Early STEM Learning

New evidence continues to emerge on the formative potential of the early years in a person's life. NSF is investing in programs to transform STEM teaching and learning in preK and the early grades. This Spotlight features DRK–12-funded projects and other resources that seek to leverage early learning opportunities. 

In this Spotlight:

CAREER: A Transformative Approach for Teaching and Learning Geometry by Representing and Interacting with Three-Dimensional Figures

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This project explores how virtual and augmented reality can create new opportunities for representing and interacting with geometric concepts. The poster will report on our efforts to work with secondary mathematics teachers to design immersive virtual environments and test them with students in public high schools in the north east.

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Quantifying Curricular Reasoning as a Critical Practice in Teaching Mathematics (Collaborative Research)

Teachers of mathematics engage in curricular reasoning as they design and implement high-quality instruction. In this research project, the team develops and validates two measures of middle school mathematics teachers' curricular reasoning. The CR-SASS has teachers self-report their curricular reasoning, and the CROA is an observation protocol to identify teachers’ curricular reasoning while teaching. The research advances our understanding of teacher curricular reasoning through the development of the two measures.

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Quantifying Curricular Reasoning as a Critical Practice in Teaching Mathematics (Collaborative Research)

Teachers of mathematics engage in curricular reasoning as they design and implement high-quality instruction. In this research project, the team develops and validates two measures of middle school mathematics teachers' curricular reasoning. The CR-SASS has teachers self-report their curricular reasoning, and the CROA is an observation protocol to identify teachers’ curricular reasoning while teaching. The research advances our understanding of teacher curricular reasoning through the development of the two measures.

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Quantifying Curricular Reasoning as a Critical Practice in Teaching Mathematics (Collaborative Research)

Teachers of mathematics engage in curricular reasoning as they design and implement high-quality instruction. In this research project, the team develops and validates two measures of middle school mathematics teachers' curricular reasoning. The CR-SASS has teachers self-report their curricular reasoning, and the CROA is an observation protocol to identify teachers’ curricular reasoning while teaching. The research advances our understanding of teacher curricular reasoning through the development of the two measures.

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Quantifying Curricular Reasoning as a Critical Practice in Teaching Mathematics (Collaborative Research)

Teachers of mathematics engage in curricular reasoning as they design and implement high-quality instruction. In this research project, the team develops and validates two measures of middle school mathematics teachers' curricular reasoning. The CR-SASS has teachers self-report their curricular reasoning, and the CROA is an observation protocol to identify teachers’ curricular reasoning while teaching. The research advances our understanding of teacher curricular reasoning through the development of the two measures.

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Quantifying Curricular Reasoning as a Critical Practice in Teaching Mathematics (Collaborative Research)

Teachers of mathematics engage in curricular reasoning as they design and implement high-quality instruction. In this research project, the team develops and validates two measures of middle school mathematics teachers' curricular reasoning. The CR-SASS has teachers self-report their curricular reasoning, and the CROA is an observation protocol to identify teachers’ curricular reasoning while teaching. The research advances our understanding of teacher curricular reasoning through the development of the two measures.

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Fostering Computational Thinking Through Neural Engineering Activities in High School Biology Classes

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In this project, we developed and implemented a ninth/10th grade neural engineering unit—an emerging field that integrates neuroscience, engineering design, and programming—to explore how computational thinking (CT) and engineering can be incorporated into a core biology high school course. We are examining the changes in students’ CT, engineering design processes, and attitudes towards STEM throughout their participation. We are also exploring what supports biology teachers need to effectively foster CT and engineering.

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Partnership Development for Career-Long Teacher Learning in Elementary Mathematics and Science

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To help K-5 in-service math and science teachers build the skills they most need support for, we formed a team of researchers and educators to design practice-based teacher professional development opportunities. We used a co-design approach to collaboratively develop our shared vision and plan for a personalized, online platform that leverages digital performance tasks and incorporates automated, personalized feedback to support teacher professional learning of the key teaching competency of facilitating student discussions.

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