'Proof of concept': Beginning to use Design-Based Research to improve science literacies for middle years learners

Abstract

Middle school learners are increasingly required to engage with curriculum-specific literacies as they transition from primary to secondary school. Teachers of middle school learners are correspondingly required to provide for learners' needs in identifying and making explicit the various literacy requirements of specific disciplines; and in utilising pedagogical models to assist learners to cope with these new demands. This paper describes a small-scale 'proof of concept' Design-Based Research (DBR) experiment conducted by a Year 5 teacher as part of a wider Australian Research Council project addressing new literacy demands for middle years' learners. The teacher investigated the benefits of explicit teaching of technical language in a science unit, aimed at increasing learners' facility, understanding of and confidence with scientific language in writing descriptions. She experimented with a DBR approach to allow for the gathering of multiple point sources of evidence to support her expectations and initial theoretical investigations, and for refinement and extension of her intervention as it occurred, based on analysis of data collected during the intervention phases. Positive outcomes of the experiment included increased learner confidence and facility in using scientific language, affirmation of the benefits of explicit subject-specific vocabulary teaching, and engagement by the teacher with a research approach that shows promise as a way forward in documenting classroom-based literacy research.