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The connection I made with the engineering design process from the article by NAEYC was with our module on Constructivism.  We see the teacher give students a problem and they lead a discovery/learning opportunity.  The teacher allowed the students to experience and reflect then build what they know.  They are the creators of their own knowledge.

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“Given the work that lies ahead of them, we must give the children our support and the freedom to do it wrong at first”. P.7

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I found it hard to believe that these were 3 year olds! While this was an awesome project; How long did it take from start to finish?  Completion being the actual presentation/drawings given to the renovation committee.

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I feel that many of the things I have learned are truly wonderful. In reality though, how do public preschools or private preschools react when you are doing a 6 month project like the playground project?  Is it a reality for a teacher to want to integrate this very relevant, STEAM filled project into the curriculum? or will they be shut down by the principal or director and told to stick to common core and testing?

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After reading the article "Revealing the work of young engineers in early childhood education" I made a connection with integrated nature of learning and constructivist learning because they are so many things you can add in the block area for the children to build with and become little engineers and explorers. By building and using their imagination and problem solving to put things together. You can add boxes for them to stack them together or make a sort of transportation for them. They can even collect natural materials and incorporate them into the areas.

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What kind of problems motivate children to engage in engineering desing? What does it look like in a early childhood classroom?

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"Teachers operating within constructivist pedagogy work to identify children’s interests; structure lessons around big, foundational ideas; and pose problems to students that are relevant and interesting to them to develop conceptual understanding of those foundational ideas. Constructivist teachers value students’ points of view and yet challenge their suppositions "(Brooks & Brooks, 1999).

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After reading the article I find out that they are so many ways for children to learn about engineering by using the block area. I feel like all teachers should spend more time and learn more about STEM and be willing to support and expand on children's learning and explorations.

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The connection I made with the Freeburg Early Childhood Program at the University of Northern Iowa. In my preschool classroom, I found that using unit blocks can help children naturally learn about science and engineering. When kids play with blocks, they're doing important work. They think about things like balance, stability, and how materials work together. They think outside the box and start adding other materials that will help them elaborate their imagination. Watching children play with blocks can also show us how they're starting to think like engineers. They figure out how to make structures that work. When kids start to lose interest in building blocks I usually like to add other items to get children excited again, and they start exploring other concepts. It's a great example of how we can use play to teach important ideas in preschool.

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The connections I made in the article "Growing in STEM: The Design Process: Engineering Practices in Preschool," by the authors Jolyn Blank and Stefanie Lynch. In this article I have learned that steam is an important key factor  in early childhood education and has the combination of “... intentional integration of content with in-depth inquiries meaningfully embedded into children's new world contexts (Linder et al 2016) (Blank and Lynch)." I also learned the five steps of engineering design process for elementary students: first step is "ask,"  the second step is "imagine,"  third step is "plan,"  fourth step is "create" and the final fifth step is "improve" (Blank and Lynch)."

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"Teachers- guide play that includes identifying problems encouraging children to become critical observers of their own surroundings. The aim is to strengthen children's disposition to seek and embrace complex challenges. In preschool, children may need help finding problems. Questioning, as Miss Stephanie did the opening vignette,  can lead children to recognize challenges they can take on (Blank and Lynch)."

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The question I had about the article was how long it took for the teacher to design this activity/ lesson plan?

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I really enjoyed reading this article because it gave me a new perspective on the process of growing in stem.

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Engineering is defined as “design under constraint” By embracing this concept, educators can find creative solutions and design activities that meet the needs of children while working within constraints such as time, resources, or space. It encourages educators to be innovative and resourceful, ultimately enhancing the learning experiences they provide for young children.

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It's great that the construction lasted over a week, but it's tough figuring out how to manage when my classroom is being used by an afterschool program.

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After reading the article, I liked getting ideas for making observations about the whole child for DRDP measures.