Molo Advisory Board Meeting Modeling at CC Robert Tinker The Concord Consortium http://molo.concord.org Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Modeling in General “Modeling” as we use it: Computational models Real-time visualizations of the computations Variables under user control Why we like models Can match mental models Educational use is like experimentation Kids experience new environments Can link to macro-scale phenomena Student can transfer understanding Less to memorize, more to reason out Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Models Under Development BioLogica: Classical genetics Dynamica: Classical dynamics Molecular dynamics Basic model Additions for chemistry Additions for biology Connections to BioLogica for evolution Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

The Need for Scaffolding Model use in education Require activities Exploration is hard to manage in the classroom Online activities have many advantages Models can be too complex, w/ too many options Students can get lost and waste valuable instructional time Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Scaffolding Means Framing and guiding inquiry Providing just the right options and displays Noting student actions and reacting accordingly Creating targeted learning activities Linking pages of activities into a standards-based modules Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Molecular Dynamics Defined Computing the motion of collections of atoms using Newton’s Laws Using atomic forces Van der Waals Coulomb forces Elastic bonds Boundary conditions Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Molecular Dynamics Emergent behavior Energy conservation Temperature Phases of matter Solubility In general Thermodynamics Nano structure Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Pedagogica Provides scaffolding for models The combination of Pedagogica and a model is a hypermodel Controls the page, model, and other objects on a page Can link multiple applications on a page Can link pages together Can gather data from students Is itself programmed by a script: JavaScript Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

“Pedagogicizable” Objects Molecular viewer Probeware Portfolio Any Flash animation Any Quicktime object Any NetLogo program Any Java program Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Qian’s “TeacherScreen” An alternative scaffolding solution Model, controls, and displays embedded in a word processor Launched and linked with WebStart Less flexible than Pedagogica Far smaller and easier to author Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Embedded Assessment Explicit Ask questions, return text, choices, and numbers Implicit Observe time, options used Derive information from models made New research methodology Can return data to Pedagogica, students, teachers, and researchers Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Problems Implementing “heavy” applications Using networks requires school networking sophistication that seldom exists Using CD-ROMs is sometimes not possible or not allowed School computers Generally in a computer lab, which is disruptive We must test all combinations of OS, browser, and computers Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting The Hope Computationally heavy applications are compelling The combination of scaffolded models and embedded assessment overcomes the problems The new learning opportunities created by models support new curricula Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting

Molo Advisory Board Meeting Jan. 9-10, 2004 Molo Advisory Board Meeting