Parents are vital players in raising youth’s awareness of the value of STEM and in brokering their participation in activities that build STEM competencies.
STEM Next Opportunity Fund is committed to ensuring that every child – especially girls, youth of color, kids in low-income communities, and youth with disabilities – has access to STEM experiences and the social capital that lead to greater opportunities in academics and careers. We believe family engagement is a game changer and offer this white paper to raise awareness of its importance and amplify promising practices.
As part of a grant from the National Science Foundation, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is conducting regional STEM workshops in partnership with local science museums, entitled NFB STEM2U, for blind youth [youth], grades 3 – 6 and 9-12 [apprentices]. During the sixth and final regional workshop in Minneapolis, MN, the NFB operated two different programs simultaneously: one program for youth and a second program for their parents/caregivers. A third program, for the Science Museum of Minnesota staff, was conducted earlier to prepare the museum staff to assist with the youth program
With this Phase I funding, the project team will develop and test a prototype of the Toddler App and Cane which is intended to improve functional and adaptive school readiness skills for toddlers with visual impairments. The prototype will include a wearable hardware-based cane that wraps around a child's waist and provides tactile and audio cues to facilitate walking, a curriculum with game activities and walking routes, and an app that provides updates to special education practitioners and parents on their children's progress. In a pilot study with 10 toddlers with visual impairments, and their teachers and parents, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, whether toddlers are engaged while using the prototype, and if teachers and parents believe the fully developed intervention will lead to increases in independence and school readiness.
Playtime Is Science: A National Model for Parent Involvement In Early Science Education is an innovative parent/child science activity program. The overall goal of the model is to enlarge the potential pool of students who are competent in science and technology to include more girls, children of color, with disabilities, and children from low-income families. By engaging parents in partnership with schools and community organizations, Playtime Is Science will increase the science literacy of young children (ages 4-7) as well as that of their parents and other adults in their lives. This three-year project, built on a successful local model developed in New York City public schools, will include the following activities: training and networking for site liaisons; pilot testing and evaluation at three sites chosen for geographic, racial, ethnic, language, and socioeconomic diversity; materials development and production; a formal research study; and intensive national dissemination of Playtime Is Science materials package. Materials to be developed include 1) four videotapes to provide a visual rendering of the program for parents, teachers, and administrators; 2) a how-to manual providing easy-to-follow instructions for implementing the program; 3) and a home activity booklet for parents illustrating science activities which utilize inexpensive, readily-available materials found in every home.