Introduktionsseminarium med doktorand Charlotte Lennartsdotter: Biology as language

Huvudhandledare: Henrik Nilsson, BioEnv
Biträdande handledare: Dawn Sanders, IDPP och Ola Nordqvist, BioEnv
Examinator: Angela Wulff, BioEnv

Biology as a language

A linguistic approach to teaching and learning biology

Teaching and learning biology are crucial when confronting today’s environmental and human health issues. Furthermore, biological knowledge is continuously expanding. For teachers to stay abreast of developments takes considerable effort, as does matching and fine-tuning the teaching so that every pupil gets a relevant education and learning opportunities. Recent research highlights the importance of subject-specific literacy as a didactic way to improve teaching and learning. Every subject has its own literacy culture characteristics, and biology is no exception.

This Ph.D. project will examine the importance and awareness of linguistic perspectives and opportunities in teaching and learning biology. It furthermore seeks to contribute to the literacy discussion in a wider perspective at the secondary school level and beyond.

The project will be carried out through three or more studies. In the first one, which probably will be questionnaire-based, I will explore what linguistic teaching methods and learning strategies are represented in biology classes in secondary school in Sweden today. In the second study – which may use a combination of interviews and classroom visits – I will examine what literacy teaching representations are present in the biology teacher education. The third study will examine the extent to excursions can negotiate meaning-making in the pupils’ writing process and written text. Ideally, in this project I will also have time to explore pupils’ beliefs about their needs, challenges and opportunities, in their writing.