Loyola Psychology professor leads $1.5M NSF-funded project to advance early engineering learning
“From Stories to Solutions” is a collaboration with Chicago Children’s Museum and Palenque LSNA focusing on learning opportunities for Latinx children.
October 2, 2024
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Catherine Haden, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychology at Loyola University Chicago’s College of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with local partners at Chicago Children’s Museum (CCM) and Palenque LSNA, received a $1.5 million grant award from the National Science Foundation to co-design early engineering learning opportunities with and for Latinx children and their families.
The three-year project is entitled, “From Stories to Solutions: Engaging Latinx Families as Design Partners to Advance Equitable Informal Engineering Learning Opportunities for Young Children.”
“This project extends my near 20-year partnership with CCM and takes important next steps in efforts to focus equity on engineering education in out-of-school settings,” said Haden. “We will offer much-needed strengths-based approaches to co-designing engineering learning opportunities, recognizing that many families of Latin American heritage utilize oral stories as an everyday practice for supporting children’s early learning.”
The project seeks to transform the design of early engineering family programs by integrating oral storytelling into the co-design process with families and the assessment of program outcomes. The co-designed activities will become part of community-based and museum programming, reflecting the cultural resources and practices of the families participating in the co-design process.
“Chicago Children’s Museum has actively worked with community partners and educational experts since our founding to ensure that our impact goes far beyond our physical location into our local community, and beyond,” said Natalie Bortoli, vice president, Educational Programming & Experience Development at CCM.
This project gives us an incredible opportunity to explore what it means to authentically co-design museum learning experiences–specifically STEM-learning programs–directly with families, for families, in ways that are culturally responsive and personally relevant to them.
— Natalie Bortoli, vice president, Educational Programming & Experience Development at the Chicago Children's Museum
The project team will include Loyola undergraduate and graduate students, many from culturally and linguistically-diverse communities historically excluded from STEM. The team will identify effective practices for sharing the co-design activities and first-person voices of family co-design partners. They will also study how this approach impacts engineering engagement and stories of connection and belonging expressed by other families who participate in the programs in the community and at the museum.
“Palenque LSNA’s school education-based work has supported school staff, teachers, families, and parents in collaborating on determining the kinds of resources and support they want in their schools,” said Silvia Gonzalez Palenque, LSNA CLC director. “Our organization not only shepherds, but also supports the development of partnerships and programs that respond to those needs. We actively and intentionally connects a broad range of resources with the schools to provide enrichment opportunities for the youth, parents, guardians, and community.”
The results of the project will be shared broadly with dissemination activities tailored to community members, educators, and researchers.
“Palenque is excited to be a partner for this opportunity on programming that is inclusive and that is built around the needs of our community,” said Norma Rios-Sierra Palenque, LSNA cultural events manager.
Learn more about the research project here.
Read more stories from the College of Arts and Sciences.
