Bolstering Content by Promoting Language and Literacy in the Urban Science Classroom

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the creation and implementation of lesson modules related to developing language skills in the middle school science classroom. These modules, which focus on academic language development for students who are English learners or speakers of non-standard dialects, are part of the curriculum in a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program for middle school science educators at a large urban U.S. university. Drawing on the literature surrounding the academic language of science and language development, the content of these modules is appropriate for teacher educators and science teachers at all levels. The module content was designed around three components, linguistic understandings, critical language awareness, and pedagogical modeling, and exemplifies the Standards of Professional Development Excellence established by the Center for Applied Linguistics. This chapter describes the module creation, observations from the module delivery, and program participant responses to the materials and content.

Fostering Educator Buy-in of Language and Literacy in the Science Classroom

“…By appropriating the module content and making it their own, the fellows not only displayed buy-in but began to situate themselves as experts on embedding language and literacy into science instruction. The collaboration with the lead professor continued as she invited the linguists to write a chapter for a book that she co-edited on STEM education in the urban classroom [39].…”

“…Table 1 outlines how the core components of each module were designed and the specific topics for each of the learning sessions. For a full description of the creation and content in the module materials, including the sample activities and assignments, see Renn and Duguay (2019) [39].…”