Caryn AshersonSED 600Dr. RivasMarch 4, 2007Current Event #1“The Role of Children’s Journals in Elementary School Science Activities”This article presents the findings of a study that examines how writing in science journals can promote literacy and guide student understanding of science phenomena. The author suggests that by creating their own science journals, students are able to demonstrate how they construct knowledge, as well as how they see and think about science. He advises that writing assists students in making meaning of their ideas and provides them with an opportunity to interpret the results of their science investigations. Furthermore, he proposes that journal writing encourages students to participate in their own learning. As a result, students are provided with asense of self worth. StrengthsEncourages Interpretation of ResultsThe benefits of student created journals have been investigated in depth in language artsclassrooms. However, there has not been as much research dedicated to the advantages of using journals to observe how students approach science experiences. One of the key strengths of this study is that it proves that journals have the potential to move students beyond simply completing science investigations. Students are often very enthusiastic about conducting scienceexperiments. Yet, they may not be as eager to spend time making sense of their results. Journals encourage the students to make sense of the investigations.Students Observed in Multiple ContextsThe researchers of this study use multiple contexts for analyzing children’s approaches tojournal use and the development of their literacy skills. By analyzing journal use in small group science activities, researchers were able to examine in detail the growth of science understandingin students. Moreover, since the study was all school year long, the small groups contained different peer arrangements as well as different science content and investigations.Various Methods of Collecting DataThe researchers did not rely on any single type of data collection. Rather, the data was gathered in a variety of ways and taken at different times. Examiners looked for recurring patterns to emerge by using single and cross-case analytic induction. Student investigations were videotaped and recorded with audio. Researchers engaged in informal interviews with teachers and students. In addition, they took theoretical, methodological, and contextual field notes. Since multiple data sources and methods of data collection were used, triangulation was ensured.WeaknessesLimited DiversityThis study was performed in one kindergarten and one fourth grade classroom in the Midwestern United States. The students were from middle to upper class families. The ethnic composition of the kindergarten class included five Asian students, one African-American student,and twelve Caucasian students. All of the students in the fourth grade class were Caucasian. It may be beneficial to repeat this study in an area where students come from more diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds to see if the overall findings are affected. Narrow Focal GroupsAfter several weeks of observation, six students from each class were chosen to be in thefocal groups. The researchers paid particular attention to these students in order to observe results in more detail. However, the students chosen were “developmentally on course (i.e. not exhibiting any linguistic, cognitive, or social delay) and English-speaking (i.e. not enrolled in English language instruction).” (Shepardson, Britsch, p. 6) The problem with this is that the focal groups are not representative of the typical population of students in today’s classrooms. In many schools, a large percentage of students speak English as their second language. Moreover, a significant percentage of students display cognitive and social delays. ImplicationsScience journals provide a window for teachers to see how students are developing their ideas and conceptions about science. Journals can be a very effective tool for students to express meaning. Evaluation of journals can help teachers become aware of how students’ prior experiences shape their awareness of science concepts. This knowledge enables the teacher to work with students to fill gaps in student understanding. ReflectionThis year long study shed light on how children’s literacy skills evolve in the context of science investigations. I am very interested in using science to help develop students’ reading and writing abilities. I find that many students enter my class lacking fundamental literacy skills. Iam constantly looking for ways to integrate literacy into the science curriculum. This study convinced me that journals can enhance the science curriculum by enabling students to use writing to construct and represent their understandings. Journals can be more than just a place for students to describe lab procedures or record observed results. They can be a medium by which students can report their explanations and interpretations of science phenomena.References1. Shepardson, Daniel P. and Britsch, Susan J. (2001) The Role of Children’s Journals in Elementary School Science Activities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38 (1),