Mathematicians who demonstrate understanding by representing problems in multiple ways:
- Build understanding through modeling and using manipulatives.
- Represent solutions to problems in multiple ways using objects, drawings, tables, graphs and equations.
- Progress from modeling problems with objects and drawings to using algorithms and equations.
- Express connections between concepts and representations.
- Choose a representation based on the given context or purpose.
Clarifications
Teachers who encourage students to demonstrate understanding by representing problems in multiple ways:- Help students make connections between concepts and representations.
- Provide opportunities for students to use manipulatives when investigating concepts.
- Guide students from concrete to pictorial to abstract representations as understanding progresses.
- Show students that various representations can have different purposes and can be useful in different situations.
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STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity
Students must select a tranquilizer dart to be used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for researching large animals. Next, they must help the US Geological Survey choose a new drilling device. Each projectile has varying characteristics based on the temperature of the chemicals inside. Students must select which temperature lends itself to a reaction suitable for service in animal research or geological studies. Other factors due to temperature come into play as well, such as density and melting point.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.