WEBVTT 00:02.033 --> 00:04.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: One of the major movements in American education now is to get more students 00:04.700 --> 00:09.700 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% engaged and learning when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math, often referred 00:10.733 --> 00:12.766 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% to as STEM. 00:12.766 --> 00:17.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Hari Sreenivasan has a report from Chicago on efforts to boost science learning among 00:17.433 --> 00:22.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% some of the youngest students by boosting teacher confidence, for our weekly segment 00:23.166 --> 00:23.966 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Making the Grade. 00:23.966 --> 00:26.166 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% TEACHER: Who had fun? 00:26.166 --> 00:28.200 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% STUDENTS: Me! 00:28.200 --> 00:32.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: Anyone who's spent time with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds knows children 00:33.600 --> 00:35.400 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% at this age ask a lot of questions. 00:35.400 --> 00:36.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Preschool teacher Edward Marshall: 00:36.966 --> 00:39.866 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL, Teacher: Kids are very persistent. 00:39.866 --> 00:44.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And when they look at me, they want Mr. Marshall to have all the answers. 00:46.700 --> 00:50.000 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% Any question they ask me, they want me to have the answer to it. 00:50.000 --> 00:52.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL: OK, where is my good listeners? 00:52.100 --> 00:55.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: Marshall, who leads a Head Start classroom in Chicago, says the children's 00:55.933 --> 01:00.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% unrestrained curiosity can sometimes make him feel anxious about teaching certain subjects, 01:01.533 --> 01:03.033 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% like science. 01:03.033 --> 01:04.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL: I feel I don't want to fail them. 01:04.500 --> 01:06.266 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% I don't want to let them down. 01:06.266 --> 01:08.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% HARI SREENIVASAN: Marshall is not alone. 01:08.366 --> 01:13.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% A recent study from Michigan State University found that a majority of preschool teachers 01:14.600 --> 01:16.666 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% experience the same discomfort teaching science. 01:16.666 --> 01:21.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL: I will focus more on reading and not really look at science, because I 01:22.733 --> 01:24.200 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% thought it was complicated. 01:24.200 --> 01:25.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% ODAISHA MCBROOM, Teacher: I'm not good with the science. 01:25.533 --> 01:27.033 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% I'm just uncomfortable with it. 01:27.033 --> 01:30.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% TINA SMITH MILLER, Teacher: I wasn't a big science person. 01:30.400 --> 01:34.900 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% I remember biology in high school, but that's about it. 01:34.900 --> 01:39.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: With only 38 percent of the nation's fourth graders testing proficient 01:39.500 --> 01:43.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% in the sciences, some educators are looking to the preschool years begin addressing the 01:43.833 --> 01:45.966 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% problem. 01:45.966 --> 01:49.833 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% Here, at the University of Chicago, experts in science, technology, and math are partnering 01:51.300 --> 01:53.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% with local child care centers to boost teacher confidence. 01:53.400 --> 01:58.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LIESJE SPAEPEN, University of Chicago: We hear all the time teachers go into early education 01:59.800 --> 02:03.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to avoid math and science courses themselves. 02:03.100 --> 02:07.666 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% HARI SREENIVASAN: Liesje Spaepen and Liz Lehman from the University of Chicago's STEM Education 02:07.666 --> 02:12.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Center say that when teachers feel uneasy about a subject matter, it can leave a powerful 02:13.833 --> 02:15.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% impression on students, even at an early age. 02:15.800 --> 02:20.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LIESJE SPAEPEN: If you're afraid of it, if you have anxiety around a topic, you're very 02:21.900 --> 02:23.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% unlikely to want to teach it to your students as well. 02:23.833 --> 02:26.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The problem is, anxieties like that gets passed down. 02:26.833 --> 02:31.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% If I'm anxious about something, my students see that in me, they think there must be a 02:31.233 --> 02:33.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% reason to be anxious about this. 02:33.900 --> 02:38.900 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% HARI SREENIVASAN: Lehman and Spaepen have been coaching preschool teachers from Chicago's 02:41.366 --> 02:44.800 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% Austin neighborhood, where students from low-income families are at a greater risk of falling 02:44.800 --> 02:46.800 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% behind in science and math. 02:46.800 --> 02:51.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% ODAISHA MCBROOM: We're going to see what things can roll down this ramp, OK? 02:51.000 --> 02:52.066 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Can you say the word ramp? 02:52.066 --> 02:54.033 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% STUDENTS: Ramp. 02:54.033 --> 02:57.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: At Channing's Childcare Academy, teacher Odaisha McBroom introduced 02:57.233 --> 02:58.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% a ramp while the coaches observed. 02:58.900 --> 03:00.366 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% ODAISHA MCBROOM: Let it go. 03:00.366 --> 03:02.366 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Now, what did it do? 03:02.366 --> 03:05.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: The exercise allowed teachers to use a simple activity to teach physics. 03:05.366 --> 03:07.600 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% ODAISHA MCBROOM: What's that word I'm looking for? 03:07.600 --> 03:08.600 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% It's doing something. 03:08.600 --> 03:10.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% ODAISHA MCBROOM: Roll. 03:10.566 --> 03:12.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LIZ LEHMAN, University of Chicago: This is really getting into some of those physical 03:12.500 --> 03:14.033 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% science concepts. 03:14.033 --> 03:17.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% We're talking about things like gravity and friction. 03:17.533 --> 03:20.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% What do I notice when I send something down a ramp? 03:20.566 --> 03:21.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Some of them will slide. 03:21.566 --> 03:23.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Some of them will roll. 03:23.000 --> 03:24.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Some of them will not move at all. 03:24.733 --> 03:26.566 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% ODAISHA MCBROOM: Now, what you going to have to do to make it move? 03:26.566 --> 03:27.800 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% You got to push it, right? 03:27.800 --> 03:30.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So, if you push it, is it going to slide down? 03:30.266 --> 03:31.500 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% STUDENT: No. 03:31.500 --> 03:32.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% ODAISHA MCBROOM: They were curious. 03:32.666 --> 03:33.933 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% They wanted to see what's going to happen. 03:33.933 --> 03:37.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% That's what -- they love to know what's going on. 03:37.333 --> 03:42.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: Later in the day, Lehman and Spaepen observed children who gathered 03:44.266 --> 03:48.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% around a water tank at Betty's Day Care Academy to test which objects sink or float. 03:48.800 --> 03:51.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% TINA SMITH MILLER: When you put it in the water, what do you think is going to it? 03:51.366 --> 03:52.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% STUDENT: It's going to float. 03:52.600 --> 03:54.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% TINA SMITH MILLER: What did it do? 03:54.766 --> 03:56.000 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% STUDENT: It float. 03:56.000 --> 03:57.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% TINA SMITH MILLER: It float, yes. 03:57.966 --> 04:01.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LIESJE SPAEPEN: The science content there is around density and properties of water 04:01.733 --> 04:03.766 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% and properties of materials. 04:03.766 --> 04:07.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We aren't expecting children to learn the word density, were you just want 3-year-olds 04:07.033 --> 04:09.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% to have those experiences to draw on. 04:09.066 --> 04:13.333 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% If you can say, oh, yes, I remember this when I was a little kid, I dropped things into 04:13.333 --> 04:15.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% the water and some floated and some didn't, oh, that's density. 04:15.733 --> 04:17.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% EDWARD MARSHALL: It's going to float. 04:17.833 --> 04:21.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: Even with this simple activity, the teachers had moments of doubt, like when 04:21.600 --> 04:25.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Marshall realized he didn't fully understand the properties of the materials. 04:25.266 --> 04:30.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL: I wanted them to stick their hand in the bag and then ask, what do you 04:31.200 --> 04:33.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% think it's made out of? 04:33.333 --> 04:38.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And when I got to that part, I'm like oh, my God, I don't know what this is. 04:38.266 --> 04:41.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: Later, he talked to the coaches about his insecure feelings. 04:41.133 --> 04:46.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL: Some of the objects, I didn't know what they were made of, so I was kind 04:47.300 --> 04:49.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of thinking of, should I ask that question? 04:49.866 --> 04:53.700 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% LIESJE SPAEPEN: I'm a big believer that it's OK for teachers to say they don't know something. 04:53.700 --> 04:54.700 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% You know what, you guys? 04:54.700 --> 04:55.833 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% I don't know. 04:55.833 --> 04:58.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% We will have to investigate this, right? 04:58.066 --> 04:59.266 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% That's OK. 04:59.266 --> 05:00.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% TINA SMITH MILLER: So, I have a question. 05:00.133 --> 05:01.366 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% LIESJE SPAEPEN: Yes. 05:01.366 --> 05:03.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% TINA SMITH MILLER: Why didn't the branch sink? 05:03.366 --> 05:06.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: Marshall's teaching partner, Tina Smith Miller, had science questions of 05:06.633 --> 05:08.133 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% her own. 05:08.133 --> 05:09.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% TINA SMITH MILLER: The kids were saying it was going to float. 05:09.266 --> 05:10.700 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% I thought it was going to sink. 05:10.700 --> 05:13.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% I didn't tell anybody I didn't know the answer either. 05:13.500 --> 05:14.966 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% I was keeping it to myself. 05:14.966 --> 05:17.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% LIESJE SPAEPEN: It's not an easy shift for teachers to make. 05:17.533 --> 05:22.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's something you feel as if you should know the answers to these things when kids ask 05:22.433 --> 05:23.933 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% you. 05:23.933 --> 05:25.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: The university coaches do not teach science. 05:25.200 --> 05:27.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Instead, the goal is to promote science inquiry. 05:27.766 --> 05:31.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LIESJE SPAEPEN: If you feel uncomfortable about the answers, about giving the answers, 05:31.700 --> 05:36.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% or finding the answers, you're going to avoid those questions. 05:36.266 --> 05:39.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% What we always tell teachers is, use those opportunities. 05:39.533 --> 05:41.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% It's OK if you have to say, let's figure this out together. 05:41.566 --> 05:46.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% EDWARD MARSHALL: They gave me the courage to ask more questions, and it wasn't a wrong 05:48.133 --> 05:52.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% answer, or I didn't feel silly or scared or afraid. 05:52.100 --> 05:55.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So, I think they helped me be more courageous. 05:55.733 --> 06:00.733 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% TINA SMITH MILLER: I learned a lot about exploring, finding things out, doing a lot of investigating. 06:05.066 --> 06:07.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% We had a lot of trial and error. 06:07.300 --> 06:09.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% ODAISHA MCBROOM: I should have learned it a long time ago. 06:09.400 --> 06:14.400 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% But I'm so glad that we got involved in this program, because I say, OK, I need some help 06:14.866 --> 06:15.800 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% on that. 06:15.800 --> 06:16.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Everything else, I got it. 06:16.600 --> 06:18.633 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% This, I didn't have. 06:18.633 --> 06:21.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% HARI SREENIVASAN: The teacher coaches hope to expand their early learning project in 06:21.166 --> 06:22.566 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% the coming years. 06:22.566 --> 06:25.100 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% In Chicago for the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Hari Sreenivasan.