Perceptions of Secondary Science Educators of Limited English Proficient (LEP) Learners in Their Classrooms (original) (raw)

Science education with English language learners: Synthesis and research agenda

Review of Educational Research, 2005

This review analyzes and synthesizes current research on science education with ELLs. Science learning outcomes with ELLs are considered in the context of equitable learning opportunities. Then, theoretical perspectives guiding the research studies reviewed here are explained, and the methodological and other criteria for inclusion of these research studies are described. Next, the literature on science education with ELLs is discussed with regard to science learning, science curriculum (including computer technology), science instruction, science assessment, and science teacher education. Science education initiatives, interventions, or programs that have been successful with ELLs are highlighted. The article summarizes the key features (e.g., theoretical perspectives and methodological orientations) and key findings in the literature, and concludes with a proposed research agenda and implications for educational practice.

English language learners in science education (2014)

A focus on high academic standards and achievement for all students has been at the heart of sweeping educational reforms since the publication of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). In recent years, this push for high achievement in science education has grown in both urgency and complexity as a result of four primary factors: (a) the growing cultural and linguistic diversity of the U.S. student population; (b) the persistence of testing gaps across demographic subgroups coupled with the increased accountability demands for all students following the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and the Race To The Top (RT 3 ) initiatives that began in 2010; (c) an increase in both cognitive and linguistic demands inherent in A Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council [NRC], 848 2011) and the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013); and (d) a combination of evolving personal and social reasons for why all students need to learn challenging science, such as to make informed decisions about technologically driven problems and solutions, for career and college readiness, and as a robust context for learning valuable academic English.

Integrating science and English proficiency for English language learners. (2012)

Despite the expectation that all students should achieve high academic standards, content area instruction and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction for English language learners (or ELLs) have traditionally been conceptualized as separate domains, resulting in educational inequities for ELLs. This is because effective instruction to promote academic achievement for ELLs requires integration of content and language. Such inequities are more pronounced in urban schools where ELLs are disproportionately represented. In science education, research on instructional interventions to simultaneously promote science and English proficiency of ELLs has begun to emerge in recent years. Grounded in this emerging research literature, we offer specific instructional strategies to integrate science and English proficiency for ELLs in five domains: (1) literacy strategies with all students, (2) language support strategies with ELLs, (3) discourse strategies with ELLs, (4) home language support, and (5) home culture connections.

Promising instructional strategies for English learners in the science classroom

2014

English learners to thrive in the science classroom, teachers should build on a foundation of effective instruction and then explore what a partnership between content and language teachers can offer. Partnering to support academic achievement: The TESL professor and the science teacher Academic language development for English learners (ELs) has become the new focus in many K-12 content-area classrooms. While many teachers have been exposed to current ideas in academic language development and want to include it in their classroom teaching, they are often not sure how to begin. This can be stressful for content teachers who have not been formally trained in teaching English as a second language, and challenging for ESL teachers put in the position of teaching content outside the realm of teaching language. Effective instruction to promote academic achievement for ELs requires integration of content and language (Lee & Buxton, 2013). Due to the steady growth of ELs in U.S. schools, there is a continued need for language and content teachers to collaborate and support academic language development in content-area classrooms. In this article, we will share what we learned when a TESL professor (Sarah) and an in-service science teacher (Jessica), collaborated to find practical ideas to teach academic language in the science classroom.

Urban Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives on Teaching Science to English Language Learners (2009)

Journal of Science Teacher Education, 2009

This descriptive study examined urban elementary school teachers’ perceptions of their science content knowledge, science teaching practices, and support for language development of English language learners. Also examined were teachers’ perceptions of organizational supports and barriers associated with teaching science to nonmainstream students. The study involved 221 third- through fifth-grade teachers from 15 urban elementary schools in a large school district. The teachers completed a survey in the spring of 2005. The internal consistency reliability estimates, Cronbach α, for scales created from the survey items were within an acceptable range. The teachers reported that they were generally knowledgeable about science topics at their grade level and that they taught science to promote students’ understanding and inquiry. In contrast, the teachers reported rarely discussing student diversity in their own teaching or with other teachers at their schools. The teachers identified specific organizational supports and barriers in teaching science with diverse student groups at both the school and classroom levels.

Elementary Teachers’ Perception of Language Issues in Science Classrooms

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2015

Although the importance of language in science learning has been widely recognized by researchers, there is limited research on how science teachers perceive the roles that language plays in science classrooms. As part of an intervention design project that aimed to enhance teachers' capacity to address the language demands of science, interview data (N = 9) were collected to understand teachers' perceptions and experiences with a wide range of issues related to language use in science classrooms. Adopting an interpretive approach to qualitative data, the analysis revealed that the teachers perceive a wide range of student difficulties related to language use in science classrooms, especially to the use of specialized terms and writing. Although the teachers are keenly aware of how language can be a barrier to learning science, they are less certain as to what students need to know about the language of science in order to master it. The findings suggested professional support that highlights the distinctive language demands of science and how these demands differ from other subject areas could be useful to these elementary school teachers.

Perceptions of Secondary School Science Teachers Regarding English-Medium Instruction: A Case Study

Journal of Science Education, 2021

Although English is used as a medium of instruction to teach science subjects in secondary schools in Pakistan, the perceptions of secondary school science teachers have remained underexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of secondary school science teachers regarding English as a medium of instruction in Pakistan. Using a qualitative case study approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with four secondary school science teachers who were selected purposefully. The interview findings revealed that teachers considered English as a gateway to learning resources, but they highlighted its insufficiency in the context due to students' poor language background. Therefore, teachers employed native language and other scaffolding strategies to make students understand complex scientific concepts. Besides, the teachers also highlighted that English as a medium of instruction led to low participation of science students in class. The majority of the findings of this study cohere with other studies in the context; however, the positive attitude of science teachers towards English as a medium of instruction is slightly in contrast to the previous findings. Moreover, the use of different scaffolding strategies emerges as a significant finding of the study. The study concludes with the recommendations that proficiency of science teachers in English, training in pedagogical skills, provision of context-specific teaching resources, and inclusion of teachers in policymaking are imperative for successful implementation of the policy of English as a medium of instruction.

Meeting the Challenges of English Learners by Pairing Science and Language Educators

Research in Science Education

Learners of English as a new language and the teachers who find these young people in their classrooms face many challenges. For secondary science educators, this is often rooted in a general lack of professional development models for the design and implementation of science/ language integrated instruction. To address this issue, the present study examines how participation in a paired professional development initiative with focus on multimodalities impacts teachers' pedagogical expertise in both language and science learning. We specifically examine the expert understandings and pedagogical skills developed by two teachers, one chemistry, one English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), who co-designed and co-taught science/ language integrated lessons. Analysis of the pair's collaborative processes, resulting lessons, and their reflections on these reveals expertise gained in three main areas: attending to both content and language, seamless integration of multimodal technology, and formative assessment. Implications for the pairing of language and science educators along with roles and impacts of multimodal teaching strategies are discussed. Lastly, a language/content pairing model with emphasis on multimodal teaching strategies is recommended as an effective means for meeting the challenges of linguistically diverse science classrooms.