Stanford University - Preschool Counts Program | National Student Support Accelerator

Program
Preschool Counts is a service-learning program in which Stanford students support children from East Palo Alto to develop their math skills so that they are prepared to succeed in elementary school. In Preschool Counts, Stanford students are taught to provide an engaging, state-of-the-art early math program. In addition to helping young children develop their love and understanding of math, Preschool Counts tutors expose children to college-going role models. As described in this news article, the Preschool Counts model is expanding into other universities and service-learning contexts. States of Operation: CA Subjects Offered: Early Childhood Math Grade Levels: Pre-K Tutor Type: College student Setting: Parochial school day - pullout Delivery Mode: In-person Tutor-Student Ratio: 1:1 # of Sessions Per Week: 2 Number of Minutes Per Session: 20 RCT or QED Study Conducted: N/A
Publicly Available Training
Overview: The Preschool Counts tutoring program is a collaboration with the Haas Center for Public Service and Deborah Stipek, the former Peter E. Haas Faculty Director. James Quillen, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education, serves as the faculty advisor for Preschool Counts. Renee Scott, the Preschool Counts director, teaches Education 171, a course in early childhood education focusing on mathematics instruction. Students attend the course once a week and learn about teaching mathematics to preschool and kindergarten-aged children, including different theories of early learning, assessment, and pedagogical approaches. Students also discuss classroom management issues, teaching students from historically marginalized communities, multilingual learners, and policy issues related to early childhood education. Students are supported to develop math activities they can use to tutor 4- to 6-year-old children. Training: Educ 171 – Engaging Young Children in Math (Syllabus) Credentials: Cardinal Commitment Designation after three-quarters Format: Two-quarter course offering one night per week Tutoring 2x per week for 40 minutes (2 children per tutor) Two-quarter mentorship and ongoing training (provided by experienced Stanford tutor mentors) Trained student mentors provide support to student tutors through a mentorship program. Content Overview: Course Objectives: Tutors explore pedagogical and practical topics of early childhood mathematics education as they develop skills in teaching math to young children. Tutors read about and discuss issues related to early childhood education, English language development, policy, and equity in education. Tutors learn to design math activities and to support a young child’s math learning. Weekly Content: Week 1: Introduction to Early Childhood Education Week 2: Early Childhood Mathematics Week 3: Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Math Week 4: Counting, Operations, & Executive Functioning Week 5: Multilingual Learners: Working with Strengths & Challenges Week 6: Geometry and Spatial Relationships Week 7: Patterning and Algebraic Thinking Week 8: Family Math Week 9: Policy Considerations Week 10: Reflecting - Final Presentations Recommendations/Notes: These course materials were developed for undergraduate students enrolled in Educ 171 - Engaging Young Children in Math at Stanford University. The team cannot provide the in-class materials because this is a current credited course at Stanford. However, the syllabus provided can serve as a helpful resource for other tutoring organizations. The syllabus includes links to articles and videos used throughout the course on various topics that can be turnkeyed and used with tutors in other programs.

Program

Preschool Counts is a service-learning program in which Stanford students support children from East Palo Alto to develop their math skills so that they are prepared to succeed in elementary school. In Preschool Counts, Stanford students are taught to provide an engaging, state-of-the-art early math program. In addition to helping young children develop their love and understanding of math, Preschool Counts tutors expose children to college-going role models. As described in this news article, the Preschool Counts model is expanding into other universities and service-learning contexts.

States of Operation: CA

Subjects Offered: Early Childhood Math

Grade Levels: Pre-K

Tutor Type: College student

Setting: Parochial school day - pullout

Delivery Mode: In-person

Tutor-Student Ratio: 1:1

# of Sessions Per Week: 2

Number of Minutes Per Session: 20

RCT or QED Study Conducted: N/A

Publicly Available Training

Overview: The Preschool Counts tutoring program is a collaboration with the Haas Center for Public Service and Deborah Stipek, the former Peter E. Haas Faculty Director. James Quillen, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education, serves as the faculty advisor for Preschool Counts. Renee Scott, the Preschool Counts director, teaches Education 171, a course in early childhood education focusing on mathematics instruction. Students attend the course once a week and learn about teaching mathematics to preschool and kindergarten-aged children, including different theories of early learning, assessment, and pedagogical approaches. Students also discuss classroom management issues, teaching students from historically marginalized communities, multilingual learners, and policy issues related to early childhood education. Students are supported to develop math activities they can use to tutor 4- to 6-year-old children.

Training: Educ 171 – Engaging Young Children in Math (Syllabus)

Credentials: Cardinal Commitment Designation after three-quarters

Format:

Two-quarter course offering one night per week
Tutoring 2x per week for 40 minutes (2 children per tutor)
Two-quarter mentorship and ongoing training (provided by experienced Stanford tutor mentors)
Trained student mentors provide support to student tutors through a mentorship program.

Content Overview:

Course Objectives:

Tutors explore pedagogical and practical topics of early childhood mathematics education as they develop skills in teaching math to young children.
Tutors read about and discuss issues related to early childhood education, English language development, policy, and equity in education.
Tutors learn to design math activities and to support a young child’s math learning.

Weekly Content:

Week 1: Introduction to Early Childhood Education
Week 2: Early Childhood Mathematics
Week 3: Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Math
Week 4: Counting, Operations, & Executive Functioning
Week 5: Multilingual Learners: Working with Strengths & Challenges
Week 6: Geometry and Spatial Relationships
Week 7: Patterning and Algebraic Thinking
Week 8: Family Math
Week 9: Policy Considerations
Week 10: Reflecting - Final Presentations

Recommendations/Notes: These course materials were developed for undergraduate students enrolled in Educ 171 - Engaging Young Children in Math at Stanford University. The team cannot provide the in-class materials because this is a current credited course at Stanford. However, the syllabus provided can serve as a helpful resource for other tutoring organizations. The syllabus includes links to articles and videos used throughout the course on various topics that can be turnkeyed and used with tutors in other programs.