Model-Based InquiryProfessional Development

Summer Institute 2011

Introductions Mr. Chris Bogiages

• Science Teacher at the Scholars Academy – Horry County Schools• Doctoral Student – University of South Carolina• Co-Principal Investigator for MBIPD Summer Institute

Dr. Christine Lotter• University of South Carolina College of Education Instruction & Teacher

Education• Co-Principal Investigator for MBIPD Summer Institute

Dr. Michele Nelson• Recently completed her doctorate at the University of Michigan• Modeling Designs in Learning Science (MoDeLS) research group• Horizon Research Inc.

Mr. Jason Lonon• Science Teacher - Spartanburg Day School• Teacher Educator – Modeling Instruction – UNC-Greensboro

Welcome to the MBIPDSummer Institute

Hopefully you parked in the front of Bill Baxley Hall. Please continue to do so but also display your parking permit on your dashboard if you need to park in the side lot.

Teacher Materials:• All participating teachers will take home materials from the institute

at the end of the week Teacher Stipends:• The stipend totals $250

◦ $150 will be awarded upon completion of the institute and the design of a lesson using the modeling framework

Those staying in the dorm will have the $150 applied to their the cost of the dorm room for the week.

◦ $100 will be awarded after implementing the lesson you create during the institute

Lessons will either be directly observed and videotaped or videotaped only Students will complete a 20 question pre/post test before and after the lesson that

focuses on models and modeling Teachers will be interviewed about the lesson

Logistics and Questions

Schedule at a Glance:• Each day’s activities begin promptly at 8:30 and end at 4:00• Four 1.5 hour sessions each day with 15 minute breaks and 45 minutes

for lunch• We will begin the with several whole group activities followed by small

group sessions in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology and then back together as a whole group at the end of the week

• Each day will end with a daily reflection write up and a little bit of homework

Research Surrounding the Institute

• All sessions will be videotaped by student volunteers• Some of you will be interviewed during lunch about your pre-institute

survey responses• All materials generated during the institute will be copied and used for

research purposes • Strict confidentiality will be maintained with all research materials

Institute Overview

• Model best practices in science education that lead to high student achievement for all students

• Opportunity for teachers to deepen their understanding of the process of science as it relates to models and modeling

• Demonstrate classroom instructional strategies that focus on models and the process of modeling

• Enable teachers to work collaboratively on designing original model-based lessons

• Listen to participant teachers ideas and insights into how to better implement a model-based curriculum

• Support teachers during their implementation of new lessons focused on models and the process of modeling for content delivery

General Mission of the Institute

National Science Education Standards “all students should develop an understanding of the

nature of science” and that this understanding includes knowledge that “scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models” (NRC, 1996, p171)

A Framework for Science Education (Preliminary draft) “science education is not just a process of acquiring a

body of static knowledge and practices. It also includes developing the ability to use tools, ranging from microscopes and rulers to computers and test tubes, and the ability to build and explain models, make predictions, and conduct scientific inquiry.” (chapter 1, page 4)

Scientific Models in Standards

A Framework for Science Education The word “models” appears 119 times in the new document The word ”modeling” appears 22 times in the new document “One of the creative engines that drives the scientific and

engineering enterprise is the creation of models.” The word “scientific method” appears 1 time. “The classic conception of scientific method, as it is often

taught, provides only a very general and incomplete version of the work of scientists. In actual practice, the process of theory development and testing is iterative, uses both deductive and inductive logic, and incorporates many tools besides direct experimentation. Modeling (conceptual models, mechanical models, and computer simulations) and scenario building (including thought experiments) play an important role in the development of scientific knowledge.”

Models are Central to Scientific Inquiry

What are Scientific Models?

What is the process scientists use to make scientific models?

What are some examples of scientific models?

What things have to be considered in order to have a “high quality” model?

Can we generate a definition of a scientific model?

What do you think the steps are that scientists take to generate “high quality” models?

Can students follow these steps as well?

What part of this process is doable for students?

Models are “science’s products, methods, and its major learning and teaching tools”

Models are a “set of representations, rules, and reasoning structures that allow one to generate predictions and explanations.”

• Scale models (solar system, human heart, concept car)

• Computer simulations (galaxy formation, weather maps)

• Models of the atom (Dalton, Bohr, Quantum, etc.)• Concept Map of a Dynamic Process (Water Cycle,

Natural Selection, etc.)

What the expert’s say….

To evaluate a particular model, scientists do not ask whether it is right or not. Rather, they ask:

1. Can the model explain all the observations?2. How can the model be used to predict the behavior of

the system if it is manipulated in a specific way?3. How is the model consistent with other ideas about

how the world works and with other models in science?

4. Multiple models may be developed and acceptable for the same phenomenon.

5. Models are continuously revised by scientists as they probe new phenomena, collect additional data, and interpret the same data in new ways.

What the expert’s say….

An expert’s conceptions of the role and/or purpose of models in science can be summarized as follows:

1. Models exist as aids to understanding phenomena, and this understanding can be checked or verified by comparing the results obtained by manipulating the model to observations obtained in the real world.

2. A primary guideline for making a model is to consider its purpose.

3. A scientist can have more than one model for the same thing because different models can be used to address different specific interests or questions about the referent.

4. A scientific model can change and be replaced by one that is better for answering questions.

What the expert’s say….

Scientific modeling – a process of science• Generating a model from key aspects of theory and data• Evaluating the model using accuracy and consistency• Revising the model based on new ideas or empirical findings• This is an iterative process – cycling from one to another and

back again Teaching Science Content through a Model-Based Approach• When students draw and discuss what they think they know

the teacher obtains a bird’s eye view of student preconceptions

• Instruction can be modified, differentiated, and adapted to current student understanding in real time

• Students engaged in modeling are engaged in science

What is Scientific Modeling?

Use

EvaluateRevise

Construct Creation

Refinement

Deployment

Practicum

Different Approaches-Same Purpose

ScientificModeling

ModelingInstruction

What we Know and don’t know

Generating a

Hypothesis

Seeking Evidence

Constructing an

Argument

Model-Based Inquiry

In your notebooks, please jot down a few ideas or facts about our solar system.

Find a partner and share your ideas about our solar system with each other. Feel free to add new ideas as well.

Find another pair of students and share your lists with each other. Draw a diagram of the solar system and include the ideas generated on

your list. Be prepared to discuss your diagram with the whole class

Discussion Questions:a. Why did you choose to include what you did in your model?b. What did you knowingly leave out of the model and why?c. What do you like about your model or other groups’ models?d. If we all had to agree on one model what would it include? As a whole class let's come to an agreement on what our model should

look like if we were going to teach other students about the solar system. Please copy the consensus model into your journals

Modeling the Solar System: An Introduction to the Modeling Practice

Discussion Questionsa. What kind of predictions can we make with this

model?b. Can you tell me how the distance of Earth from the

Sun compares to the distance of any other planet from the sun?

c. What information would we need to be able to do this?d. What improvement could we make to our model that

would allow for this prediction? Scale Model of the Solar System Activity 3 teams of six◦ 3 students are measuring distance from the sun◦ 3 students are making scale planets

Modeling the Solar System: An Introduction to the Modeling Practice

Whole Class Discussion◦ What is similar and different between this new model and your initial model?◦ Are there pros and cons to each model?◦ What would you like to integrate between the models to accurately answer

the question – “Can you tell me how the distance of Earth from the Sun compares to the distance of any other planet from the sun?”

Solar System Live - http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar/action?sys=-Sf◦ Discuss this new model and what it accounts for that is different from their

two previous models?◦ What are the pros and cons of these three models?◦ What advantages are there to using a computer model? Disadvantages?

Revising the Model What conventions have been agreed upon by the class and should

be included in the final model? What terminology have we learned that can be applied to the

model?

Modeling the Solar System: An Introduction to the Modeling Practice