Newcomer Meaning-Making in Two Biology Classrooms: A Comparative Case Study

• In Event: Collaborating for Educational Equity and Excellence for Immigrant and Refugee Newcomers: Research Trajectories Across Stakeholders

Abstract

The purpose of this comparative case study (Yin, 2009) is to examine the ways in which two high school biology classrooms afford and constrain meaning-making opportunities for newcomer English language learners (ELLs). Despite these students’ varied linguistic, cultural and academic strengths, achievement gaps between ELLs and mainstream students in STEM classrooms continue to grow (Wilkinson, Maher, & Bailey, 2018; Gándara & Hopkins, 2010). When enrolled in science courses designed specifically for ELLs, less content is covered and at a slower pace (Estrada & Wang, 2013), and ELLs participate less frequently in advanced science coursework. Collectively, these negatively impact ELLs’ overall science success, including participation in STEM professions (NASEM, 2018). Consistent with AERA’s theme of understanding collaboration between stakeholders and researchers, we explore how multiple members of classroom communities might shape more equitable opportunities for newcomers.
Using communities of practice as our theoretical framework, we investigate how classroom communities afford meaning-making, or opportunities for members to negotiate classroom goals, resources, and identities (Wenger, 1998). Data sources include field notes from 26 observations of classroom instruction conducted over a three month period, semi-structured interviews with biology and ESL teachers (n=3), and semi-structured interviews with newcomer ELLs from each classroom (n=8). Data analysis of each case relied on the constant comparative method (Corbin & Strauss, 2015) to understand (1) how students and teachers negotiated meaning in each community, and then, (2) how the community of practice shaped these opportunities for meaning making. We then compared findings across cases to generate mid-level theories for how similar classrooms might support the participation of newcomer ELLs.
Findings show three major themes for supporting newcomers meaning-making in high school biology classrooms. First, as varied classroom activities encourage the use of different resources—including graphic organizers, conceptual models, and academic language—students need opportunities to negotiate the use of these resources with the aid of instructional scaffolding (Walqui & van Lier, 2010; Pea, 2004). Second, newcomers had opportunities for meaning-making when they could negotiate their engagement, including opportunities to access material collaboratively, with the assistance of home languages, and through connections to their prior knowledge and experiences. Lastly, our comparison across cases illustrates the need for balancing goal-based instruction with teacher responsiveness to student-inquiry, or what Wenger (1998) describes as the co-construction of a community’s joint enterprises.
Given that scant work has investigated newcomer participation in secondary STEM classrooms, this study identifies moments of emerging meaning-making in two distinct contexts. As more mainstream teachers work with an increasingly diverse student population (Villegas, Strom, & Lucas, 2012), this study makes a significant contribution in addressing the ways that all teachers—and not just those in ESL or language-focused classrooms—can tap into the strengths that newcomers bring to their learning.

Authors

• Mark Barba Pacheco, University of Florida

• Julie Brown, University of Minessota -Twin Cities