Students’ epistemological resources and framing of stoichiometry assessment items across linguistic backgrounds: insights for equitable design

Abstract

Chemistry assessments shape not only what students know, but how they interpret what kinds of reasoning are valued. For multilingual learners (MLs), linguistic complexity in assessment items can constrain access to epistemological resources, masking conceptual understanding. This study examines how undergraduates' epistemological framing and resource activation are influenced by linguistic features of stoichiometry items, with attention to language background. We introduce translinguistic framing, an epistemological frame describing how MLs orient to disciplinary tasks by coordinating linguistic and semiotic resources. We conducted semi-structured think-aloud interviews with 40 undergraduates (23 English monolingual, 17 multilingual) in an introductory chemistry course at a research-intensive U.S. university. Participants examined stoichiometry item pairs combining original and linguistically revised versions. Using Hammer and Elby's (2003) epistemological resources framework, we analyzed how students framed each task and what knowledge they drew upon. Findings reveal three interrelated frames—answer-making, sensemaking, and translinguistic framing—flexibly activated depending on item design, time constraints, and linguistic load. MLs faced barriers when chemistry terminology differed from classroom language, often shifting to symbolic or procedural representations. Emotional and strategic stances, including anxiety and time-aware strategizing, further mediated resource activation, limiting conceptual engagement. Translinguistic framing, in contrast, enabled MLs to sustain disciplinary reasoning by integrating first-language terms, English keywords, and symbolic notation. This study expands models of epistemological framing by highlighting an epistemic dimension of science assessment. Implications for equitable assessment design include minimizing unnecessary linguistic complexity, offering multimodal scaffolds, and recognizing translinguistic framing as a legitimate epistemological stance supporting opportunities to demonstrate conceptual understanding.