An ad hoc committee will conduct a consensus study to provide guidance on effective approaches to science and engineering instruction in prekindergarten through 5th grade that support the success of all students regardless of race, SES, home language, learning ability and needs, or the community in which they live. The committee will address the following questions:

• What kinds of learning experiences prior to entering school (e.g. formal and informal, including play-based experiences, informal interactions at home and in the community) will help to prepare children with a strong foundation for science and engineering learning in the elementary grades?
• What are promising instructional approaches for enhancing science and engineering (including computational thinking) in early childhood and grades pre-K through 5? What is necessary in order to implement these approaches? How do these need to be adapted to meet the disparate needs of students (e.g. high poverty, English Learners, students with learning differences, students two or more years behind grade level)?
• How can science and engineering be connected to, or integrated with, other subject areas such as mathematics, computer science, and English Language Arts?
• What is the role of curriculum and instructional materials (including formative and summative classroom assessment) in advancing science and engineering in pre-K-grade 5?
• What professional learning opportunities (both preservice and in-service) are needed to best support teachers to implement effective instruction in science and engineering?
• How do policies and practices at the national, state, and local level constrain or facilitate efforts to enhance science and engineering in pre-K through fifth grade? What are examples of the best policies and practices on the state and local level that foster high quality education in science and engineering in pre-K through fifth grade? How might policies and practices across the pre-K-12 education system need to be changed to enhance science and engineering for all student in early childhood and the elementary grades including students from low SES backgrounds, English learners, students with learning differences, and struggling and striving students?
• What are the gaps in the current research base and what are the key directions for research, both short-term and long-term?