Developed by: David Hestenes and Malcolm Wells
middle schoolhigh schoolintro collegeinter-mediateupper levelgrad school other
calc based
alg based
conceptual
Overview
What? Instruction organized around active student construction of conceptual and mathematical models in an interactive learning community. Students engage with simple scenarios to build, test and apply the handful of scientific models that represent the content core of physics.
Why? It engages students in building, testing, deploying, and revising models, which is the heart of the scientific process. It has been shown to improve conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills.
Why not? Effectively implementing Modeling Instruction requires participation in a 3-week professional development course and accessing instructional materials requires a paid membership to the American Modeling Teachers Association. There is an associated cost for both teachers and individual students.
Classroom video
Student skills developed
- Conceptual understanding
- Problem-solving skills
- Using multiple representations
- Designing experiments
- Metacognition
- Lab skills
- Making real-world connections
Instructor effort required
- High
Resources required
- Computers for students
- Advanced lab equipment
- Tables for group work
Silver Validation
