Below are articles and publications produced by the Head Start on Engineering project. Manuscripts in preparation or review are available from the authors on request.
2025
Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., Svarovsky, G. N., Wagner, C., Corbett, A., Quijano, & López Burgos, V. (2025). Activity design principles to support engineering design practices for families with preschool-age children from low-income English- and Spanish-speaking communities. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER).
Shaby, N., Dillon, J., Peleg, R., Assaraf, O. B.-Z., Pattison, S., Pierroux, P., Barzilay, M., Grenon, M., Steier, R., Ramos-Montanez, S., Wagner, C., Quijano, M., Burgos, V. L., & Contreras, D. (2025). Telling tales: The use of narratives in informal STEM settings. Research in Science and Technological Education.
2024
Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., Tolbert Smith, D., Cardella, M., Dou, R., Cian, H., Calabrese Barton, A., Sedawi, W., Tan, E., López Burgos, V., Svarovsky, G. N., Allen, J., Douglass, A., & Wagner, C. (2024). Families matter: Family learning as a central component to equity in STEM education. Symposium presented at the NARST Annual International Conference, Denver, CO.
Svarovsky, G. N., Wagner, C., Lettau, M., Marfo, K., Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., López Burgos, V., Corbett, A., Quijano, M., & Contreras, D. (2024). Supporting early childhood educators in implementing and adapting research-based engineering activities designed for families. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, OR.
2023
Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., López Burgos, V., Svarovsky, G. N., Wagner, C., Douglass, A., & Allen, J. (2023). Family voices: Learning from families with preschool-age children from historically marginalized communities to expand our vision of engineering. Paper presented at the American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G. N., Ramos Montañez, S., Wagner, C., López Burgos, V., Corbett, A., Quijano, M., Contreras, D., De Los Santos, S., & Perdomo, M. E. (2023). Playful engineering; Discovering the unique potential of engineering with young children and their families. Hands On! Magazine, Fall, 5–10.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G., Ramos Montañez, S., López Burgos, V., Santiago, A., & De Los Santos, S. (2023). Family-centered research: Reflections from a Zoom-based recording method of families learning together at home. Educational Researcher, 52(9), 580–587.
Wagner, C., Svarovsky, G. N., Lettau, M., Marfo, K., Lorena Ortiz, A., Ryan, D., Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., López Burgos, V., De Los Santos, S., Quijano, M., & Corbett, A. (2023). Exploring the nature of engineering during home-based engineering activities designed for Spanish- and English-speaking families with young children. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.
2022
Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., & Svarovsky, G. (2022). Family values, parent roles, and life challenges: Parent reflections on the factors shaping long‐term interest development for young children and their families participating in an early childhood engineering program. Science Education, 106(6), 1568-1604.
Pattison, S. A., & Ramos Montañez, S. (2022). Diverse STEM interest development pathways in early childhood. In T. J. Kennedy & S. D. Tunnicliffe (Eds.), Play and STEM education in the early years: International policy and practice (pp. 439–457). Springer.
Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., Santiago, A., Svarovsky, G. N., Douglass, A., Núñez, V., Allen, J., & Wagner, C. (2022). Interest catalysts: The unique ways families connect with program experiences to support long-term STEM interest pathways in early childhood. Paper presented at the NARST Annual International Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G. N., Ramos Montañez, S., Wagner, C., Corbett, A., Perdomo, M. E., López Burgos, V., & De Los Santos, S. (2022). Activity design principles that support family-based engineering learning in early childhood. Paper presented at the NARST Annual International Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G., Corbett, A., Perdomo, M. E., Ramos Montañez, S., Wagner, C., López Burgos, V., & De Los Santos, S. (2022). Playful materials catalyze imaginative play and shift the nature of engineering design for preschool-age children and their families. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Learning through Play and Imagination meeting, St Louis, MO.
2020
Pattison, S. A., Ramos Montañez, S., & Svarovsky, G. N. (2020). Early childhood engineering: Supporting engineering design practices with young children and their families. Paper presented at the NARST Annual International Conference, Portland, OR.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G., Ramos Montañez, S., Gontan, I., Weiss, S., Núñez, V., Corrie, P., Smith, C., & Benne, M. (2020). Understanding early childhood engineering interest development as a family-level systems phenomenon: Findings from the Head Start on Engineering project. Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 10(1), 72–89.
2019
Pattison, S. A., Núñez, V., Smith, C., & Douglass, A. (2019). Ingeniería para mi familia: Strengthening the cultural relevance of the Head Start on Engineering program for families. Cambridge, MA: TERC.
2018
Pattison, S. A., Núñez, V., Smith, C., Svarovsky, G. N., Benne, M., Corrie, P., & Stewart, R. (2018). Introduction to the Head Start on Engineering pilot program: Engaging families with preschool children in the engineering design process. Portland, OR: Institute for Learning Innovation.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G. N., Benne, M., Corrie, P., Núñez, V., & Smith, C. (2018). Head Start on Engineering: 2017–18 program year evaluation report. Portland, OR: Institute for Learning Innovation.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G. N., Benne, M., Corrie, P., Núñez, V., Smith, C., & Stewart, R. (2018). Head Start on Engineering. Poster presented at the Visitor Studies Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
Pattison, S. A., Weiss, S., Ramos-Montañez, S., Gontan, I., Svarovsky, G., Corrie, P. G., … Smith, C. (2018). Engineering in early childhood: Describing family-level interest development systems. Paper presented at the NARST Annual International Conference, Atlanta, GA.
Earlier Work
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G. N., Gontan, I., Corrie, P., Benne, M., Weiss, S., … Ramos-Montañez, S. (2017). Teachers, informal STEM educators, and learning researchers collaborating to engage low-income families with engineering. Connected Science Learning, 4.
Svarovsky, G. N., Pattison, S. A., Verbeke, M., Benne, M., & Corrie, P. (2017). Head Start on Engineering: Early findings (work in progress). Paper presented at the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, OH: American Society for Engineering Education.
Pattison, S. A., Corrie, P., Benne, M., & Svarovsky, G. N. (2016). Head Start on Engineering: Supporting Engineering Interest Development in Early Childhood. Poster presented at the Visitor Studies Association Conference, Boston, MA.
Pattison, S. A., Svarovsky, G. N., Corrie, P., Benne, M., Nuñez, V., Dierking, L. D., & Verbeke, M. (2016). Conceptualizing early childhood STEM interest development as a distributed system: A preliminary framework. Paper presented at the NARST Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.