Language Difficulties in First year Science: An Interim Report

Felicia Zhang, Brett Lidbury, Jurgen Schulte, Adam Bridgeman, Brian Yates

    Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in BookConference contributionpeer-review

    Abstract

    A key goal of the study entitled ‘A cross-disciplinary approach to language support for first year students in the science disciplines’, funded by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, is to examine the role of language in the learning of science by first-year university students. The disciplines involved are Physics, Chemistry and Biology. This national project also aims to transfer active learning skills, which are widely used in language teaching, to the teaching of science in first year. The paper discusses the background to the study, reports on some of the preliminary results on the language difficulties faced by first year student cohorts in science from data collected in 2008, and describes the framework we have established for the organization and delivery of first year science courses to be implemented in semester one 2009.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationProceedings of the Assessment in Science Teaching and Learning Symposium
    EditorsA Hugman, K Placing
    Place of PublicationSydney
    PublisherUniversity of Sydney
    Pages159-164
    Number of pages6
    Volume1
    ISBN (Print)9781741100623
    Publication statusPublished - 2008
    EventUniserve Science 2008: Assessment in Science Teaching and Learning Symposium - Sydney, Australia
    Duration: 2 Oct 20083 Oct 2008

    Conference

    ConferenceUniserve Science 2008: Assessment in Science Teaching and Learning Symposium
    Country/TerritoryAustralia
    CitySydney
    Period2/10/083/10/08

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Language Difficulties in First year Science: An Interim Report'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this