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Maximizing Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Potential for Teaching Science Literacy to ELLs: Findings from a Professional Development Program

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Teaching Science to English Language Learners

Abstract

This chapter reports findings from a state-funded professional development program designed to increase high school science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge/skills of teaching Common Core State Standards (CCSS)-aligned informational texts to English language learners (ELLs). Teachers’ year-long reflections on their own teaching and peers’ pointed to the importance of teachers constructing their own pedagogical knowledge by figuring out classroom applications that made sense to them. Teachers discussed that learning about second language acquisition was pivotal for them to understand ELLs’ struggles as learners and the effect of English proficiency on informational text comprehension in science. As a result, they deepened their understanding about their role as teachers in helping ELLs access informational texts. Follow-up interviews a year later revealed that teachers developed and sustained new instructional practices and assisted their peers to adopt the newly acquired instructional strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

    Clara Lee Brown & Mehmet Aydeniz

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  1. Clara Lee Brown
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  2. Mehmet Aydeniz
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Correspondence to Clara Lee Brown .

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  1. Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

    Luciana C. de Oliveira

  2. Department of Educational Theory and Practice, University of Albany, School of Education, Albany, New York, USA

    Kristen Campbell Wilcox

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Brown, C.L., Aydeniz, M. (2017). Maximizing Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Potential for Teaching Science Literacy to ELLs: Findings from a Professional Development Program. In: de Oliveira, L., Campbell Wilcox, K. (eds) Teaching Science to English Language Learners. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53594-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53594-4_5

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