Modeling Earth's Climate

Journal Article | September 2012

This article describes an online climate change curriculum that incorporates dynamic computer models that enable students to visualize the complex interactions related to climate change science. Students learn how…

Modeling the Writing Process

Journal Article | October 2004

This article describes a series of assignments that models the process of writing a manuscript for publication. While completing the assignments, students worked to improve their writing as they graphed, interpreted,…

Recycled Insect Models

Journal Article | November 2007

This article presents an engaging activity in which high school students use a dichotomous key to guide the creation and classification of model insects from recycled plastic lids and containers. Besides teaching the…

Analogies and the 5E Model

Journal Article | December 2006

We have all sat in classes in which a teacher made a difficult or abstract concept understandable by using an analogy. Science classes are full of abstract or challenging concepts that are easier to understand if they…

The Learning-Style Teaching Model

Journal Article | January 2001

The recent surge of interest in science education reform is welcome news for teachers who are eager to engage students in active science learning. However, along with these positive steps in science education reform…

Modeling the Physical Properties of Glaciers

Journal Article | October 2015

Create a glacier model to simulate the physical properties of glacial ice.

Editor’s Corner: Model Biology

Journal Article | January 2011

Models are at the core of the scientific enterprise. They help us make predictions, understand complex systems, generate new ideas, and visualize both the very large and the very small. The generation of models is the…

3-D Teaching Models for All

Journal Article | February 2010

Allowing a student to “see” through touch what other students see through a microscope can be a challenging task. Therefore, author Joan Bradley created three-dimensional (3-D) models with one student’s visual…

Generate an Argument: An Instructional Model

Journal Article | June 2010

The Generate an Argument instructional model was designed to engage students in scientific argumentation. By using this model, students develop complex reasoning and critical-thinking skills, understand the nature and…

Science Shorts: Making Models

Journal Article | January 2007

Science and art are both creative ways of understanding the world and representing what we have come to know about it. The concrete, tangible aspects of art often provide a venue for students to convey their grasp of…

Developing and Using Models in Physics

Journal Article | August 2013

Grounding instruction around scientifically rich, often complex natural phenomena.