We can break down stereotypes about STEM starting at a young age. Join us for this webinar to learn ways to combat STEM stereotypes with young learners.
The Addressing STEM Stereotypes with Young Children webinar was hosted by NGCP on October 20, 2022. In this webinar recording, hear from a dynamic panel of speakers who shared strategies and resources to counter and break down STEM stereotypes with young children beginning in preschool.
Kim Collazo, Digital Integration Facilitator
Kim Collazo has been a public school educator for over 30 years. She has experience teaching 3rd-6th grade. She holds North Carolina licensure in Regular and Special Education, Academically/Intellectually Gifted, has National Board Certification, and was awarded an NC State Kenan Fellowship creating multi-user, immersive, online science games for elementary students. She has presented on STEM in the elementary classroom, closing the gender gap in elementary STEM, and integrating STEM and literacy. In addition to her work in the classroom, she has been an elementary STEM lab teacher, district Digital Integration Facilitator, and is a published STEM picture book author
Dr. Allison Master, University of Houston
Dr. Allison Master is an Assistant Professor in the University of Houston College of Education, and the director of the Identity and Academic Motivation Lab. She holds a PhD in developmental psychology from Stanford University. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, with publications in Science, Child Development, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Her research examines how stereotypes impact girls’ interest and sense of belonging in STEM, especially computer science and engineering. She is passionate about using research to improve equity in education.
Carmello Piazza, Brooklyn Preschool of Science
Carmelo Piazza, also known as Carmelo the Science Fellow, has been teaching science to Brooklyn children for over two decades. He taught students ages 4 through 11 at PS 261 for 16 years, where he quickly realized the effectiveness of science in motivating kids to learn other key subjects. In 2005, he opened the Cosmic Cove in Cobble Hill in order to offer science-based STEM programs of his own design. The popular science camps, after-school programs, birthday parties, and mini-camps–which have been featured in The New York Times twice–provide an entertaining and educational mix of hands-on instruction, green slime and lizards, and humor.
Carmelo holds a master’s degree in Elementary Science and Environmental Education from Brooklyn College, where he took an inspiring course in Science Methodology that opened his eyes to the importance of doing science when learning science. He also did graduate studies in speech language pathology at LIU. Carmelo’s the author of Crazy for Science with Carmelo the Science Fellow, a book of at-home experiments that promote scientific observation, exploration, and analysis for young children. He also hosts a popular series of YouTube experiments. He has 4 kids of his own, ranging in age from 15 to 1.
In 2013, Carmelo achieved his dream of opening a preschool where he can teach science on his own terms, one where little kids are considered little scientists. The first location of Brooklyn Preschool of Science opened in Cobble Hill; the Park Slope location opened 2 years later, and now has a third in Brooklyn Heights. The schools have become a place where STEM is rooted at the core of the curriculum and the end result is a love of learning in all domains.