From Physical Models to Biomechanics: A Design-Based Modeling Approach

Abstract

In this study, we used a design context for developing children's understanding of the natural world via the designing, building, testing, and evaluation of models. In this instance, we asked children to design models of the human elbow. Children's models were then used as the basis for an exploration of the biomechanics of the human arm. The investigation of biomechanical principles is a major extension of our earlier research. By building on children's design-based models, we were able to engage students in an investigation of the relation between force and the location of the attachment point of the biceps. In so doing, we were able to provide children with opportunities to develop their understanding of the relations between mathematics and science through the construction and interpretation of data tables and graphs. Design is a form of problem solving in which thinking, tool manipulation, and materials are reflected in the construction of an artifact (Bucciarelli, 1994; Roth, 1996; Simon, 1981). In turn, artifacts become objects that facilitate the sharing of knowledge. Moreover, because many design problems are, at least initially, inherently unspecified, the problem solver must often first define the problem and then explicitly state and justify the relation between the problem and the proposed solution. This promotes a view of knowledge as purposeful, fluid, and conditional (Lehrer, 1993). In this study, we used a design context for developing children's understanding of the natural world via the designing, building, testing, and evaluation of models. We chose a design focus because the process of design affords the potential for children to construct, apply, debate, and evaluate models, rather than to simply