ITP Grid

Title: Developing and Evaluating an Assessment of Preschoolers’ Science and Engineering Knowledge
Abstract: A major challenge to promoting effective early science and engineering education is the lack of reliable and validated assessments that align with current educational guidelines for science and engineering. Existing early science and engineering assessments either cover a narrow range of concepts and practices and/or are not designed in a way to evaluate and provide information within theorized dimensions of science and engineering knowledge and skills. The goals of this study were to develop a preschool science and engineering assessment and to examine the factor structure of children’s science and engineering knowledge and skills using the newly developed assessment. A 120-item assessment was developed and administered to 186 children (50.28% female) ages 3-to-5 years (M = 4.62 years, SD = 0.61 years). The overall best fitting structure of the assessment was found to be a three-dimensional model: disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. Items that had low correlations with the overall test, loaded poorly onto their respective factors, or were found to provide overlapping information with other items (i.e., exhibited similar difficulties for the same content areas) were removed, resulting in a final and brief (48-item) version of the assessment. This study has important implications in that the newly developed science and engineering assessment can be used in both the research (e.g., evaluate curricula, interventions) and classroom (e.g., assess learning) settings to provide information at the dimension-level, and has the potential to transform how we view and instruct science and engineering during the early childhood years.

Sensory Experiences of Math Learning

Abstract: Research on embodiment in math cognition suggests that the body plays a role in conceptual learning. How might bodily differences among learners reveal or complicate the nature of this relationship? And what are the implications for inclusive instruction? In this talk, I share findings from design-based research exploring the embodied practices of learners and with disabilities as design resources for imagining more inclusive math instructional tools and technologies. These findings highlight affective and cognitive dimensions of sensory experience, as well as the prospective grounding of math concepts in underexplored sensory modalities such as the bodily sense of balance for all learners.

Title: Inclusive Teaching Methods: Best Practices to Help Students from All Backgrounds Succeed in Your Class

Despite recent efforts, disparities in academic outcomes between students from marginalized groups and their non-marginalized peers continue to exist. I will discuss recent research identifying teaching methods that effectively reduce these disparities. The findings from large-scale randomized controlled trials show that instructors should focus to a greater extent on the social aspects of learning. Teaching practices that promote positive interactions between peers are crucial for the success of all students, including for students who sometimes experience a decreased sense of belonging in college.

Bio: Markus Brauer is professor in the Department of Psychology and Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a social psychologist, Markus Brauer studies the social aspects of human cognition and behavior.  He develops and tests interventions aimed at changing people’s behaviors in a variety of domains, such as diversity, energy consumption, and workplace behaviors. He is the author of more than 130 scientific articles and chapters, has obtained numerous grants, and is member of the editorial board of the top scientific journals in his field. He is also the author of a book on college teaching that is available in four languages.

Relevant publications:

Campbell, M.R., Kennedy, K.R., Miller, A., & Brauer, M. (2026). A brief pro-diversity social marketing intervention improves grades and well-being of students from marginalized groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52(2), 419-433.

Kennedy, K. R., Means, K. M., & Brauer, M. (2025). Making classrooms more inclusive reduces the achievement gap in STEM: Evidence from a large-scale randomized controlled trial with 60 college courses. Unpublished manuscript.

Kennedy, K. R., & Brauer, M. (2024). Inclusive teaching practices and other strategies to promote equity and belonging. In C. A. Sanderson and R. Totton (Eds.), Teaching Social Psychology (pp. 55-68). Elgar Guides to Teaching Series.

Moreu, G. & Brauer, M. (2022). Inclusive teaching practices in post-secondary education: What instructors can do to reduce the achievement gap at U.S. colleges. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 34, 170-182.

Moreu, G., Isenberg, N., & Brauer, M. (2021). How to promote diversity and inclusion in educational settings: Behavior change, climate surveys, and effective pro-diversity initiatives. Frontiers in Education, 6, 253-263.

Murrar, S., Campbell, M. R., & Brauer, M. (2020). Exposure to peers’ pro-diversity attitudes increases inclusion and reduces the achievement gap. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 889–897.