Mathmatical Modeling part 2

Yesterday, I wrote about a great pdf that would make a great introduction to the topic. Today, I"m looking at several places that offer lesson plans on mathematical modeling.

One of them is the University of Indiana in Bloomington.  The page offers 40 modeling lesson plans tested by teachers and staff for students in grades 7 to 12.  The lessons actually include a senario and ask that the students create a proposal that includes the mathematical model to show why their suggestion is the best one.  Others are either experiments that require them to come up with rules for certain things while others are performance tasks based on real life situations such as needing to protect art in a museum.

The teachers college at Columbia University has a wonderful 25 page sample of the  Mathematical Modeling Handbook with the introduction and the first project with everything needed to conduct the lesson.  The introduction gives some everyday situations and discusses how it modeling should be taught in schools. 

Annenberg learner has a great lesson on mathematical modeling using circular movement, and transmission ratios followed by one on mosquito population and exponential growth.   The lessons come with everything you need and utilize hands on activities to help students see connections.

Back to the Plus Maths site for a complete package on mathematical modeling. This package shows some of the ways mathematical modeling is used in medicine and nature, economics, politics, and human interaction, games, sports, and art.  They offer three levels - explicit has students using the math, middle ground that introduces mathematical modeling and gives a glimpse of equations, the bigger picture that looks beyond what can be done in the classroom, and the try it yourself are problems from NRICH to do in the classroom.

The University of Arizona has two semesters worth of posters showing student work from a class on mathematical modeling.  The posters are one page summaries of the work they did in the class and contains everything from the problem to results, references and potential applications of the results.  Each poster includes a listing of scientific challenges for the problem.  Some of these are beyond my ELL student's understanding but a few, such as the one which explores why the same store might charge different prices for an item is something they can relate to.

Finally from the University of Texas at Austin is a nice page of mathematical modeling projects with units on science and engineering, art, music, and entrepreneurship. Each unit comes with everything needed from teacher instructions to the worksheets to samples showing how the results can be put together.  Each topic has several subtopics such as under fine arts - geometry, there are two different lesson plans, one on symmetry of design while the other looks at kaleidoscopes.

I think I'm going to see where I can work this in my math classes so students get a chance to experience mathematical modeling.  I know I can use one on population growth anytime I teach exponential functions.  So I have a start.  Have a good day.