The improvement of STEM education has become a national priority. Economies are shifting towards new industries the likes of which we have never seen. A new workforce of problem-solvers, innovators, and inventors who are self-reliant and able to think critically is essential if we are to remain competitive in the new global economy. To meet this challenge, exciting and dynamic approaches to STEM education are needed in order to increase science literacy, create critical thinkers, and enable the next generation of innovators.

The National Academies (of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine) have developed a framework for K-12 Science Education of Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. As you read through the framework, think about your classroom curriculum and how the 3 dimensions identified in the framework are integrated into standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Click Framework Report to read the document.

Think about what you read, your professional classroom practices and experiences, and your physics curriculum. Respond to the reflections below.

How do your current classroom teaching practices help you meet the dimensions as set out by the Framework Report and effectively support learning? What are the challenges?

Rather than relying on traditional lectures and textbooks, Modeling Instruction actively engages students in understanding the physical world by constructing and applying conceptual models. This approach organizes high school physics into a small set of scientific models, making the course content more coherent and meaningful for students.

In the following video, teacher Seth Guiñals-Kupperman explains how he uses Modeling Instruction in his physics classroom. As you watch the video, think about the framework developed by the National Academies that you explored and your reflections on you own classroom practices.

Click "View" on the left to watch the video.

How would Modeling Instruction help you meet the dimensions set out in the framework?

Modeling Instruction was developed at Arizona State University over two decades as a collaboration between university physics educators and veteran high school physics teachers, combining physics education research with practical classroom experience. In this podcast from Lab Out Loud, Mark Schober, president of the American Modeling Teachers Association, shares a history of modeling and briefly explains the approach.

Click "View" to listen to the podcast. As you listen, consider the elements of Modeling that make it stand out among other teaching styles or curricula you’ve encountered. Consider what elements of Modeling Instruction may be present in your classroom today. You may wish to take notes as you listen to the audio.

Because modeling is a pedagogical framework designed around curriculum and not a curriculum in and of itself, it can look different from classroom to classroom. Nonetheless, there are specific elements that are key parts of a modeling approach, as Seth Guiñals-Kupperman explains in this video.

Click "View" to watch the video. As you watch, think about how reversing the lecture/lab sequence might impact your classroom.

Think about your current teaching practices, your professional knowledge and experiences, and the videos and podcast you watched and listened to. Respond to the following reflection(s).

What are some ways your current teaching resembles modeling? How do you think modeling Instruction can support student learning in your classroom?

Advocates cite three advantages to modeling over a more traditional lecture-style approach to teaching physics. They say modeling promotes a more coherent understanding of physics as models can be applied across concepts, that modeling classrooms are more student-centered with students as active learners, and that modeling helps dispel common student misconceptions about physics and science as a practice.

This article by Jane Jackson, Larry Dukerich and David Hestenes provides more detail on Modeling Instruction and explains the modeling cycle.

Click "View" to read the article. As you read the article, consider the advantages modeling instruction could have for your students. Then, think about your own professional practice and the article you read. Respond to the following reflections in the space below.

How would your instruction and teaching practices change as a result of implementing the modeling approach in your classroom?

In modeling, the traditional sequence of lab following lecture is reversed. The article you just read described the two stages of the modeling cycle, model development and model deployment, providing the constant velocity model as an example. In this podcast, Mark Schober describes how the modeling process would be applied to the study of motion. As you listen, think about Mark's point of how modeling instruction is a natural fit for teaching physics--i.e., the learning potential that supports student understanding.

Click "View" to listen to the podcast. To support your own learning, you may wish to take notes on the steps Mark and his students take in order to develop a model for the concept of motion and how they later deploy the model.

The Modeling Instruction website at Arizona State University is a one-stop shop for information about Modeling. The resources in this portal of information on modeling theory, based on the work of David Hestenes and collaborators, is dedicated to the reform of curriculum design and teaching methodology for physics. The following links from the website provide more detailed information on Modeling Instruction. You may wish to take notes in the text box below in order to further support your study of modeling instruction.

The Modeling Cycle

This page describes the two main stages of the modeling cycle--model development and model deployment. As you read through the explanations of both stages, think how your physics curriculum topics could be organized int his way.

When you've finished reading, click "View" to hear Mark Schober discuss the deployment stage of the cycle. As you listen, think about the purpose of this phase of the modeling cycle and how it connects to model development.

What are some of the ways you reinforce new and old concepts in your teaching?

Because modeling is such a flexible approach, each Modeler’s classroom is unique. However, one common factor in all Modeling classrooms is the use of whiteboards. You’ve already read that whiteboarding is an important tool for assessing student progress and understanding. It can also be used as a valuable tool for reinforcing student understanding of concepts.

In this podcast, Mark Schober describes how whiteboards facilitate discussion, help to enhance student understanding, and give students practice using scientific language in appropriate ways.

Click "View" to listen to the podcast. As you listen, think about the advantages and disadvantages of having students present their thinking to their peers, the advantages for the presenter, and the benefits for the class.

Next, view Modeling Method – Whiteboarding which presents a successful Modeling Instruction program in North Carolina. Think about how the effects on student learning this type of program would have in your classroom. Could Modeling be as effective without the use of technology?

Using your professional knowledge and experiences in using technology in the classroom, in particular whiteboards, respond to the prompt below.

What are some challenges you foresee in utilizing whiteboards? What strategies can you think of to address those challenges?

The use of whiteboards is key in helping students to have rich discussions about the concepts and phenomena they’re exploring. Students work together to collectively and collaboratively construct knowledge from shared experiences they’ve had in a Modeling classroom. They get feedback from the teacher and from each other during the whiteboarding process. Most importantly, whiteboarding allows for discussion of student-generated ideas – an important factor in the success of this method. In this video, Seth Guiñals-Kupperman explains how whiteboarding engages his students in a collaborative learning community.

Click "View" to watch the video. As you watch, think about Guiñals-Kupperman's style of teaching and how important it is for him to not simply step in and explain the right answer to his students. What is the teacher's role during whiteboarding?

Using your professional knowledge, classroom experiences, and the ideas presented in the video, respond to the following reflection.

How would you use whiteboarding to assess student understanding?

The one factor that is most closely linked to the success, engagement and overall quality of student experience in a Modeling classroom is the quality of the discourse. It is not enough that the teacher avoids doing all the talking or even that students engage in accountable talk; the teacher must monitor the discussion and guide it in a useful direction without interfering with students’ sense of agency. This is one of the most difficult skills to hone, but when you’ve mastered it, the students will feel that their collaborative efforts have yielded the relevant ideas—not the teacher’s instructions.

The Tools for Ambitious Science Teaching website provides a variety of tools to help engage students in productive classroom conversations.

The Discourse Tools page of the site presents the idea that through discourse, students can make sense of ideas. View the video on this page to see students engaged in discourse and think about how this could apply to your classroom. You may wish to take notes.

In modeling, learning doesn’t start with the teacher explaining a law or introducing a formula. Instead, students use their own language to express important aspects of a phenomenon; jargon and academic vocabulary only comes after students have already created an operational definition. By shifting the focus away from jargon and towards the language of shared experiences, Modeling can avoid misconceptions students often develop by relying on experiences and words the class as a whole has experience with. In this podcast, Mark Schober explains how instead of identifying and correcting student misconceptions, modeling focuses on the essence of what students do understand and helps to build a correct understanding from there.

Click "View" to listen to the podcast. You may wish to take notes.

Seth Guiñals-Kupperman believes that misconceptions often arise because students do not base their conclusions on clear, scientific evidence. In this video, he explains how he encourages students to make sure that their thinking is always drawing from actual experience. Seth calls this “evidence-based thinking.”

Click "View" to watch the video.

Given what you’ve learned about modeling, why do you think Modeling Instruction is so effective in handling student misconceptions about physics?

Effective implementation of the modeling method requires careful preparation, practice, and support. The American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA) recommends taking part in a three week Modeling Workshop to begin to transform your teaching, as Modeling Instruction has a complex implementation. It takes time and it takes practice, but it is possible to begin with small incremental steps.

While Modeling Instruction does take work, it is not an all-or-nothing approach. Many teachers use a blend and don’t require students to discover everything for themselves, as Fernand Brunschwig explains in this video segment.

Click "View" to watch the video. As you watch, think about Brunschwig's description of what is the key to the teacher's role in a modeling classroom. Using your own professional experiences and knowledge, reflect on the following prompt.

As you approach the end of this module, think about and then list two or three things you feel you can do now to make your physics teaching more model-centered. How can you currently incorporate some of the ideas that have been presented?

In this module, you’ve learned about the benefits and advantages of Modeling Instruction, explored strategies and tools for implementing a Modeling approach in your classroom, and considered ways to apply Modeling techniques in your classroom. Now it’s time to review your responses in previous sections and outline some steps you can take to begin incorporating a Modeling approach with your students. Click “review my work” above and view or print out the screen that pops up.

Explore the following resources in order to learn more about Modeling Instruction.

Articles on Modeling
A Model-Centered Approach to High School Physics: A Teacher's Perspective
In this paper presented at the 1997 AAPT Summer Meeting, veteran physics teacher David Braunschweig explains how he introduced Modeling in his physics classes.

Videos on Modeling Instruction
Modeling Instruction in Physics on Vimeo
Frank Noschese compiled this collection of videos that showcases teachers using modeling in their classrooms.

My TEDxNYED Session: Learning Science by Doing Science
Educator Frank Noschese explains the modeling process in this compelling presentation.

Modeling in Action
In this video, college physics teacher Dwain Desbian successfully uses the modeling methodology in his calculus level university physics course to work with students. Please note that some of these students have never taken physics before.

Educator Blogs and Websites on Physics and Modeling Instruction
Physics! Blog!
Kelly O’Shea is a physics teacher who use Modeling Instruction in her classes. Her blog has a wealth of physics materials that are based on modeling, articles on whiteboarding and detailed information on how her classes build each model.

Action-Reaction: Reflections on the Dynamics of Teaching
Frank Noschese is a physics teacher and modeling advocate who works to create experiences that enable his students to construct their own understanding of physics. His blog is a great source of ideas and materials on physics instruction.

Schober’s Physics
Mark Schober’s website is a treasure trove of curriculum materials for the modeling classroom.

Whiteboard Resources
Whiteboarding in the Classroom
Tips for using whiteboards, including information on where to purchase them.

General Modeling Resources
Arizona State University’s Modeling Site
This is the official website at Arizona State University. Modeling Workshops are held every summer in dozens of locations across the country.

Modeling Instruction
This website explains what modeling instruction, how it attempts to enhance student achievement, what the two major parts to the modeling cycle are, and a rationale for how this inquiry-based approach benefits students.

Ninth Grade Physics in Metropolitan Phoenix Public Schools
This article contains emails of educators writing about modeling instruction.