In this featured session, researcher and author Dr. Amanda Sullivan invites
participants to explore how intentional, play-based science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning can disrupt the early development
of gender stereotypes and shape children’s scientific identities. Drawing on
empirical research from her books Breaking the STEM Stereotype: Reaching Girls
in Early Childhood and Playful STEAM Learning in the Early Years, Dr. Sullivan
highlights early childhood as a critical developmental window for building
curiosity, science self-efficacy, and positive associations with scientific
thinking and problem solving.
Grounded in research on cognitive development and identity formation this
session demonstrates how hands-on investigations—such as observing, predicting,
testing, and revising ideas—support young children’s engagement with core
scientific practices. Participants will examine how low-cost, screen-free, and
interdisciplinary activities can introduce foundational concepts in physical,
life, and earth sciences, as well as engineering design and computational
thinking, for learners in preschool through the early elementary grades.
Attendees will leave with evidence-based strategies and resources developed
by the National Girls Collaborative Project that translate research into
practice, helping educators transform early childhood classrooms and informal
learning environments into inclusive laboratories of discovery—where all young
learners, especially girls, are encouraged to see themselves as capable
scientists, engineers, and innovators from the very start.
SPEAKERS:
Amanda Sullivan