Relations Between Teachers' Instructional Support and Elementary School Students' Science Knowledge and Academic Language Proficiency

• In Event: Teaching Attitudes and Strategies to Promote Student Learning in Science

Abstract

Research on the importance of teaching quality for students’ learning outcomes has mostly focused on content knowledge but paid little attention to students’ language-related learning gains. Drawing on data from a longitudinal intervention study in third grade science classrooms in Germany, we investigate the relation between teachers’ instructional support and students’ learning gains in science content knowledge and academic language proficiency. Our findings indicate a strong impact of prior knowledge on students’ learning outcomes and substantial composition effects for the language-related measures. Relations between teachers’ instructional support and students’ learning outcomes only emerged for general academic vocabulary. In interpreting the results, the overall low quality of teachers’ instructional support needs to be considered.

Authors

• Birgit Heppt, Humboldt University - Berlin

• Sofie Henschel

• Ilonca Hardy, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt