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Research Results | Volcano 1 | Volcano 2 | Mountain 1 | Mountain 2 | Pre-Post Responses

Research Results

Research Results Regarding Content

Results from the large scale study (2001 only to date) are available in the paper "A WISE Inquiry Project for Students' East-West Coast Collaboration".

From the data set, we selected some examples to illustrate the types of original models and explanations students generated, the notes and reflections they recorded after completing activities in the WISE curriculum, the revisions of the models, the critiques students were writing for their peers and how these critiques influenced students' model revision.

In the following examples, on the left are the students' original model and explanation. On the bottom under "Critique" is their opposite coast learning partners' critique of the model. On the right are students' revised models and revised explanations.

Volcano: Model 1 | Model 2

Mountain: Model 1 | Model 2

The following includes portfolios of three different pairs of students on selected activities in the curriculum, namely, their original models their responses to the journal questions and reflection notes and their revised models.

Jacob and Michael: Volcanic Eruption

Samantha and Shelly: Earthquake Model

Katie and Amanda: Mountain Formation

Research Results Regarding Epistemology

Our interest here was to investigate if students would have more sosphiticated epistemologies of the nature of models as a result of our model-based curriculum.

Results from the large scale study can be found in the paper, "The influence of students' understanding of models on model-based reasoning".

Examples: Students' pre-post responses to our models survey


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