Literacy in Science 1The Role of Literacy in Science Teaching:How Newspapers are used in Science ClassroomsMarissa L. MullenCalifornia State University, NorthridgeLiteracy in Science 2AbstractPaper discusses an article titled “A survey of the use of newspapers in science instruction by secondary teachers in Northern Ireland,” written by Ruth Jarman and Billy McClune. A summary of the research is discussed. Strengths of the research include its clear organization and well-defined categories. Weaknesses of the research include using only one data-collection method and the lack of data from the student perspective. The research implies that literacy is not a main goal in relation to using newspapers in the classroom and that teachers in Northern Ireland feel ill-equipped to teach their students critical evaluation skills.Literacy in Science 3The Role of Literacy in Science Teaching:How Newspapers are used in Science ClassroomsI read an article titled “A survey of the use of newspapers in science instruction bysecondary teachers in Northern Ireland,” from the International Journal of Science Education. This article, by Ruth Jarman and Billy McClune, discusses a study of how secondary science teachers use newspaper articles in their science classrooms. Jarman and McClune were interested in researching the use of newspapers and how that related to the concepts of “critical literacy, the nature of science, and lifelong learning” (Jarman & McClune, 2002, p.999), topics in which I am interested for my science students.Summary of the ResearchThe research study was conducted via an interview survey of 20% of the secondary schools in Northern Ireland, which consisted of 50 schools, 35 “non-selective” or general schools, and 15 “selective” schools for higher-achieving students (Jarman & McClune, 2002). Three main issues were addressed in the research: the “prevalence, pattern, and purpose,” “classroom practice,” and “curricular priorities” of the use of newspapers in the classroom (Jarman & McClune, 2002, p.999). Jarman and McClune were most interested in determining how teachers used newspaper articles in their classrooms to see if the use of science from the media contributed to student literacy. Thedata was collected from detailed field notes that were taken during the interviews, and it was supplemented with some examples of student work and classroom displays (Jarman & McClune, 2002).According to the data, most teachers use newspapers in some aspect of their science teaching; 92% of the teachers surveyed used newspapers (Jarman & McClune,Literacy in Science 42002, p.1000). However, 34% of teachers did not systematically search for news resources; 44% of teachers incidentally incorporated newspaper articles when they happened to come across an article that would apply to their science lessons (Jarman & McClune, 2002, p.1001). The most common goal for teachers to incorporate news science into the classroom was to link school science to the science of everyday life. In fact, 76.1% of teachers stated that this was their reason for using newspapers (Jarman & McClune, 2002, p. 1002). Newspapers were used most often in biology classes, less in chemistry, and least in physics (Jarman & McClune, 2002). Furthermore, the study showed that teachers were typically not using news articles to promote scientific literacy – only 4.3% of teachers stated literacy as a goal (Jarman & McClune, 2002, p.1002).Strengths of the ResearchIn my opinion, the research conducted by Jarman and McClune had many strengths. First, there are very few previous studies conducted on the topic of the use of media in science classrooms to promote literacy, which limits the amount of bias on the part of the researchers. Because they were unable to read previous studies, they may have fewer expectations for their results.Another strength of the research is the large survey group. Surveying teachers at 50 schools gives a large amount of data, which provides more validity to the research. Additionally, dividing the teachers into four distinct groups helped to organize and analyze the data that was collected. Teachers were grouped according to how they incorporated news media into their lessons: “proactive systematic users” who actively search for newspaper articles to use – 22%; “reactive systematic users” who merely comeacross articles, but then incorporate them into their lessons – 12% of teachers surveyed;Literacy in Science 5and “incidental users” who use an article when they find one that is applicable, but do notcontinue to use it year after year – 44% of teachers surveyed. The fourth group of 22% ofthe teachers surveyed either did not use newspapers at all or only used them for display (Jarman & McClune, 2002, pp.1000-1001). Because there were few previous studies to use as a foundation for their research, the formation of these groups was essential to analyzing the data collected. Finally, the organization of the data was a major strength of this study. There are eleven tables throughout the article, making the data easier to accessand to understand. Weaknesses of the ResearchOne of the main weaknesses of the research in this study is the way that the data was collected. There was only one main form of data collection – interview surveys. According to Johnson, there should be between two to four methods of data collection in a research study; using different types of data “provides greater depth and dimension, thereby enhancing your accuracy and credibility” (Johnson, 2008, p.102). Also, the interview surveys were not tape-recorded, only “detailed field notes were taken” (Jarman & McClune, 2002, p.999), which could lead to misrepresentation of the views being presented during the interview. Without a tape-recording of what was discussed, there is no opportunity to go back and review what was asked or what was said in response. This limits data analysis.Furthermore, there were no interviews of students in this study. The main goal of the study was to analyze how teachers use newspapers in the classroom, but in several sections of the article, the opinions of students are discussed. These opinions always came from the teachers’ perspective. I think that Jarman and McClune would haveLiteracy in Science 6stronger claims if they included students in their research and then discussed first-hand student