Developing and
Using models

Strategies to promote Belonging while Modeling

Belonging means being able to bring your whole self into the classroom with you and that being honored. In modeling, students have to be able to be creative and innovative with their ideas and this is best fostered when students feel that sense of belonging. Some strategies to promote belongingness in the science classroom while modeling is to host a gallery walk of different models with options for feedback. This can even be done anonymously depending on the established culture of the classroom but in a gallery walk all students are represented. In addition feedback must be given respectfully and sensitively and that takes practice and structure (maybe even sentence starters!). Lastly, it will be important for students to be able to see themselves in the curriculum so teachers should offer opportunities to examine models made by scientists from diverse backgrounds. To learn more click here.

Strategies to promote Confidence while Modeling

Confidence in developing and using models is built over the course of a scientific life. Students began modeling as a toddler and the skill continues to deepen over the lifetime. In order to continue to build student skill in modeling, building and support has to be a part of the learning. Teachers can start students off in modeling with simpler concepts or even in small groups. From there students should build their confidence and can use sentence starters and parameters to start learning how to speak about models. As students develop comfort, teachers can ease off of some of the support as needed. Another important piece is the metacognitive reflection that can accompany creating models. If students think deeply about their successes and struggle areas, they can develop confidence as they know better how to address those barriers. As always, make sure students see and experience tons of modeling (ha!) of developing and using models and are clear about the expectations- this will lead to confidence in their own skills! To learn more click here.

Learning Orientation Strategies for Developing and Using Models

Scientific ideas are formulated through an iterative process and models help make these ideas more visual, more understandable and useful for other processes. Because there are so many ways that models can be developed and understood it can almost be overwhelming for a teacher to prompt creativity while still addressing the phenomena. The learning environment must be one that is supportive, structured, clear, and iterative. The support that the teacher provides can help students develop their understanding of the variable nature of science- that there is no one right way to answer a question. WIth a proper learning orientation, students understand that reflection and revision are part of the process and that there aren’t ‘wrong’ models, just early drafts. To foster this learning orientation, teachers should have plenty of opportunities for sharing models and getting feedback. Students should also take time to reflect on their process and progress periodically. To learn more click here.

Supporting Autonomy when Developing and Using Models

Decision making is the name of the game! To foster autonomy students must be able to make decisions in each and every phase of them developing their models. This goes beyond aesthetic decisions. Students have to constantly be thinking about how well their model reflects a scientific phenomenon and think about what they included, what they didn’t include, and the impact of each of those choices. For example, if students are building a model that represents the energy transfer within an ecosystem, students must consider the scale, the outside forces represented in that ecosystem, and how well developed each trophic level is. This process is essential and students should pause to reflect on each change and decision they made. The next step, ideally, is for students to use their own model for the next learning activity. Their model can generate a new 

scientific question for students to study and perhaps lead to more iterations of the model. To learn more click here.

Emphasizing Relevance while Developing and Using Models

While models are used commonly to better understand phenomena, a deep understanding of a phenomenon is required to even create a model. While this is contradictory, in the case of classroom practice, a well made model gives a teacher detailed evidence of student understanding of the concept. This makes modeling a very effective assessment tool. Connections to students' lives makes the content and the model much more accessible- especially for students with marginalized backgrounds. To make modeling relevant, teachers should make sure that materials and scenarios are familiar, use local resources and stories, and ideally ask students to apply their model to the local community. For example, students can use models of greenhouse gas/temperature data to predict and address local asthma incidence or use students favorite sports moves to better understand the musculoskeletal systems. To learn more click here.

Standard Name: HS-ESS2-6 Earth's Systems

Standard: Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Components of the model

• • Students use evidence to develop a model in which they:

    • Identify the relative concentrations of carbon present in the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere and biosphere; and

    • Represent carbon cycling from one sphere to another. 

2. Relationships

• • In the model, students represent and describe* the following relationships between components of the system, including:

    • The biogeochemical cycles that occur as carbon flows from one sphere to another; 

    • The relative amount of and the rate at which carbon is transferred between spheres; 

    • The capture of carbon dioxide by plants; and

    • The increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere due to human activity and the effect on climate. 

3. Connections

• • Students use the model to explicitly identify the conservation of matter as carbon cycles through various components of Earth’s systems.

  • Students identify the limitations of the model in accounting for all of Earth’s carbon.

Standard Name: HS-ESS1-1 Earth's Place in the Universe

Standard: Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Components of the model

• Students use evidence to develop a model in which they identify and describe* the relevant components, including:

  • Hydrogen as the sun’s fuel; 

  • Helium and energy as the products of fusion processes in the sun; and

  • That the sun, like all stars, has a life span based primarily on its initial mass, and that the sun’s lifespan is about 10 billion years.

2. Relationships

• In the model, students describe* relationships between the components, including a description* of the process of radiation, and how energy released by the sun reaches Earth’s system.

3. Connections

• Students use the model to predict how the relative proportions of hydrogen to helium change as the sun ages.

• Students use the model to qualitatively describe* the scale of the energy released by the fusion process as being much larger than the scale of the energy released by chemical processes.

• Students use the model to explicitly identify that chemical processes are unable to produce the amount of energy flowing out of the sun over long periods of time, thus requiring fusion processes as the mechanism for energy release in the sun.

Standard Name: HS-LS2-5 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Standard: Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Components of the model

• Students use evidence to develop a model in which they identify and describe* the relevant components, including:

  • The inputs and outputs of photosynthesis; 

  • The inputs and outputs of cellular respiration; and 

  • The biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.

2. Relationships 

• Students describe* relationships between components of their model, including: 

  • The exchange of carbon (through carbon-containing compounds) between organisms and the environment; and 

  • The role of storing carbon in organisms (in the form of carbon-containing compounds) as part of the carbon cycle.

3. Connections 

• Students describe* the contribution of photosynthesis and cellular respiration to the exchange of carbon within and among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere in their model. 

• Students make a distinction between the model’s simulation and the actual cycling of carbon via photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Standard Name: HS-LS1-2 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Standard: Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Components of the model

• Students develop a model in which they identify and describe* the relevant parts (e.g., organ system, organs, and their component tissues) and processes (e.g., transport of fluids, motion) of body systems in multicellular organisms.

2. Relationships

• In the model, students describe* the relationships between components, including: 

  • The functions of at least two major body systems in terms of contributions to overall function of an organism; 

  • Ways the functions of two different systems affect one another; and

• A system’s function and how that relates both to the system’s parts and to the overall function of the organism.

3. Connections

• Students use the model to illustrate how the interaction between systems provides specific functions in multicellular organisms.

• Students make a distinction between the accuracy of the model and actual body systems and functions it represents.

Standard Name: HS-PS1-8 Matter and its Interactions

Standard: Develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.

Observable Features of Student Performance by the end of the Course: 

1. Components of the model

• Students develop models in which they identify and describe* the relevant components of the models, including:

  • Identification of an element by the number of protons;

  • The number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus before and after the decay;

  • The identity of the emitted particles (i.e., alpha, beta — both electrons and positrons, and gamma); and

  • The scale of energy changes associated with nuclear processes, relative to the scale of energy changes associated with chemical processes.

2. Relationships

• Students develop five distinct models to illustrate the relationships between components underlying the nuclear processes of 1) fission, 2) fusion and 3) three distinct types of radioactive decay.

• Students include the following features, based on evidence, in all five models: 

  • The total number of neutrons plus protons is the same both before and after the nuclear process, although the total number of protons and the total number of neutrons may be different before and after.

  • The scale of energy changes in a nuclear process is much larger (hundreds of thousands or even millions of times larger) than the scale of energy changes in a chemical process.

3. Connections

• Students develop a fusion model that illustrates a process in which two nuclei merge to form a single, larger nucleus with a larger number of protons than were in either of the two original nuclei.

• Students develop a fission model that illustrates a process in which a nucleus splits into two or more fragments that each have a smaller number of protons than were in the original nucleus.

• In both the fission and fusion models, students illustrate that these processes may release energy and may require initial energy for the reaction to take place.

• Students develop radioactive decay models that illustrate the differences in type of energy (e.g., kinetic energy, electromagnetic radiation) and type of particle (e.g., alpha particle, beta particle) released during alpha, beta, and gamma radioactive decay, and any change from one element to another that can occur due to the process.

• Students develop radioactive decay models that describe* that alpha particle emission is a type of fission reaction, and that beta and gamma emission are not.