CPEC

Science - Introduction

Our Theoretical Basis

Academic Literacy in Science: Effective science instruction includes opportunities for students to engage in inquiry, and to engage in scientific discussions to construct explanations (Gallas, 1995; Lemke, 1990; Rosebery, Warren & Conant, 1992; Wilkinson & Silliman, 2000). Participating in scientific discourse, however, requires specific discourse skills. Students need to know vocabulary as more than definitions; they need to understand the scientific concepts embedded in the words. Students should be able to recognize the difference between evidence and interpretation, and must be able to construct explanations and defend them with appropriate evidence. They must be able to synthesize information from several sources - experience, discussion, and text - to construct explanations. These general cognitive skills must be mastered in three domains: in oral discourse, in the analysis of text, and in the production of writing.

Defining Academic Literacy in Science

We define academic literacy in three domains:

The ability to use appropriate oral discourse structures that support the joint construction of knowledge in the classroom.
The ability to select from a range of reading strategies to extract meaning and analyze both subtle and overt statements in textbooks and other resources such as popular accounts of scientific concepts.
The ability to summarize information, construct written explanations and arguments, and synthesize and analyze information, evidence, or arguments from several sources and write proficiently.

Program Goals for Teachers

Through professional learning SASP seeks to assist teachers in the following areas:

Master a repertoire of dialogue and reading strategies to help students make meaning from complex expository text, and identify the evidence supporting scientific claims.
Acquire additional techniques for scaffolding students' ability to write explanations of concepts, models, and theories in science and construct scientific arguments.
Develop classroom discourse structures that support cooperative work and deepen student understanding.