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 their conceptual understanding. This study examines how undergraduate students' epistemological framing and resource activation are influenced by linguistic features of stoichiometry assessment items, with attention to language background. We introduce translinguistic framing as an epistemological frame that describes how MLs orient to disciplinary tasks by strategically coordinating multiple linguistic and semiotic resources. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 undergraduate students (23 English monolingual, 17 multilingual) enrolled in the same introductory chemistry course at a large, research-intensive university in the northeastern United States. Following a think-aloud protocol, participants examined pairs of stoichiometry items, each including original and linguistically revised versions, and reflected on their reasoning approaches. Using Hammer and Elby’s (2003) epistemological resources framework, we analyzed how students framed each task and what forms of knowledge they drew upon. Findings reveal three interrelated frames—answer-making, sensemaking, and translinguistic framing—that students 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 as linguistically less demanding pathways. Emotional and strategic stances, including anxiety and time-aware strategizing, further mediated resource activation, at times limiting conceptual engagement. In contrast, translinguistic framing enabled MLs to sustain disciplinary reasoning by integrating first-language terms, English keywords, and symbolic notation. This study expands existing models of epistemological framing by highlighting an epistemic dimension of assessment. Implications for equitable assessment design include minimizing unnecessary linguistic complexity, offering multimodal scaffolds, and recognizing translinguistic framing as a legitimate epistemological stance that supports students’ opportunities to demonstrate conceptual understanding.