Assignment:
STEM and Early Childhood Education
There are several early childhood curriculum activities that support the development of cognitive processes, science knowledge, and math knowledge. In your text, Jaruszewicz (2019) offers an explanation of these areas of development and ideas for educators and families to support these areas. You will use the knowledge you have gained from required readings to further elaborate on the ideal classroom you created of this course. Your elaboration will focus specifically on the subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
To prepare for this discussion,
· Read chapter: Cognitive Development, Mathematics, and Science.
· Review the resources Why Is STEM Education so Important? Kids in STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and Preschool STEM Activities.
Review the classroom you designed of class, considering the feedback you received from your instructor.
For your initial post:
· Explain your ideal STEM classroom. Your description must include:
o A list of specific materials your STEM classroom will have.
o A specific activity that teaches/reinforces each STEM component:
- One activity that incorporates science
- One activity that incorporates technology
- One activity that incorporates engineering and
- One activity that incorporates math
o A description of how your activities and/or classroom is aligned to standards (these can be your state standards and/or NAEYC standards previously covered of class).
For this discussion, explain how you might communicate with parents to help foster a positive attachment in the early care and education program. Your response should address the following:
a. Characteristics of this type of attachment to inform parents
b. Shared communication plan to engage parents
c. Suggestions that you would offer to foster a positive attachment in the classroom
Include your choice of attachment type in the Subject line of your discussion post. Be sure your discussion post also includes a reference to the textbook to support your ideas.
The Daring Lesson
In 250 to 300 words, consider and discuss the following after watching the Frontline video The Daring Lesson: What did you learn about racism, prejudice, discrimination and segregation from watching this video? Recognizing that cultural awareness is a lifelong process, describe how this newer awareness will assist you in becoming a more culturally sensitive and competent human service worker. Support your comments with two references.