Computational modeling can be generative for sense making of scientific phenomena. However, because models are abstractions of real world phenomena, making connections beyond them may not be straightforward. In this paper, we argue that expansive curricular framing can support productive epistemological framing of modeling, and influence how learners see their model exploration as relevant to their ongoing investigations. We present an analysis of two groups of undergraduate students

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... ng relative fitness of low and high mutating bacterial strains in a computational model. We demonstrate that even though the groups are comparable in the quality of work within the model, expansive curricular framing impacts students' epistemological framing of the activity and whether students see ideas from the model as relevant in a broader scope of their investigations.