“I am not a language arts teacher! I teach science.” Those are the statements I heard at every science curriculum and/or departmental meeting where teaching strategies for science literacy was being discussed. Traditionally science classes taught science information only. Science vocabulary was a list of words to be memorized for each unit of instruction.
The misconception of many secondary science teachers is that “science literacy” is a euphemism for teaching language arts skills in science class. It’s not. In a previous blog post, scientific literacy was described as “the ability to use, apply and then communicate ideas in many forms…….Scientifically literate students communicate their understanding of science through written essays, illustrations, and discussion and can apply their understanding in new situations to answer their questions and solve new problems.” The communication of ideas is how students demonstrate their understanding of science knowledge and concepts.
Science literacy is the ability to evaluate and use scientific information in a quest to understand the world around us. The knowledge and skills of scientific literacy can be used in all aspects of life.
Effective communication of science ideas is a foundation of the NGSS. The science and engineering practices specifically have students developing communication skills as they learn to construct explanations, engage in arguments from evidence and obtain, evaluate and communicate information. Vocabulary and vocabulary development is an integral part of learning to communicate in science. Figure 1 illustrates the many methods of communication that can be used by students as they learn to communicate their understandings and ideas about science.
Figure 1
Facilitation of students expanding their science vocabulary is a cornerstone of student development of communication. I cringe when I think back to the flashcards, crossword puzzles and word searches I gave students when I first started teaching as way to learn their vocabulary! In future blog posts we are going to discuss practical and effective strategies for increasing student learning through vocabulary development.