Abstract
To inspire change in the world, scientists must be agile communicators who can persuade different audiences around the globe. Persuasive science writing must reflect an understanding of how culture and language influence audiences in different ways. Examples of scientific writing designed for different audiences around the globe include pamphlets describing safe masking practices or public-service announcements about climate change. Preservice teachers must prepare the next generations of scientists to think of science content in conjunction with communication. This has created a high demand for university programs to prepare preservice teachers to teach elementary students how to create persuasive science writing. The International Science Text Analysis Protocols (ISTAP) teaching methodology was designed to help preservice teachers guide elementary students to develop tools for creating persuasive science writing. This article details how university programs may use ISTAP to support preservice teachers before, during, and after school placements. As linguistic and cultural diversity within science classrooms in the United States continues to expand, students will bring diverse resources into conversations centering on persuasive science writing. As university faculty guide preservice teachers through ISTAP, they are emphasizing diversity within science classrooms and supporting equity within STEM.
Innovations Journal articles, beyond each issue's featured article, are included with ASTE membership. If your membership is current please login at the upper right.
References
Croce, K. (2020). A framework for science exploration: Examining successes and challenges for preservice teachers. Innovations in Science Teacher Education, 5(2). https://innovations.theaste.org/a-framework-for-science-exploration-examining-successesand-challenges-for-preservice-teachers/
Arnold, N. (2013). Comment ça marche? Moteurs et voitures [How cars work: The interactive guide to mechanisms that make a car move] (A. Sanders, Ill.; B. Porlier; Trans.). Gallimard Jeunesse. (Original work published 2012)
Beaufort, A., & Iñesta, A. (2014). Author profiles: Awareness, competence, and skills. In E.-M. Jakobs & D. Perrin (Eds.), Handbook of writing and text production (pp. 141–158). Walter de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110220674.141
Brownell, S. E., Price, J. V., & Steinman, L. (2013). Science communication to the general public: Why we need to teach undergraduate and graduate students this skill as part of their formal scientific training. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 12(1), E6–E10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3852879/
Carter, M. (2021). The construction of value in science research articles: A quantitative study of topoi used in introductions. Written Communication, 38(2), 311–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088320983364
Clark, S. K., Lott, K., Larese-Casanova, M., Taggart, A. M., & Judd, E. (2021). Leveraging integrated science and disciplinary literacy instruction to teach first graders to write like scientists and to explore their perceptions of scientists. Research in Science Education, 51(4), 1153–1175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09927-9
Dewaele, J.-M., & Wei, L. (2014). Attitudes towards code-switching among adult mono- and multilingual language users. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35(3), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.859687
RL Gruppo Editoriale srl. (2009). Corpo umano [Human body]. Susaeta Ediciones. Via dell’industria, 36, Santarcangelo di Romagna.
Dorfman, A. B., & Kenney, C. K. (2020). Flint, Michigan through children’s eyes: Using a teaching circle and projects to re-envision a city. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(5), 573–584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01031-x
Edwards, D., & Potts, A. (2008). What is literacy? Thirty years of Australian literacy debates (1975–2005). Paedagogica Historica, 44(1–2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230701865496
Erduran, S., Ozdem, Y., & Park, J.-Y. (2015). Research trends on argumentation in science education: A journal content analysis from 1998–2014. International Journal of STEM Education, 2, Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-015-0020-1
Fang, Z., & Coatoam, S. (2013). Disciplinary literacy: What you want to know about it. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(8), 627–632. https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.190
Fullman, J. (2008). Forêts tropicales [Rain forest: A journey from the river to the treetops] (L. Veres, Ill.; G. Valmachino, Adapt.; M. Bellanger, Trans.). Fleurus.
García, O., Johnson, S. I., & Seltzer, K. (2017). The translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Caslon.
Guilloppé, A. (2010). Pleine lune [Full moon]. Gautier Languereau.
Hédelin, P. (2012). 我们的身体 [Our body] (R. Barborini, Ill.; Rongxin Culture, Trans.). Shaanxi Xinhua Publishing Group. (Original work published 2008)
Herman, B. C., Clough, M. P., & Rao, A. (2022). Socioscientific issues thinking and action in the midst of science-in-the-making. Science & Education, 31(5), 1105–1139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-021-00306-y
Hsin, M.-C., Chien, S.-P., Hsu, Y.-S., Lin, C.-Y., & Yore, L. D. (2016). Development and validation of a Taiwanese communication progression in science education. International Journal of Science and Math Education, 14(Suppl. 1), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9589-y
Hua, Z., Li, W., & Jankowicz-Pytel, D. (2019). Intercultural moments in translating and humanising the socio-legal system. Language and Intercultural Communication, 19(6), 488–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2019.1657881
Hynes, M. (2013). Picture this! Human body. Kingfisher.
Jiménez-Aleixandre, M. P., & Erduran, S. (2007). Argumentation in science education: An overview. In S. Erduran & M. P. Jiménez-Aleixandre (Eds.), Argumentation in science education: Perspectives from classroom-based research (pp. 3–27). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6670-2_1
Kennedy, M. (2016, April 20). Lead-laced water in Flint: A step-by-step look at the makings of a crisis. NPR: The Two-Way. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/20/465545378/lead-laced-water-in-flint-a-step-by-step-look-at-the-makings-of-a-crisis
Lee, C. D., & Spratley, A. (2010). Reading in the disciplines: The challenges of adolescent literary. Carnegie Corporation of New York. https://www.carnegie.org/publications/reading-in-the-disciplines-the-challenges-of-adolescent-literacy/
Lexis, L., Weaver, D., Grills, B. L., & Julien, B. L. (2021). Teaching students to explain the pathophysiology of diseases to lay audiences with a scaffold that supports student choice. Advances in Physiology Education, 45(2), 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00016.2020
Lindenfeld, L. (2021, February 9). Scientists need to be better communicators—and they know it. Trend Magazine. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trend/archive/winter-2021/scientists-need-to-be-better-communicators-and-they-know-it
Miller, D. M., & Czegan, D. A. C. (2016). Integrating the liberal arts and chemistry: A series of general chemistry assignments to develop science literacy. Journal of Chemical Education, 93(5), 864–869. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00942
Morrell, P., Park Rogers, M., Pyle, E., Roehrig, G., & Veal, W. (2020). 2020 NSTA/ASTE standards for science teacher preparation. National Science Teaching Association. http://static.nsta.org/pdfs/2020NSTAStandards.pdf
National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13165
Negretti, R. (2021). Searching for metacognitive generalities: Areas of convergence in learning to write for publication across doctoral students in science and engineering. Written Communication, 38(2), 167–207. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088320984796
Nelson, J. L. (2014). Common core, global influences. Reading Today, 32(3), 16–17.
NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/18290
Ortlieb, E., Kane, B., & Cheek, E. (Eds.). (in press). Unpacking disciplinary literacies: From research to practice. Guilford Press.
Pytash, K. E., & Morgan, D. N. (2014). Using mentor texts to teach writing in science and social studies. Reading Teacher, 68(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1276
Recker, A., Mulvey, B., & Ortiz, J. (2022). What is happening to our water? Students assist a scientist in a local water investigation. Science & Children, 59(4), 44–49.
Roth, W.-M. (2022). Reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic: Science, education, and everyday life. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 22(1), 250–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42330-022-00194-6
Shahab, S., Rashidi, N., Sadighi, F, & Yamini, M. (2020). A textual discourse analysis of introductions in textbooks of humanities and basic sciences. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(1), 137–168. https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2020.28750
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2012). What is disciplinary literacy and why does it matter? Topics in Language Disorders, 32(1), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1097/TLD.0b013e318244557a
Shivni, R., Cline, C., Newport, M., Yuan, S., & Bergan-Roller, H. E. (2021). Establishing a baseline of science communication skills in an undergraduate environmental science course. International Journal of STEM Education, 8, Article 47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00304-0
Shymansky, J. A., Wang, T.-L., Annetta, L. A., Yore, L. D., & Everett, S. A. (2012). How much professional development is needed to effect positive gains in K–6 student achievement on high stakes science tests? International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 10(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-010-9265-9
Simon, S. (1999). Tornadoes. HarperCollins.
Simons, H. W. (with Morreale, J., & Gronbeck, B.). (2001). Persuasion in society. Sage.
Tai, K. W. H., & Wei, L. (2020). Bringing the outside in: Connecting students’ out-of-school knowledge and experience through translanguaging in Hong Kong English medium instruction mathematics classes. System, 95, Article 102364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102364
Tardy, C. M., Sommer-Farias, B., & Gevers, J. (2020). Teaching and researching genre knowledge: Toward an enhanced theoretical framework. Written Communication, 37(3), 287–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088320916554
Tobin, R., & Tippett, C. D. (2014). Possibilities and potential barriers: Learning to plan for differentiated instruction in elementary science. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 12(2), 423–443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-013-9414-z
United States Census Bureau. (2021, August 12). Racial and ethnic diversity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-the-united-states-2010-and-2020-census.html
Wack, J., Jaeger, C., Yuan, S., & Bergan-Roller, H. (2021). A framework & lesson to engage biology students in communicating science with nonexperts. American Biology Teacher, 83(1),17–25. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2021.83.1.17
Walton, D. (2007). Media argumentation: Dialectic, persuasion, and rhetoric. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511619311