Pre-K

The article describes our project that was designed to provide experiences to support paraeducators' professional growth in a large urban district by building their mathematical knowledge for teaching and leadership. Providing paras with professional learning opportunities can open pathways to teaching positions, giving them the potential to diversify the teaching pool and address teacher shortages.

Measurement is a critical component of mathematics education, but research on the learning and teaching of measurement is limited. We previously introduced, refined, and validated a developmental progression – the cognitive core of a learning trajectory – for length measurement in the early years. A complete learning trajectory includes instructional activities and pedagogical strategies, correlated with each level of the developmental progression. This study evaluated a portion of our learning trajectory, focusing on the instructional component.

There is international and widespread recognition that early childhood education must be fully inclusive and based on the language, culture, and epistemology of local Indigenous communities (Kitson, 2010). Early childhood education (ECE) programs can only deliver on the promises ofculturally responsive schooling (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; McCarty & Lee, 2014) when “staff members understand cultural expectations, relationships, and the subtleties of communication, including non-verbalcommunication” within the community (Kitson & Bowes, 2010, p.86).

The context for this study was an intervention that provided professional development (PD) for preschool (pre-K) and kindergarten (K) teachers and science engagement activities for families. The research sought to determine the impact of the intervention and the extent to which parent engagement adds to student learning. These presentation slides were prepared for the 2020 Annual International NARST Conference.

Each short video provides ideas for family science activities for preschool-grade 3 students that reinforce NGSS 3D learning.