"A Comprehensive Professional Development Approach for Supporting Science, Technology, and Engineering Curriculum in Preschool: Connecting Contexts for Dual Language Learners"

Alumna Wendy Ochoa (Ph.D. ’19, pictured right) is co-author of a chapter in the new publication ​Supporting Children’s Well-Being During Early Childhood Transition to School.

The title of the chapter is “A Comprehensive Professional Development Approach for Supporting Science, Technology, and Engineering Curriculum in Preschool: Connecting Contexts for Dual Language Learners.”
 
Co-authors are Professor Christine M. McWayne (first author, Tufts University), Professor Daryl Greenfield (University of Miami), Betty Zan (University of Northern Iowa), and Professor Jayanthi Mistry (Tufts University).
 
Ochoa is a postdoctoral scholar in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. Her research centers on understanding how factors such as socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, language, media, and the home environment influence parenting and child development among families with young children from ethnic minorities, particularly Latino parents. At UCI, Ochoa specialized in Human Development in Context (HDiC). Professor Stephanie Reich served as her advisor.

​Abstract
 
The purpose of this chapter is to present initial findings of teacher practice outcomes to illustrate promising aspects of the readiness through integrative science and engineering (RISE) professional development (PD) approach for informing early childhood science, technology, and engineering (STE) curriculum and PD interventions. In this chapter, the framework grounding RISE STE curriculum, the home-to-school approach for developing meaningful RISE home-school connections (HSCs), and the structural components of RISE PD (which consisted of practice-based, individualized, and ongoing supports) are described. Sixty-two teachers (n = 37 RISE, n = 25 Control) and 347 primary caregivers participated in this randomized controlled trial study. Preliminary evidence of the positive impacts of the RISE intervention on teachers' STE attitudes, practice, and knowledge was obtained from teacher report. Evidence for positive HSCs was obtained from teacher and parent surveys, as well as on-going coach documentation of teachers' home-to-school practices.