Questions and Reactions to Reading II: Models

Sarah Schneider

QR 2

Questions

1.)     If some of these models have been proven less effective and useful than others, should we still use them all in our lessons?

2.)     If models are supposed to help people understand things, then how come our model/concept of the world is not how the world actually is?

Reaction

            I was kind of taken back by the idea that our concept of the world is probably not how it actually exists. The more I read the more I began to understand this. However, I think that our concept and the models that we create help us to better understand the world around us, because without them we probably would have no concept of things around us.

I feel that each model is essential in the classroom because it brings different aspects to life and allows the students and the teacher to fully grasp the idea. The only problem that I would have with all of these types of models is that they are all simplified because some ideas are too large to represent it as it really is in the world. Because the models are simplified, some students might not grasp the concept because they have been acquired to seeing it in a smaller manner. One example is the size of the solar system. Even for me now it is sometimes hard to realize how big space is and that planets and galaxies exists billions and billions of light years away. For students, it probably will be even harder to understand and might create some misconceptions.

Overall, I think models are the best ways to represent things. With students, I feel that they need to be able to recognize things and then create their own relationships and connections in order to remember the information. Each model described in the reading I would use in my classroom because it fits the need of different concepts and each student learns differently. So by incorporating different models, I will have a better chance of reaching each student and demonstrating a topic in a way that would help him/her understand it better than if no model was used. Students will be subjected to different approaches.

 Jona Snyder

Questions:

1)       The article states that, “we interpret the incoming signals according to the capabilities of our mental apparatus, our memories, and our emotions.”  How can we as teachers more effectively use this to our advantage in the classroom, and how can we develop our curriculum to reflect these efforts?

2)       Relating back to the previous article, how can “inquiry based lessons” be utilized as a mode of scaffolding and framework in teaching and understanding models in science education.

Response:

            The New York State Earth Science core curriculum is heavily based on students understanding of earth’s processes through the use of conceptual models.  Many of the performance indicators directly address student’s need to “demonstrate” given material.  I feel that up until this point models have been largely thought of as simple demonstrations, however; the article shows the deep thought processes that models can encourage. 

            I was perhaps most perplexed by the reading, “models and how we learn.”  As educators I feel it is crucial to fully understand the thought processes of our “clientele.”  The article offers this, “When the brain integrates information from these three sources—our senses, internal receptors, and memory—the result is a mental construct called a percept, the root word for perception.”  There may be no more powerful word in a teacher’s arsenal, than perception.  The article does a wonderful job explaining how every individual learns differently because they perceive the world around them differently.  It is our job to see that every student understands the curriculum no matter how different they see the world.  New York State tells us what each student needs to know and expects us to get them their regardless.  Is this a possible flaw in the system, who knows?

            I found one last point the article makes extremely relevant to understanding the importance of how students learn.  “When we receive new information, we have two options:  we many discard it as incompatible with our existing mental models, or we may add to or modify our mental models.”  I feel that the process of learning in a student centered atmosphere has an ultimate goal, “making information relevant to students lives.” By doing this we are appealing to modified mental models.  

            This article offered many unique perspectives on the development of curriculum based on the needs and comprehension of individual students. 

Beth Cousineau

February 12, 2007

Understanding Models

Q- What makes different people remember different details about the same situation?

Q- How do we know if our students are cognitively learning and not just memorizing and reiterating?

Q- Would it be to my benefit to try to find out what the students absorb from a particular lesson or activity? And how do I do that?

Q- How do I develop a student’s awareness of how they think?

S- Understanding Models, an article from National Science Teachers Association, explains the different types of effective and ineffective types of models that teachers use in the classroom. The article suggests that future teachers should be concerned and aware of students’ ability to cognitively learn. It is explained that students absorb different key points in the same lesson.

            An effective way of teaching students is to use models. There are a number of different types, some better than others. Overall using a variety of these models tends to be the most effective way to teach the main aspects of whatever the model is representing. A mental model is the way a student perceives the surrounding environment/ world. This is evident in that students will understand the impact of a hurricane more if they lived during one then they would from a text book chapter on hurricanes. Using actual events creates a better mental model.

            Sometimes when students express understanding of a model they are inaccurate. A conceptual model can be misleading. Based on a stream bed representation students might think that the reason the smaller particles are at the bottom is because they were eroded more; when really it is the streams gradient and velocity that determines the deposition of particles. This can be and should be assessed in an expression model. 

R- Based on the article I see how many models can be misleading to students. The most effective use of models is when a teacher uses many to show something. I also think that scaffolding a lesson is extremely important. If students are shown something without having the basic background knowledge it will go right over their heads. A valuable way to ensure cognitive learning is to make in inquiry based. Allow the students to discover the faultiness of a model.

            In addition checking the students understanding is important, this will ensure that they are retaining the correct points of the lesson. Educational Psychology classes will only help me in determining what my students perceive as important. Besides that I will have to discover what interests them and work with that. I think this could be done by having them observe the same specimen and write what they see, similar to the mystery rock activity that the Earth History class did in the beginning of the semester.

Ashley Gerace                                                                                                  RQ 2: CNB

Dr Ebert                                                                                                            Models

Questions:

1.  Are single models useful to use in the classroom when they are not backed up with other models to reinforce the ideas?

2.  If middle school students deal in the concrete 99% of the time, then why do teachers put abstract ideas in their lesson plans?

3.  Why don’t all science teachers try to incorporate multiple models into their lessons when it is proven that students understand and connect the ideas better?

Reaction: 

            I thought that this chapter had a lot of information packed into a short amount of pages.  At times, I had trouble taking in all the information due to the fact that it was all bombarding me at the same time.  I think that the chapter had some crucial points, so I did learn some things from it.

            I was interested in the part about conceptual models.  It stated that everyone makes their own personal models of ideas, which might be very different than their fellow students.  I think that it is important for teachers to give the students enough information so that all of their personal models are fairly close to each other.  If there is a discrepancy, then the students might talk to each other about the topic and get confused because they all have conflicting ideas.

            I agreed with the idea that functional concrete models could be highly misleading when they are used for instruction.  They only represent the functional relationships of their targets, and they do no accurately show scalar relationships or appearance of the idea.  If this was used as an introduction to a topic, the students would think that the model was an exact model of the real idea, and this would already put the students on the wrong track.

            I think that a great way to avoid confusion of students when dealing with models is to use multiple models to get the idea across.  Using multiple models expands the students’ mental and conceptual models, which helps eliminate any confusion about the topic.  Each of the models show a different characteristic of the idea, and then the students can put all the characteristics and ideas together to form and rich mental model.

Jessica Banewicz                                 Understanding Models Questions and Responses

Questions:

1. Yes, there are many different types of models listed here, but if people get created enough, could they manipulate even more types of models?
2. Expressed models occur frequently on the Earth Science Regents exam.  Is this because the expressed model type is easier for the 8^th and 9^th grade age groups to understand?
3. Which model is best for demonstrating what?
4. Since conceptual models evolve from experience, is it best to use this type at the end of a lesson?  Or is it better used for scaffolding at the beginning of a class to make students think?

Response:

Before reading the chapter on understanding models, my general understanding of a model was that it symbolizes something more complicated.  I can now define a model more specifically.  Models are meant to symbolize actual objects or occurrences with similar characteristics rather than be replications of the actual things in question.  The author writes that memory details fade yet patterns of recognition are maintained.  This is helpful because if an educator is not able to create an extremely memorable model, at least the idea might be better portrayed with the model and the overall learning experience will be recalled.

Benjamin Tangney

Questions:

1. If we all have our own perceptions of the “real world,” is it possible to determine what actually is real?
2. Why do teachers deal in the abstract when students learn in the concrete?
3. Can teachers track whether students are actually learning concepts or just memorizing them and restating them for tests?

Response:

            The concept that our perception of the real world isn’t how the real world actually exists is an extremely interesting theory.  I find it fascinating that what we see, feel, might not actually be how things are.  It raises the question in my mind of what others perceive the real world as, when compared to my perception of it.

            I feel that the introduction of multiple models in the classroom as a way to help students further their understanding of systems they study is a good idea.  It makes sense that in order to help students understand concepts and ideas; they would need multiple models, tying into each other.  The more connections a student can make to a theory, the better they will be able to understand it.  I liked the models used to discuss tornadoes.  I feel that they introduction of any one of those models, along with reading in the text and class discussion would give a slight understanding of tornadoes, but with the introduction of a number of them,  student understanding would be greater.

Matt Entwistle                                                                                                    2/12/07

Questions:

1. Why are some models better than others?  Are the students able to learn from the weaker models as well as the stronger ones?
2. Should we as teachers show our students mental models in the classroom if they are not based on reality?
3. Since middle school students deal in concrete 99% of the time, is inquiry based education the right way to teach?

Response:

            After reading this article, I believe that models will help students get a better understanding of concepts because they will be able to see what we are trying to teach them.  I believe that visual aid is a key component to teaching and helping the students grasp ideas.  It is definitely a good idea for teachers to use models in the classroom to represent content material, but I feel that models take away the inquiry based learning that we are trying to convey to the students.  If we use models to represent ideas, the students are not engaged in active thinking and this takes away from their learning ability.  Also, if students are actively seeking information to form their own personal models, how do we know if everyone is modeling the information the same way?  This could be a disaster in the classroom if all of the students are not on the same page.  Overall, I like the idea of models and would use them in my classroom, but I will be a little apprehensive at the same time because I do not want to confuse the students.

Beth's Response to Sarah

In response to Sarah’s question “If some of these models have been proven less effective and useful than others, should we still use them all in our lessons?” I agree with some of her reactions. Those models are an effective way as long as the teacher incorporates various types of models so students can gain a fuller understanding of the topic. Although I also think that it is important to get students involved in their understanding by allowing them to determine the shortcomings of models. And once they have an understanding check their understanding by having them design their own model. This will allow the teacher to not only assess their understanding but to also see what each individual students perceives as important.

Sarah's Response to Ashley

In response to Ashley’s reaction about using multiple models to get the idea across to all students, I agree with that idea. I remember when I was in school I always had trouble picturing certain ideas and concepts because the teacher would only use one model or one type of explanation. I was left to either trying to figure it out on my own and ask one of my classmates to explain it better. Sometimes my friends thought they understood, but they really couldn’t explain it any better than the teacher. We were confused and had misconceptions. I think Ashley’s idea of using more than one model to represent a certain idea or concept would be more effective because each student would be able to focus in on one model that suits them and helps them understand. If I had a teacher who used different models, then I probably would have had a better time understanding the information and not being misled. I feel that all of us as pre-service teachers need to understand this and realize that each student will learn differently and not all students will be able to understand a topic the same way we do or the same way that half of the class does. Ashley’s idea of students using all the models to form their own mental model is a great idea because then the students will be thinking for themselves and creating their own understanding of the concept, which I feel will ultimately help the student retain the information.

Jona's Response to Ashley

I feel that Ashley had an awesome CR.  When I first read her question 2, “If middle school students deal in the concrete 99% of the time, then why do teachers put abstract ideas in their lesson plans?” I was shocked because I had never thought of that scenario. As I began to reflect on her question I was able to partially justify in my mind why some teachers continue to teach the “space cadets” abstract ideas. 

I’m going to go out on a limb with this one because I think this question applies somewhat to education, but more to life in general.  I think that life is a continuous set of challenges that as adults and children we must overcome.  Most of these “life lessons” aren’t given to us on a silver platter we have to work to understand their meanings.  I feel this is partially the reason why many teachers make students work for the complex ideas especially in science.  Students need to learn to take risks and understand the world operates in 3-D.  There is no better time in life to learn these lessons than in middle school where you still have a helping hand to guide you.  So what if you fail the first time there will usually be someone to help you up.  As we get older we become responsible for understanding and interpreting many abstract ideas with out as much guidance.  I feel the role of education is to prepare students for life.

I’m not sure that I have addressed this question in the correct way, but it this was my thought process.  Nice work Ash!

Ashley's Response to Ben

I think that Ben made a great point when he asked the question about having teachers track if students are really learning or just regurgitating facts.  I think that student get so worried about getting good grades that they just cram for tests and do not retain the information, and this is not what teachers want out of their students.  It is more important that student learn the material and store it so that they can call upon it later on in their studies.

I agree with Ben that multiple models are a great way to get through to students.  They get to see the topic from different angles and perspectives, which make it easier for them to connect their ideas.  Different students learn differently, and by using multiple models, the students are more likely to understand the idea.

Gary's Response to Matt

In response to your first question Matt, I think that all models should be thoroughly thought out before being introduced into the classroom.  I think that concrete models are used so often in inquiry based education because they are exactly that, concrete.  There is little chance that students will misinterpret what a concrete model in designed to portray.   I think that for the average student, a concrete model is the best.   For the selected few however, who are mentally capable of more, something like an abstract model might be a great resource. 

I also agree that models can create a disaster in the classroom, especially if the students miss the intended point of a model.  How do we know that each student is getting the desired knowledge out of our model?   I guess the only thing that I can say is that we as teachers need to maintain an open line of communication with students, talk with them as while they are working with models, and try to steer them towards the desired outcome.  With a little work and ambition, I think that models can be a great classroom tool