Developing an Instrument to Measure Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Language for Scientific Sense-Making (Poster 8)

• In Event: Attending to the Crevasse Between Equity- and Content-Oriented Goals in Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Objectives. Current reform approaches call for students to generate scientific knowledge through language-intensive (NASEM, 2018) science practices (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Our work centers around multilingual students having meaningful opportunities to engage in practice-oriented instruction (Berland et al., 2016). Importantly, this student group has, and continues being, excluded from these rich learning experiences (NASEM, 2018), in part because of teacher language ideologies (Lemmi et al., 2019) that privilege learning occurring in a certain variety of English, and teacher preparation programs inadequately preparing preservice teachers to teach science to multilingual students (Rutt et al., 2021). To address language injustices permeating science learning spaces (Authors, 2021), teachers must develop expansive views of language and the centrality of language for scientific sensemaking (Grapin et al., 2022).
Tools for assessing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) have been important for determining where teachers’ understandings and instructional practices stand to better inform teacher learning experiences. Thus, we are developing an instrument to measure PCK of language for scientific sensemaking (PCK of LSS). Grounded in translanguaging theory and praxis, this instrument is intended to uncover teachers’ orientations around the intersection of language and scientific sensemaking, particularly focusing on the “crevasse” between narrow and expansive views of language, and how these views connect to pedagogical moves that support or hinder multilingual students’ engagement in science practices. This instrument is intended to help better prepare teachers to realize the promise of the NGSS being for all students (Lee et al., 2014) and to inform the creation of teacher educator resources.

Theoretical Framework. Our instrument development work adopts a disciplinary perspective on translanguaging (Pierson & Grapin, 2022) in that items are designed to examine teacher noticing (Benedict-Chambers & Aram, 2017) of the ways students mobilize their linguistic and semiotic resources without regard to socially constructed boundaries (García & Wei, 2014; Otheguy et al., 2015) when sensemaking via science practices (Authors, Accepted).

Ongoing Development - Data and Methods. In this poster, we share our current conceptualization of the construct of PCK of LSS (see Figure 1). We also detail our planned process to iteratively develop instrument items and refine the construct. This process includes: drafting items that capture teaching and learning “in situ” (Kind, 2009) to measure construct subdomains; piloting items with approximately 100 preservice teachers; using exploratory factor analysis to refine our conceptualization of the construct to then revise the assessment items (Furr, 2021); and steps we will take to ensure reliability and validity of the tool.

Significance. Our aim is that preservice teachers learn to notice, elicit and value the diverse ways multilingual students translanguage when scientific sensemaking. Specifically, we believe that a disciplinary perspective on translanguaging (Pierson & Grapin, 2022) offers a venue through which to examine and work towards disciplinary and language learning goals, goals that are often considered in tension. Ultimately, through our teacher education work we hope to develop future science teachers that actively work against the perpetuation of language inequalities by fostering justice-oriented, translanguaging spaces (Wei, 2018) within their classrooms.

Authors

• María González-Howard, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Sage Andersen, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Karina Méndez Pérez, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Carla Robinson, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author