The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual framework that integrates science and language learning for all students, including English learners (ELs). This framework is grounded in the mutually supportive nature of science instructional shifts, spurred by A Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012. A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and language instructional shifts, informed by contemporary thinking in second language acquisition. First, we describe the conceptual framework that consists of our perspective and design principles. Then, we describe one approach for using the conceptual framework to develop NGSS-aligned instructional materials that promote science and language learning with elementary students, including ELs.Finally, we offer implications for future research for our own design research specifically and for the field more broadly. The conceptual framework highlights how substantive collaboration between content areas, such as science, and the field of EL education can help ensure that all students, and ELs in particular, are supported in meeting rigorous content standards while developing proficiency in English.

The authors evaluated the effects of P-SELL, a science curricular and professional development intervention for fifth-grade students with a focus on English language learners (ELLs). Using a randomized controlled trial design with 33 treatment and 33 control schools across three school districts in one state, we found significant and meaningfully sized intervention effects on a researcher-developed science assessment and the state science assessment. Subgroup analyses revealed that the P-SELL intervention had a positive and significant effect for each language proficiency group (ELLs, recently reclassified ELLs, former ELLs, and non-ELLs) on the researcherdeveloped assessment. The intervention also had a positive effect for former ELLs and non-ELLs on the state science assessment, but for ELLs and recently reclassified ELLs, the effect was not statistically significant.

The adoption of A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) across the U.S. requires that the field of science education develops high-quality instructional materials. This need is particularly urgent as schools and districts are expected to design or adapt instructional materials for an increasingly diverse student population. In this article, we present our conceptual approach for developing yearlong fifth-grade NGSS-aligned instructional materials with a focus on English learners. First, we describe the conceptual framework focused on equity that guided our development work. Second, we describe our design-based research with teachers and our instructional materials development process that leveraged the synergy of the NGSS performance expectations (PEs), phenomena, and students. Specifically, we address equity in our materials in two ways: (a) selection of local phenomena rooted in students' homes and communities and (b) attention to language use in terms of modalities, registers, and interactions. Third, we illustrate our development process using an exemplar unit from our curriculum. Finally, we discuss implications for instructional materials development, including how we productively resolved tensions in developing our materials and how we both benefited from teachers' participation in the development process and promoted their professional learning.

As part of a three‐year curricular and professional development intervention focused on English language learners (ELLs), this study examined the intervention's effect on teachers' science knowledge and instructional practices after one year of implementation. The P‐SELL (Promoting Science Among English Language Learners) intervention comprised curriculum materials for students and teachers and teacher professional development workshops during the summer and throughout the school year. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial design, the study involved 103 fifth grade teachers from 33 treatment schools and 116 fifth grade teachers from 33 control schools across three school districts in one state. The teachers completed a researcher‐developed science test and a questionnaire about their instructional practices at the beginning and end of the year. Results indicated a positive effect of the P‐SELL intervention on teachers' science knowledge and all four measures of instructional practices: teaching for understanding, teaching for inquiry, language development strategies, and home language use. This positive effect could be attributed to consistent implementation of the key features of the intervention (i.e., standards‐based, inquiry‐oriented, and language‐focused) for all students and ELLs in particular through educative curriculum materials and professional development. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 579–597, 2016

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