| Project | Model-It |
| Contact | Shari Jackson |
| shari@concord.org | |
| URL | http://hi-ce.eecs.umich.edu/ |
| Project description | Model-It is a learner-centered tool that we have developed to support students constructing and testing models in order to express their ideas and develop their understanding of natural systems. With Model-It, students can easily construct, verify, and analyze qualitative models, using a dynamic and photo-realistic interface. We have seen that high school students who know nothing about computer modeling can quickly build and test simple models, and that various components of the software design intentionally support the task of modeling by meeting specific learner needs.The latest version of the software has the research focus of exploring what it means to develop *scaffolding* in software. Model-It 3.0 provides a wide range of supports that are fadeable by the students themselves, as they no longer need the support and are ready to use the advanced functionality of the software. |
| Theoretical background | Scaffolding, as provided by human tutors, has been well-established as an effective means of supporting learning. In the field of educational software research, scaffolding is a new concept that is still being explored. Many techniques have been explored that provide various supportive structures for learners, but typically that support does not fade within the software itself. We are informed by related projects that incorporate learning supports in their software, and also by the HCI literature on adaptive interfaces, which helps us think about ways that learning supports can be faded as the learner develops expertise.In the design of Model-It, we are also informed by our research with previous versions of the software, which both demonstrated significant success and also suggested areas where students would have benefited from additional support to learn the task and to engage in modeling activities. We found that some students required more support in order to understand and engage in the cognitive activities associated with modeling—e.g., planning, making predictions, testing and evaluation). Interviews and video of students identified areas of confusion for novice learners, as well as ideas for other advanced functionality that might be useful. These research findings significantly influenced software design changes for our current version of the software. |
| Challenges | Currently, we are analyzing the data from our recent extensive classroom research, and writing up the results, which will be Shari Jackson's PhD dissertation.Model-It is also being re-implemented in Java as part of the hi-ce group's Investigator's Workshop project, a computationally-rich learning environment that houses and integrates software tools students need to perform authentic science investigations.Finally, a commercial version of Model-It has been published by Cogito Learning Media: http://www.cogitomedia.com. |
| Partnership | We would be very interested in talking to other researchers who try to provide learners with adaptable tools, or who want to think about how to support learners' changing needs. |