Innovations in Science Instruction Through Modeling (ISIM)

In ISIM, explore new ways to engage students in rigorous scientific thinking and authentic scientific problem-solving. Teachers participating in ISIM can expect to develop a deeper understanding of their own disciplines and explore the use of scientific models as a tool for improving student understanding.

The ISIM program focuses on Model-Based Reasoning (MBR). Model-Based Reasoning is what cognitive scientists describe as the way scientists think when doing science. We can define inquiry as a purposeful, systematic exploration of how some aspect of the natural world works. The purpose of inquiry is to develop explanations and in order to explain something one must have a set of ideas to draw on for the explanation. In science, sets of ideas about how something works are often called models. Thus, Model-Based Reasoning - the act of developing or applying ideas or sets of ideas to account for phenomena and create explanations (this is the hallmark of scientific thinking and the essence of inquiry).