Translanguaging in a middle school science classroom: Constructing scientific arguments in English and Spanish.
Open Access
Author:
Licona, Peter R
Graduate Program:
Curriculum and Instruction
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
May 28, 2015
Committee Members:
Gregory John Kelly, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Gregory John Kelly, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Scott Mc Donald, Committee Member Richard Alan Duschl, Committee Member Megan Hopkins, Committee Member Leticia Oseguera, Special Member
This dissertation investigates translanguaging in an English/Spanish dual language middle school science classroom as the teacher and students worked through a curriculum unit focusing on socioscientific issues and implementing a scientific argumentation framework. Translanguaging is the process in which bilingual speakers fluidly and dynamically draw from their full linguistic repertoire to perform a communicative act. Using ethnographically informed data collection in conjunction with discourse analysis, teacher translanguaging was examined for its related functions in the science classroom and how teacher translanguaging afforded opportunities for framing and supporting scientific argumentation. Results suggest that the functions of teacher translanguaging fell into three main themes: maintaining classroom culture, facilitating the academic task, and framing epistemic practices. Of the three categories of translanguaging, framing epistemic practices proved to be of paramount importance in the teacher presenting and supporting the practice of scientific argumentation. Implications from this study are relevant for pre-service science teacher preparation and in-service science teacher professional development for teachers working with emergent bilingual students.
