As educators, we recognize that commercially prepared curricula advertised as “NGSS aligned” do not necessarily emphasize student sensemaking. In this article, we describe our process of modifying such curricula by reflecting on previous instruction and planning for future instruction that centers student sensemaking in a middle school unit on chemical reactions. We highlight the ways that a set of publicly available pedagogical tools (known as the ASET SEP Tools) focused our discourse on a shared vision of sensemaking that is appropriate to expect of middle school students. We encourage our fellow teachers to use the SEP Tools to support these kinds of collaborative, reflective conversations as they strive to center and support their students’ scientific sensemaking.
Ricketts, A. & Rasmussen, T. (2025). Engaging students in sensemaking via the science and engineering practices. Science Scope, 48(4), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/08872376.2025.2505839