**3.4 Interaction**

Interaction being a critical component of both sociocultural theory and sociolinguistics for individuals to mediate human experience of the world requires providing opportunities where students can become active participants of science discourse. Since, explanations are one genre (text) commonly used in scientific communities, providing students opportunities to construct science explanations about science phenomena affords them ways to begin learning to use language in similar ways to scientific communities. The construction of science explanations in the example above is a prime example of how science texts, as in the use of the CER explanation framework, require a carefully constructed text that is coherently and cohesively organized to communicate meaning. This is symbolic of the textual metafunction of SFL. Equally important though is the interpersonal metafunction of SFL for using language as a social semiotic tool for sense-making. Science learners, as text composers, must consider who their intended audience is and what the subject matter is to

#### *Using Language as a Social Semiotic Tool in Virtual Science Instruction DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101814*

communicate meaning via science explanations. Under these circumstances, students communicate with other students and with the teacher about science-specific concepts and phenomena. Thus, teachers are encouraged to be very intentional in their planning of interaction opportunities to promote student-student interaction in addition to student-teacher interaction. It is important that the interaction opportunities be aligned to both the content and language objectives of the lesson. Interaction opportunities were one of the most experienced pedagogical challenges when the sudden movement to remote instruction was made. Platforms like Zoom permitted the use of breakout rooms, as one way to promote student-student interaction. However, it became quite difficult for the teacher to go from one breakout room to another, and while students were in breakout rooms, teachers were not able to view what interaction might have been occurring in other breakout rooms where the teacher was not present. Because of this, this author proposes the integration of technology platforms and applications that permit the technology resources to promote student-student, student-teacher, and teacher-student interaction in more concurrently visible ways. Some applications that capture the live interaction in whole virtual group (versus small break out groups) are described next.

Padlet is an interactive platform that gives the teacher access to all student communications. The comment posting feature captures language outcomes in written form. In doing so, students are able to post their science explanations. The platform permits the use of videos and links to online simulations for students to interact with content. Padlet also allows the ability to post voice memos. When working with students of CLD backgrounds, such as second language learners (SLL), posting comments onto a Padlet gives SLLs opportunities to develop their writing skills, whereas voice memos, affords them oral language opportunities and practice with listening comprehension. Further, this application provides students with opportunities to mediate science learning using language as a social semiotic tool to make sense of their learning experienced. Other applications such as nearpod have similar features, while online simulations offered by PhET offer great virtual hands-on experience for students to interact with the content via online simulations.

#### **3.5 Scaffolding**

Returning to the content and language objectives component for planning a virtual hands-on lesson, one must also consider the exploration phase of the 5E lesson cycle to intentionally decide what experiences to provide students with to scaffold their learning at the actual development level and assist them to advance to the next potential development level. This must happen at both the conceptual and linguistic levels. Recalling that the use of physical tools provides external mediation opportunities for students, language (specifically the language function of explaining) is one that can be internalized in some form of actual development for SLLs but should always be scaffolding the language tasks at potential developmental levels for second language learning. This approach promotes both content and language development through intentional planning.

In the use of sequential and causal explanations aforementioned, it is important that conceptually, students understand a process first before expected to understand causal conditions of manipulating a process for a specific outcome (effect) to occur. This level of scaffolded instruction targets both conceptual understanding and linguistic communication to experience science and communicate about science

phenomena experienced. Further, for CLD students who are learners of a second language, linguistic scaffolding also develops their language competence and proficiency over time, hence why language practice through interaction opportunities are so critical for this student.

## **4. Discussion**

The integrated sociocultural and sociolinguistic theoretical framework informs a pedagogical approach where constructs like mediation, zone of proximal development, and interaction suggest using language as a social semiotic tool for science sense-making. Through the three metafunctions of language in SFL—ideational, interpersonal, textual—and the genre of science explanations, teachers use this integrated approach to intentionally plan for the targeted learning experiences in the *explore* phase to 'do science' and *explain* phase to 'talk science.' Since the coronavirus pandemic required a sudden mass movement from face-to-face instruction to remote instruction, it was also critical for this teacher educator to offer technology platforms and/or applications that would provide teachers of students with resources for planning the science *explore* phase. Thus, the approach offered here suggests the use of applications including but not limited to Padlet, nearpod, Kahoot, and PhET simulations to provide students with virtual hands-on practice to experience science learning. However, the same applications are also offered to teachers so that they are used for communication purposes using one genre commonly used by scientific communities—science explanations. Using this virtual pedagogical approach provides teachers with very intentional planning for conceptual and linguistic outcomes that together provides students with opportunities to mediate science learning, make sense of scientific phenomena, and engage in interaction through the use of science explanations. Use of the 5E instructional process, while always prioritizing the conceptual and linguistic outcomes of students, assists teachers in determining the scaffolding required in both content and language production to move students from actual to potential knowledge development levels as one way to be intentional about their zones of proximal development.

Implications for research suggest instructional interventions designed to measure second language learner conceptual and linguistic outcomes. Such interventions would inform intentional content and language teaching through measurement of fidelity of implementation. Interventions would measure student-intended content and language outcomes for CLD students. Additionally, instructional interventions would explore the effect of conceptual and linguistic scaffolding and their removal as students move from one knowledge development level to another. Lastly, interventions using this approach would help further inform the use of technology to enhance students' opportunities to explore science learning and communicate via discipline specific language use.

One limitation of this chapter is that the author centers only on one specific genre—explanations. Constructing arguments and the language skill of engaging argumentation not only requires the use of explanations, but also requires the use of persuasive language resources to persuade the scientific community and continue the construction of new scientific knowledge. In a classroom, students should also experience opportunities to engage in argumentation to experience different ways of knowing or epistemologies between them and their peers, but also ways to evaluate their own learning and refine their conceptual understanding of science phenomena. *Using Language as a Social Semiotic Tool in Virtual Science Instruction DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101814*
