Using Translanguaging Strategies While Teaching Mendelian Genetics

This article describes a hands-on modeling activity developed and tested with middle-grade life science students, specifically aimed at teaching basic Mendelian genetics concepts to Spanish-speaking, multilingual learners. Amid continued efforts to address equity issues related to gender and minority underrepresentation in STEM fields, less than two percent of the STEM workforce identifies as Latino/a/e (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). We assert that strengthening engagement, achievement, and access to ambitious science learning experiences during the formative educational years that span elementary and middle school (Ejiwale, 2013) may address the leaky STEM pipeline (Fernandez et al., 2023). Specifically, by increasing access to culturally and linguistically sustaining STEM experiences in middle grades, we hope to increase the number of people who choose to engage with STEM in meaningful ways. The learning experiences provided here were developed in conjunction with genetics professors, current and former middle and secondary science teachers, linguists, and math educators. The activities were tested with various groups of students, with diverse language backgrounds, across a two-year time span in which we refined the activities multiple times as we created and integrated translanguaging heuristics to increase access to these concepts. We strategically designed these learning segments without the use of computer-based simulations or other technology-based learning tools that require screens due to our shared vision of having students engage in constructing an explanatory model without exposing students to more screen time. This approach serves as a model for educators to develop more accessible and inclusive resources that foster learning for all students across diverse settings, while also minimizing screen time.