English and science: a perfect match for literacy development?

This paper builds on models of co-teaching for developing literacy in post primary schools (Kerr, 2019). The study took place in initial teacher education and paired English and Science teachers together for placement. Student teachers were asked to teach a series of lessons on sustainability with a focus on language, media and literacy. This was a mixed methods study and quantitative data, in the form of pre- and post-tests, was collected alongside focus groups and interviews. Three schools took place in the study with almost 70 pupils. Findings showed that integrating Science and English lessons allowed students to develop a range of literacy skills. Students reported that the lessons felt more applicable to their life, they were able to understand key literacy concepts in real-life scenarios and develop a range of literacy skills. Interestingly, findings show that some student teachers found it difficult to balance this type of co-teaching model in terms of content and choosing resources was a key component of success. Schools reported increased enjoyment in literacy lessons, increased understanding of newspaper and non-fiction texts and increased awareness of language across subjects.