Supporting English Language Learners as Knowledge-Builders in Collaborative Science Classrooms

• In Event: Identity, Language, and Knowledge in Science Learning

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the engagement of eight English as a New Language (ENL) learners in a Grade 5 science program implemented using a collaborative, knowledge-building approach. The fifth-graders studied three science topics over a school year with the support of the Idea Thread Mapper platform. Rich data were collected including classroom observations of the classroom activities in each science lessons, records of online discourse, and interviews with the ENL teacher and the science teacher. Data analysis using a ground theory approach identified patterns of the teachers support in relation to the participants’ engagement in knowledge building.

Authors

• Marzieh Dehghan-Chaleshtori, University at Albany - SUNY

• Jianwei Zhang, University at Albany - SUNY