“We observed that the magnetic field is stronger than gravity”: Exploring linguistically diverse fourth-grade students’ written explanations in science notebooks

Fitts, Shanan; Groß, Lisa; Ramirez, Breanna M.

doi:10.1016/j.linged.2020.100809

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Holistic sorting of patterns in the writing that used mechanistic reasoning connected content learning with LG use at a “granular level” (Fitts et al, 2020, p. 6). After coding for language, we placed written sections of the organizers on a continuum from basic to complex and checked for accuracy in terms of the demands of the engineering task.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The default is leaving disciplinary language development to chance during the EDP and hoping students will absorb language through the activity. In contrast, an SFL perspective as part of integrated instruction can bridge awareness of how language works to support deeper reasoning (Fitts et al, 2020).…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study adds to a collection of recent research connecting SFL to science learning in elementary grades. These studies all use an SFL framework and focus on three areas: students’ use of LG features for representing effective concept development (Avalos et al, 2017; Fang, 2014; Fitts et al, 2020), teachers’ learning about the functions of language in scientific concept development (Hodgson-Drysdale, 2014; Paugh & Moran, 2103; Seah, 2016a), and connections between pedagogy and the effectiveness of students’ written language choices (Brisk et al, 2011; de Oliveira & Lan, 2014; Hodgson-Drysdale & Rosa, 2015; Seah, 2016b).…”

Section: Sfl As a Framework For Disciplinary Engineering Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chains are used to make claims about what happened previously or to project what entities or activities present might lead to future performance. We then organized writing samples across a continuum related to quality of the description and explanation (Fitts et al, 2020).…”

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disciplinary Literacy in STEM: A Functional Approach

Paugh

Wendell

2021

Journal of Literacy Research

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This study explores disciplinary literacy instruction integrated within an elementary engineering unit in an urban classroom. A multidisciplinary team of university literacy and engineering educators and classroom teachers served as the research team for this case study. A social semiotic language theory (systemic functional linguistics) and a framework of mechanistic reasoning informed the instruction and analysis of classroom discourse and student writing. The study illustrates how a flexible set of disciplinary language choices functioned to support students’ evolving reasoning as part of the engineering design process. These findings provide insights into synergy between language and reasoning as a habit of design. These findings also inform calls to align science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy and core disciplinary practices within both Common Core State Standards for (English language arts) ELA and Next Generation Science Standards.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sfl As a Framework For Disciplinary Engineering Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disciplinary Literacy in STEM: A Functional Approach

Paugh

Wendell

2021

Journal of Literacy Research

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“…Examples include logical connectives (e.g., nevertheless, consequently) and structures that pack dense information (e.g., nominalizations, embedded clauses). Although instructional proposals have been designed to teach school genre writing (e.g., de Oliveira & Lan, 2014;Fitts et al, 2020;Rappa & Tang, 2018;Seah, 2016;Seah et al, 2011), those proposals mainly address cross-disciplinary language resources as discipline-specific, hiding the contribution made by the cross-disciplinary language resources and skills to the genre. Students construct disciplinary knowledge through disciplinary and cross-disciplinary language (e.g., Fang & Park, 2020), and instruction needs to address them simultaneously.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-disciplinary language changes in 4th graders as a predictor of the quality of written scientific explanation

Meneses

Montenegro

Acevedo

et al. 2023

JoWR

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Extending science instruction beyond the CER: Use of critical questions in the argumentation of middle school science students

Nussbaum,

Van Winkle,

Tian

et al. 2024

Science Education

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Critiquing arguments is important for K‐12 science students to learn but not emphasized by the predominant claim‐evidence‐reasoning (CER) argumentation model. Drawing on the work of Yu and Zenker (2020), and Dove and Nussbaum (2018), we developed a tool for supplementing CER with critical questions (CQs) from philosophy that cover most, if not all, the logical dimensions of argument critique. Six middle school science teachers designed lessons involving argumentation, including the use of CQs. We assessed the effects on student self‐efficacy for engaging in argument critique, teacher self‐efficacy for using argument pedagogy, and teachers’ perceptions of the value of CQs. Qualitative data included teacher interviews, lesson transcripts, and student work samples. Quantitative data included surveys of student self‐efficacy administered at the beginning and end of the school year. There was evidence suggesting an increase over time in students’ confidence for engaging in argument critique and teachers’ confidence with argument pedagogy. However, only four of the six teachers were confident and skilled enough to include CQs in their lessons. Those who did use CQs tended to perceive them as providing a helpful structure for critique, prompts for deeper thinking, and a tool for fostering critical classroom norms. Discussion of CQs may have benefitted students’ writing by promoting peer critique and encouragement to elaborate. Overall, CQs afford students with a framework for judging argument strength. Scientific argumentation involving CQs provides a more contemporary philosophical basis for scientific argumentation than CER or the Toulmin model as it emphasizes the critical and dialogic nature of science.

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“We observed that the magnetic field is stronger than gravity”: Exploring linguistically diverse fourth-grade students’ written explanations in science notebooks

Cited by 8 publications

References 23 publications

Disciplinary Literacy in STEM: A Functional Approach

Disciplinary Literacy in STEM: A Functional Approach

Cross-disciplinary language changes in 4th graders as a predictor of the quality of written scientific explanation

Extending science instruction beyond the CER: Use of critical questions in the argumentation of middle school science students

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