Download - Model-Eliciting Activities:
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Model-Eliciting Activities:
Dr. Melissa Dyehouse, CPALMS MEA SpecialistDr. Adam Santone, CPALMS Science Specialist
Applying Engineering Principles to Science and Mathematics
2012 FCR-STEM Conference
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Agenda MEA overview and accessing MEAs on CPALMS MEA activity – Plants vs Pollutants MEA Group brainstorming and writing MEA Initiative
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Realistic, open-ended problems with a client Team-based Product is the process for solving the problem
A model the client can use Integrated across subjects
Mathematics Science English Language/Arts Other context areas
Model-Eliciting Activities
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
• Proposed, tested, and refined by hundreds of teachers, parents, and community leaders who worked with researchers.
• The goals of the project that led to developing the 6 principles were:
6 Principles for Developing MEAs
MEA PrinciplesModel creation
RealisticSelf-assessmentDocumentation
Shareable & ReusableEffective prototype
o Solutions to problems should involve important mathematical ideas.
o Tasks should emphasize the kinds of problem understandings, characteristics, and abilities needed for success in real-life situations – not just in school settings.
o Teachers should be able to gather useful information about their students’ conceptual strengths and weaknesses for more effective teaching. From Lesh et al. (2000)
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Research Learn about students’ developing knowledge
Formative assessment Model eliciting = thought-revealing
Learning content Example: Plants vs Pollutants MEA
Support 21st century skills Problem-solving, communication, teamwork
How are MEAs used?
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Students read a problem statement (e.g., letter, RFP) from a fictional “client” stating a problem.
Students work in teams to develop a procedure, or model, to give to the client.
Student teams write a letter back to the client explaining their models/procedures.
Students receive a 2nd problem statement, or “twist”.
Teams test and modify (if needed) their models and write another client letter.
The teams present their work.
Basic steps of an MEA
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Toothpaste MEA (grades 2-4 and 3-5 versions): this MEA is based on a children’s book. Students must choose among criteria such as cost and taste to decide the best toothpaste recipes.
MEA ExamplesTurning Tires MEA: 9-12 grade students design a procedure to select the best tire material for certain situations by applying geometric concepts through modeling.
Water Filter MEA (grades 2-4 and 3-5 versions): students are asked to develop a procedure for ranking water filters to clean the water for a turtle.
Energy Sources MEA (grades 9-11): Students must select the most promising, sustainable, and helpful energy sources to invest in for the future.
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Example Dataset at the Elementary Level
Using the data provided, students must write a letter back to the client explaining their procedure for selecting the best toothpaste recipe.
Toothpaste MEA
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Example Dataset at the High-School Level
Using the data provided, students must write a letter back to the client explaining their procedure for selecting the best tire material to use in a given situation.
Turning Tires MEA
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Navigate to www.cpalms.org
Under the “Resource Center” tab, do a keyword search for “MEA”
Find MEAs on CPALMS
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
1. Read the letter from the client.
2. In small groups or with a shoulder partner, develop a procedure for determining how to select the best plants for each research site.
Activity – Plants versus Pollutants MEA
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Determine whether your procedure still works with the new data. If the procedure works, determine if it can be improved
upon. If the procedure does not work, determine if it needs
to be tweaked or if additional steps need to be added. Make these changes.
Part 2 - Test your procedure
Client letter 2 excerpt:Recent efforts in our program have identified a new set of plants that may be of use in our phytoremediation program (see Dataset 2; new plants are shaded) and we would like for your group to evaluate these plants against the earlier set of plants.
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
In what ways is the MEA different from other lessons that you have used in your classroom?
What is something you would change in the Plants vs Pollutants MEA to modify for your students?
Debrief
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
MEA-Specific
• Informational text• Client letter 1• Dataset 1• Client letter 2• Dataset 2• Instructional
suggestions• Letter templates 1
and 2
Lesson Plan-Related
• Standards• Title and description• Learning objectives• Assessment
– Readiness/comprehension questions
– Reflection questions• Prior knowledge• Accommodations and
Extensions
Primary components of an MEA
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Standards alignment Quality vs quantity
Aligned to at least 2 subject areas for MEAs (e.g., Science and ELA)
Standards
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
SC.912.L.17.16: Discuss the large-scale environmental impacts resulting from human activity, including waste spills, oil spills, runoff, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and surface and groundwater pollution.
SC.912.N.4.1: Explain how scientific knowledge and reasoning provide an empirically-based perspective to inform society's decision making.
SC.912.N.4.2: Weigh the merits of alternative strategies for solving a specific societal problem by comparing a number of different costs and benefits, such as human, economic, and environmental.
NGSSS Science: Plants vs Pollutants
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
MACC.912.F-BF.1.2: Write arithmetic and geometric sequences both recursively and with an explicit formula, use them to model situations, and translate between the two forms.
MACC.912.F-BF.1.1: Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities.
Mathematical Practices
MACC.K12.MP.1.1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them MACC.K12.MP.2.1: Reason abstractly and quantitatively MACC.K12.MP.3.1: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning
of others MACC.K12.MP.4.1: Model with mathematics
CCSS Mathematics: Plants vs Pollutants
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Writing Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects Grades 9-12 LACC.910.WHST.1.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including
the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
LACC.1112.WHST.1.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Plants vs Pollutants
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
What skills should students already have in order to successfully learn the selected content standards?
Plants vs Pollutants Know the structure and function of roots, leaves, and
stems Have a basic familiarity with elements including arsenic,
cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc Know how to read and interpret data tables
Prior Knowledge
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Readiness/comprehension questions What is the problem? Who is the client and what are they asking you to do? What do you need to include in your letter? What advantages and/or disadvantages might phytoremediation
techniques offer? What characteristics would describe an ideal plant for
phytoremediation? Reflective questions
What are strengths and weaknesses of each type of plant? If the situation were slightly different, would your plant type
need to change? Who has a different strategy or procedure?
Assessment Example: Plants vs Pollutants
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Pumpkins pull pollutants out of contaminated soil Citation: Graham, S. (October, 2004). Pumpkins pull pollutants out of
contaminated soil. Scientific American. Retrieved online from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pumpkins-pull-pollutants&print=true
General discussion questions: Why do you think the researchers tested these five plants? Why do you think that phytoremediation might be used rather than
another technique to remove pollutants? What are some advantages and disadvantages of phytoremediation?
Text dependent questions: Under what conditions does the article imply that phytoremediation
works best? Why did the researchers use soil from the Canadian Arctic?
Informational Texts Example: Plants vs Pollutants
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Client Letter 1 Provides a realistic context Provides the problem Usually a letter from a fictitious client The first dataset is included with the letter and
any additional materials that students need to solve the problem
Client Letter 2 Provides a “twist” to the original problem. The client usually presents a scenario in which
new data need to be considered.
Problem Scenario: Client Letters 1 and 2
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Open-ended – not a clear choice stands out Adding a column of qualitative data helps make
this more open-ended If students use simple ranking procedures, it’s
good to have ties so then students must prioritize Typically around 5 columns of “plant types, etc.”
and 5 rows of attributes (e.g., plant size, remediation capability)
Dataset 1
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Dataset 2 encourages students to test their models and modify them if necessary to fit with new data.
The simplest Dataset 2 adds a couple more rows of data.
An additional column, or attribute, can be added for consideration as well.
Dataset 2
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Goals Publish original, high-quality MEAs on CPALMS Aligned with Common Core Math and ELA Freely accessible to all educators on CPALMS Written so that they are easy to follow for the
novice teacher
CPALMS Innovative Initiatives with MEAs
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Problem Scenario Data
Brainstorming
SC.912.L.17.16: Discuss the large-scale environmental impacts resulting from human activity, including waste spills, oil spills, runoff, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and surface and groundwater pollution.
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
Get involved with the CPALMS MEA Innovative Initiatives and get paid for writing MEAs:
Email Melissa Dyehouse for more information:[email protected]
How to get involved
Copyright ©2012 – Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsLearning Systems Institute – Florida State University
For questions related to MEAs and MEA Development Initiative, contact: Melissa Dyehouse, CPALMS MEA Coordinator
For questions related to phytoremediation, MEA content, or science standards, contact: Adam Santone, Science Specialist
For more information