Semantic Waves and Attention to Language to Encourage Student Teachers’ Development of Scientific Language and Science Understanding

This paper concentrates on how to integrate linguistic assessments and new perspectives while using textbooks and other types of teaching material in science classes in teacher education. The aim is to improve student teachers’ understanding of the subject taught and to develop their professional language. Data for this paper comprises several final assessment assignments, collected among student teachers at a teacher training program in Denmark. As one of the aims of teacher education is to prepare students for teaching, the paper also includes perspectives on how to increase opportunities among primary school students for participating in mainstream instruction. Student teachers must therefore learn how to integrate complementary activities focusing both on scientific literacy and scientific content to help their future primary school students’ progress smoothly in their cognitive development, both regarding their science skills as well as their professional language.
The paper elucidates the importance of developing the student teachers’ competences in linking professional knowledge to the subject they teach, as well as sharpening their awareness of the linguistic structures that apply in the language of science. It also demonstrates the centrality of merging these two elements as a central and an ongoing part of teaching science. We suggest, therefore, that teacher training programs should include teaching science literacy as a central part of teaching science subjects.
Finally, the paper highlights how differences in teacher-educators’ disciplinary backgrounds, specialized in either a linguistic direction or a science discipline, when working collectively as a team on the feedback and assessment of students, made fruitful discussions. The different angels from where the teacher educators approach the student teachers’ assessments, gives us insights into some of the blind spots we have when attempting to create a wholistic teacher training program.