Singapore University of Social Sciences

ECE376 Incorporating Engineering Experiences in Early Childhood Curricula is an elective course designed to highlight the oft-missing “E” (Engineering) in STEM/STEAM education for young children. This course will firstly introduce the notion of culturally and developmentally appropriate practices of early engineering education (EEE) anchored in contemporary theoretical and policy rationales. Based on the core idea of an engineering design process, course participants will learn how to design, implement, and evaluate young children’s engineering-related learning activities. They will also have the opportunity to learn how to identify and promote engineering learning opportunities and resources in early childhood settings, integrated into generic childcare/kindergarten curricula. All these professional knowledge and skills will be targeted at the goal of fostering young children’s STEM habits of mind (e.g., inquirers, observers, describers, encoders, decoders, and experimenters), spatial skills and computational thinking skills. Course participants will also be encouraged to think about ways to engage parents in innovative EEE. To be successful in this course, participants will need to design age-appropriate learning activities and use traditional and innovative materials to support children’s EEE with contextual appropriateness.