Math and Science (STEM)

Observations

Math and Science (STEM)

Observe and identify areas for building STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills and

attitudes. Observe in both the indoor and the outdoor environment and record what kinds of possible

experiences that involve STEM skills that you see. Make a list of what you see, where you see it, and how it

relates to early math/science development.

Organize your write up and write in a narrative form. Include a support paragraph on math and science the

end of your write up; base this on the California Preschool Curriculum Framework documents specific

to Math (Volume 1) and Science (Volume 3). Cite your source (including the volume and the page number)

when working with the California Preschool Curriculum Framework documents. Make 6-8 connections to

the Framework documents.

SECTION 2: Teacher-child interactions

Describe teacher-child/children interactions in which the teacher was facilitating the use of STEM skills and

attitudes. Include the actual words that were used by the teacher and the child/children. For this section,

we will watch three video clips: “Drawing to Learn,” “The Box Turtle,” and “Thinking, Conversing and

Comparing.”

Reflect on these interactions in terms of the way the teacher encouraged STEM skills and attitudes. What

was successful about this interaction? What teacher competencies might you want to replicate when you are

in the classroom with a group of young children?

SECTION 3: Planning

Explore a plan of possibilities based on what you saw here. For example, what experience might you want to

add to the environment based on your findings from the two previous sections? Include in your plan a list of

materials you would need, what key phrases you would use when implementing, and link this plan to the

corresponding California Preschool Curriculum Framework documents (citing the volume and page

number). Make 2-4 connections to the Curriculum Framework documents.

SECTION 4: Reflection

Use this concluding section to reflect on this observation. What did you learn from this experience? How

did it affect you as a teacher? How will you enact these ideas of STEM learning in a classroom of children?

What would others see when walking into your classroom?