The Persistence of Science Instruction Within Treatment and Control Classrooms With English Learners

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Dialogue, Discourse, and Language in Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

In this study, we examined the survivability, or persistence over time, of overall science instruction for English Learners (ELs) in treatment and control classrooms within a field-based, quasi-experimental NSF-funded project. The project’s goal was to increase ELs’ science and language achievement through implementation of a literacy-infused science inquiry model with scripted lessons. The project included observational data on activity structures in treatment and control classrooms. Using survival analysis, we analyzed science inquiry instruction survival (i.e., free of lecture-based teaching) and general science instruction time-on-task survival (i.e., free of interruptions) in both groups. Results indicated a statistically significant difference in science inquiry and time-on-task science instruction persistence in favor of treatment classrooms. Implications and possibilities for future research are considered.

Authors

• Tiberio Garza, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Margarita Huerta, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Fuhui Tong, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Rafael Lara-Alecio, Texas A&M University

• Beverly J. Irby, Texas A&M University - College Station