Promising instructional strategies for English learners in the science classroom (original) (raw)
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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.
A framework for the effective science teaching of English Language Learners in elementary schools
A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d ABSTRACT This chapter presents a framework for effective science teaching for English language learners (ESTELL) based on two bodies of sociocultural researchthe CREDE Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy and the integrated science, language, and literacy instruction literature-which provide converging lines of empirical evidence for a set of socially, culturally, and linguistically responsive instructional practices that have been demonstrated to improve the achievement of English language learners (ELLs). ESTELL is an instructional approach integrating the teaching of scientific inquiry, science discourse, and language and literacy development in a contextualized curriculum that is culturally, socially, and linguistically responsive. This chapter presents a review of the theoretical framework for ESTELL, empirical evidence of impact on ELLs' learning, and a set of instructional exemplars of ESTELL pedagogy. © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 152 T. STODDART, J. SOLIS, S. TOLBERT, and M. BRAVO © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d Effective Science Teaching for English Language Learners 153 © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 154 T. STODDART, J. SOLIS, S. TOLBERT, and M. BRAVO © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d © 2 0 1 0 I A P A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d 156 T. STODDART, J. SOLIS, S. TOLBERT, and M. BRAVO © ©
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.
Connecting Literacy and Science to Increase Achievement for English Language Learners
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2010
Giving students a purpose and a passion for sharing their thinking through authentic learning experiences and giving them tools for writing through which they can risk new vocabulary, new language, and new thought is critical for the linguistic and cognitive development of students. Furthermore, students develop a deep understanding of content they have heard and read when given time to process information through writing and speaking. This article describes one teacher's quest to identify and implement effective research-based instructional strategies that she could use to successfully support her kindergarten ELL students during science instruction. Keywords Science Á English language learners Á Kindergarten Á Early childhood education Á Literacy To develop a complete mind, study the science of art; study the art of science, learn to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.-Leonardo daVinci ''Miss Huerta, como se dice 'brillosa' en ingles?'' (''Miss Huerta, how do you say 'shiny' in English?''), Juan asked as his pencil hovered next to his beautiful drawing of a shiny rock. He was ready to add a descriptive statement
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 00405841 2013 770328, 2013
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.
We describe a model professional development intervention currently being implemented to support 3rd- through 5th-grade teachers’ science instruction in 9 urban elementary schools with high numbers of English language learners. The intervention consists of curriculum materials for students and teachers, as well as teacher workshops throughout the school year. The curriculum materials and workshops are designed to complement and reinforce each other in improving teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in science instruction and English language development for ELL students. In addition to these primary goals, secondary goals of the intervention included supporting mathematical understanding, improving scientific reasoning, capitalizing on students’ home language and culture, and preparing students for high-stakes science testing and accountability through hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences.
Supporting Science Learning For English Language Learners
Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 2020
This study focused on two fourth-grade science classrooms with English learners (ELs), exploring how teachers supported students’ science and language/literacy learning in different language contexts. Three a priori research-based practices recommended for supporting science learning framed our exploration: (a) negotiation, opportunities for individual and social construction and critique of knowledge; (b) embedded language, opportunities for language and literacy learning as a natural aspect of science; and (c) non-threatening learning environments, opportunities for social apprenticeship and interaction. We provide insights into how science instructional practices supported ELs’ science and language learning. One key implication is that enacting these three principles of practice in students’ first language (Spanish), when less linguistic scaffolding is required, creates more opportunities to focus on disciplinary content and exploration of students’ ideas. The second key implicat...
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.
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2009
The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of an intervention—Quality English and Science Teaching (QuEST)—designed to develop the science knowledge and academic language of middle grades English language learners studying science in their second language and their English-proficient classmates. Ten sixth-grade science teachers in 5 middle schools in a large south Texas district participated in the study. For each teacher, 2 sections were randomly assigned to the intervention, Project QuEST, and 2 sections ...