We present the theoretical argument that the use of mathematics in physics can be productively conceptualized as using a language and that learning to make sense of physics equations and appropriating them into novel scientific inquiry can be understood as a process of learning to read fluently with a high level of reading comprehension and to…

Connection-making among multiple representations is a crucial but difficult competence in STEM learning. Prior research has focused on one type of learning process involved in connection-making: sense-making processes leading to conceptual understanding of connections. Yet, other research suggests that a second type of learning process is…

This article reports on a case study from a design-based research project that investigated how students make sense of the disciplinary tools they are taught to use, and specifically, what personal, interpersonal, and material resources support this process. The probability topic of binomial distribution was selected due to robust documentation of…