, 177–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nieveen, N., & Folmer, E. (2013). Formative evaluation in educational design research. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.), Educational design research (pp. 89–103). Enschede: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pantoya, M., Hunt, E., & Aguirre-Munoz, Z. (2015). Developing an engineering identity in early childhood. American Journal of Engineering Education, 6(2), 61–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, M. H., Dimitrov, D. M., Patterson, L. G., & Park, D. Y. (2017). Early childhood teachers’ beliefs about readiness for teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 15(3), 275–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, D. Y., Park, M. H., & Bates, A. B. (2018). Exploring young children’s understanding about the concept of volume through engineering design in a STEM activity: A case study. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 16(2), 275–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). Saint Paul, MN: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, B. (2017). Engaging parents in STEM education. Children’s Technology and Engineering, 22(1), 18–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plomp, T. (2013). Educational design research: An introduction. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.), Educational design research (pp. 11–37). Enschede: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Purzer, Ş., & Douglas, K. A. (2018). Assessing early engineering thinking and design competencies in the classroom. In L. English & T. Moore (Eds.), Early engineering learning (pp. 113–132). Singapore: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raven, S., Al Husseini, D., & Çevik, E. (2018). We are engineers! Science and Children, 56(1), 55–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinking, A., & Martin, B. (2018). The gender gap in STEM fields: Theories, movements, and ideas to engage girls in STEM. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(2), 148–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandelowski, M., Voils, C. I., & Knafl, G. (2009). On quantitizing. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 3(3), 208–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sargeant, J., & Harcourt, D. (2012). Doing ethical research with children. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shattuck, J., & Anderson, T. (2013). Using a design-based research study to identify principles for training instructors to teach online. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 14(5), 187–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, L. K., Schumaker, J. C., Goldfien, W. S., & Nelson, C. (2012). Family style engineering. Science and Children, 50(4), 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • States, Next Generation Science Standards Lead. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone-MacDonald, A., Wendell, K., Douglass, A., & Love, M. L. (2015). Engaging young engineers: Teaching problem-solving skills through STEM. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2016). Robotics in the early childhood classroom: Learning outcomes from an 8-week robotics curriculum in pre-kindergarten through second grade. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 26(3), 3–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thijs, A., & van den Akker, J. (2009). Curriculum in development. Enschede, Netherlands: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO).

  • van den Akker, J. (2010). Curricular development research as a specimen of educational design research. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.), Educational design research (pp. 52–71). Enschede: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO).

    Google Scholar 

  • van den Akker, J. (2013). Curriculum design research. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.), Proceedings of the seminar conducted at the East China Normal University An introduction to educational design research (pp. 37–52), Enschede: Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO), Shanghai.

  • Van Meeteren, B., & Zan, B. (2010). Revealing the work of young engineers in early childhood education. Proceedings of the SEED (STEM in early education and development) conference 12(2).

  • Visscher-Voerman, I., & Gustafson, K. L. (2004). Paradigms in the theory and practice of education and training design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 52(2), 69–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. In Gauvain & Cole (Eds.), Readings on the development of children (pp. 34–40). New York: Scientific American Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X. C., Christ, T., & Chiu, M. M. (2014). Exploring a comprehensive model for early childhood vocabulary instruction: A design experiment. Early Child Development and Care, 184(7), 1075–1106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weatherly, L., Oleson, V., & Kistner, L. R. (2017). Over the fence: Engaging preschoolers and families in a yearlong STEAM investigation. Young Children, 72(5), 44–50.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Early Childhood Education, Kastamonu University, Kastamonu, Turkey

    Aysun Ata-Aktürk

  2. Faculty of Education, Early Childhood Education, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    H. Özlen Demircan

Authors
  1. Aysun Ata-Aktürk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Özlen Demircan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aysun Ata-Aktürk.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This study was produced from Aysun Ata-Aktürk’s doctoral dissertation under the supervision of H. Özlen Demircan.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 332 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ata-Aktürk, A., Demircan, H.Ö. Supporting Preschool Children’s STEM Learning with Parent-Involved Early Engineering Education. Early Childhood Educ J 49, 607–621 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01100-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01100-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation