Investigating the dimensions of modeling competence among preservice science teachers: Meta-modeling knowledge, modeling practice, and modeling product

Worldwide, teachers are expected to engage their students in authentic practices, like scientific modeling. Research suggests that teachers experience challenges when integrating modeling in their classroom instruction, with one explanation that teachers themselves lack the necessary modeling competence. Currently, theoretical conceptualizations structure the modeling competence into three dimensions: meta-modeling knowledge, modeling practice, and modeling products. While each of these dimensions is well researched on its own and the three dimensions are commonly expected to be highly positively related, studies investigating their specific relationships are widely lacking. Aiming to fill this gap, the present study investigated the meta-modeling knowledge, modeling practice, and modeling products of 35 secondary preservice biology teachers engaging in a black box modeling task. Data were collected with an established pen-and-paper questionnaire consisting of five constructed response items assessing meta-modeling knowledge and by videotaping the participants engaging in the black box modeling task. Herein, the three dimensions of modeling competence were operationalized as five variables including decontextualized and contextualized meta-modeling knowledge, complexity, and homogeneity of the modeling processes and a modeling product score. In contrast to our expectations and common assumptions in the literature, significant relationships between the five variables were widely lacking. Only the complexity of the modeling processes correlated significantly with the quality of the modeling products. To investigate this relationship further, a qualitative in-depth analysis of two cases is presented. Implications for biology teacher education are discussed

Why most definitions of modeling competence in science education fall short: Analyzing the relevance of volition for modeling

Definitions of modeling competence in science education do not yet include noncognitive factors. However, noncognitive factors are central to competence and might thus substantially improve our understanding of modeling competence. In this article, we analyze volition during preservice science teachers' engagement with a black-box modeling task and its relation to established aspects of modeling competence: metamodeling knowledge, modeling process, and modeling product. A cluster analysis of the occurrence of volition categories resulted in three clusters of volitional behavior. The clusters describe three different volition types: one action-oriented type applying a self-regulative strategy and two state-oriented types applying self-controlling strategies. Correlation analyses between clusters, volition categories and modeling process variables indicate benefits of the self-regulative strategy

Developing a typology of pre-service science teachers' modeling strategies

Modelle und das Modellieren sind in den Naturwissenschaften von zentraler Wichtigkeit und auch in der Lehre der Naturwissenschaften unverzichtbar. Dabei haben Modelle viele Anwen-dungszwecke; besonders epistemische Perspektiven auf Modelle und das Modellieren werden in Curricula weltweit betont. Um die curricularen Vorgaben erreichen zu können, benötigen Lehr-kräfte der Naturwissenschaften selbst die entsprechende Modellierkompetenz, allerdings ist bis-her kaum erforscht, wie Lehrkräfte der Naturwissenschaften selbst Modellieren. Die vorliegende Untersuchung nahm daher eine empirische Beschreibung individueller Modellierungsstrategien in den Fokus, indem fallbasiert und prozessorientiert eine Typologie von Modellierungsstrate-gien 36 Lehramtsstudierender der Biologie entwickelt wurde. Basierend auf dem Auftreten, der Häufigkeit und der Abfolge der Tätigkeiten wurden sechs typische Modellierungsstrategien dif-ferenziert und detailliert beschrieben. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung erweitern die bislang vorwiegend produktbasierten Kenntnisse naturwissenschaftsdidaktischer Forschung zu Modellen und dem Modellieren um eine Prozessfacette. Neben der erarbeiteten Typologie wurden zudem Erkenntnisse über die Dimensionalität und Extensionalität der Modellierkompetenz gewonnen, indem Zusammenhänge zwischen den identifizierten Modellierungsstrategien und weiteren Vari-ablen untersucht wurden. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass verbreitete theoretische Annahmen über die Dimensionalität und Extensionalität der Modellierkompetenz selten empirisch gestützt werden konnten.Models and modeling are of grave importance to science and the teaching of science. While var-ious purposes can be pursued with models and modeling, curricula worldwide focus on epistem-ic perspectives on models and modeling. To achieve these requirements, science teachers need sufficient modeling competence themselves, however, studies describing the modeling processes of science teachers are widely lacking. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe individual modeling strategies of 36 pre-service biology teachers empirically, by doing a case based and process-oriented analysis. Based on the occurrence, frequency and sequence of individual mod-eling activities, six typical modeling strategies were differentiated and described in detail. The results extend the formerly product-oriented state of research regarding models and modeling. Additionally, the dimensionality and extensionality of the theoretical construct of modeling competence was further explored, as relations between the identified modeling strategies and various variables were investigated. Hereby, it was shown that common theoretical assumptions regarding the dimensionality and extensionality of modeling competence may lack empirical validity