An Initial Study of Integrating Bilingual and Science Instructional Modules for Elementary Science Teacher Preparation

Abstract

The study aimed to develop integrated English and Mandarin instructional modules for elementary science teacher preparation. The instructor played a researcher's role in implementing action research during science teaching and learning. Fifty university elementary pre-service students taking the three-semester hour course during the two semesters participated in the study. The researcher developed the multi-models of multimodalities, consulted with five science education experts, and modified them to apply in the science teaching and learning course. They were integrating English and science concepts to guide the pre-service students to learn by doing inquiry-based science activities, such as identifying plant characteristics, insect taxonomy, and a variety of science experiments.Data were collected from classroom observation, questionnaires, student assignments, and feedback; most pre-service students put their hearts into operating science activities and expressed their thoughts in bilingual ways through the integrated instructional modules. Some pre-service students wrote interesting poems and science stories and developed lesson plans across several disciplines, including science, Mandarin, English, art, and mathematics. On the other hand, some pre-service students needed help with science concepts and theories in English. Multimodality was effective in engaging their understanding of learning science. Two-thirds of pre-service students were interested in designing science activities in English. However, they needed to be more self-confident in expressing themselves in bilingual ways. Learning confidence needed to be enhanced to engage the elementary pre-service students using English as the medium of instruction, content, and language-integrated learning skills.



Author Information
Ying-Feng Wang, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan

Paper Information
Conference: ACE2023
Stream: Teaching Experiences

This paper is part of the ACE2023 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Wang Y. (2024) An Initial Study of Integrating Bilingual and Science Instructional Modules for Elementary Science Teacher Preparation ISSN: 2186-5892 The Asian Conference on Education 2023: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 1189-1195) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2024.99
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2024.99


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