A University-School Partnership to Promote Scientific Argumentation among Emergent Bilingual Students

• In Event: A School-University Research Practice Partnership: Why, How, and What's Next

Abstract

Engaging in scientific argumentation can build students’ epistemic understanding of how scientific knowledge is generated, a key goal in science education (Berland et al., 2016; Duschl & Osborne, 2002). However, shortcomings in students’ argumentation skills have been well-documented since the 1990s (e.g., Lemke, 1990; McNeill & Knight, 2013; Sadler, 2004), with a lack of instructional time dedicated to developing these skills (e.g., Driver et al., 2000; Newton et al., 1999; Osborne et al., 2003). Emergent bilingual students who are simultaneously learning a new language and new content are faced with dual challenges in developing scientific arguments within an English-speaking classroom. Translanguaging allows individuals to draw upon their full repertoire of linguistic resources to make meaning and communicate (García & Sylvan, 2011; Li, 2018; Otheguy et al., 2015). This can help students develop a more nuanced understanding of argumentation (Licona & Kelly, 2020).

This presentation will describe a recent university-school partnership that was supported by CERI. When a middle school science teacher sought to deepen her students’ thinking about scientific concepts, she connected with a university researcher to develop and research scientific argumentation opportunities for her students. Drawing upon theories of argumentation (e.g., McNeill et al., 2006; Toulmin, 1958) and translanguaging (e.g., García, 2009; Otheguy et al., 2015), this study explored the research questions:
1. How does the quality of students’ claims, evidence, and reasoning statements change over the course of a school year?
2. How do emergent bilingual students draw upon language resources from English and Spanish in their written arguments?

The study utilized design-based implementation research (DBIR) methods, which include collaborative design, testing, and iterative improvement of classroom innovations to respond to student needs (Cobb et al., 2003; Penuel et al., 2011). Seventh-grade students’ written arguments from the entire school year were analyzed for the use of English and Spanish language resources and the quality of the written argument. Among 79 students, quantitative results showed improvement in argument quality over the school year. Among a subset of 16 emergent bilingual students, qualitative analyses showed shifts in students’ use of Spanish and English languages over the school year. While many previous studies have explored scientific argumentation (e.g., Cavagnetto, 2010; Manz, 2015) and some have explored teachers’ support of translanguaging (e.g., Licona & Kelly, 2020), this study is significant in its mixed methods, design-based approach to researching the written arguments of emergent bilingual students.

While research findings will be briefly described, this presentation will focus on illustrating connections between the project and CERI’s guiding principles. First, the project arose out of mutual interest. A middle school science teacher actively sought a university collaborator to support her classroom innovation, and the university researcher saw connections to her research interests. Second, the school and university partners closely collaborated throughout the project, shaping its focus, co-analyzing student data, and co-authoring presentations and papers. Finally, findings from the project are being disseminated through the context of CERI as well as broadly to research and teacher audiences.

Authors

• Jeanna R. Wieselmann, Southern Methodist University

• Ashley M. Lozano, Dallas Independent School District

• J. Kyle Roberts, Southern Methodist University

• Muhammad Guntur Purwanto, University of Minnesota