We are delighted to highlight the work of Erin Cothran from Hudson (Massachusetts) High School, for National Teacher Appreciation Day! Erin is teaching a 10th grade chemistry unit she developed based on the driving question, “How can something that can’t be seen crush a 67,000 lb. oil tanker made of half-inch steel?” The unit includes four activities:

• Why do my ears hurt when I dive in the deep end of the pool?
• Why do I have to let air out of my car tires in the summer but add more air to my tires in the winter?
• Why does a soda can explode if it is left unopened and in a hot car?
• How can a big metal drum be crushed using air pressure?

Each activity includes opportunities for students to build, test, and revise systems models using our free, web-based SageModeler dynamic modeling software.
Erin said, “Using SageModeler has changed how I teach about systems modeling. With the the Next Generation Science Standards being adopted by many schools, modeling has become a main focus of lessons. Working with SageModeler over the past year has allowed me insight into how computer models can be used to help answer questions.”

“I am able to facilitate my students’ learning about the components that make good models effective,” she noted. “Even more importantly, students are discovering that models need to be adjusted as science evolves, that it is okay to not get it correct on the first attempt. Through learning how to build models they are able to define relationships between variables and test their ideas. They love picking custom images, making links, and running the simulation to see the outcomes.”

Dan Damelin, a Principal Investigator of our Building Models project, which is developing SageModeler, reports, “Erin is a very thoughtful teacher who engages students by using the models they generate to drive class discussion.”

The Building Models project is a collaboration between the Concord Consortium and the CREATE for STEM Institute at Michigan State University. The project is researching how the use of a semi-quantitative systems dynamics tool to construct external models helps students build mental models as well as how teachers and curriculum materials can support and scaffold student learning with respect to the interplay between external and internal models. We look forward to learning more from Erin and all the Building Models research teachers.