Science CLIL – Inquiry Based Science in English

The triadic partnership piloted for the first time in the academic year 2014-5 as a way to promote the integration of Inquiry based science and English in primary education in Catalan schools, has provided a scenario for successful collaborative and innovative teacher development processes.

CLIL- Inquiry Based Science in English

The first strength of the teacher preparation model has been the explicit theoretical support provided by university and teacher educators from both science and foreign language education. The theory acted as an arena where to create a boundary object that was shared and negotiated among all participants. The boundary object was supported by the theoretical framework of the program and became materialized as a dynamic tool used by all participants. This tool (tables 1, 2 and 3 to integrate science and Language demands) will be refined in the next future theoretically and practically.

Table 1        Table 2      Table 3

The second strength of the program has been the composition of the learning community including school teachers, students teachers, university professors and teacher educators from both science and language education disciplines. All participants have developed a positive attitude towards the collaboration within such a diverse community and want to continue the work in the future.

This triadic partnership:

• benefits the three parts of the learning community: CESIRE, UAB and Schools.
• offers an innovative teacher training approach that benefits both in-service teachers and pre-service teachers.