Science education with English language learners: Synthesis and research agenda (original) (raw)
Related papers
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.
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 © ©
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...
Bilingual Research Journal, 2001
In spite of reform efforts, opportunities for all students to learn science remain illusive. Recent studies indicate that science curricula do not meet students' learning needs. Research-based curricula focusing on science inquiry with English language learners (ELLs) have yet to be developed. To encourage development ofappropriate science riiateiials, this paper discusses the leaming needs of specific groups of ELLs and their teachers' First, we describe our research with groups offourth-grade ELLs and their teachers, including perspectives ofinquiry with teachers who shared their students' languages and cultures and features of materials developed to integrate science and literacy instruction' Next, we present student achievement results using the materials' Finally, we discuss the importance ofmaterials enabling all students to leam science through inquiry. 418 2ffi1
2008
Most information on the teaching of ESL/LEP students is directed towards elementary students and academic areas other than science. Secondary science teachers need research and information on teaching ESL/LEP students. Secondary science educators in the Louisville Metropolitan area were survey in 2007 on their perceptions of LEP students. Over 80 surveys from 100 were returned with upbeat and encouraging trends that found that LEP students are welcomed in the classroom and teachers want additional information on how they can "bridge" the language gap and help them to be successful learners. Educators indentified that students are able to practice their English language in a natural setting, and develop cultural skills with native speakers whom they would not have had the opportunity to work with. The science curriculum is where language arts, mathematics, and science integrate together. If the ESL/LEP student is successful in science, they will be successful students in all academic programs.
ELLs: children left behind in science class
2004
This article presents results of a year-long study conducted in two rural elementary science classes for English Language Learners (ELLs) in a southeastern state. The researchers found that mainstream teachers did not accommodate ELLs and that hands-on, inquiry learning was not provided in science classes. It was also noted that science education has been pushed aside in the classrooms due to No Child Left Behind state-mandated testing. Introduction English language learners (ELLs) represent 9.3 percent of the K-12 public school population in the United States (Solano-Flores & Trumbull, 2003). While the number of ELLs is considered likely to increase, also noted by educators is an academic performance disparity between ELLs and fully English proficient students (FEPs). For instance, there is not only a substantial achievement gap between FEPs and ELLs in science, but minority students also are less likely to be represented in science-related majors in higher education (August & Haku...