ACCESS Open House Demonstration Abstracts

Modeling and Visualization in Education

Raul Zaritsky, Education Specialist, NCSA
raulz@ncsa.uiuc.edu

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/edu/icm

Simulation and Modeling in the Classroom Through the years Science has always looked to make models and simulations of phenomena that surrounds us in the world. In recent years, with the advent of computers and modeling software, the design and running of these models have become more available to people of all ages and background. Some of these new modeling programs have made modeling useful to other disciplines in addition to math and science. These pages are concerned with using computer models in order to teach ordinary Middle School curriculum. These models will explore topics such as animal populations, tides, global warming, monetary budgets, immigration, and character persuasive power and how these topics change through time. These models make it easy to understand relationships and lets students ask questions of ``what if?" such as, ``What would happen to the population of deer if twice the number of predators were introduced?" These questions are impossible to answer in a laboratory, but investigation into plausible answers is possible with dynamic models. These answers can then be tested against what is known in the real world. These pages will use three different types of computer software: Model-It and Stella (click on modeling program name to get an introduction to that program). Each of the modeling topics will come with an overview, lesson-plan, student worksheets, an index of national and Illinois learning goals the modeling exercise addresses, a page for teachers, a sample rubric and pages to download and run the model. So come and browse through these pages and see what computer modeling has to offer you and/or your class!

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