STEMIE’s Higher Education Technical Assistance Cohort: Enhancing Inclusive STEM Teaching in Early Education 

Research tells us that children begin forming their attitudes toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at a very young age. Unfortunately, not all children have the same opportunities to engage in early STEM learning. For example, children with disabilities often face barriers that limit their access to rich STEM experiences (Clements et al., 2020). 

At the same time, many early childhood professionals report that they do not always feel confident or fully prepared to teach STEM in their settings (Pendergast et al., 2015). When these challenges come together, our youngest learners risk missing out on high-quality, inclusive STEM opportunities—experiences that can spark curiosity, build foundational skills, and foster a lasting interest in learning. Faculty in institutions of higher education play a critical role in preparing the next generation of early childhood leaders with the skills and confidence to deliver these inclusive STEM experiences. By strengthening coursework and training, faculty can ensure that graduates of their programs enter the field ready to create meaningful learning opportunities for every child. This is why we are excited to facilitate STEMIE’s Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) Technical Assistance (TA) cohort, designed to build capacity for inclusive STEM preparation across programs. 

STEMIE’s IHE TA Cohort model is designed to support faculty at community colleges and 4-year universities. Through this model, early childhood faculty come together to collaborate, share ideas, and problem-solve with one common goal:  to better prepare our early childhood workforce to teach high-quality, inclusive STEM. By strengthening coursework and programs of study, this approach not only builds educator confidence and skills but also supports better outcomes for young children and their families in early care and education.   

Our IHE TA Cohort launched in early 2025, and since then, we have been busy learning and growing together. So far, we have held several whole-group Communities of Practice (CoPs) while also breakinginto smaller subgroups of faculty who are diving deeper into shared areas of focus – such as STEM, math, or inclusion – supported by a STEMIE team facilitator.   A key interest that has emerged across the cohort is how to embed a learning trajectory approach into courses. We are excited to explore this topic further at our CoPs and continue strengthening teaching and learning in early childhood preparation programs.  

By investing in the preparation of inclusive early STEM educators, this IHE TA Cohort is doing more than just strengthening coursework —it’s helping to shape the future of both children and the early childhood workforce. When early care and education providers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to ensure that every child can access and benefit from early STEM learning opportunities, wecreate conditions for more children to thrive in STEM exploration. And for many, those early sparks of curiosity may grow into pathways toward future study and even careers in STEM.  

Reflective Questions: 

What are some ideas you have for enhancing coursework and programs to support confidence and competence in teaching inclusive STEM for our early education workforce? 

Share your thoughts on assignments and readings that might be useful for faculty in higher education.