Teaching Science to Newcomers: ESOL Students Learn Science by Working with an Advanced Physics Class

Autor/inn/en	Hademenos, George; Heires, Nancy; Young, Rose
Titel	Teaching Science to Newcomers: ESOL Students Learn Science by Working with an Advanced Physics Class
Quelle	In: Science Teacher, 71 (2004) 2, S.27-31 (5 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0036-8555
Schlagwörter	Physics; Language Skills; Educational Opportunities; English (Second Language); Advanced Courses; High School Students; Limited English Speaking; Language Teachers; Inquiry; Cooperative Learning; Science Experiments; Science Activities; Discussion (Teaching Technique); Student Attitudes; Peer Relationship; Science Instruction; Student Projects; Secondary School Science + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Physik; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Bildungsangebot; Bildungschance; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Fortgeschrittenenunterricht; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Language teacher; Sprachunterricht; Kooperatives Lernen; Schülerverhalten; Peer-Beziehungen; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Schulprojekt
Abstract	The curriculum for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students in high school is primarily devoted to improving English language skills such as vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, and speaking. Although knowledge and comprehension of these skills are critical for success not only throughout school but also for life choices and careers in general, such a curriculum based primarily on these skills tend to exclude other equally important subjects. For instance, the lack of science in ESOL curriculum is of great concern. To encourage students to enroll in less-intensive, lower-level science courses, Richardson High School is committed to developing and implementing novel lessons and projects that will substantially improve educational opportunities, instruction, and learning for ESOL 1 students. Here, the authors describe one such project in which the ESOL teachers teamed up with the Advanced Physics teacher to develop a lesson plan to expose ESOL students to science and scientific inquiry. The project is presented in three stages. In the first stage, ESOL students were invited to the physics classroom for an introduction to scientific inquiry. Before the second stage began, physics students were arranged in groups of three and each group was assigned an experiment. When the second stage of the project took place, ESOL students joined assigned groups of physics students in the physics classroom. Once the groups were in place, the experiments began and continued throughout the class period. As the experiments were in progress, each ESOL student was actively engaged in the activity, observing, recording, and documenting all of the major steps and important information from their experiment. In the third and final stage, the groups of ESOL students were invited to the physics classroom to present the findings from their experiment to the combined classes. The teachers encouraged discussion by asking questions to gauge learning and to assess understanding. The general reactions of both the ESOL 1 and Advanced Physics students are evidence that this project was a tremendous success, with both groups of students gaining a unique educational experience. Not only did ESOL students learn about science, they also had the opportunity to socialize with other students on their campus and practice speaking in English by explaining their experiment to the combined classes. (Contains 2 figures.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10