Abstract
To engage in the practices of science, students must have a strong command of science academic language. However, content area teachers often make academic language an incidental part of their lesson planning, which leads to missed opportunities to enhance students’ language development. To support pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) in making language planning an explicit part of their science lessons, we created the Academic Language Planning Organizer (ALPO). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the ALPO on two levels: first, by examining participants’ interactions with the ALPO as they identified academic language features, objectives and supports; and second, by exploring the ways that participants translated identified language supports to planned science activities. Findings indicated that, when using the ALPO, PSTs identified clear language functions and relevant vocabulary terms, and also frequently developed clear, observable and measurable language objectives. When lesson planning, PSTs were largely successful in translating previously identified language supports to their lesson plans, and often planned additional language supports beyond what was required. We also found, however, that the ALPO did not meet its intended use in supporting PSTs in identifying discourse and syntax demands associated with specific academic language functions, suggesting that revisions to the ALPO could better support PSTs in identifying these academic language demands. Implications for supporting PSTs’ planning for and scaffolding of science academic language use are presented.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achieve, Inc. (2015). Next generation science standards. Retrieved from http://www.nextgenscience.org
Baecher, L., Farnsworth, T., & Ediger, A. (2014). The challenges of planning language objectives in content-based ESL instruction. Language Teaching Research, 18, 118–136.
Bailey, A. L., Butler, F. A., LaFramenta, C., & Ong, C. (2004). Towards the characterization of academic language in upper elementary classrooms. Los Angeles, CA: University of California, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).
Bigelow, M. (2010). Learning to plan for a focus on form in CBI: The role of teacher knowledge and teaching context. In J. Davies (Ed.), World language teacher education: Transitions and challenges in the twenty-first century (pp. 35–56). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Bigelow, M., Ranney, S., & Dahlman, A. (2006). Keeping the language focus in content-based ESL instruction through proactive curriculum-planning. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL Du Canada, 24, 40–58.
Brown, B. A., & Ryoo, K. (2008). Teaching science as a language: A “content-first” approach to science teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45, 529–553.
Brown, B. A., & Spang, E. (2008). Double talk: Synthesizing everyday and science language in the classroom. Science Education, 92, 708–732.
Buxton, C. A., & Lee, O. (2014). English learners in science education. In N. G. Lederman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (Vol. II, pp. 204–222). New York, NY: Routledge.
Bybee, R. W., Taylor, J. A., Garder, A., Van Scotter, P., Carlson Powell, J., Westbrook, A., & Landes, N. (2006). The BSCS 5E instructional model: Origins and effectiveness. Report prepared for the Office of Science Education. National Institutes of Health. Colorado Springs, CO: BSCS.
Chamot, A. U. (2009). The CALLA handbook (2nd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.
Dutro, S., & Moran, C. (2003). Rethinking English language instruction: An architectural approach. In G. Garcia (Ed.), English learners: Reaching the highest level of English literacy (pp. 227–258). Newark, NJ: International Reading Association.
Echevarria, J., Short, D., & Powers, K. (2006). School reform and standards-based education: A model for English-language learners. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(4), 195–211.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. (2010). Making content comprehensible to elementary English learners: The SIOP model. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Fillmore, L. W., & Snow, C. E. (2002). What teachers need to know about language. In C. T. Adger, C. E. Snow, & D. Christian (Eds.), What teachers need to know about language (pp. 7–54). Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics and Delta Systems Co., Inc.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2010). Unpacking the language purpose: Vocabulary, structure, and function. TESOL Journal, 1, 315–337.
Gee, J. (2005). Language in the science classroom: Academic social languages as the heart of school-based literacy. In R. Yerrick & W. M. Roth (Eds.), Establishing scientific classroom discourse communities: Multiple voices of teaching and learning research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gee, J. (2008). Essay: What is academic language? In A. S. Rosebery & B. Warren (Eds.), Teaching science to English language learners: Building on students’ strengths (pp. 57–70). Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
Hatch, J. A. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Jung, K. G. (2015). Examining language expectations and supports during elementary science instruction. In Paper presented at the meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Chicago, IL.
Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking science: Language, learning, and values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Lucero, A. (2012). Demands and opportunities: Analyzing academic language in a first grade dual language program. Linguistics and Education, 23, 277–288.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, M. A., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
O’Hara, S., Pritchard, R., & Zwiers, J. (2012). Identifying academic language demands in support of the common core standards. ASCD Express, 7(17). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol7/717-ohara.aspx.
Participation Map. (2016). Retrieved from http://edtpa.aacte.org/state-policy.
Ranney, S. (2012). Defining and teaching academic language: Developments in K-12 ESL. Linguistics and Language Compass, 6, 560–574.
Regalla, M. (2012). Language objectives: More than just vocabulary. TESOL Journal, 3(2), 210–230.
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2012). Academic language in teaching and learning. The Elementary School Journal, 112, 409–418.
Snow, C. E. (2010). Academic language and the challenge of reading for learning about science. Science (New York, N.Y.), 328(5977), 450–452.
Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity [SCALE]. (2015). Elementary mathematics handbook. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.
Stoller, F. L. (2008). Content-based instruction. In N. H. Hornberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and education (pp. 1163–1174). Berlin: Springer.
Tong, F., Irby, B. J., Lara-Alceio, R., Guerro, C., Fan, Y., & Huerta, M. (2014). A randomized study of a literacy-integrated science intervention for low-socio-economic status middle school students: Findings from first-year implementation. International Journal of Science Education, 36, 2083–2109.
Weinburgh, M., Silva, C., Smith, K. H., Groulx, J., & Nettles, J. (2014). The intersection of inquiry-based science and language: Preparing teachers for ELL classrooms. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 25, 519–541.
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Zwiers, J. (2014). Building academic language: Meeting common core standards across disciplines (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendices
Appendix 1: Original Academic Language Planning Organizer (ALPO)
Appendix 2: Revised Academic Language Planning Organizer (ALPO)
About this article
Cite this article
Jung, K.G., Brown, J.C. Examining the Effectiveness of an Academic Language Planning Organizer as a Tool for Planning Science Academic Language Instruction and Supports. J Sci Teacher Educ 27, 847–872 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-016-9491-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-016-9491-2