EAPSI: Examining Multilingual Learning in Science Classrooms

Wu Jason S, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Minority students who are bilingual and learning English remain far behind in science achievement. This threatens the prospect of providing equitable science education and will potentially exclude large numbers of students from contributing to scientific and technological development in the United States. Many questions remain as to how students' use of their native language influences their learning of science. This project will examine how students use their native and second languages to learn science in multilingual classrooms in Singapore. It will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kok Sing Tang at the National Institute of Education. The linguistic diversity of Singapore and the expertise that Dr. Tang provide an ideal opportunity for collaboration and comparative study. It is hoped this project will contribute to efforts to improve science education for bilingual students in the United States. The project will employ a qualitative approach focusing on the analysis of student discourse. Data collection will include classroom observation, recording and analysis of student discourse, and focus group interviews with students and teachers. Classrooms and students will be selected using strategic sampling to provide a general representation of multilingual classrooms in Singapore. Data will be analyzed according to standard qualitative methods, including iterative coding, triangulation, and member checking to identify important themes (Boeije, 2010). It is hoped that the data gleaned from this project will help inform research in cross-language transfer and concept acquisition in science education. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Singapore.