1. Introduction

The Budding Science and Literacy is a video-based classroom research project, which aims to continually improve a teaching model of integrated science inquiry and literacy instruction in collaboration with practicing science teachers. When the latest Norwegian curriculum reform emphasized both inquiry-based science and basic skills as focal points for science teaching in Norway, along with international trends (e.g. Rocard et al., 2007), teachers expressed the need for relevant professional development and supporting teacher resources. We therefore developed the Budding Science and Literacy (BSL) teaching model (Authors, 2009), inspired by the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading program (Barber et al. 2007), and adapted to a Norwegian context. Through professional development courses, teachers tried out and adapted units of the Seeds/Roots curriculum in their science classrooms with help from science education scholars. The central educational principles were systematic variation of inquiry activities in both science and literacy, combined with explicit teaching. However, based on teachers’ reflections and video analyses from these classrooms, we have now come to a point where improvements to the teaching model can be made.

The Budding Science and Literacy project approaches literacy and scientific inquiry as fundamental elements of science education. They have a twofold role as support structures for learning science content, but are in themselves constitutive practices of science that are central to any science curriculum (Norris & Phillips, 2003). This is expressed by Pearson et al (2010) in terms of literacy and science each being in the service of the other—especially when inquiry is seen as the common core. These perspectives serve as underlying tenets to the entire research project and to the present study.

Whereas large-scale studies of integrated inquiry-based science and literacy activities have documented increased learning outcomes (e.g. Cervetti, et al. 2012) our research contributions are based on small-scale, in-depth video studies. The main purpose of the BSL research project was to explore how an integrated science and literacy approach might challenge and support teaching and learning of science at the classroom level. This has been done through several studies (e.g. Author, 2014; Authors, 2014; Author, 2015). Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to further improve the teaching model by synthesizing and discussing the empirical findings from these studies.

Our research questions are: In what ways do findings from the Budding Science and Literacy research project support and challenge the Budding Science and Literacy teaching model? How can the teaching model be improved, based on these findings?

Author (2014) Author (2015) Authors (2009) Authors (2014) Barber, et al. (2007) Seeds of science. Roots of reading. Nashville: Delta Education. Cervetti, et al (2012) The impact of an integrated approach to science and literacy in elementary school classrooms. JRST, 49, 631–658. Crawford, B.A. (2014) From inquiry to scientific practices in the science classroom. InN. Lederman & S.Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education. NY:Routledge. Norris, S.P., & Phillips, L.M. (2003) How literacy in its fundamental sense is central to scientific literacy. SciEdu, 87(2), 224–240. Pearson, et al (2010) Literacy and science Science, 328, 459–463. Rocard, et al. (2007) Science education NOW Brussels:European Commission.