ABSTRACT

It is critically important that all U.S. children, regardless of socioeconomic background, are prepared to join the scientific workforce of the future. Prior research shows that having a strong early start in science and math is crucial to later academic success. This study combines innovative approaches in neuroscience, psychology, and education to predict and improve science learning in early elementary school, when foundational scientific knowledge and skills are beginning to be built. This research focuses on understanding how early experiences shape the brain, and how brain development supports learning, which can be leveraged to individualize educational interventions and generate new strategies for broadening participation in STEM. The project is supported by a CAREER award through the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports fundamental research on STEM learning.

The project involves three studies that will investigate early science learning by studying cognitive and behavioral predictors of early science learning and will use structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study neural networks. In the first study, 144 children between the ages of five- and seven-years-old will be recruited from schools and after-school programs in low-income neighborhoods. Children will participate in MRI and cognitive assessments, as well as eight science lessons designed to align with Next Generation Science Standards. Parents will complete questionnaires about children?s early experiences. The study will test whether exposures to stress and cognitive enrichment are associated with the development of learning, memory, and motivation systems, and whether connectivity in these neural systems predicts science learning. In a separate longitudinal study, 200 two-year-old children from low-income families will be randomly assigned to an intervention that includes weekly home visiting by an early learning specialist or to a control condition that includes information about physical health. In the first year of this study, parents will complete questionnaires about their children?s experiences and development. In the subsequent years of the study, children will complete cognitive measures and MRI and participate in science lessons. This longitudinal design will allow the researchers to assess whether early cognitive enrichment causally influences learning, memory, and motivation systems in the brain, as well as children?s ability to learn science in Kindergarten. A final experimental study will investigate the efficacy of specific pedagogical approaches for enhancing children?s learning. The study will examine whether encouraging children to ask questions improves their learning and other behavioral aspects of curiosity. Together, these studies will provide insights into how to best support children?s early science learning, which will be shared with parents and educators through partnerships with community organizations.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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