I teach and supervise in several courses at the bachelor´s and master´s level. 

I examine how different recourses such as mother tongue, gestures and physical artefacts, might be used to support multilingual students´ learning in science. I am also interested in the cultural aspects of learning science. What are the consequences when students are not able to identify with the subculture of science? How can teachers construe relations between the subculture of science and students´ identity and culture? 

My research also involves questions related to teaching and learning about the nature of science and scientific inquiry. Nature of science involves the characteristics of science. Scientific inquiry is about how scientists work and how scientific knowledge is generated and accepted. Knowledge in these areas is part of developing scientific literacy and might enable students to overcome the gaps between their own identity and the subculture of science.  

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Completing the progression establishing an international baseline of primary, middle and secondary students’ views of scientific inquiry

  2023. Judith S. Lederman (et al.). International Journal of Science Education

  Article

  Knowledge of scientific inquiry (SI) is considered essential to the development of an individual's Scientific Literacy (SL) and therefore, SI is included in many international science education reform documents. Two previous large scale international studies assessed the SI understandings of students entering middle school and secondary students at the end of their formal K-12 science education. The purpose of this international project was to use the VASI-E to collect data on what primary level students have learned about SI in their first few years of school. This study adds to previous research to bridge the landscape of SI understandings now with representation from primary, middle and high school samples. A total of 4,238 students from 35 countries/regions spanning six continents participated in the study. The results show that globally, primary students are not adequately informed about SI for their age group. However, when compared with the students in the previous international studies (grades seven and 12), the primary students' understandings were surprisingly closer to the levels of understanding of SI of the secondary school students than those in the seventh grade study.

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• Jumping pepper and electrons in the shoe: Physical artefacts in a multilingual science class

  2020. Zeynep Ünsal (et al.). International Journal of Science Education 42 (14), 2387-2406

  Article

  This article concerns how teachers can use physical artefacts as mediating means to support emergent bilingual students’ learning in science class. The data consist of non-participant observations in a Swedish 3^rd grade (9-10 years old) science class. All students were bilingual, but in different minority languages, and the teacher was monolingual in Swedish. The study focused on four students, all of whom had Turkish as their minority language. During the observations, the science content was electricity and the lessons were conducted by using physical artefacts, such as wires, bulbs and batteries. The study takes its stance in the ideas of Dewey and sociocultural approaches, implying that students’ learning is viewed as situational. For the analysis, practical epistemology analysis (PEA) was used. The teacher used physical artefacts in two different ways. First, the physical artefacts implied that the students experienced the science content by actually seeing it. The students talked about their observations in everyday language, which the teacher then drew on to introduce how the phenomena or process in question could be expressed in scientific language. Second, when students’ proficiency in the language of instruction limited their possibilities to make meaning, using physical artefacts enabled them to experience unfamiliar words being related to the science content and thus learn their meaning. The study findings contribute to knowledge concerning how teachers can create learning contexts where physical artefacts are used to mediate scientific meaning. 

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• Language Use in a Multilingual Class: a Study of the Relation Between Bilingual Students’ Languages and Their Meaning-Making in Science

  2018. Zeynep Ünsal (et al.). Research in science education 48 (5), 1027-1048

  Article

  In this study, we examine how bilingual students in elementary school use their languages and what this means for their meaning-making in science. The class was multilingual with students bilingual in different minority languages and the teacher monolingual in Swedish. The analysis is based on a pragmatic approach and the theory of translanguaging. The science content was electricity, and the teaching involved class instruction and hands-on activities in small groups. The findings of the study are divided into two categories, ‘students’ conversations with the teacher’ and ‘student’s conversations with each other’. Since the class was multilingual, the class instruction was carried out in Swedish. Generally, when the conversations were characterised by an initiation, response and evaluation pattern, the students made meaning of the activities without any language limitations. However, when the students, during whole class instruction, were engaged in conversations where they had to argue, discuss and explain their ideas, their language repertoire in Swedish limited their possibilities to express themselves. During hands-on activities, students with the same minority language worked together and used both of their languages as resources. In some situations, the activities proceeded without any visible language limitations. In other situations, students’ language repertoire limited their possibilities to make meaning of the activities despite being able to use both their languages. What the results mean for designing and conducting science lessons in a multilingual class is discussed. 

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• Gesticulating science: Emergent bilingual students’ use of gestures

  2018. Zeynep Ünsal (et al.). Journal of Research in Science Teaching 55 (1), 121-144

  Article

  This article examines how emergent bilingual students used gestures in science class, and the consequences of students’ gestures when their language repertoire limited their possibilities to express themselves. The study derived from observations in two science classes in Sweden. In the first class, 3rd grade students (9–10 years old) were involved in a unit concerning electricity. The second class consisted of 7th grade students (13–14 years old) working with acids and bases. Data were analyzed by using practical epistemological analysis (PEA). When students’ language proficiency limited their possibility to express themselves, using gestures resulted in the continuation of the science activities. Furthermore, both peers and teachers drew on the used gestures to talk about the science content. In some situations, the meaning of the gestures needed to be negotiated. Regardless, the gestures were always related to language. Both students and teachers participated in this process, but the teachers directed the communication towards the goal of the lessons: learning how to talk science. The study contributes to the field by showing the importance of paying attention to and valuing bilingual students’ use of gestures as a way to express scientific knowledge. In addition, it demonstrates how teachers might draw on students’ gestures to teach science and discusses the importance of creating multimodal learning environments. 

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• Science education in a bilingual class: problematising a translational practice

  2018. Zeynep Ünsal (et al.). Cultural Studies of Science Education 13 (2), 317-340

  Article

  In this article we examine how bilingual students construe relations between everyday language and the language of science. Studies concerning bilingual students language use in science class have mainly been conducted in settings where both the teacher and the students speak the same minority language. In this study data was collected in a class consisting of students aged 13–14. All students had Turkish as their minority language, whereas the teacher’s minority language was Bosnian. The class was observed when they were working with acids and bases. In addition, the students were interviewed in groups.They were asked about how they use their languages during science lessons and then asked to describe and explain scientific phenomena and processes that had been a part of the observed lessons. For the analysis, practical epistemology analysis and the theory of translanguaging were used. The results show how the students’ everyday language repertoire may limit their possibilities to make meaning of science. In particular, the teacher’s practice of facilitating and supporting students’ understanding of science content by relating it to concrete examples took another direction since the everyday words he used were not a part of the students’ language repertoire. The study also shows how the students used their minority language as a resource to translate words from Swedish to Turkish in order to proceed with the science activities. However, translating scientific concepts was problematic and led to the students’ descriptions of the concepts not being in line with how they are viewed in science. Finally, the study also demonstrates how monolingual exams may limit bilingual students’ achievements in science. The study contributes by presenting and discussing circumstances that need to be taken into consideration when planning and conducting science lessons in classes where the teacher and the student do not share the same minority language. 

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• Bilingual students' learning in science: Language, gestures and phyiscal artefacts

  2017. Zeynep Ünsal.

  Thesis (Doc)

  The objective of this thesis is to examine how language, gestures and physical artefacts are used in science classes with emergent bilingual students who do not share the same minority language as their classmates or teachers. The purpose is to contribute to findings that can enhance emergent bilingual students’ learning in science. The data consist of classroom observations in one 3^rd grade (9–10 years old) and one 7^th grade (13–14 years old) science class. In addition, the students in the 7^th grade were interviewed. Whole-class instruction was carried out monolingually in Swedish. The students typically made meaning of the activities without any language limitations during conversations following an initiation, response and evaluation pattern (IRE). However, during longer conversations the students’ language repertoire in Swedish frequently limited their possibilities to express themselves. During group-work activities, students with the same minority language worked together and used both of their languages. One strategy used among the students to overcome language limitations was translating unfamiliar words into their minority language. In general, this supported the students’ learning in science. Occasionally, the students made incorrect translations of scientific concepts. The interviews with the students demonstrated how monolingual exams may limit emergent bilingual students’ achievements in science. When students’ language proficiency limited their possibility to express themselves, the students showed what they meant by using gestures. This resulted in the continuation of the lessons as both other students and teachers drew on the used gestures to talk about the science content. The physical artefacts implied that the students experienced the science content by actually seeing it, which the teacher then drew on to introduce how the phenomena or process in question could be expressed in scientific language. When students’ proficiency in the language of instruction limited their possibilities to make meaning, using physical artefacts enabled them to experience unfamiliar words being related to the science content and learn what they mean. 

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• Science education in a multilingual class: Problematizing a translational practice

  2015. Zeynep Ünsal (et al.).

  Conference

  In this study we examine  how bilingual students construe relations between their everyday language in Swedish and Turkish, respectively, and the language of science in Swedish. The data collection consists of observations and group interviews in a multilingual science class with 13-14 years old students. For the analysis, Practical epistemology analysis and the theory of translanguaging were used. The results show how the students' everyday language may limit their possibilities to make meaning of science. In particular, the teacher's practice of facilitating and supporting students' understanding of science content by relating it to concrete examples took another direction since some everyday words he used were not a part of the students' language repertoire. The study also shows how the students translated everyday words from Swedish to Turkish to proceed with the activities. However, translating scientific concepts were more problematic and lead to that the students' descriptions of concepts were not in line with how they are viewed in science. Finally, the study demonstrates how monolingual exams may limit bilingual students' achievments in science. The study contributes by presenting and discussing circumstances that are needed to be taken into consideration when planning and conducting science lessons in multilingual classes.

  Read more about Science education in a multilingual class

Show all publications by Zeynep Ünsal at Stockholm University