EARLY CHILDHOOD STEM LAB
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  • Home
  • Resources
    • Book
    • Videos
    • Articles & Reports
    • Newsletter
    • Materials
    • Webinars & Blogs
    • MASST
    • Links
  • Audience
    • Pre-Service Teachers >
      • Eagle Cam Project
      • Student Activity Plans
    • In-Service Educators >
      • Preschool STEM Workshop Series
      • Preschool STEM Institute
    • Library Staff
    • Museum Staff
    • Families
  • About
    • The Team
    • News and Events
    • SciMath-DLL
    • CESE Files
  • Contact Us

Pre-service teachers

An Early Childhood-Elementary STEM Collaboration


Faculty in Early Childhood Education Department (ECED), elementary faculty in the Curriculum and Instruction (CUAI) department, teachers at University School at ETSU, and teachers in the NE TN region have been collaborating since 2017 to develop and implement an innovative model of pre-service teacher preparation in STEM education.

The collaboration covers grades Pre-K through 3rd grade for ECED and K-5th grade for CUAI's elementary education program.


Features of the Model
  • Faculty and teacher candidates collaborate with local teachers PK-5th grade
  • Faculty work across departments
  • Teacher candidates create integrated STEM learning plans
  • Teacher candidates learn through microteaching experiences
  • Project focused on authentic problems of practice
  • All collaborators have professional publishing and presenting opportunities (for example, see Worms are Dancing Paper)

Features of Activity Plans
  • Integrated STEM projects
  • Science focal standard from TN State Science Standards (2016)
  • Guided by the 5Es model of science teaching
  • Either a 2-week integrated Unit Plan or an Interactive Notebook for K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade. 


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Eagle Cam Project
​Click here to read more about our ETSU Eagle Cam collaboration project

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Click here to read our Worms paper.
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Impacts of Our Approach

Journal article published (Dec 2022) on impacts of participation in Early-Elementary STEM Collaboration on pre-service teachers.
click here
CLICK HERE to view and download  activity plans

Open Educational Resource (OER) Book Published!

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Teaching Early & Elementary STEM

OER Textbook
  • Free to use and edit for educational purposes
  • Features examples of pre-service teacher projects
  • Authored by Early-Elementary STEM Collaboration faculty and students
  • Introduction features section by David Harker on the why of science education 

Publications

*pre-service teacher co-authors
** in-service teacher co-authors


Books
  • Lange, A.A., Robertson, L., Price, J., & Craven, A.*  (2021). Teaching Early & Elementary STEM. OER Textbook. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-oer/8/

Practitioner Articles
  • Robertson, L., Lange, A. A., Price, J., Lowery, A.,** Lester, L., Tian, Q.*, & Nivens, R., (in press). Making Stone Soup: A Collaborative Approach to Integrated STEM. Science and Children.
  • Lange, A. A., Atkins, E.*, Tian, Q.*, Bullen, K.**, & Lodien, L.** (2023). I need to make it taller! Engineering to solve wind challenges in preschool. Teaching Young Children.
  • Kaczor, A., Robertson, L., Price, J., Lester, L., and Nivens, R. (2022). Making Sense of Apparent Brightness: An integrated approach for fifth graders. Science and Children. November/December 2022.
  • Clevenger, C.,** Lange, A. A., & Schock, E.**(2022). Moon, Math, and Literacy: Interdisciplinary Connections through a Space Science Study in Preschool. Science and Children.
  • Lange, A. A., St. Lawrence, S.**, Robertson, L., Pretivera, A.*, & Armstead, J.* (2022). "The next weighs as much as a fridge!”: Supporting pre-service teachers in STEM through an eagle-focused, multifaceted preschool collaboration. Childcare Exchange. 44(3), 78-83.
  • Phillips, E.,* Doran, E.,** Robertson, L., & Nivens, R. A. (2021). Flower Pictographs: Mathematics and Life Science. Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK–12.
  • Lange, A., Rice, E.,* Howe, N.,** & Tian, Q.* (2021). A Light Challenge: First Graders Engineer an Obstacle Course with Flashlights, Jan/Feb. Science and Children.
  • Lange, A. A., Atkins, E.*, Tian, Q.*, Bullen, K.,** & Lodien, L.** (in press). I need to make it taller! Engineering to solve wind challenges in preschool. Teaching Young Children.
  • Robertson, L., Lange, A. A., Price, J., Lowery, A.,** Lester, L.,** Tian, Q.*, & Nivens, R., (in press). Making Stone Soup: A Collaborative Approach to Integrated STEM. Science and Children.
  • Lange, A. A., Lodien, D.,** & Lowe, A.* (2019). The worms are dancing! An integrated learning experience with preschoolers. Science and Children. Apr/May, 41-45.
  • Robertson, L., Dunlap, E.,* Nivens, R., & Barnett, K.** (2019). Sailing Into Integration: Planning and implementing integrated 5E learning cycles. Science and Children, 57(1), 61-67. 

​Journal Articles, Peer-Reviewed
  • Lange, A.A., Robertson, L., Tian, Q., Nivens, R., & Price J. (2022). The effects of an early childhood-elementary teacher preparation program in STEM on pre-service teachers. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education.
  • Robertson, L., Nivens, R., & Lange, A. A. (2020). Tackling Integrated STEM in Elementary Education: A Collaborative Approach. International Association of Laboratory Schools.

Conference Presentations
  • Lange, A.A., Robertson, L., & Hare, A.*  (2020). Impacts of, and reflections on a collaborative approach to pre-service STEM education​. Roundtable presented at the NAECTE annual fall conference, Nov 4, virtual.
  • Lange, A.A., Robertson, L., Howe, N.,** Sexton, A.,* & Barnett, K.,**  (2018). Collaborating to teach science to K-3rd grade students using the new Tennessee state science standards. Workshop session at the ETSU Annual Early Childhood Conference, July 14, Kingsport, TN.
  • Robertson, L., Nivens, R. A., Lange, A., & Price, J. (2020). Innovative collaboration for curriculum integration.  Poster presentation at the 14th Annual TN STEM Education Research Conference. February 16, Cookeville, TN.
  • Lange, A.A., Robertson, L., Nivens, R., Price, J., Doran, R.,** Casteel, S.,* Salyers, E.,* Rambo, K.,* Rice, E.,* & Tian, Q.* (2019). Creating authentic, integrated STEM learning projects for early childhood teachers using the Tennessee state science standards. Workshop session at the ETSU Annual Early Childhood Conference, July 13, Kingsport, TN.
  • Lange, A.A., Meier, L., Tian, Q.,* Clevenger, C.,** Murphy, R.,** & Schock, E.* (2019). To the Moon and Back: Exploring Space Science with Preschoolers. Workshop session at the ETSU Annual Early Childhood Conference, July 13, Kingsport, TN.

​In Preparation
  • The impacts of participation in an integrated STEM course on pre-service teachers' curricular role identity and pedagogical content knowledge
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Read our paper about our Light Obstacle Course project with 1st grade. ​Erin Rice talks with 1st graders about their physical science and light engineering project, 2019.

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Tackling Integrated STEM in Elementary Education: A Collaborative Approach
Robertson, Nivens, & Lange
Spring 2020

Professionalization Opportunities

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​Zoom screen shot of our NAECTE conference presentation focusing on our collaboration and on Alyssa Hare's project, an ETSU early childhood student. Nov, 2020.​

Contact us for more information
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