Sensemaking With Multilingual Learners in Science

By Lauren Bartholomae

The science classroom holds great potential to be an exhilarating and welcoming place for all students! As a subject, science provides unique and exciting opportunities for students to experience hands-on learning while making connections to the natural world and the relevant phenomena around them. Why is science special for our multilingual learners? It offers chances for meaningful interactions that combine science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) standards and language learning. When incorporated intentionally and explicitly, this combination of factors strengthens critical thinking skills and has been found to inspire students to develop a sense of agency in a field where multilingual learners are often underrepresented.

The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) explains that the dynamics of science instruction are best taught through the process of sensemaking. Sensemaking, as defined by the NSTA, is “actively trying to figure out how the world works (science) or how to design solutions to problems (engineering) ... Engaging in these practices necessitates students be part of a learning community to be able to share ideas, evaluate competing ideas, give and receive critique, and reach consensus” (National Science Teaching Association, n.d.). This pivots the science classroom from a focus on “learning about” to a personal ownership of “figuring out.” How can we best foster sensemaking for multilingual learners in our science classrooms? Let’s consider some key practices!

Sensemaking in Unit Planning

Utilizing content that is front-loaded with text-first and text-heavy lessons rather than introducing concepts through experience increases the cognitive load for multilingual learners in science classrooms, who need skilled, individualized scaffolding to support comprehension and engagement with grade-level materials. Instead, it’s possible to engage multilingual learners sooner and more frequently if science is taught using the science and engineering practices from the Next Generation Science Standards. These practices, or performance expectations, include asking questions and defining problems, building and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, applying mathematical thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, and synthesizing and communicating information (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Deeper, nuanced learning takes place when practices are conducted in a setting that encourages data interpretation, argumentation, communication, and modeling across various perspectives and communities.

The Next Generation Science Standards provide an in-depth description of the science and engineering practices in APPENDIX F – Science and engineering practices in the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013).

Sensemaking Through Phenomena

The best classroom practices resonate when students’ learning environments are centered around relevant, real-world events. Phenomena-based teaching occurs when learning is structured around observable events taking place in the natural world that can be explained by science. A good phenomena to center a unit around is one that students can observe, ask questions about and apply to their learning. This approach not only welcomes opportunities to connect and build language throughout the sensemaking process but it can also integrate multilingual learners’ lives and experiences into the unit. Some queries you can pose to connect content, elicit critical thinking and prompt rigorous language include the following:

• “Have you ever seen or heard something like this before?”
• “Why do you think this occurred?”
• “What do you think is going on here?”
• “Do you think this happens everywhere and every time?”
• “I wonder what would happen if …”

As students work through such questions, they practice language while bridging science concepts to their lives, communities and other areas of science. When perspectives are shared, new language, examples and knowledge are fostered as students co-construct new meanings.

For more guidance on integrating phenomena in your science classroom, check out the practice brief, Using Phenomena in NGSS-Designed Lessons and Units (NGSS Lead States, 2013).

Sensemaking for Language Development

True sensemaking in science involves engagement with language for academic purposes, collaborative conversations and the ability to ask questions and communicate understandings. Tools such as teacher and student discourse moves can ensure multilingual learners have opportunities to authentically participate in grade-level classroom learning.

Teacher discourse moves assist in strengthening language and student reasoning by helping learners clarify and emphasize ideas, listen carefully and react appropriately, apply thinking to other perspectives and communicate understandings publicly. Sample cues include the following:

• “Can you say more about that?”
• “Who can rephrase or repeat that idea for us?”
• “Would that always be true? Why or why not?”

Student discourse moves develop language by providing prompts to better tell and explain new ideas; elaborate on concepts; offer supporting evidence; compare, question and challenge other ideas; and restate or summarize collective learning. Sample sentence frames for multilingual learners to engage in scientific reasoning include the following:

• “I think this will work because …”
• “What did you mean when you said …?”
• “Remember, we learned from our book that …”
• “I think we should change our model to show …”

While enacting discourse moves with multilingual learners in your classroom, important considerations include who is doing most of the talking in the classroom; if other languages are welcomed into the meaning making process; the quantity, quality and types of interactions taking place; and how student ideas are incorporated in classroom learning.

See video examples of these tools in action on the Doing and Talking Math and Science website.

Want to Learn More?

The WIDA Self-Paced workshop, Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena, was developed in conjunction with experts in science education and provides activities, resources and strategies for including multilingual students in three-dimensional science instruction.

About the Author

Lauren Bartholomae is a professional learning curriculum specialist in WIDA'’s Educator Learning, Research and Practice team. In this role, she engages in the research, development, and facilitation of WIDA’s professional learning with educators of multilingual learners across the consortium.

Bibliography

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2011, July 19). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academic Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13165/a-framework-for-k-12-science-education-practices-crosscutting-concepts

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). English learners in STEM subjects: Transforming classrooms, schools, and lives. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25182

National Science Teaching Association (n.d.). Sensemaking. Retrieved from https://www.nsta.org/sensemaking. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Retrieved from https://www.nextgenscience.org/

Wisconsin Center for Education Research, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2025). Change the way you teach STEM classes!. Doing and Talking Math and Science. https://stem4els.wceruw.org/index.html