Toward a Just Science Education for Multilingual Learners: Learning to Assign Competence through Mixed-Reality Simulations

• In Event: Advancing Equity in Science Education Research: Research, Remedies, and Pathways to Renewal

Abstract

Teaching science is dynamic and complex, requiring the development of disciplinary knowledge and access to practices for students who bring diverse experiences to the classroom, some of which may not have historically been valued in science education. To prepare teachers to meet the needs of all students, especially those historically marginalized or excluded from science curricula, it is essential to create spaces where all students, including multilingual learners (MLs), feel they belong. MLs are the fastest-growing student population in the US (NCES, 2022), yet few teachers feel prepared to teach them science (Banilower et al., 2013). Training teachers to simultaneously address science and language development allows for interdisciplinary collaboration, broadening equitable participation for MLs (Lee & Stephens, 2020).

This study, part of a larger collaborative research study on preparing pre-service science teachers (PSTs) to work with MLs, focused on assigning competence (Ball, 2018) to students and their ideas. The interdisciplinary collaboration between science education faculty and a multilingual learning researcher operated within a secondary certification program at a Midwestern university, where PSTs are prepared and dual-certified to teach science and English as a Second Language.

The instructional approach in this study was informed by complex instruction (Cohen et al., 1999), which integrates group-worthy tasks, multiple-ability framing, delegation of authority through group roles, and assigning competence. The study focuses on assigning competence, the least studied strategy in complex instruction. This strategy involves recognizing the contributions of students perceived as low status and publicly engaging with those ideas in ways that elevate their status (Cohen et al., 1999). Ball (2018) suggested that such strategies can be employed in discretionary spaces—moments during instruction where teachers decide to act or not act. In these moments, teachers have significant agency to address or reinforce inequity.
The research questions guiding this study are: (1) how do PSTs leverage assigning competence as an instructional strategy to mitigate language inequities in their classroom participation? And (2) how does the use of assigning competence impact participation patterns within a mixed-reality simulation?
The researchers utilized mixed-reality simulations to create discretionary spaces where PSTs could address the dynamic and complex nature of teaching science to MLs. During mixed-reality simulations, trained actors manipulated virtual avatar students to act as secondary school students and respond to the pre-service teachers’ orchestration of a science lesson. Drawing on video records from a cohort of 17 secondary science preservice teachers, evidence was collected on the ways in which simulations allowed for PSTs to practice and reflect on their ability in assigning competence in controlled environments before they entered the more complex reality of science classrooms.

This study’s significance lies in applying and advancing a powerful anti-racist pedagogy, such as assigning competence, to multilingual education. It also interrogates the affordances and limitations of mixed-reality simulation as a research methodology and teacher education tool. By preparing teachers to recognize and value the diverse experiences and contributions of all students, particularly MLs, this work aims to foster a more equitable and inclusive science education system.

Authors

• Mark R. Olson, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Mariana Castro, University of Wisconsin - Madison