Learning to Teach English Learners: A Novice Science Teacher’s Developing Capacity

• In Event: Developing Content Area Pedagogy During Induction: Studies of New Math, Science, and Language Arts Teachers

Abstract

This paper unpacks the professional learning of a first-year, novice science teacher as she developed her capacity for teaching English learner (EL) students in the context of her mainstream content classroom. The data used in the analysis for this paper comes from a yearlong qualitative case study in one diverse, urban high school and includes extensive interviews and observations of the focal teacher across the school year. The most significant finding was that targeted support, in particular instructional coaching, specifically focused on meeting the needs of EL students in the content classroom contributed to the developing capacity of this science teacher to meet the instructional requirements of her EL students during this induction year.

Author

• Felice Atesoglu Russell, Kennesaw State University