The Role of Language in Content Pedagogy: A Framework for Teachers’ Knowledge

Description

This book explores the importance of language in content learning. It focuses on teachers’ roles, knowledge and understanding of language in school contexts (including academic language and disciplinary languages) to support students. It examines teachers' language-related knowledge base for content teaching, which include teachers' knowledge of and about language, knowledge of (their) students and their pedagogical knowledge. This book also explores how teachers’ knowledge of language, students and content are linked as part of a larger pedagogical content knowledge, which includes knowledge of the role of language in content learning. As well, it further considers literacy (and literacies) as part of this examination of teachers’ knowledge of language. Contents Contributors 1 Introduction to the Volume: Mapping the Language-Related Knowledge Base for Content Teaching 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Background: Language in Learning 1.1.2 Teachers’ Roles 1.2 Language-Related Knowledge Base for Content Teaching (LRKCT) 1.2.1 Knowledge of Language (KL) 1.2.2 Knowledge About Language (KAL) 1.2.3 Knowledge of Students (KS) 1.2.4 Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) 1.2.5 Mapping LRKCT 1.2.6 LRKCT for Content Teaching and the PCK of Language Teachers 1.2.7 LRKCT and the PCK of Content Teachers 1.3 Overview of the Volume 1.3.1 Sociocultural Perspectives 1.3.2 Systemic Functional Linguistics 1.3.3 Building on the LRKCT Framework References Part I Studies in Science and TLA 2 Unpacking the Language-Related Knowledge Components of Science Teachers Through the Language Awareness Lens 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature Review 2.2.1 The Importance and Role of Language-Related Knowledge in Science Teaching 2.2.2 The Lens of Teacher Language Awareness 2.2.3 The Relevance of TLA to Science Teaching 2.3 Research Design 2.3.1 Research Context 2.3.2 Inquiry Cycle 2.3.3 Data Sources 2.3.4 Analysis 2.3.5 Declarative TLA (dTLA) 2.3.6 Procedural TLA (pTLA) 2.4 Findings 2.4.1 Knowledge About (Scientific) Language (KAL) 2.4.2 Knowledge About Students’ Language (KS) 2.4.3 Procedural Dimension of TLA (pTLA) 2.5 Discussion References 3 Raising Science Teachers’ Language Awareness: A Functional Literacy Approach to Teaching Science 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Literature Review 3.2.1 A Functional Literacy Approach to Literacy 3.2.2 Teacher Reflections 3.3 Methodology 3.3.1 Context of Study 3.3.2 Teacher Inquiry and Knowledge Building Cycles 3.3.3 Analysis of Teacher Reflections 3.4 Findings 3.4.1 Developing Language Awareness in Science Teaching 3.4.2 Designing a Communicative Classroom 3.4.3 Making the Learning Process Visible 3.5 Discussion 3.6 Conclusion References 4 High School Science Teachers Learning to Teach Science Reading Through a Functional Focus on Language: Toward a Grounded Theory of Teacher Learning 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Science Language and Science Teaching/Learning 4.3 Methods 4.3.1 Setting 4.3.2 Participants 4.3.3 Professional Development Program 4.3.4 Data Collection 4.3.5 Data Analysis 4.4 Findings 4.4.1 Embracing a New Perspective on Science Language/Reading 4.4.2 Learning About Science Language 4.4.3 Teaching Science Language 4.5 Discussion 4.6 Conclusion References 5 Building Science Teacher Disciplinary Linguistic Knowledge with SFL 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Theoretical Framework 5.2.1 Disciplinary Linguistic Knowledge 5.2.2 Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) 5.2.3 SFL and Teacher’s Professional Knowledge Development 5.3 Methods and Context 5.3.1 School Context 5.3.2 Data Collection and Analysis 5.4 Findings: Four Stages in Developing Disciplinary Linguistic Knowledge 5.4.1 Stage 1: Learning Functional Metalanguage to “See” Classroom Discourse in New Ways 5.4.2 Stage 2: Applying Functional Metalanguage to Develop Conscious Knowledge of Official Literacy Practices in High-School Chemistry 5.4.3 Stage 3: Applying Functional Metalanguage to Develop Conscious Knowledge of Multilingual Students’ Literacy Practices in Chemistry 5.4.4 Stage 4: Experimenting with Language-Focused Curriculum Design and Implementation for His Unique Context 5.5 Discussion and Reflection on DLK Development 5.6 Implications for Science Teacher Education and Professional Development Appendix A: Excerpt from John’s High-School Chemistry Textbook (Hsu et al., 2010) Appendix B: Multilingual Student Ly’s Writing on Two Periodic Table Worksheets Appendix C: John’s Application of DLK in the Form of a Functional Language Analysis Worksheet References 6 From Image-to-Writing: A Teacher's PCK in Supporting Primary School Students in Making Sense of the Specialised Language of Science 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Language of Science and Its Challenges 6.2.1 Technicality 6.2.2 Abstraction 6.2.3 Information Density 6.3 An Image-to-Writing Approach as a Complement to Experiential Science Activities 6.3.1 The Learning Stages of Image-to-Writing Approach 6.4 Teaching and Learning as Design 6.4.1 Meaning-Making Potential of Modes and P-R-C-K 6.5 Design of I2W Activity for “Pollination” 6.6 Teacher’s Role in the Enactment of I2W 6.6.1 Mr. N’s Orchestration of Modes in the Teaching of Pollination Through I2W Approach 6.7 Pedagogical-Representational-Content-Knowledge of Mr. N 6.8 Conclusion References 7 Teachers’ Language-Based Knowledge to Support Students’ Science Learning 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Language-Based Knowledge for Teaching Science 7.3 Warrants for the RCA to Student Learning 7.4 Principles of Representation Construction Pedagogy and Teacher’s LRKCT 7.4.1 The Approach is Based on a Sequence of Representational Challenges in Topics 7.4.2 Representations Are Explicitly Analysed and Refined 7.4.3 Consolidation and Extension 7.5 Teacher Language-Based Knowledge Required to Enact This Pedagogy 7.5.1 Case Study One: Year 10: Atomic Structure and Electron Shells: Isotopes and Half-Lives 7.5.2 Teacher LRKCT 7.5.3 Case Study Two: Respiration in Year 11 Biology 7.5.4 Teacher LRKCT 7.6 Conclusions and Implications References Part II Studies in Social Science and TLA 8 Beyond the Word Hunt: Teaching the Ways We Construe Causation in History Education 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Beyond the Word Hunt 8.3 SFL in the Classroom 8.4 Teaching Causation in US History Classes 8.5 Non-conjunctive Forms of Causal Cohesion 8.6 Cause Circumstantial Constructions 8.7 Causatives 8.8 Causal Asyndetic Construction (CACs) 8.9 Causal Language, Not Just Signal Words 8.10 Classroom Applications 8.11 Conclusion Appendix: Examples of Language Analysis for History Textbooks References 9 The Language of Historical Thinking Read-Alouds 9.1 The Language of Historical Thinking Read-Alouds 9.2 Review of the Literature 9.2.1 Role of Language 9.2.2 Historical Thinking Read-Alouds 9.2.3 Read-Alouds 9.2.4 Texts for HTRAs 9.2.5 HTRAs and Research Trends 9.3 Methods 9.3.1 Context 9.3.2 Participants 9.3.3 Instructional Differences Across Semesters 9.3.4 Data Sources 9.3.5 Data Analysis 9.3.6 Researcher Positioning 9.3.7 Limitations 9.4 Findings 9.4.1 Learning Language Knowledge 9.4.2 Demonstrating Language Knowledge 9.4.3 Making Mistakes 9.4.4 Increasing Critical Talk 9.5 Discussion 9.6 Conclusion References 10 The Underground Railroad Doesn’t Run Underground: Tackling Metaphors in the Social Studies Classroom 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Literature Review 10.2.1 Pedagogical Language Knowledge (PLK) 10.2.2 The Language of Social Studies as Culturally and Linguistically Responsive 10.2.3 Systemic Functional Linguistics and Teacher Noticing 10.3 Methodology 10.4 Findings 10.4.1 Missed Linguistic Opportunities 10.4.2 Application to Practice 10.5 Implications References 11 Thinking and Talking Like a Geographer: Teachers’ Use of Dialogic Talk for Engaging Students with Multimodal Data in the Geography Classroom 11.1 Introduction 11.1.1 Disciplinary Literacy and Knowledge Construction 11.1.2 Dialogic Talk and Knowledge Construction 11.2 Research Context and Methodology 11.3 Findings and Implications for Pedagogy 11.3.1 Building Routines for Decoding Multimodal Data 11.3.2 Building Routines for Independent Specification of Evidence from Data 11.3.3 Recasting Data to Construct Geographical Explanations 11.3.4 Increased Engagement and Student Input 11.4 Conclusion References 12 Commentary: What Do We Mean by “Language”? And Other Key Questions Related to Building a Language-Related Knowledge Base for Teachers 12.1 What is the Primary Goal of a Language-Related Knowledge Base for Content Teaching? 12.1.1 Teach Teachers to Analyze Functional Grammar with Their Students 12.1.2 Encourage Teachers to Foster Dialogic Student Discussion 12.1.3 Prepare Teachers to Engage Students in Interpreting and Producing Multimodal Representations 12.2 What Do We Mean by “Language”? 12.3 What Do We Know About the Subject Areas that We Are Focusing on, and What Sources Are We Using to Understand the Nature of Language in Each Discipline? 12.4 Who Are Our Students, and What Are They Already Able to Do with Their Linguistic (and Other Semiotic) Resources? References