Is Science a Foreign Language?
As a science teacher is it my job to teach literacy to students or is that something the ELA teacher should teach? A lot of times teachers get stuck in their own field and standards that they dismiss other areas that should be addressed in order for a student to succeed all around. In science you will hear that it is its own language and that is why people do not understand it. I agree that science can be a foreign language at times and it can make it more difficult to understand. So why would a science teacher not take the time to make sure students are science literate? They absolutely should teach literacy to students, but the difficult task really is, how do you do it?
I did not learn actual science literacy until I went off to college and was a science major. Then I had to know how to read, speak, and write it, and yes it is its own language at times. That is why I took a whole class on the terminology. I wish I had that class sooner, even in high school, to help break the words up like you do in English class. For a middle schooler though, this is not a class they would be interested in unless they somehow knew they wanted to be in the science field. It would not capture their attention at all. That is the key in teaching science literacy to students, capturing their attention. Not all students, probably not even half, want to go into a science field when they grow up or are at all interested in science unless the lesson includes a hands-on activity and they are applying outside knowledge to what they are doing in the classroom. Currently we are going over the parts of the body in my practicum. This is something everyone can connect to just because we all have the same parts. What makes it interesting though is when students get to hear their heartbeat or find out why they have different blood types. When students are able to connect the material to themselves and learn how to apply it to the outside world they become interested. Frey and Fisher (2010) even suggest that younger students must be motivated to learn because at this developmental stage schoolwork is in a decline, and teachers tend to assign less-rigorous tasks to appease the disenchanted students. I do not believe teachers need to step back and not push students to learn, instead they should be pushing themselves to push the students. Find ways to engage the students and get them motivated to learn. One of the movies that first captured my attention for teaching was Freedom Writers.
She worked hard to engage the students in order to motivate them to want to learn and come to school when she knew they had a hard life and wished to be anywhere but school. This clip shows how she used the simplest thing such as tape on the floor to get their attention, and learn more about who they are outside of school, which I love. It is important to try and get to know your students if you want them to trust you in their learning. That connection with your students will help in their motivation of wanting to be in your class and learn what you have to teach them.
For science, inquiry is a type of lesson that is used in order to engage students first. It, also, allows students to explore before explain, which is similar to the real world of science. Just like McTighe, Seif, and Wiggins (p.26, 2004) say in their article, “Students are more likely to make meaning and gain understanding when they link new information to prior knowledge, relate facts to “big ideas,” explore essential questions, and apply their learning in new contexts.” This way of learning gets students thinking and applying their knowledge to learn. It is great for all learners because not everyone learns the same way.
Just like this cartoon implies with a great quote from Albert Einstein, “If you judge a fish by its ‘ability’ to climb a tree, it will spend its entire life believing it’s stupid.” Unfortunately that is true, if teachers do not teach to all types of learners and try to reach all students there will be some who believe they are too stupid for school, or school is not for them. Especially in science you will hear parents telling their kids that science was hard for them so it is in their genes not to get science. I hate that! That is so untrue because everyone has the ability to understand anything they want as long as they are provided the right tools. Teachers must provide these tools so that our students are prepared to go into the real world and understand even science literature.
I enjoyed the Ted Ed talk from Temple Grandin (2013) explaining how the autistic brain works. The first thing you think of when you think of Albert Einstein is probably not that he was autistic, but that he was a genius. A lot of geniuses are usually autistic, but for teachers when they have an autistic child in their class all they think about is the headache of an IEP or 504 plan. What they should be looking at with these plans is how can I make sure I reach all my students with this lesson no matter how they learn. Like Gutzmer and Wilder (2012) state, it requires that teachers present students with clearly stated goals that define where they want to take the students’ literacy and learning, and teachers must listen to students’ voices so they can respectfully and individually guide them toward their destinations. Fisher, Frey, and Lapp even express (2010) how teachers should prompt and cue students in order to guide their understanding. Using inquiry in science helps scaffold the learning for all learners to learn throughout the lesson with hands-on activities, technology, reading, and visually. In this style of teaching formative assessments are used to guide the learning to make sure students are following along. As a science teacher my goal is to get students motivated to explore science while becoming science literate for the real world.
References
Fisher, D., Frey, N. (2010). Motivation Requires a Meaningful Task. The English Journal,100(1), 30–36. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2010). Reading When Students Don’t Get It. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy , 54(1), 57–60. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
Gutzmer, C., & Wilder, P. (2012). Writing So People Can Hear Me”: Responsive Teaching in a Middle School Poetry Unit. Voices From the Middle, 19(3), 37–44. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
K. (2013, June 27). Freedom Writers 03. Retrieved December 07, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9axXKI3zBgU
Markum, L. (2016, September 02). Why the Lack of Science Literacy in North America? Retrieved December 07, 2017, from https://chestnutleafmedia.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/why-the-lack-of-science-literacy-in-north-america/
McTighe, J., Seif, E., & Wiggins, G. (2004). You Can Teach for Meaning. Educational Leadership, 62(1), 26–31. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
T. (2013, February 10). The world needs all kinds of minds — Temple Grandin. Retrieved December 07, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKhg68QJlo0&t=196s
