Pedagogical Issues - Roundtable Discussion

1. How would you use the model in class?
2. What would you need to have for the students?
3. How do you assess the learning?
• Calculate Grades
• Estimate Effectiveness

Sample Highlights of the discussion:

Tun: Use models with students instead of building models with the students. Use them to illustrate concepts more effectively. Both presentation mode and student interaction mode would work.

Elizabeth: Give lower level students more guidance through specific questions to explore. Grad students would have greater flexibility to explore their own questions.

Arcelia: Use a combination of teaching/learning strategies to reach the maximum number of students.

Amal: Break the work into phases and give interim feedback. (~ partial credit) Get input from students for ideas for further study.

Julian: This can help students to become more sophisticated computer users. Their level of sophistication will make a big difference in how to proceed.

Bob: My goal is to get students to use evidence based reasoning.

Dan: Researchers use models to figure out which experiments to run, Is this something that you think you can do with your students?

Jane: Students are visual thinkers; running these models can give them a good idea of what makes sense to try. We can also get them to experiment with real world problems after trying the simple cases "by hand."

Ann: I'd like to start out by playing with the model to see what might happen, and then go into the lab and actually try it in lab -- using experimentation to validate the model. The actual setting up of the model is the key to learning the science: Building the relational diagram will benefit the students most.