Topic 3 Activity 1: A Tool for Inquiry - BioQUEST

ASSIGNMENTS:

Readings

Read the document What is The BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium by clicking this link. Problem-posing, problem-solving and persuasion (the three P's) lie at the heart of the BioQUEST curriculum. The BioQUEST Collection consists of over thirty strategic simulations, of which EDM is one. For more information about how strategic simulations aid life science instruction and challenge students to engage in thinking like life scientists, read the article The Use of Strategic Simulations by clicking this link. The heart of the matter is the reading of the EDM manual pages 9-25. Read these pages and familiarize yourself with the general layout of the EDM screen and tools. Optional: You may wish to browse through the full collection of BioQUEST simulations at BioQUEST library. Many simulations are Macintosh format only. Some are cross-platform or Windows-based. Optional: You may wish to view a list of secondary schools that have purchased site licenses for the full BioQUEST curriculum.

Hands-On

Models in EDM are called "worksheets." Using the information you gained in reading pages 9-25 in the EDM manual, build your first EDM worksheet - a simple model of a pond with some microscopic and plant life, and a Quantity Plotter.

1. Build your model. Connect the elements to the Quantity Plotter. Run your model.

These moving images demonstrate the use of the menu bars.

How do I: open the EDM application by clicking on the EXTEND icon? EXTEND is the modeling environment in which EDM was written. open a worksheet in EDM, get the SUNLIGHT icon from the LIBRARY? get the POND LIFE icon from the library and connect it to the SUNLIGHT and QUANTITY PLOTTER icons? calibrate the SUNLIGHT icon for my local climate and RUN the model? save the model? (Remember to use the EDM extension so others can share the model through a DOMINO attachment.)

2. Explore the scaling features described on pages 18 to 20 of the manual. 3. The adventurous may wish to do some of the "What if" experiments on page 20 of the manual. Perhaps you may wish to add SUNFISH to your pond.

These moving images can show you how to build more complex models and manipulate the visual display of the graph.

How do I: add SUNFISH, calibrate the SUNFISH addition and connect to it to the Quantity Plotter? (Results of running the model are disappointing . The scales are not right for the sunfish, as revealed by the data table.) rescale the display so the SUNFISH scale is on the right with appropriate units, with the POND LIFE scale on the left.

Reflection

While working with the materials take a few minutes to ask: What concepts can be illustrated by the tools used in this activity? What tools were learned?

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