This page highlighting each field on a standard Model Triangle page will help you to understand all of the components you will encounter on the page for each unit as well as the underlying intention. We recommend familiarizing yourself with each of these elements before you dive into the curricular units and try to make sense of the materials.
Phenomenon
The phenomenon is the data or observation(s) we are wondering about. Most units start with a puzzling phenomenon, but some will start by recognizing that we still have questions about a phenomenon presented in a previous unit.
Question
The driving question or questions narrow our focus on a particular aspect or aspects of the phenomenon. We can notice many things, but what are we specifically wondering about? Most units have students come to consensus on a single driving question or perhaps a couple. Read more here.
Model Ideas
Most units develop a single model, a set of ideas we can use to explain our puzzling phenomenon or answer our driving questions. Models are at the center of sensemaking in the MBER approach and in science. Models allow students to make their thinking visible, to track which ideas are supported by evidence, and to assess when we've figured out "enough" to address the phenomenon or question.
Before engaging students in model-based instruction, be certain that you have read the following resources:
- What is a Model?
- What is a Model Triangle?
- A Typical MBER Lesson Sequence
- Preparing Your Classroom for MBER
- Also be sure to start your year by Setting the Stage for Modeling
Some units will only partially develop a model on their own. For example, the "red" units (in both curricula) collectively develop a single model for how living things get matter and energy from food. Therefore, the "Model Ideas" in each red unit expand on the previous unit's ideas.
Even when units engage a single model, we believe that all models the class has developed should be made available to students in ensuing units: students can then draw on what they already know to make sense of any new phenomena presented. See "A Year-Long Coherent Sequence" (MBER-Bio or MBER-LE) for more information on cross-unit coherence.
Overview
The unit overview provides a high-level description of how the unit will progress, including the ideas that allow for a "transition in" from the previous unit and those carried forward in the "transition out" to the next unit.
Advanced Planning
Here you will find some information teachers find useful in preparation for the unit, including where and when to obtain lab supplies and other resources not embedded in the materials.
Segment Title
Title for First Learning Segment (+ estimated instructional minutes)
At left you can see the "Model Move", here "Phenomenon" (often, but not always, the move that launches a unit). Read more about "A Typical MBER Lesson Sequence".
Overview: You'll see a brief overview of the learning segment here. The estimated instructional minutes are indicated above this description in the Learning Segment Title. Note: instructional time varies widely!
What we figured out... This is where you can read what the class (teacher and students together) should have "figured out" by the end of the learning segment. At times it is OK to move on if you know you'll figure it out soon, but this provides some guidance for where you should be with progress in your PQM exploration.
Segment Title
Title for Second Learning Segment (+ estimated instructional minutes)
At left you can see the "Model Move", here "Question" (often, but not always, the move that follows exploration of the phenomenon). Read more about " A Typical MBER Lesson Sequence".
Overview: You'll see a brief overview of the learning segment here. The estimated instructional minutes are indicated above this description in the Learning Segment Title. Note: instructional time varies widely!
What we figured out... This is where you can read what the class (teacher and students together) should have "figured out" by the end of the learning segment. At times it is OK to move on if you know you'll figure it out soon, but this provides some guidance for where you should be with progress in your PQM exploration.
Segment Title
Title for Third Learning Segment (+ estimated instructional minutes)
At left you can see the "Model Move", here "Model" (as sharing initial model ideas often, but not always, the move that follows identification of the driving question). Read more about " A Typical MBER Lesson Sequence".
Overview: You'll see a brief overview of the learning segment here. The estimated instructional minutes are indicated above this description in the Learning Segment Title. Note: instructional time varies widely!
What we figured out... This is where you can read what the class (teacher and students together) should have "figured out" by the end of the learning segment. At times it is OK to move on if you know you'll figure it out soon, but this provides some guidance for where you should be with progress in your PQM exploration.
Segment Title
Title for Ensuing Learning Segments (+ estimated instructional minutes)
"Model Moves", like those at left are defined for each learning segment. Read more about " A Typical MBER Lesson Sequence".
Overview: You'll see a brief overview for each learning segment here. The number of segments varies. Generally a unit culminates in a consensus about the "finalized" model and its application to the original or a novel phenomenon.
What we figured out... This is where you can read what the class (teacher and students together) should have "figured out" by the end of the learning segment. his provides some guidance for where you should be with progress in your PQM exploration, all the way up through the end of the unit. Having students track what we've figured out involves attending to the class model, individual thinking on Doodle Sheets and taking the time to engage in Navigation and Framing regularly.