Lee, Okhee & Fradd, Sandra H. (1998). Science for All, Including Students from Non-English Language Backgrounds. Educational Researcher, Volume 27 (4). Retrieved from JSTOR.
Summary: This article emphasizes that the increased diversity in the American student population has required a change in the way we teach (and consequently evaluate) students in science. The article particularly addresses the needs of the non-English language background students (at a variety of different levels) and the need for instructional congruence. Instructional congruence is the integration of science and literacy and the need to consider both aspects when instructing or assessing students. In order to accomplish this, teachers need to consider who the students are, how the students acquire literacy and each student’s current English-language level, what science is, and how to enable students to understand science. Since the demographics of the schools have changed, so have the instruction techniques. Part of the problem is the categories in which we label students. For example “Asian” includes students from many different countries, who speak languages such as Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, or Samoan (just to name a few!). This article also explains that assessing student knowledge involves skills beyond just simply reading, writing, listening, and speaking. We expect science students to observe, predict, analyze, summarize, hypothesize, and present the resulting information in a variety of ways. As such, literacy is very intimately tied to science instruction. The article also explains that students need to be able to “know science,” “do science,” and “talk science.” It is important that we consider cultural backgrounds and language abilities when assessing student knowledge. For example, some cultures view teachers as the ultimate authority and the American tradition of inquiry-based learning in science may be very uncomfortable for these students. Some cultures may not be as comfortable with the different degrees of independence in learning. A lack of formal schooling may contribute to a student’s unfamiliarity with school discussions, and may not reflect a lack of knowledge. It is important that we consider the student’s unique background when evaluating their knowledge and ability to perform requested information and communicate effectively.
Assessment Recommendations: This article emphasizes recognizing that literacy assessment is also taking place, even within a science class and to structure assessment, and consequently instruction, with this notion in mind. Many of the skills we are assessing are not “simple” and need to be explicitly taught, such as summarizing or hypothesizing. From one perspective we are imposing a third culture on students, one of science!
Science for All, Including Students from Non-English Backgrounds
Lee, Okhee & Fradd, Sandra H. (1998). Science for All, Including Students from Non-English Language Backgrounds. Educational Researcher, Volume 27 (4). Retrieved from JSTOR.
Summary:
This article emphasizes that the increased diversity in the American student population has required a change in the way we teach (and consequently evaluate) students in science. The article particularly addresses the needs of the non-English language background students (at a variety of different levels) and the need for instructional congruence. Instructional congruence is the integration of science and literacy and the need to consider both aspects when instructing or assessing students. In order to accomplish this, teachers need to consider who the students are, how the students acquire literacy and each student’s current English-language level, what science is, and how to enable students to understand science. Since the demographics of the schools have changed, so have the instruction techniques. Part of the problem is the categories in which we label students. For example “Asian” includes students from many different countries, who speak languages such as Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, or Samoan (just to name a few!). This article also explains that assessing student knowledge involves skills beyond just simply reading, writing, listening, and speaking. We expect science students to observe, predict, analyze, summarize, hypothesize, and present the resulting information in a variety of ways. As such, literacy is very intimately tied to science instruction. The article also explains that students need to be able to “know science,” “do science,” and “talk science.” It is important that we consider cultural backgrounds and language abilities when assessing student knowledge. For example, some cultures view teachers as the ultimate authority and the American tradition of inquiry-based learning in science may be very uncomfortable for these students. Some cultures may not be as comfortable with the different degrees of independence in learning. A lack of formal schooling may contribute to a student’s unfamiliarity with school discussions, and may not reflect a lack of knowledge. It is important that we consider the student’s unique background when evaluating their knowledge and ability to perform requested information and communicate effectively.
Assessment Recommendations:
This article emphasizes recognizing that literacy assessment is also taking place, even within a science class and to structure assessment, and consequently instruction, with this notion in mind. Many of the skills we are assessing are not “simple” and need to be explicitly taught, such as summarizing or hypothesizing. From one perspective we are imposing a third culture on students, one of science!
Brandilyn Beu