Abstract This study assessed the impact of integrating the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model with two approaches to bilingual education – both with and without Bilingual Problem-Based Learning (BPBL) – in the context of teaching mathematics to physical therapy students in Chile. A total of 89 students participated, divided into two groups: 48 students engaged in SIOP with bilingual instruction without BPBL, and 41 students involved in SIOP with BPBL. The implementation process included pre- and post-assessments to gauge linguistic progress, complemented by student surveys and interviews with the educator. Additionally, discipline-specific tasks were assigned, with the BPBL group receiving an extra investigative assignment. Instructional practices were observed throughout each session. The study utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis –including Student’s t -test, statistical examination of Likert scale responses, and evaluations of tasks centered on quadratic functions– with qualitative analysis through content analysis of educator interviews and student responses to open-ended questions. The findings demonstrated improvements in both the educator’s linguistic skills and the students’ mathematical understanding and language proficiency across both approaches. Notably, the combination of BPBL with SIOP yielded more significant advancements. This analysis underscores the viability of bilingual education using the SIOP model and highlights the enhanced effectiveness of integrating BPBL with SIOP in higher education settings.
Hsu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.