Toward designing translanguaging learning environments with multimodal technologies

Many multilingual learners (MLs) whose first language is not English study in the U.S. universities. Learning science curriculum can be challenging for them because of the language barrier. This dissertation examines how MLs make sense of the resting membrane potential, a cellular process that requires coordinating two interacting influences, using a designed learning environment that combines fluid-language instruction with embodied technologies. Ten Mandarin-speaking international graduate students learned with a gesture-controlled visualization and a wearable haptic glove while completing think-aloud learning sessions in two conditions: English-only and fluid-language instruction. The study found that (1) learners coordinated language, gesture, and learning technologies in integrated ways, with design features shaping which representations and semiotic resources they used and how (2) fluid-language instruction supported MLs’ conceptual understanding of the concept differently than English-only instruction; and (3) students’ interpretation of the science phenomenon was shaped by question prompt type. Overall, the dissertation offers practical guidance for designing equitable STEM learning in higher education by aligning language policy, task structure, and embodied technologies to support MLs’ scientific reasoning.