JoinAll Sensemaking resources
Journal Article
Beyond Definitions: Using Hexagonal Thinking for Sensemaking
This article was written for the purpose of introducing the hexagonal thinking strategy to upper elementary teachers. The strategy, in which students ...
By Simone Nance
Journal Article
This article presents a tool that teachers can use to support children in planning science investigations. Using an extended example from a second-gra...
By Annabel Stoler, Eve Manz
Journal Article
The Framework and NGSS emphasize using lines of evidence to construct explanations and develop arguments that demonstrate understanding about scientif...
By Kenneth Huff
Journal Article
Helping Students Use Crosscutting Concepts to Guide Sensemaking of Anchoring Phenomena
Crosscutting concepts (CCCs) are designed to help students make sense of phenomena across multiple scientific disciplines (National Research Council 2...
By Nicole Vick, Michael Novak, Dan Voss, Brian Reiser, Joseph Kremer, Whitney Mills, Jamie Noll, Dawn Novak, Ann Rivet
Journal Article
Group Learning Routines as a tool to build equitable learning experiences in a Biology classroom
The vision behind the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is that all students engage in explaining phenomena and designing solutions with three-...
By Elizabeth Chatham, Joy Otibu, and Andrea Sau
Journal Article
Early Retirement: Making Sense of Patterns in Historical Data of Retired Hurricanes
Long after a hurricane passes over and through any region or coastal area, the memories of it often linger. There may be visual reminders of the storm...
By Christopher Roemmele, Joby Hilliker, and Victoria Clayton
Journal Article
Equitable sensemaking enables students to draw on personal resources to investigate and explain phenomena and problems within their communities. Altho...
By Jessica Stephenson Reaves and Anna Arias
Journal Article
Just Because It Sounds Plausible, Doesn’t Mean It’s True
Plausible scientific arguments abound. Those who wish to deceive often weave a tangled web of plausible scientific arguments to support their case. Wh...
By Jonathan Osborne
Journal Article
This article introduces the Data Puzzles instructional framework as a means to engage middle school students in the exploration of wind energy and its...
By Jonathan Griffith, Melissa Braaten, Ann Dubick, Anne Gold
Journal Article
The goal of the University of Southern California (USC)/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center funded Wonderkids Program is to develop medical and cancer ...
By , , ,
Journal Article
Moving Beyond Equity-as-Access to Expanding What Counts as Science in the Elementary Classroom
Making science accessible is an important and worthy goal, but for many students, science is inaccessible because what counts as science in the classr...
By , ,
Journal Article
Journal Article
Discover student thinking while analyzing data…and having fun! (Data Literacy 101)
Our students rarely practice data skills with data not related to our science content, which makes sense given all we must teach. But always asking ou...
Journal Article
The Science Practice of Modeling as a Sensemaking Tool
Does the scientific practice of modeling actually support students in making thinking visible? Middle school teachers can build from the work of 12 ...
By , ,
Journal Article
Making Scientific Sensemaking Visible
Many teachers and schools are coming to recognize the importance of sensemaking in the science classroom. But what does an NGSS-informed sensemaking l...