Co-Designing Early STEM Learning Resources: Teacher-Researcher-Family Partnerships

Presented by Ximena Dominguez, Ph.D., Director of Early STEM Research, Digital Promise; and Alison Shell, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Learner Variability Project, Digital Promise
Hosted by Barbara Pape, Communications Director, Digital Promise Global, Learner Variability Project

Sponsored by Digital Promise

Watch the Recording

Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more

In this edWebinar, Ximena Dominguez, Ph.D., presents research from several collaborative projects on early childhood teaching and learning, focusing on math and computational thinking. She offers lessons learned and shares activities and resources that resulted from co-design efforts. Dr. Dominguez’s work highlights the importance of integrating classroom learning across different domains or learning areas and connecting learning experiences across home and school. Her work explores how co-design can help ensure that the activities and resources developed are meaningful and feasible, particularly for children from economically disadvantaged communities. Alison Shell, Ph.D., will showcase how the Learner Variability Navigator can be useful when identifying target learning goals, when attempting to integrate various domains of learning, and when involving families in children’s learning process.

While this edWebinar focuses on early childhood, teachers in the upper grades can apply the information and strategies to their classrooms.

This edWebinar:

• Highlights a collaborative project with media producers at WGBH (public television) and researchers at Educational Development Center (EDC) that involved teachers and researchers co-designing math resources for young learners, including hands-on activities and digital tools, to promote math skills that are often not taught in public preschools serving children from economically disadvantaged communities.
• Shares emerging findings from a collaborative project with Curious Media and SRI Education that investigates how to integrate computational thinking (CT) and mathematics.
• Discusses findings from various projects aiming to connect home and classroom learning in order to provide learning experiences that connect to children’s everyday lives.

This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to teachers of all grade levels.
 

About the Presenters

Dr. Ximena (Xime) Dominguez is the director of early STEM research at Digital Promise Global. She received a master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology from the University of Miami. Her research investigates influences on young children’s learning and school readiness and involves co-designing innovations with teachers and families to provide equitable STEM learning opportunities for young learners. The goal of this work is to design and develop resources that are meaningful and useful to educators and families in economically disadvantaged and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Xime currently lives in Boston with her husband and their two young children; they enjoy exploring the outdoors and cooking as a family.

Alison R. Shell, Ph.D. is a research scientist on the Learner Variability Project team at Digital Promise. Her work focuses on digging up evidence to support the factors that underlie learner success. She earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at the University of Maryland, with a focus on the cognitive processes that underlie language. Prior to moving to Washington D.C., she was involved in research projects in the Boston area, including investigating the biological underpinnings of autism and working to develop more linguistically sound reading assessments for young-adult readers. Alison received her M.S. in psychology from the University of Maryland and her B.A. in cognitive science from Vassar College.

About the Host

Barbara Pape is the communications director for the Learner Variability Project at Digital Promise Global (DPG). She has 20 years’ experience in strategic communications, writing, and policy analysis, primarily in education. Previously, she served as the executive producer of the award-winning Teaching & Learning conference, sponsored by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, where she developed content and oversaw outreach and communications. As a writer, she has written for numerous publications, including Harvard University, the National Education Goals Panel (U.S. Department of Education) and Parents magazine. Barbara also served as editor and publisher of the first electronically delivered education newsletter, the Daily Report Card. She served on the Advisory Board of the Kennedy Center’s Intersection of Arts Education and Special Education Committee, serves as a judge for the Miliken-Penn Graduate School of Education Business Plan competition, and is on the Boards at the Education Writers Association and Potentia. She earned an Ed.M. at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and launched her career as a middle school language arts teacher.

Join the Personalize Learning for Learner Variability community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Digital Promise was created with the mission to accelerate innovation in education to improve opportunities to learn.