Abstract
This study explored the biography-driven approach to teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students in science education. Biography-driven instruction (BDI) embraces student diversity by incorporating students’ sociocultural, linguistic, cognitive, and academic dimensions of their biographies into the learning process (Herrera in Biography-driven culturally responsive teaching. Teachers College Press, New York, 2010). Strategies have been developed (Herrera, Kavimandan and Holmes in Crossing the vocabulary bridge: differentiated strategies for diverse secondary classrooms. Teachers College Press, New York, 2011) that provide teachers with instructional routines that facilitate BDI. Using systematic classroom observations we empirically demonstrate that these activate, connect, affirm, strategies are likely to be effective in increasing teachers’ biography-driven practices. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents. (2011). English language learners: Interactive whiteboards to engage, inspire, achieve (white paper). Marlborough, MA: ALAS.
Buck, G. A. (2000). Teaching science to English-as-second-language learners: Teaching, learning, and assessment strategies for elementary ESL students. Science and Children, 38(3), 38–41.
Burrough-Boenisch, J. (1999). Writing science like an English native speaker: How far can and should non-native speakers of English go? In F. Luttikhuizen (Ed.), II Jornades Catalanes sobre Llengues per a Finalitats Especifiques (pp. 51–59). Barcelona, ES: Universitat de Barcelona.
Bybee, R. W., Taylor, J. A., Gardner, A., Van Scotter, P., Carlson Powell, J., Westbrook, A., et al. (2006). The BSCS 5e instructional model: Origins and effectiveness. Colorado Springs, CO: BSCS.
Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question, and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 121–129.
Dabbagh, N. (2005). Pedagogical models for E-Learning: A theory-based design framework. International Journal of technology in Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 25–44.
Diaz-Rico, L. T., & Weed, K. Z. (2006). The cross-cultural, language, and academic developmental handbook: A complete K-12 reference guide (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Doherty, R. W., Hilberg, R. S., Epaloose, G., & Tharp, R. G. (2002). Standards performance continuum: Development and validation of a measure of effective pedagogy. Journal of Education Research, 96, 78–89.
Edmonds, L. M. (2009). Challenges and solutions for ELLs: Teaching strategies for English Language Learners’ success in science. The Science Teacher, 6(3), 30–33.
Forman, E. A., Larreamendy-Joerns, J., Stein, M. K., & Brown, C. A. (1998). “You’re going to want to find out which and prove it”: Collective argumentation in a mathematics classroom. Learning and Instruction, 8(6), 527–548.
Gagnon, M. J., & Abell, S. K. (2009). ELLs and the language of school science. Science and Children, 46(5), 50–51.
Gee, J. P. (2001). Language in the science classroom: Academic social languages as the heart of school-based literacy. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.
Herrera, S. (2010). Biography-driven culturally responsive teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.
Herrera, S., Kavimandan, S. K., & Holmes, M. A. (2011a). Crossing the vocabulary bridge: Differentiated strategies for diverse secondary classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.
Herrera, S., Miller, S. S., Murry, K., Perez, D., & Holmes, M. (2012). Measuring effective instructional practices for diverse learners: The biography-driven practices rubric. Manuscript in preparation.
Herrera, S., & Murry, K. (2011). Mastering ESL and bilingual methods: Differentiated Instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Herrera, S., Perez, D., Kavimandan, S., Holmes, M., & Miller, S. (2011, April). Beyond reductionism and quick fixes: Quantitatively measuring effective pedagogy in the instruction of CLD students. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American educational research Association, New Orleans, LA.
Janzen, J. (2008). Teaching English language learners in the content areas. Review of Education Research, 78, 1010–1038.
Kaplan, A., Lichtinger, E., & Margulis, M. (2011). The situated dynamics of purposes of engagement and self-regulation strategies: A mixed-methods case study of writing. Teachers College Record, 113(2), 284–324.
Lee, O. (2005). Science education with English language learners: Synthesis and research agenda. Review of Educational Research, 75(4), 491–530.
Lee, O., & Buxton, C. A. (2011). Relationship between “form” and “content” in science writing among English language learners. Teachers College Record, 113(7), 1401–1434.
Marzano, R. J., & Haystead, M. W. (2010). Final report: A second year evaluation study of Promethean ActivClassroom. Retrieved from Marzano Research Laboratory website: http://www.marzanoresearch.com/free_resources/selected_research.aspx.
Medina-Jerez, W., Clark, D., Medina, A., & Ramirez-Marin, F. (2007). Science for Ells: Rethinking our approach. The Science teacher, 74(3), 52–56.
Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132–141.
Nauert, R. (2011). Prior knowledge speeds brain recognition. PsychCentral. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/02/04/prior-knowledge-speeds-brain-recognition/23190.html.
Perez, D., Holmes, M., Miller, S., & Fanning, C. (2012). Biography-driven strategies as the great equalizer: Universal conditions that promote K-12 culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 6(1), 25–42.
Santamaria, L. J. (2009). Culturally responsive differentiated instruction: Narrowing gaps between best pedagogical practices benefiting all learners. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 214–247.
Schiller, L. (2007, October). Science apprenticeship: Reading, writing, and talking our way into scientific literacy. Paper presented at the NSTA Conference on Science Education, Detroit, MI.
Stevens, K. C. (1980). The effect of background knowledge on the reading comprehension of ninth graders. Journal of Reading Behavior, 12(2), 151–154.
Swain, M. (1997). Emmersion education: International perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, J. A., Van Scotter, P., & Couslon, D. (2007). Bridging research on learning and student achievement: The role of instructional materials. Science Educator, 16(2), 44–50.
Tharp, R. G., & Dalton, S. S. (2007). Orthodoxy, cultural compatibility, and universals in education. Comparative Education, 43, 53–70.
Thomas, W., & Collier, V. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students’ long-term academic achievement. UC Berkeley: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.ucop.edu/uc/item/65j213pt.
Van Lier, L., & Walqui, A. (2010). Scaffolding the academic success of adolescent English language learners: A pedagogy of promise. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Warren, B., Ballenger, C., Ogonowski, M., Roseberry, A., & Hudicourt-Barnes, J. (2001). Rethinking diversity in learning science: The logic of everyday sense-making. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(5), 529–552.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Lead editors: Alejandro J. Gallard Martinez and René Antrop González.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MacDonald, G.L., Miller, S.S., Murry, K. et al. Efficacy of ACA strategies in biography-driven science teaching: an investigation. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 8, 889–903 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-013-9517-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-013-9517-4