DAPs in Action: The Role of Science-Literacy Integration in Pre-Service Teacher Education

This session proposes to establish the importance of incorporating developmentally appropriate science education into the literacy curriculum of pre-service early childhood teachers as well as to share experiences, work and insights of those pre-service teachers. As teacher educators, it is essential that we not only prepare our students to be impactful in the PK-3 classroom, but also that we mold them to be cognizant of developmentally appropriate practices in the early learning environment, despite unwieldy mandates. Not only will our pre-service teachers be educating PK-3 students with exponentially increasing technological skills; educational research also suggests the importance in blending curricula across the content areas, as opposed to teaching within segmented silos.

This presentation will consist of an interactive session in which the merits and distinguishing aspects of a developmentally appropriate science-literacy integrated curriculum are discussed. Presenters will showcase various exemplars of pre-service teacher work with early childhood education and insights which foster an emphasis on student voice and student choice through the use of technology. Participants will engage in hands-on activities and discourse surrounding the efficacy of science-literacy integration programs, addressing the importance of developmentally appropriate practices, in the early childhood teacher preparation program setting.