PreSTAR Rural Nebraska

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About the Study

PreSTAR Rural Nebraska is a three-year study focused on developing and piloting a reflective, practice-based professional development model to enhance early childhood science education in rural Nebraska. The project aims to enhance educators’ capacity to talk about science and engineering with young children, especially in ways that are relevant to everyday life in rural communities. The project will also give educators opportunities to connect, communicate and collaborate.

PreSTAR offers educators a sustainable professional development model with research-based strategies to strengthen their science and engineering content knowledge, reflective practice and confidence in offering hands-on learning opportunities that draw on children’s rural experiences.

Project Details

Who is involved?
  • Participants include early childhood educators in rural areas of Nebraska with limited access to professional development resources and who desire a supportive community of their peers.
  • The project will involve 20 center-based preschools and family child care providers serving 4- and 5-year-olds, with parent engagement as well.
Why is this study needed?
  • Many early childhood educators in rural areas want to learn more about science and engineering and how to provide meaningful learning experiences to the children in their care. However, they often lack access to high-quality training and resources that meet their needs.
  • Hands-on science activities provide children with opportunities to develop problem-solving skills and gain knowledge about the world, helping them learn to reason and understand their own thought processes. These are important steps in building self-awareness and self-regulation in learning, which can benefit them throughout their lives.
Funding

PreSTAR Rural Nebraska is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Goals
  • Develop and test an early childhood science professional development model, PreSTAR Rural Nebraska, that strengthens early childhood educators’ science and engineering content knowledge and reflective teaching practices.
  • Explore how the model impacts educators’ reflection, science teaching and children’s use of science talk.
  • Refine and test the model with rural Nebraska educators.
Research Purpose

We will explore potential changes in:

  • The quality of educators’ reflections on children’s science and engineering play, their teaching practice, knowledge of science and engineering concepts, and use of science talk in their practices.
  • How each of these changes is associated with children’s use of science talk and scientific investigation in their early care and education settings.
Timeline
  • Year 1: Develop and refine a model for use in rural Nebraska.
  • Year 2: Test the model with a small group of educators in rural Nebraska.
  • Year 3: Analyze the data and further refine the model for a larger-scale implementation.