Literacy matters in science

I was talking to a family friend, a teacher, about my ambitions as a science teacher -- get students interested in science, spark their curiosity, and instill each student with a healthy dose of skepticism -- when she very attempted to tread on my dreams. Before she held her current position teaching literacy, she was a science teacher. She made the transition because she "was teaching students how to read every day anyway." What was the point, she wondered aloud, of teaching science if the students cannot even read the textbook? I did not let her cynicism change my mind, but it did open my eyes to the challenges of being a science teacher when some students lack even the basic literacy skills that school, and life, depend on.

Basic literacy is essential to surviving in modern society. From reading signs, menus, blog posts and party platforms to writing emails and Tweeting, reading and writing are indispensable tools for a contributing member of society. This directly correlates to succeeding in school. Reading skills are necessary to succeed in today's classroom because of the reliance on gleaning information from textbooks and the use of technology like PowerPoint requires students to read, comprehend and process text. As for writing, it has been shown to help students do well on standardized tests and continue education beyond high school.

As a science teacher, there are several implications for me. Students who cannot read will have trouble learning. Science, especially biology, are full of new terms and concepts for students to learn; teaching the vocabulary often involves verbose textbook chapters or wordy PowerPoint slides. For a student who struggles with any aspect of reading, from the act itself to comprehension, these delivery methods can be frustrating or intimidating.

Assessment of learning has its own share of complications for a student struggling with literacy. Difficulty reading questions on a test may trip up a student who understands the content. Science assessments often require short written responses explaining concepts or processes, but a student who struggles with writing will have difficulty conveying what they know.

Reading and writing in a science class is different from reading and writing in an English class. Scientific articles are not written like novels, so they should not be read like novels. Lab reports are not the same as five-paragraph essays, so they require a different skill set. In addition to helping students with their basic literacy, science teachers need to help students with their science literacy.