TIE 512 post #1 model a complex system/problem

modeling a model

According to John Barell, "a model is someone or something that represents the kinds of behaviors, relationships, or parts people hold up to themselves and others as exemplary" (p. 13). Since modeling such things as good behavior and problem solving is a good way for students to learn we must keep this at the forefront of our minds when employing teaching methods to instill learning strategies that enable us to connect and instruct our students.

Effective and appropriate communication as a means for commenting on other's work or verbal input is a problem I have consistently experienced with students. With this in mind I try to model appropriate and constructive verbal interactions with my students so that they learn how to apply communication skills effectively. I want my students to be able to listen and comment on each others' remarks during whole-group and small-group discussions. Therefore, I use the following sentence stems during discussions and ask that my students do the same:
• I agree with...
• I disagree with...
• I'd like to comment on...
Additionally, I use something similar for the purpose of peer editing/review. In this case students are to use a visualization tool or chart, what we call PQS (Praise, Question, Suggestion). Students use this tool in order to offer praise (positive comments on work), ask questions about what students have completed in order to help them clarify their writing/thoughts, and finally, offer suggestions as to what can be done to possibly improve something. This model enables student to engage in articulation and reflection, components of cognitive theory.

Students are quite receptive to both strategies, which are modeled in my classes from the onset of the school year. Both sentence stems and PQS are models for interacting and communicating that help create an positive risk-taking environment (see Barell, ch. 2). While learning is a very social activity, students are not always comfortable commenting on each others' remarks or offering feedback in a constructive format. Therefore, employing the above described models (via modeling) provides opportunities for developing what I consider to be life skills, and communication in itself is a component of a complex system. When students engage in successful communication they are learning. "It follows that only through interactions with one's peers and environment can a learner negotiate comprehension" (Stein, 1998). It is my belief and experience that students need to be shown how to interact verbally and given every opportunity to practice and master this skill so that they can successfully converse, inquire, and solve problems collaboratively.

As we learn more about what models of complex systems/problems entail and how to create models that reflect these, I will be able to choose an actual model of a complex problem and articulate the process more thoroghly. While this is thoroughly explained in Jonassen's book, Modeling with Technology, p. 17-18, I need more practice with this concept in order to do so. I checked out the STELLA modeling site to get more of a flavor for what this type of model can do, like simulate a system over time, jump the gap between theory and real world, enable students to creatively change systems, teach students to look for relationships, communicate system inputs/outputs and demonstrate outcomes.

sources:
1. Barell, J. Problem based learning: an inquiry approach. Corwin Press:
Thousand Oaks, CA. 2007. http://morecuriousminds.com/problem.htm
2. Mindtools from Technology in Education

http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edpy485/edtech/index.htm
3. Educational Psychology and Learning Technologies

http://web.missouri.edu/jonassend/
4. Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology

http://projects.coe.uga.ed/eplt/index.php?title=Articulation_and_Reflection
5. isee systems - STELLA Modeling

http://www.iseesystems.com/softwares/education/stellasoftware.aspx