High quality early childhood education and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning have gained recognition as key levers in the progress toward high quality education for all students. STEM activities can be an effective platform for providing rich learning experiences that are accessible to dual language learners and students from all backgrounds. To do this well, teachers need professional development on how to integrate STEM into preschool curricula, and how to design experiences that support the dual language learners in the classroom. To address this need, a professional development model was designed to empower preschool educators to provide rich, high-quality STEM learning experiences, with particular emphasis on working in schools serving children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This model was created based on best practices in adult learning and teacher professional development, on developmentally appropriate STEM concepts and teaching interactions, and in collaboration with educators to design professional supports that were responsive to their needs. We worked in under-resourced communities in a North East state in the United States to design a model that is culturally appropriate, and that is flexible enough to be implemented within any curricula and with a variety of materials. In this article, we outline the main components and the iterative design process we undertook to ensure that the professional supports are relevant and effective for teachers and children. Finally, the article presents feedback from educators who participated in the design and implementation of the model, as well as discussion of how our process can inform other teacher educators and those interested in promoting early STEM in diverse preschool settings.

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Young children’s emergent literacy skills, particularly phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge (AK), are two of the strongest predictors of future reading skill. There is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of emergent literacy interventions on the dual language PA and AK skills of at-risk Latino preschoolers who are Dual Language Learners (DLLs). The bulk of existing interventions are conducted only in English. There is preliminary evidence supporting that DLL Latino children benefit from Spanish PA and AK instruction; however, few studies include preschool-aged children. This study applied a multiple probe design across units of instruction to evaluate the effects of a supplemental PA and AK intervention delivered in Spanish that explicitly teaches transfer of these skills to English. The aims of the study were to determine: 1) whether children receiving this intervention would make gains in their Spanish PA skills following the intervention; 2) whether they would apply the PA skills they learned from Spanish to English; 3) whether they would make gains in their Spanish AK skills; and lastly; 4) whether they would apply these Spanish AK skills to English. Four Latino preschoolers with limited emergent literacy skills in Spanish and English participated in this study. Bilingual researchers delivered scripted lessons targeting PA and AK skills. The results indicated that children made large gains in their Spanish PA skills and small to moderate gains in their AK skills. Children also applied the skills they learned in Spanish to English. These findings provide preliminary evidence Latino preschoolers who are DLL benefit from emergent literacy instruction that promotes their bilingual and biliterate development.

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