Nicholas+Park


 * Wednesday evening thoughts:**

This seemed to be a relatively effective short session. We discussed and experienced to some degree what the initial stages of a unit using the modeling approach look like, as well as how the initial stages of deployment can be approached. We all seemed to agree on our overall goals and frustrations, so we should be able to have a productive discussion over the next two days.

I felt that the discussion of the transition from the model devlopment lab sequence to the model deployment in the genetics unit could have been more fully developed. In particular, we didn't really discuss the process whereby we take the students from the "two coins in each kernel" model to a more sophisticated understanding that includes the contributions of the parents etc. Since there is a potential to lose students in this process, it would be good to discuss how the model comes to its final form for the students.


 * Thursday morning - reflections on articles:**


 * Managing Discourse**

This explains in a succinct manner a small part of the research behind the need for student discourse, and describes some techniques -- i.e. socratic dialogue -- for promoting this discourse.

I have written some more sample questioning prompts based on my own experience:

1. How do you know that? 2. What model are you using? ... How do you know it can be used here? 3. Why do you say that? 4. What do you mean by that? ... etc. 5. How would you define that word [operationally]? 6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Can you explain that another way? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Can you help [name] out? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I think I understand what [name] is saying, but I'm not sure that everybody in the class does. Can anyone rephrase it in different words to help everybody out? ... [Name], is that what you were saying? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">9.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Can you show us that? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">10.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Can you write that? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">11.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Can you draw that? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What if I were to say that I thought it should be [this way]? Can you explain why you think that would be wrong? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">13.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">[Name] and [name] appear to have slightly different answers here. Can anybody suggest a way to use our model to help them come to an agreement? <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">14.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Can you depict that idea using a diagram or graph? For more information on another very good way of managing discourse, the followign (very long) article is wonderful: http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/modelingdiscoursemgmt02.pdf (it has a table of contents, to go right to the interesting parts)


 * Galley, Exothermic Bond Breaking:**

Galley raises an interesting point, and one that is important to address. We do not want to, as a matter of course and throughout various levels of our disciplines, be using a mutually inconsistent description of energy, as this hinders students from developing a coherent model of this crucial scientific concept.

Part of the difficulty here will come out more in the "Heat" article tomorrow - namely, that a coherent model for energy came on to the scene relatively recently, and the pieces haven't all been picked up yet. But the model is there now, and it is relatively simple in its fundamental ideas: energy is conserved, but can be transferred from one location / object / system to another. Heat, work and radiation are transfer mechanisms. No real processes involving energy transfer can results in a less disordered energy distribution.

So pedagogically, I think the important thing is -- at the appropriate level of complexity in each class -- be consistent with this basic model in the energy models we help students to build. They must refine this model as they learn more, just as science has done: adding new places energy can be stored, refining our equations a bit, etc. But the basic idea should be consistent from early on.

So then, for students who have had chemistry, Galley's approach is perfect. For those who don't, maybe all you can really say is that food stores energy that is release when it is broken down... How far can you go without getting into the breaking down of ATP. And if you can do that, then it is only one more step to make it accurate.


 * Models in Biology**

While I did find it dense at points and was a bit bothered by editorial issues, I was able to find some interesting perspectives in this article, that got me thinking about what a model might look like:
 * 1) "It is more reasonable to define a model as whatevery satisfies the relevant equations or descriptions." In other words, a model is not just an equation, but rather includes the equation plus other information explaining how the equation is supposed to map to the physical system it is describing, including the limits of the model. This is, of course, true in any science.
 * 2) "the laws in biologists' models need not be exceptionless regularities, necessary relationships between universals, or some other metaphysical notion." In other words, models need not be statements of truth; they must merely be expressive of and accurately represent patterns found in nature. "Model M is similar to system S in certain respects to certain degrees."
 * 3) Two kinds of models are proposed: high fidelity and more general, and it is proposed than many theories consists of "patchworks" of models. This relates back to point #1.