Limited studies investigate the high school teachers’ challenges and ­strategies while teaching science and mathematics in English as the target language through the ­content and ­language integrated learning (CLIL) approach. Hence, this study aimed to ­investigate the ­challenges that science and math teachers encounter and the strategies they employ while fostering students’ development of proficiency in English as the target language in ­physics, ­chemistry, biology, and mathematics courses in the International General Certificate of ­Secondary ­Education (IGCSE) and International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). The study utilized ­various qualitative tools such as semi-structured interviews, open-ended ­questionnaires, and lesson ­observations to analyze science and math teachers’ strategies and challenges at a case school in eastern Turkey. The study revealed that as part of the CLIL approach, the ­participant teachers indicated various challenges such as a lack of vocabulary repertoire, translation ­problems, and weak foundational knowledge. They used common strategies such as group work ­interactions, interdisciplinary activities, individualized feedback, the promotion of higher-order thinking skills, inquiry-based learning, and reinforcement of language used to deal with these ­challenges. The study presents further implications for good practices and recommendations to resolve ­challenges.

Abstract. Scientific reasoning skills help students master scientific competencies, understand complex concepts, and equip them with the abilities to apply concepts and competencies in a variety of real-life contexts. These skills are important for students’ preparation to the international education programs. Since there are limited studies in the literature that examine the relationship between students’ content knowledge and scientific reasoning, especially in the international programs in secondary education, this research aims to investigate the extent to which the students’ achievement in the International General Certificate of Certificate (IGCSE) as well as students’ achievement in their science and mathematics courses in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) correlate to the students’ scientific reasoning abilities. The research was conducted at a national school with IGCSE and IBDP programs. The study used Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (CTSR) to measure the scientific reasoning. The students’ performances in the CTSR and their levels of achievement in science and math in the IGCSE and IBDP were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation test and Kendall’s tau-b correlation test. The results revealed that there is a moderate correlation between scientific reasoning and content knowledge in science and mathematics.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between internal assessment (IA) and external assessment (EA) scores of the high school students in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). Methods: Simple linear regression analysis was conducted to explore to what extent the IA scores predict the EA scores in the Turkish, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics courses. Findings: The quantitative analysis revealed that only a small percentage of the variation in IBDP EA scores can be explained by the model containing only IA scores in the IBDP standard level (SL) and high level (HL) courses. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient was utilized to explain the degree to which the IA scores are associated with the EA scores. This analysis revealed that there is a moderate relationship between IA and EA in HL English and SL biology course, but a weak relationship between IA and EA in SL and HL biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, English (only SL) and Turkish courses. Value: This research highlights some important implications for educators about the consistency and reliability of IA as a tool for forming a final mark in the IBDP assessment and the role the IA plays in predicting the students’ general academic achievement.