期刊名称：Electronic Journal of Literacy through Science
电子版ISSN：1934-6670
出版年度：2002
卷号：2
出版社：University of California, Davis
摘要：limited teacher science knowledge, time, inadequate equipment and textbooks. Current research shows similar trends - that the bulk of class time is spent on language arts instruction and not enough on science at the elementary level (Akerson & Flanagan, 2000; Cunningham & Allington, 1999; Stefanich, 1992). Contributing factors to inadequate science teaching in these citations include limited science knowledge, inadequate equipment and textbooks. While inadequate equipment and textbooks can be easily resolved, limited scientific knowledge is a more long term problem requiring teacher development. When teachers recognize that their strengths in literacy can be used to help their science teaching they may be willing to spend more time teaching science (Akerson & Flanigan, 2000). Jarrett (1999) concluded that a majority of pre-service teachers at a Southern university were ill-prepared to effectively teach science. Other studies have found similar results, noting that preservice elementary teachers feel inadequate in their abilities to teach science (Enochs & Riggs, 1990), and indeed, have many considerations in becoming a new teacher that makes it even more difficult to overcome feelings of inadequacy (Hollingsworth, 1989). Jarrett performed the study over a three year period and found that limited experience with science was a determining factor that caused many pre-service teachers to shy away from effectively teaching science during their in-service. Science is an ever changing field. If elementary science instruction is based on learning facts using old texts then the information taught may be outdated. A textbook transmission approach to teaching science with little ‘hands on’ and ‘minds on’ inquiry and experimentation limits the effectiveness of science instruction. Conversely, science learning that is composed of manipulating “cute” objects, plants, and animals with little debriefing and discussion also has limited effectiveness (Glynn, 1994). Using language arts is a natural connection for exploring scientific ideas. Elementary teachers are particularly strong in language arts instruction, and using their strengths in literacy for science instruction can help solve the problem of too little time spent on science. This use of language arts in science is the focus of the current research project which studies how language arts can influence students’ abilities to do scientific inquiry and to become scientifically literate. With increased technological advances in our world today, an adequate science background or ‘scientific literacy’ is almost essential. For the lay person newspapers, educational shows, and magazines are good sources for cutting edge discoveries and current events. Scientific literacy enables us to understand, for example, the basics of a treatment that the hospital performs or it can help us to know what happens to all the garbage that is sent to the dump. Understanding options to medical treatments can help one make an informed decision. Knowing what happens to garbage that is sent to the dump may motivate reduction in waste by recycling and buying recyclable materials. Additional benefits of scientific literacy include preparation for higher level science courses in middle and high school and can build curiosity. Integrating science and language arts at the elementary level also helps one have an advantage in a technologically advanced society and more effectively meets learning requirements formulated by the national benchmarks (AAAS, 1993). It seems clear that using science and language arts in a complementary fashion at the elementary level has multiple benefits.
