TY - JOUR
T1 - Elementary teachers' science knowledge and instructional practices
T2 - Impact of an intervention focused on english language learners
AU - Lee, Okhee
AU - Llosa, Lorena
AU - Jiang, Feng
AU - Haas, Alison
AU - O'Connor, Corey
AU - Van Booven, Christopher D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - As part of a three-year curricular and professional development intervention focused on English language learners (ELLs), this study examined the intervention's effect on teachers' science knowledge and instructional practices after one year of implementation. The P-SELL (Promoting Science Among English Language Learners) intervention comprised curriculum materials for students and teachers and teacher professional development workshops during the summer and throughout the school year. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial design, the study involved 103 fifth grade teachers from 33 treatment schools and 116 fifth grade teachers from 33 control schools across three school districts in one state. The teachers completed a researcher-developed science test and a questionnaire about their instructional practices at the beginning and end of the year. Results indicated a positive effect of the P-SELL intervention on teachers' science knowledge and all four measures of instructional practices: teaching for understanding, teaching for inquiry, language development strategies, and home language use. This positive effect could be attributed to consistent implementation of the key features of the intervention (i.e., standards-based, inquiry-oriented, and language-focused) for all students and ELLs in particular through educative curriculum materials and professional development.
AB - As part of a three-year curricular and professional development intervention focused on English language learners (ELLs), this study examined the intervention's effect on teachers' science knowledge and instructional practices after one year of implementation. The P-SELL (Promoting Science Among English Language Learners) intervention comprised curriculum materials for students and teachers and teacher professional development workshops during the summer and throughout the school year. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial design, the study involved 103 fifth grade teachers from 33 treatment schools and 116 fifth grade teachers from 33 control schools across three school districts in one state. The teachers completed a researcher-developed science test and a questionnaire about their instructional practices at the beginning and end of the year. Results indicated a positive effect of the P-SELL intervention on teachers' science knowledge and all four measures of instructional practices: teaching for understanding, teaching for inquiry, language development strategies, and home language use. This positive effect could be attributed to consistent implementation of the key features of the intervention (i.e., standards-based, inquiry-oriented, and language-focused) for all students and ELLs in particular through educative curriculum materials and professional development.
KW - elementary science
KW - randomized controlled trial
KW - science inquiry
KW - teacher instructional practices
KW - teacher science knowledge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960131016&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84960131016&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/tea.21314
DO - 10.1002/tea.21314
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84960131016
SN - 0022-4308
VL - 53
SP - 579
EP - 597
JO - Journal of Research in Science Teaching
JF - Journal of Research in Science Teaching
IS - 4
ER -