Integraciones y Restricciones: The Delicate Balance of Science and Engineering Instruction in Bilingual and Dual-Language K–5

• In Event: Equity and Social Justice in Science and Engineering Education in Bilingual and Dual-Language Education

Abstract

In the context of Bilingual and Dual Language (BDL) education, efforts to center equity include asset-based approaches. In conjunction with grade- and subject-appropriate content (Howard et al., 2018) in classrooms, particularly at elementary schools, an asset-based approach centers the linguistic and cultural realities of students and teachers (Paris & Alim, 2017).
To address these realities and remove barriers to participation for multilingual students and their teachers, authors developed a PD program. We worked with a group of 24 K-5 BDL teachers in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico about ways to situate science and engineering (S&E) practices in BDL. One unique feature of the PD program was that the authorship team, who are multilingual and multicultural, delivered PD using translanguaging practices. Two PD sessions were conducted, one during Spring 2021 and the other during Summer 2021. A final concluding reflection session took place in Fall 2021.
Topics of the first PD included, leveraging students’ linguistic and cultural capital using a custom-developed lesson plan template; equipping students with authentic and situated academic literacies needed to support their formation as bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate professionals in society using the three pillars of bilingualism (Howard et al., 2018; Taju Educational Solutions, 2020); and acknowledging cultural and linguistic assets of communities of color including teachers via reflections. This initial PD set the stage for teachers to develop, test, and reflect on their developed curriculum during Summer and Fall 2021 terms.
Before and after the first PD session, a validated scale titled Science and Engineering Teaching in Bilingual and Dual Language Scale (Authors, under review) was given to the teachers to complete. Statistical analysis suggested that the K-5 BDL teachers showed improvements in their understanding on how to include science and engineering principles in their classrooms by better defining problems, formulating arguments from evidence, and asking questions (Authors, 2022). Also, authors found that BDL teachers identified differently as innovator, hands-on teacher, mathematical integrator, or investigator based on their school district, home culture, and BDL program model (Authors, under review).
This paper explores the second PD session during the Summer of 2021. In this PD, teachers showcased their initial iteration of their developed content with their students and summarized their observations with the authorship team; developed curriculum materials were also shared. Using content and thematic analysis, teachers’ products were explored to identify if and how the K-5 BDL teachers intentionally included bilingual and biliteracy practices simultaneously with S&E activities. Furthermore, a tabulation was conducted around whether teachers used Spanish and English vocabulary to bridge S&E in their classes, if translanguaging was used in their lesson planning, and the extent to which they integrated S&E principles in their developed content. Finally, teachers’ expressions of restrictions to integrating S&E with BDL were explored.

Authors

• Idalis Villanueva Alarcon, University of Florida
  Presenting Author

• Edwin Marte, University of Florida
  Presenting Author

• Marialuisa Di Stefano, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  Presenting Author

• Alberto Esquinca, San Diego State University
  Non-Presenting Author