Models in Science are Having a Moment
Let's play a little science guessing game. I'm going to give you a question, and we'll see if your answer is on my list of five guesses. Ready?
"As a child, what was the first model you made for elementary science class?"
Got your answer ready? Okay, scroll down and we'll see if I guessed it:
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1. Volcano with baking soda and vinegar
2. The planets
3. Do I even need to keep going? 😆
Now that you're all grown up and teaching your own classes, you know that "modeling" in science involves a little more than breaking out the craft paint.
Models show systems and the relationships between the parts of those systems. You can model how the physical parts of a system work together, or you can model concepts about a system. You can use shapes, words, and even mathematical formulas. No baking soda required! 😁
Modeling seems like it's having a moment right now. It's been showing up in more state standards and tests for several years. There hasn't been a ton of support for teachers, though, especially at the younger levels.
How do we model with students without stressing about it? Read on!
📋 What's the goal for the modeling? Models show up all the time in our science classes!
Sometimes we're just showing students the consensus model that most scientists agree on, while other times we use teaching models to demonstrate how certain parts of a system work together.
When it comes to projects, though, we're usually having students create an expressed model that shows their personal understanding of a concept.
That's good to remember, because their expressed model might not show every nuance of a consensus or teaching model, and that's okay! What's important is seeing how their brains have made connections with the learning. There's a lot of flexibility encouraged here.
📋 Data makes a difference: Let's say your students did an experiment to see how temperature affects seeds sprouting. 🌱 After the results are in, how could they model their understanding of the experiment?
In this case, a simple drawing would be a great model!
The important thing to talk about is how they include their results in the drawing. It's easy - add labels! That extra step shows the connection they see between temperature and growth in the system.
Without those connections, they're just drawing "Still Life of Sprouted Dixie Cups." 🎨😆
Including the data also lets us use the model to ask questions and make predictions, two awesome science practices with modeling that students don't do nearly enough.
📋 Look for the limits: One thing that students really need help understanding is that models are ALWAYS limited in how much and what kind of information they can share.
Remember that model of the solar system I asked about? You probably learned a lot about the different planets, but ...
Did the model show the relative sizes of the planets? Their movement? The interaction of gravity? The moons and smaller satellites? Comets? Radiation? The system's location in the Milky Way?
Of course not! We wouldn't want it to, either. A good model shares information purposefully.
It's such a great mental exercise to follow working on a model with finding all the information that it doesn't show. Not only does it help students understand the nature of science, but it's a sneaky way to use a model of one part of a unit to review the rest of the information they learned! 😉
I hope this inspires some new conversations about models in your room, and a little less stress when you think about modeling.
And ... if I didn't guess your first model project, let me know what it was! 😆