The RISE Project

Partnerships for Early Childhood Professional Development: Readiness through Integrative Science and Engineering (RISE)

With Drs. Jayanthi Mistry (Tufts University), Daryl Greenfield (University of Miami), Betty Zan (University of Northern Iowa), and Kimberly Brenneman (formerly at Rutgers University, NIEER)

RISE is a comprehensive approach to teacher professional development (PD) designed to support an increased focus on science, technology, and engineering (STE) in preschool classrooms. The RISE approach to PD and curriculum development is meant to inform culturally relevant, ecologically responsive STE practice for the benefit of dual language learning (DLL) children’s transition from home and family into the formal early education setting. The RISE PD approach emphasizes dignity-affirming teacher supports and promotion of children’s sense of belonging within the preschool classroom community. Specific to the goals of RISE is recognition that educators need support to develop and implement meaningful STE experiences that engage young children in active exploration and problem-solving, as well as to partner with families for this purpose.  

Over the last ten years, the project team has co-constructed a comprehensive professional development approach and culturally relevant STE learning experiences with Head Start teachers and families. The development and initial pilot implementation phase of this project was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Brady Education Foundation, and private support from Ellen R. Cohen. We just completed a two-year randomized controlled trial in 40 Head Start classrooms. This second phase was supported by generous funding from NSF, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and private support from Ellen R. Cohen.

Click here to view a recent talk given by Dr. McWayne about the RISE project!

For more information on this line of research, please read:
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McWayne, C. M. (2015). Family-school partnerships in a context of urgent engagement: Rethinking models, measurement, and meaningfulness. In S. Sheridan (Ed.), Research on Family-School Partnerships: An Interdisciplinary Examination of State of the Science and Critical Needs (pp. 105-124). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13838-1_6

McWayne, C. M., & *Hyun, S. (2016). Family engagement in early childhood education curriculum. In D. Couchenour & K. Chrisman (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483340333.n153

McWayne, C. M., Mistry, J., Brenneman, K., Greenfield, D., & Zan, B. (2018). Supporting family engagement in STE curriculum among low-income immigrant families with preschool children. In M. Caspe, T. A. Woods, & J. L. Kennedy (Eds.), Promising practices for engaging families in STEM learning: volume in family-school-community partnership issues (pp. 79-95). Information Age Publishing, Inc.

McWayne, C. M., Doucet, F., & Mistry, J. (2019). Family-school partnerships in ethnocultural communities: Redirecting conceptual frameworks, research methods, and intervention efforts by rotating our lens. In C. M. McWayne, F. Doucet, & S. Sheridan (Eds.), Research on Family-School Partnerships: Ethnocultural Diversity and the Home-to-School Link. Springer Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14957-4_1

McWayne, C. M., Doucet, F., & Sheridan, S. (Eds.) (2019). Research on Family-School Partnerships: Ethnocultural Diversity and the Home-to-School Link. Springer Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14957-4

McWayne. C. M., Mistry, J., *Hyun, S., Diez, V., Parker, C., Zan, B., Greenfield, D., & Brenneman, K. (2020). Incorporating knowledge from children’s homes and communities: A home-to-school approach for teaching STEM in preschool. Young Children, 75 (5), 20-26.

McWayne, C. M., Mistry, J., Brenneman, K., Zan, B., & Greenfield, D. (2020). A model of co-construction for curriculum and professional development in Head Start: The Readiness through Integrative Science and Engineering (RISE) Approach. Teachers College Record, 122 (11).

McWayne, C. M., Greenfield, D., Zan, B., Mistry, J., & *Ochoa, W. (2021). A Comprehensive Professional Development Approach for Supporting Science, Technology, and Engineering Curriculum in Preschool: Connecting Contexts for Dual Language Learners. In S. T. Vorkapić & J. LoCasale-Crouch(Eds.), Supporting children’s well-being during the early childhood transition to school (pp. 222-253). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4435-8.ch011

McWayne, C. M., *Hyun, S., Diez, V., & Mistry, J. (2021). “We Feel Connected… and Like We Belong”: A parent-led, staff-supported model of family engagement in early childhood. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01160-x

*Li, L. W., *Ochoa, W., McWayne, C., *Priebe Rocha, L. & *Hyun, S. (Accepted). “Talk to me”: Examining parent-teacher background similarity and communication quality as related to barriers to school-based engagement among ethnoculturally diverse Head Start families. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.

Selected Presentations:
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*Hyun, S., Li, L., *Crowley, A., McWayne, C., Mistry. J., Zan, B., Brenneman. K., & Greenfield, D. (2014, April). Reflection of Child’s Neighborhood in Preschool Classrooms: Implications for Studying the Context of Immigrant Communities. Roundtable session presented at the American Educational Research Association 2014 Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

*Limlingan, M.C., *Dong, S., *Miller, A., McWayne, C., Mistry, J., Zan, B., Brenneman, K. & Greenfield, K. (2014, April). Variations in Language Use by Preschool Dual Language Learners in Two Immigrant Communities. Roundtable session presented at the American Educational Research Association 2014 Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Zan, B., Brenneman, K., Greenfield, D., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2014, November). Integrating science, technology, and engineering in Pre-K: STEPP up your practice! Presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Dallas, TX.

*Li, L. W., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2015, February). Parents’ and teachers’ perspectives about preschool children’s learning opportunities in two immigrant communities. Paper presented at the 36th Ethnography in Education Research Forum, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA.

*Hyun, S., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2015, February). Evidence of reciprocal dialogue in curriculum co-construction: Recent findings and site variations in two Head Start programs serving DLLs. Paper presented at the 36th Annual Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA.

Zan, B., Greenfield, D., Brenneman, K., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2015, March). Integrating science, technology, and engineering in Pre-K: STE-P up your practice! Presentation at National Science Teachers Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

McWayne, C., Mistry, J., Greenfield, D., Brenneman, K., & Zan, B. (2015, March). Partnerships for early childhood curriculum development: Readiness through integrative science and engineering. Presented as part of the Poster symposium “Innovations in Early Childhood STEM Curriculum and Professional Development” (Chair: K. Brenneman) at the 2015 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development. Philadelphia, PA.

McWayne, C., *Hyun, S., Brenneman, K., Mistry, J., Greenfield, D., & Zan, B. (2015, October). Engaging Families and Teachers in Curriculum Co-Construction for DLLs. A paper presentation at the National Head Start Association Parent and Family Engagement Conference, San Diego, CA.

Zan, B., Croteau, S., Chait, H., & Wang, T., McWayne, C., Mistry, J., Brenneman, K., & Greenfield, D. (2015, November). Science, technology, and engineering experiences with living and non-living objects: Exploring the concept of change over time though the eyes of preschool dual language learners. Presentation at the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Orlando, FL.

McWayne, C., Mistry, J., Brenemann, K., Zan. B., & Greenfield, D. (2016, April). Partnerships among Researchers, Teachers, and Families: Co-Constructing Science and Engineering Curriculum for Head Start Dual Language Learners. A roundtable presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Washington, DC.

*Li, L., *Hyun, S., McWayne, C., Mistry, J., Greenfield, D., Brenemann, K., & Zan, B. (2016, April). Patterns of Parent-Teacher Interactions in Home-School Collaboration: Negotiating a Partnership through Non-Hierarchical Dialogues. A roundtable presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Washington, DC.

*Limlingan, M. C., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2016, July). Breakthroughs not barriers: How translanguaging engages and connects parents and teachers in Head Start programs serving DLLs. Poster presentation at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) National Research Conference on Early Childhood. Washington, DC.

McWayne, C., Mistry. J., Brenneman, K., Zan, B., & Greenfield, D. (2016, July). Innovations in early childhood curriculum and professional development: Taking a funds of knowledge approach. Poster presentation at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) National Research Conference on Early Childhood. Washington, DC.

*Limlingan, M.C. & McWayne, C. (2017, April). The relations between classroom language environment, teachers’ language ideologies and Latino dual language learners’ school readiness skills. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Conference, Austin, TX.

*Hyun, S., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2018, April). The process of building nonhierarchical relationships with Head Start immigrant parents in curriculum co-construction. Paper presentation, as part of the Family engagement in early childhood symposium (Chair: Riojas-Cortez, M.), at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New York, NY.

McWayne, C. M., Mistry, J., Greenfield, D., Brenneman, K., & Zan, B. S. (2018, April). Co-constructing family engagement in science and engineering curriculum with low-income immigrant families with preschool children. Paper presentation, as part of the Fly me to the moon: Family, school, and community partnerships support STEM learning symposium (Chair: Caspe, M.), at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New York, NY.

McWayne, C.M., Mistry, J., Chait, H., Piel, W., & Croteau, S. (2018, November). Co-constructed STE curriculum in Head Start: Partnership-based research for program improvement. Panel presentation at the Massachusetts STEM Summit 2018: Pipelines to Prosperity. Worcester, MA.

McWayne, C.M., Mistry, J., *Hyun, S., & Diez, V. (2018, November). Supporting a home-to-school approach in preschool curriculum with low-income immigrant families. Panel presentation at the Massachusetts STEM Summit 2018: Pipelines to Prosperity. Worcester, MA.

McWayne, C. M., & Melzi, G. (2019, March). Promoting Cultural Responsiveness of Early Childhood Curriculum and Professional Development: Funds of Knowledge Approaches (Co-Chair). Symposium presentation at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Baltimore, MD.

McWayne, C. M., Mistry, J., Zan, B., Brenneman, K., Greenfield, D., & Hyun, S. (2019, March). An Innovative Home-School Collaboration Approach for Engaging Low-income, Immigrant Families in Curriculum Co-Construction. Paper presentation as part of the symposium, Promoting Cultural Responsiveness of Early Childhood Curriculum and Professional Development: Funds of Knowledge Approaches at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Baltimore, MD.

*Wisnia, J. B., Mistry, J., & McWayne, C. M. (2020, February). Teachers’ Narratives: Reflections on Personal and Professional Growth. Presentation at the 32nd Annual Ethnographic & Qualitative Research Conference, Las Vegas, NV.

McWayne, C. M. (Chair, 2020, June), Greenfield. D., Zan, B., Mistry, J., *Ochoa, W., Parker, C., Rammah, R., & Purvis, L. Co-constructed Preschool Science and Engineering Curriculum with Head Start Teachers: Partnership-Based Research for Program Improvement. Poster symposium presentation submitted to the National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC), Arlington, VA.

Zan, B., Greenfield, D., McWayne, C., & Mistry, J. (2020, November). Connect, Deepen, Extend: Supporting Preschool Teachers to Design and Implement Culturally-Relevant, Engaging, and Intellectually Rigorous Science, Technology, and Engineering Experiences through Home-School Connections. NAEYC 2020 Annual Conference. Anaheim, CA.

*Ochoa. W., *Li. L. W., *Harris, M., *Kiyama, F., *Wisnia, J., McWayne, C. M., & Hyun, S. (2020, Nov 30-Dec 3). The Development and Validation of a Measure of Barriers to Family Engagement in Preschool Programs: Should we Use the Same Version Among English and Spanish-Speaking Families? [Virtual poster presentation]. National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC). 

*Li, L. W., *Ochoa, W., *Priebe Rocha, L., McWayne, C. M., & Hyun, S. (2021, April). Exploring Relations among Parent-Teacher Ethnic and Language Match, Communication Quality, and Barriers towards Family Engagement. Roundtable discussion to be presented virtually at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).   

*Harris, M. P., *Ochoa, W., McWayne, C. M., *Li, L. W., & Hyun, S. (2021, April). Barriers to Family Engagement are Associated with Self-Efficacy in Head Start Mothers and Fathers. Roundtable discussion to be presented virtually at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

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