Welcome to the very first episode of It's Time for Science! We are creating a podcast aimed directly at the amazing and wonderful science teachers, educators and administrators out there, from Pre-K thru High School, who are engaging students and fostering curiosity about the world around them.

We start off with a fantastic round table discussion with three educators from South Carolina: Yolanda Bennett, Ed Emmer, and Felipe AndreSilva. We couldn't have asked for a more engaging and diverse group, and our conversation ran from discussing Equity in Teaching Science, Dealing with Teacher Burnout in a Post-COVID world, and how science education can and should be a transdisciplanary subject, involving literacy, math, social studies and history. Plus they give teachers some valuable nuggets of advice at the end.

It's Time for Science is produced by School Specialty, along with FOSS, the Full Option Science System, from The Lawrence Hall of Science.

It's Time for Science and it's time to talk about English Language Development (ELD) and translanguaging! Tom talks with Diana Vélez and Claudio Vargas about ELD in the science classroom and discusses their work on translanguaging.

Diana Vélez is a curriculum developer and professional learning provider for the Full Option Science System Project (FOSS K–8) at the Lawrence Hall of Science. She specializes in English language development and the integration of literacy in science teaching and learning. Ms. Vélez assists in the development and implementation of FOSS instructional materials and creates pedagogical resources that support access and equity. She also leads professional learning experiences for educators, administrators, families, and community members using FOSS instructional materials to develop scientific literacy, teacher capacity, and systemic change in schools and districts across the country and internationally. Before coming to the Lawrence Hall of Science, Ms. Vélez was the instructional leader for a science-centered elementary school in Oakland, California and was a founding-member and teacher in a Spanish dual-immersion program. She has two bachelor's degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and bi-lingual teaching credentials from California State University, East Bay.

Claudio Vargas is an educational consultant with Sci-Lingual Education and FOSS at the
Lawrence Hall of Science. He delivers keynote presentations on equity in STEM and creates professional learning experiences for science educators, emphasizing support for Multilingual Learners with language and literacy development. Mr. Vargas has developed and led numerous professional learning programs throughout California, Washington, Texas, and Central America. Mr. Vargas serves on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Science Educators (CASE), a statewide organization dedicated to promoting access and equity in science education. He also served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that issued the national Call to Action to advance equitable science education. Previously, Mr. Vargas served as the Coordinator of K-12 Science Programs at the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), where he led the district's implementation of the NGSS.

Tom begins with Diana and Claudio by discussing translanguaging in the science classroom; including asking what exactly IS translanguaging? They discuss working towards having the mindset that all resources students bring in are assets, including different languages; a brief history of translanguaging–this work is approximately 40 years old, beginning in Wales; in science, having students use ALL their repertoire of knowledge in sense-making; expanding the idea of bringing in prior knowledge to include bringing in understanding in different languages; letting students use everything they bring in to enhance the learning experience (a way students can connect their own individual lived experiences and cultures); learning languages as learning ways of interacting with the world; and how a feeling of belonging and being able to contribute helps students engage in the science classroom. They talk about the ways that translation tools make using different languages more accessible in the classroom; how showing an interest in the language of your students can help them feel valued; a change in mindset for teachers to look at multilingualism as an asset and not a barrier; and how research shows that letting students switch in and out of languages can be beneficial–including for sense-making. They go on to discuss how it's not only "okay" to go back and forth between languages, but it can be beneficial; in science in particular, allowing students to not be limited and to pull upon all their resources; using opportunities to include other languages and seeing those opportunities as opportunities to deepen student le