MBER Essential

Models are by nature interconnected.

We place the scientific and more broadly cognitive practice of modeling at the center of our work.

FAQ and Tips: Eliciting Questions and Developing a Driving Question

Generating questions really begins the work of the classroom in figuring out what is going on. So how do you get your students to offer questions, offer relevant questions, and agree (by some kind of consensus) on what question the class will pursue? Is it ever OK to just give students the question we want them to take up?

The PQM triangle is a reasoning tool, and a triangle in our curriculum also refers to several days (or weeks) of instruction focused on developing a model for reasoning about biological phenomena (e.g Triangle for Natural Selection or Triangle for Matter Cycling). 

An MBER classroom looks and feels different than a traditional classroom.

Teacher Toolkit: Stickpicks

Description: Teacher poses a question, gives students time to think, then uses a can of popsicle sticks with all student names on them or an app such as Stickpick to call on students at random.  The teacher’s name can even be added to show solidarity with the students.  Sometimes only a few stude

A key tenet of our approach to model-based reasoning is "student agency". We place students and their thinking at the center of the classroom. We want students to build knowledge in an environment that provides them with opportunities to grapple with observations, data, and patterns and that creates a space for them to generate, evaluate and re-create their explanatory ideas. A big piece of this process is making their ideas—and their revised ideas—visible.

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Description: Students work in small groups to categorize a set of cards with pictures or words on them according to specified criteria. As they sort the cards they discuss their reasons for placing each card in a designated group. Teacher circulates and notes student thinking and what ideas may be problematic. When complete, provides the basis for whole group discussion.

The MBER-Biology Year-Long Sequence (The“Subway Map”)

• *Read Suggested Pacing Guides*
• *Information About NGS