1. 3 Modeling the World

2. Outline Constructivism Metaphor & Analogies Scientific Modeling
Object-Oriented Modeling for Software
Collaborative Models
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3. Mental Models Constructivism - Jean Piaget & Seymour Papert
Khemlani, S., Barbey, A., Johnson- Laird, P.N., Causal reasoning with mental models.
Nancy J. Nersessian
Hawking and Mlodinow: The Grand Design Chapter 3
Model-dependent realism
Jean Piaget (
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4. Constructivism – Jean Piaget
How do children comprehend the world around them? The child sees, hears, smells, feels but what to make of it?
According to Piaget children construct mental models or schemas.
Infant models are crude; i.e. an infant may think all 4-legged animals belong to the dog schema. As the child passes through stages of development differences between 4-legged animals become apparent.
The child may try to assimilate the differences into the schema by ignoring or deeming them unimportant.
Or accommodate the differences by revising the schema or introducing new ones. Hence, learning.
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5. Piaget’s Developmental Theory
Piaget's Developmental Theory: an Overview (4 mins /\)
Piaget's stages of cognitive development | Processing the Environment Khan Academy (6 mins /\)
Development: Schemas, Assimilation, & Accommodation (2 mins /\)
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6. Seymour Papert
Seymour Papert ( ) worked with Piaget at the University of Geneva from 1958 – 63.
He went to MIT in 1963 founding the Epistemology and Learning Research Group which evolved into the MIT Media Lab.
Papert and Marvin Minsky codirected the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
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7. Constructionism – A pedagogy
Learning is reconstruction , not transmission of knowledge. (from Constructivism)
Employ student-centered project-based learning with the teacher serving as coach.
Students use manipulative materials to build a product.
Papert devised the LOGO computer language for use in elementary schools.
Mindstorms
Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas By Seymour A. Papert (view full text)
Seymour Papert – YouTube (6 mins /\ 1972)
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8. Constructivism in Science Education
Modeling Method – Whiteboarding (2 mins /\)
A Modeling Approach to Physics Instruction (12 mins /\)
- All Reality Consists of What Things? George P. Lakoff (9 mins /\)
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9. Visual Thinking
Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds TED Talk (20 mins /\ Makes the case for visual thinking)
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10. Do we see reality as it is?
Donald Hoffman: Do we see reality as it is? | TED Talk (22 mins)
Rather than as a set of absolute physical principles, reality is best understood as a set of phenomena our brain constructs to guide our behavior. To put it simply: we actively create everything we see, and there is no aspect of reality that does not depend on consciousness. Donald Hoffman
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11. Creating Scientific Concepts Nancy J. Nersessian
Conceptual change derives from the use of analogies, imagistic representations, and thought experiments.
Waterbury Interview - Nancy J. Nersessian (33 mins)
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12. Model-dependent Realism The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
In the history of science we have discovered a sequence of better and better theories or models, from Plato to the classical theory of Newton to modern quantum theories. It is natural to ask: Will this sequence eventually reach an end point, an ultimate theory of the universe, that will include all forces and predict every observation we can make, or will we continue forever finding better theories, but never one that cannot be improved upon? We do not yet have a definitive answer to this question..
— Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design, p.8
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13. What is a Good Model? According to Hawking & Mlodinow
Elegant
Few arbitrary or adjustable elements
Agrees with and explains all existing observations
Makes detailed predictions about future observations that can disprove or falsify the model if they are not borne out.
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14. Models in Software Development
UML class, dynamic diagrams
MODELING FOR EVERYONE: EMPHASIZING THE ROLE OF MODELING IN STEM EDUCATION – See 5 ANDREAS TOLK
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15. Designing Software for a Vending Machine
Software developers need to understand the problem before designing a solution.
UML (Unified Modeling Language) is a set of diagram conventions that allow developers to model the software.
Initially the models are coarse. They show the big picture. The Use Case Diagram shows the system from the end users point of view.
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16. Vending Machine Use Case Model
There are just 2 users, a human hungry for a snack, and the machine described as system. The ellipses are functions available to each user.
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Borrowed from

17. The System Broken Down to Components
Each rectangle will be programmed as a class using an object-oriented language such as Java or C++.
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18. Class Diagram Each rectangle has 3 compartments” Class Name Attributes
Methods
The lines represent connections between classes
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19. Sequence Diagram
TIME
This dynamic diagram follows the customer use cases of getting a snack. The classes are vertical lines named at the top. The horizontal lines represent messages between the classes.
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20. CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) Tools
The UML diagrams show different aspects of the system to be built.
The “Unified” in UML means all developers use the same diagrams. It is easy for developers to confer and collaborate.
As development proceeds more and more detail is added.
CASE tools automatically generate code from the diagrams.
Programmers need only code the difference between the generated code and the desired functionality.
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21. Collaborative Models
Communal Constructivism "Communal Constructivism: Students Constructing Learning for as well as with others," by Holmes, et al.
Activity Theory
Mind and Society by Lev Vygotsky ??
Wikipedia
YouTube
Crowd sourcing
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