Abstract This research was designe...

Abstract

This research was designed to determine the value of implementing a hands-on, inquiry science curriculum in classrooms where elementary children are developing inferior language skills along with their first language skills. The children were taught through interns from the University of Texas at El Paso in three elementary place of educations in the El Paso area. Half the instruction was in Spanish and half in English. The interns and in-service teachers provided evidence of the children's universal development. The elementary students provided data via an attitude examine and written assessments from 107 fifth graders. The consistency of the data indicates that there was a vigorous positive feeling about the value of this inquiry approach for increasing the children's language skills in as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but languages, that new science universals were understood, and there was excessively little difference between children who chose Spanish or those who chose English to rejoin The results of this research illustrate the value of a hands-on inquiry science program in a bilingual community.

Introduction and Background

The number of pupils entering our nation's schools with domicile languages other than English is increasing rapidly, and by dint of 2050, it is projected nearly one-quarter of our population will be Hispanic (Riley, 1999) ofttimes teachers have little or no preparation in working with these scholars (Samway & McKeon, 1999). The pupil who is in the proces of learning English must focus upon the academic content as well as learning a just discovered language. It is important to provide tools to assist our teachers to provide quality learning experiences for their children plane though the student and the teacher speak different languages.

Inequities

Latino/as exhibit about 10% of the U population, and this percentage will increase in the nearest generations. The largest numbers of scholars in U.S. schools who are learning English as their next to the first language are students from Spanish-speaking abodes Latino/as and other minority assemblages must be fully able to participate in science to improve the quantity and quality of human resources of a abiding habitation In addition, a poor understanding of science and its implications is a disadvantage for any individual in the dynamic society of the coming time Yet, Latino/as are not equally delineateed in science careers. Only 35% of the nation's graduates with science and engineering grades in 1991 were Latino/as (Vetter 1995) and sole a small fraction of Latino/as note chemistry and physics careers. repeatedly they receive a remedial science curriculum or none at all. "Disproportionate percentages of poor and minority scholars (principally African American and Hispanic) are using curricula designed for low-ability or non-college terminate students. Furthermore, in general, grave income and minority students have les contact with the best qualified science and mathematics teachers" (Oakes, Ormseth, Bell, & Camp, 1990) In multilingual communities, science education is frequently eliminated as schools focus in succession teaching the students English (Mason & Barba, 1992)

The dropout rate for Hispanics is 35 times than for White, non Hispanics (Secada, Chavez-Chavez, Garcia, Munoz, Oakes, Santiago-Santiago, & Slavin, R 1998) Hispanics are frequently held back at least united grade, are mostly in urban instruct districts, and score significantly below national norms forward academic achievement tests (Garcia, 1991)

The inequities in Latino/a representation in science are smooth greater in some areas. In Texas, Latino/as exhibit 40% of the population, and this number is higher for the school-age population. forward the 1996 National Assessment of Education Progres 45% of Texas eighth graders were below the basic flush in science achievement. Of the Hispanic eighth graders in Texas, 67% were below the basic horizontal in science achievement (O'Sullivan, Reese & Mazzeo, 1997)

Quality Science

Children, on the same level from infancy, are natural scientists. They want to know more about the world. They explore their world from bringing information into their minds. They gather data in consequence of their senses, emotions, trials and errors, and conversations with others. They form universals about their world, and they want to share that information with the the bulk of mankind in their world. They notice with interest and they ask many questions.

When we organize explorations of our world into careful ways of forming questions, gathering information, designing investigations into natural or human made phenomena, and communicating the information publicly, we call it science. It is a proces of finding answers and a scheme for organizing and reporting discoveries. The science education reform motion in the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) describes science learning as active learning with many and varied opportunities to do science as scientists do science. They deduce sort and catalogue, observe, take notes, make sketches, interview, measure, and chart. These skills combine with critical thinking to disentangle understanding. The document stresses the ne for a quality science education program for all close examiners "regardless of age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science" (p 2) The reasons for this emphasis are to provide personal fulfillment and to prepare U citizens who are personally fulfilled and able to make wise decisions about our increasingly webwork world.