The Integration of English Language Development and Inquiry Science into a Blended Professional Development Design

Abstract

Over a 4-year period, a large urban California school district developed and implemented a blended inquiry science and English Language Development (ELD) program in an effort to provide their English language learners opportunities to develop proficiency in English through participation in inquiry-based science. The resulting, “science/ELD blended program,” utilized a combined science/ELD lesson plan to structure and guide teachers’ efforts to use science as the context for language development. In this paper we describe the development and outcomes of this program. A sample that included 3 school principals, 60 teachers, and over 2000 students in Kindergarten through 5th grade provides windows into the effectiveness of the program. Implementation of this program resulted in enhanced status for science, increases in students’ English oral language use, and changes in teachers’ understanding of their own teaching practice. Additionally, participating students’ English and science achievement, compared to a similar group of students who were using the district’s established English language development curriculum, demonstrates modest, but statistically significant improvement. Results from this study suggest that restricting instructional minutes for science to provide additional time for ELD and English language arts may be unnecessary. Rather, allowing consistent time for science instruction that incorporates ELD instruction along with inquiry science experiences may provide the authentic and purposeful context students need to develop new language without restricting access to science content.