Search

Youth are natural scientists at birth, discovering and exploring their world and trying to make sense of it (Bers, 2008). A child's education is not limited to just the time they spend in the classroom. Children learn at home with their families, in public libraries, or through out-of-school-time (OST) experiences provided at community centers and in afterschool and summer learning programs, and even on vacations (Falk et al., 2010). In this paper, the authors endeavor to make the case that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) is an ideal subject area that can engage children with fun, active learning activities. It is also an important societal area around which parents, librarians, and OST providers can collaborate and complement the work of schools. [The paper was also written in collaboration with the Space Science Institute/STAR Library Network.]

There is growing interest in games as an exciting and engaging tool for professional development. At GFRP, we believe gamification holds promise for in-person and on-line professional development designed to build the capacity of teachers and all those who work to engage families in their multiple roles supporting their children's learning and development. Our view is based on our experience, shared here to encourage others to develop and to try games too. If you are already developing or using games in your professional development work, let us know, we want to share other promising examples and experiences with games.

In this policy brief, the authors examine and provide examples of the ways that public libraries have become invaluable partners in supporting family STEM learning. Although emerging research points to the strong influence of families on children's growth and development, a focus on joint parent and child STEM learning is still nascent. This brief examines how public libraries, with federal and state support, are creating STEM learning that brings together children and families across the K-12 years. It builds on the organization's previous policy report, "Leading Family Engagement in Early Learning: The Role of State Library Administrative Agencies" (ED585942).

Family engagement is a shared responsibility among families, educators, and communities to support children's learning and development. For families, it is about the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviors that enable children to be motivated, enthusiastic, and successful learners. For libraries, this means having respectful partnerships with families and providing information, guidance, and opportunities for families to be active in their children's learning and development as well as their own lifelong learning. Implementing family engagement is about creating pathways for families to learn together, for example through early literacy activities, STEM and Maker Spaces, summer reading programs, and youth-generated community engagement and digital literacy projects. Rather than designing family engagement as a separate program it can be purposefully integrated into the rich offerings of libraries. To do this effectively means having ambitious but attainable goals and avoiding superficial practice. This policy brief highlights the ways four states--California, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland--integrated family engagement in early literacy and learning programs. It focuses on the change strategies to innovate, scale, and sustain family engagement.