In our month-long summer workshops for leading high school physics
teachers, the participants rotate through roles of student and instructor
as they practice techniques of guided discovery and cooperative learning.
The following 1-page document describes what they do and how they do it.
Cheers,
Jane Jackson, Project Director, Modeling Workshop Project
MODELING METHOD Synopsis
The Modeling Method aims to correct many weaknesses of the traditional
lecture-demonstration method, including the fragmentation of knowledge,
student passivity, and the persistence of naive beliefs about the physical
world.
What to teach: model-centered instructional objectives
To engage students in understanding the physical world by constructing and
using scientific models to describe, to explain, to predict and to control
physical phenomena.
To provide students with basic conceptual tools for modeling physical
objects and processes, especially mathematical, graphical and diagrammatic
representations.
To familiarize students with a small set of basic models as the content
core of physics.
To develop insight into the structure of scientific knowledge by examining
how models fit into theories.
To show how scientific knowledge is validated by engaging students in
evaluating scientific models through comparison with empirical data.
To develop skill in all aspects of modeling as the procedural core of
scientific knowledge.
How to teach: student-centered instructional design
Instruction is organized into modeling cycles which engage students in all
phases of model development, evaluation and application in concrete
situations -- thus promoting an integrated understanding of modeling
processes and acquisition of coordinated modeling skills.
The teacher sets the stage for student activities, typically with a
demonstration and class discussion to establish common understanding of a
question to be asked of nature. Then, in small groups, students collaborate
in planning and conducting experiments to answer or clarify the question.
Students are required to present and justify their conclusions in oral
and/or written form, including a formulation of models for the phenomena in
question and evaluation of the models by comparison with data.
Technical terms and representational tools are introduced by the teacher as
they are needed to sharpen models, facilitate modeling activities and
improve the quality of discourse.
The teacher is prepared with a definite agenda for student progress and
guides student inquiry and discussion in that direction with "Socratic"
questioning and remarks.
The teacher is equipped with a taxonomy of typical student misconceptions
to be addressed as students are induced to articulate, analyze and justify
their personal beliefs.
_______________________________________________________________________
-> For more details point your web browser to
http://modeling.la.asu.edu/modeling.html
Jane Jackson (Prof. of Physics, Scottsdale Comm. College--on leave)
Dept.of Physics, Box 871504, Arizona State Univ.,Tempe AZ 85287-1504.
jane.jackson@asu.edu (602)965-8438 FAX:965-7331
Modeling Workshop Project: http://modeling.la.asu.edu/modeling.html
_____________________________________________________________________________
TEECH Leadership Development Discussion
To send a response, send mail to teech_leadership@teech.terc.edu
To unsubscribe from the list, send mail to ntlist_manager@teech.terc.edu
In the body of the message: unsubscribe teech_leadership <email-address>
View or post messages from the Web at http://hub.terc.edu/terc/teech.html
______________________________________________________________________________