The Intersection of Inquiry-Based Science and Language: Preparing Teachers for ELL Classrooms

Abstract

As teacher educators, we are tasked with preparing prospective teachers to enter a field that has undergone significant changes in student population and policy since we were K-12 teachers. With the emphasis placed on connections, mathematics integration, and communication by the New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve in Next generation science standards, 2012), more research is needed on how teachers can accomplish this integration (Bunch in Rev Res Educ 37:298–341, 2013; Lee et al. in Educ Res 42(4):223–233, 2013). Science teacher educators, in response to the NGSS, recognize that it is necessary for pre-service and in-service teachers to know more about how instructional strategies in language and science can complement one another. Our purpose in this study was to explore a model of integration that can be used in classrooms. To do this, we examined the change in science content knowledge and academic vocabulary for English language learners (ELLs) as they engaged in inquiry-based science experience utilizing the 5R Instructional Model. Two units, erosion and wind turbines, were developed using the 5R Instructional Model and taught during two different years in a summer school program for ELLs. We analyzed data from interviews to assess change in conceptual understanding and science academic vocabulary over the 60 h of instruction. The statistics show a clear trend of growth supporting our claim that ELLs did construct more sophisticated understanding of the topics and use more language to communicate their knowledge. As science teacher educators seek ways to prepare elementary teachers to help preK-12 students to learn science and develop the language of science, the 5R Instructional Model is one pathway.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Structured Interview Protocol

A structured interview protocol was used for erosion and wind energy. The same questions were asked on Day 2 and Day 14.

Day 2/14: Pull Out for Interview on Erosion

Welcome ( Name of child ). My name is ___________. Pre: We are trying to see how much you already know about our lessons before we get started. This is for us to see if we do a good job of teaching this summer. Post: We are trying to see if we did a good job teaching about erosion this summer.

Yesterday, you saw a picture of a field (show picture of erosion) and wrote in your journal about what you saw in the picture. Tell me everything you know about erosion. [Allow student to talk as long as he/she can; allow student to use of realia to help situate the knowledge. If student does not display conceptual understanding, prompt with question #2]

• 1. Can you tell me anything about (a) a gully? (b) a delta? (c) an alluvial fan?

• 2. Have you heard the word ‘model’? What can you tell me about models?

• 3. What do scientists do to test ideas?

• 4. What can you tell me about an experiment? Tell me more about what experiments are.

Day 2/14: Pull Out for Interview on Wind Energy

Welcome ( Name of child ). My name is ___________. Pre: We are trying to see how much you already know about our lessons before we get started. This is for us to see if we do a good job of teaching this summer. Post: We are trying to see if we did a good job teaching about wind energy this summer

Yesterday, you saw a picture (show picture of wind turbine) and wrote in your journal about what you saw in the picture. Tell me everything you know about a wind turbine. [Allow students to talk as long as he/she can; allow student to use of realia to help situate the knowledge. If student does not display conceptual understanding, prompt with question #2]

• 1. This is a picture of a real wind turbine (show picture), what would you call this?

• 2. What do you tell me about models?

• 3. What do you think scientists do to test an idea?

• 4. What can you tell me about an experiment? Tell me more about what experiments are.

Appendix 2: Vocabulary and Concept Rubric with Exemplars

The words and concepts were selected prior to the teaching of the unit using the state content framework and Marzano (2004) as a guide. Conceptual understanding and scientific language grow in parallel. If the student used the targeted vocabulary related to the topic during the interview, the student received a score of 1. If the student did not use the word, he/she received a score of 0.

Erosion vocabulary	Wind energy vocabulary
Alluvial fan Deposition Earth materials Erosion Force Gully Hole Soil Stream table Experiment Variable Model	Blade Control Electrical Mechanical Tower Turbine Volt Meter Experiment Variable Model

For each instance of a score of 1, a qualitative assessment was used to evaluate the student’s conceptual understanding of the targeted vocabulary. The interview protocol gave the student the freedom to use the scientific vocabulary in ways that he/she thought would best convey meaning. This assessment resulted in a score from 0 to 4.

Unit on Erosion and Energy

Brackets [·] indicate examples from student interview transcripts.

Erosion	0 (no understanding)—no use of the word
	1 (preliminary understanding)—said word but gives no indication of what it is
	2 (partial understanding)—movement of materials
	3 (adequate understanding)—movement of earth materials;
	4 (proficient understanding)—movement of earth materials by natural force (wind, water, air) from one place to another
Model	0 (no understanding)—no use of the word
	1 (preliminary understanding)—not real
	2 (partial understanding)—represents a real thing [A model is almost the same as the real thing.]
	3 (adequate understanding)—represents a real thing and can elaborate the representation. [Models are kind of like the real thing, the model is something you can make for yourself]
	4 (proficient understanding)—represents a real thing: dynamic or not, larger or smaller, explanatory [It’s not made a real thing. It’s just proportional to the real thing and you could study that instead of having to go somewhere else to find it]
Experiment	0 (no understanding)—no use of the word
	1 (preliminary understanding)—some kind of investigation [you’re making something, if scientists make experiments, like they’re trying to find something out]
	2 (partial understanding)—states an investigation and gives examples [it’s like a test, but they want to do something like the other things…like when we work with wind]
	3 (adequate understanding)—something is manipulated [Just to test it or something …. how big the blades can be before they touch the floor or the ground, so you change it]
	4 (proficient understanding)—independent and dependent variable conceptually; replicated; trials (not all but combination) [First, they think of what the idea has to do with something else and they start testing it. Like making a list of your standard, a list of your variables… and then you change one variable… but you do it again.]
Fair test	0 (no understanding)—no use of the word
	1 (preliminary understanding)—variable (something manipulated)
	2 (partial understanding)—some sense of standardization [we do it alike, together]
	3 (adequate understanding)—imply one variable changed at a time [So we did fast rain. A fair test, I think, well we made the hill and then we did the rain, the fast rain.]
	4 (proficient understanding)—explicitly state one variable changed at a time [We tested variables. First, you have to make a list of your standard which is the things you got in your normal model. Then you make a list of the things you could change. And you have to know your limiting variable… your limiting factor. Because if you don’t, then you might put something in the list that’s not supposed to go there. you could only change one variable at a time because then you won’t… Say you want to know what happened if you changed the blades and you change the height, if you do … if the voltage changed, you wouldn’t know what changed it.]
Energy	0 (no understanding)—no use of the word
	1 (preliminary understanding)—said word but gives no indication of it is
	2 (partial understanding)—does something and gives examples; moves something; [Everybody has energy. Because when you walk, run or skip or something, you’re using energy.] [The wind moves things. Like the blades, I think it moves.]
	3 (adequate understanding) – does something, gives examples thoroughly laid out. [Energy is like electric…it make the light go on and TV work.]
	4 (proficient understanding)—ability to do work or thorough explanation w/examples throughout; ability to move something [They help us by taking energy from wind. Here’s how it works—When wind blows, the blades spin. If the blades spin, it is turned into electricity by the generator.]