This is a four-year Discovery Research K-12 project to develop, implement, and study an experimental model of secondary science pre-service teacher education designed to prepare novice school teachers to provide effective science instruction to English language learners (ELLs). The project incorporates the principles underlying the Next Generation Science Standards with a focus on promoting students' scientific sense-making, comprehension and communication of scientific discourse, and productive use of language. It articulates theory and practice related to the teaching of science content and the development of English language and literacy, and provides teachers with models of integrated practice in video cases and curriculum units. To test the efficacy of the study, a longitudinal, mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study is conducted at four institutions: the University of California-Santa Cruz, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Texas-San Antonio.
The three research questions are: (1) What is the impact of the project's pre-service teacher education program on novice secondary science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practice from the pre-service program into the second year of teaching?; (2) What is the relationship between science method instructors' fidelity of implementation of the project's practices and novice teachers' outcomes (knowledge, beliefs, and practice)?; and (3) What is the relationship between novice teachers' implementation of project-promoted practices and their students' learning? To answer these questions, the project collects and analyzes quantitative and qualitative data on novice teachers (85 treatment group and 85 control group) over three years utilizing surveys, interviews, observations, and student assessment instruments. Teachers' beliefs and knowledge about teaching science to ELLs are measured using the project-developed Science Teaching Survey, which provides quantitative scores based on a Likert-type scale, and the science teacher interview protocol to provide qualitative data, including the contextual factors affecting implementation of project-promoted practices. Classroom observations are captured through qualitative field notes and the Classroom Observation Rubric--a systematic project-developed observation instrument that measures implementation of the practices. Student learning outcomes are measured using (a) the Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey (students' proficiency at applying listening, reading, writing, and comprehension abilities); (b) the Literacy in Science Assessment (students' productive use of language in authentic science literacy tasks); (c) the Scientific Sense-Making Assessment (how students make sense of core science ideas through scientific and engineering practices); and (d) appropriate state standardized assessments. In addition, the Opportunity to Learn Survey gauges students' perceptions of implementation of literacy integration, motivation in class, and identity as readers.
Project outcomes are: (a) a research-based and field-tested model for pre-service secondary science teacher education, including resources for science methods courses instructors and pre-service teachers; and (b) valid and reliable instrumentation usable in similar research and development environments.
