movement-science scientists (Heck 2009; Kearney and Treagust 2001; Laws and
Pfister 1998). Pupils can participate in many aspects of experimental inquiry using
video measurement. For example, formulating problems; designing the scenario and
setup for appropriate video recording by a webcam, a smartphone or a video camera;
calibrating time and scale of the video; defining from which frames to get data and
with which techniques to collect data; and processing and interpreting the collected
video data.
12.4.3 Coach Tool for Dynamical Modelling
12.4.3.1 Characteristics
Modelling has different meanings for different communities, depending upon the
context in which it is discussed. The term “modelling” will refer to computational,
dynamical modelling that is a tool used by scientists in many different fields
(e.g. science, technology, economics, sociology) to describe, explain and predict
complex dynamical systems. It helps to understand a system’s structure, the interaction between its objects, and the behaviour it can produce. Many of such systems
can be built as models on the computer, which can carry out many more simultaneous calculations than human mental models and which can enable solution of
differential equations. These differential equations cannot be solved with secondary
school mathematics.
The Coach tool for dynamical modelling provides the teacher and pupils with
possibilities to be engaged in the modelling process in science: “analyse a situation
in a realistic context and reduce it to a manageable problem, translate this into a
model, generate outcomes, interpret these outcomes, and test and evaluate the
model” (van Buuren et al. 2010, p.112). First, a realistic context (e.g. a tennis ball
bouncing on the floor) is analysed and simplified to be manageable by ignoring
realistic effects or situational factors (e.g. the ball moving vertically without rotation,
air resistance and aerodynamics effects); the stripped-down, mental model is then
translated into a computational model. Next, the computational model is constructed
by graphical elements: state variables (e.g. height, velocity); in- and out-flows of
state variables (i.e. rates of change); auxiliary variables; constants (e.g. acceleration
due to gravity); events (e.g. bounce) that provoke discrete, instantaneous changes of
state variables; and relations that are visualised by connectors between variables,
constants, events (Fig. 12.5) and are specified by simple mathematical formulas.
As the model is executed, differential equations behind the model are automatically solved by numerical iteration methods and so result in values of variables as a
function of time. To interpret these modelling data, the modeller needs to choose
relevant representations of the resulting values of variables such as (a) graphs that
show more explicit, comprehensible relationship between variables; (b) animations
that visualise behaviours of modelled objects. To validate the model (i.e. evaluating
its descriptive, predictive and explanatory quality), the modeller compares modelling
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T. Ellermeijer and T.-B. Tran
Pfister 1998). Pupils can participate in many aspects of experimental inquiry using
video measurement. For example, formulating problems; designing the scenario and
setup for appropriate video recording by a webcam, a smartphone or a video camera;
calibrating time and scale of the video; defining from which frames to get data and
with which techniques to collect data; and processing and interpreting the collected
video data.
12.4.3 Coach Tool for Dynamical Modelling
12.4.3.1 Characteristics
Modelling has different meanings for different communities, depending upon the
context in which it is discussed. The term “modelling” will refer to computational,
dynamical modelling that is a tool used by scientists in many different fields
(e.g. science, technology, economics, sociology) to describe, explain and predict
complex dynamical systems. It helps to understand a system’s structure, the interaction between its objects, and the behaviour it can produce. Many of such systems
can be built as models on the computer, which can carry out many more simultaneous calculations than human mental models and which can enable solution of
differential equations. These differential equations cannot be solved with secondary
school mathematics.
The Coach tool for dynamical modelling provides the teacher and pupils with
possibilities to be engaged in the modelling process in science: “analyse a situation
in a realistic context and reduce it to a manageable problem, translate this into a
model, generate outcomes, interpret these outcomes, and test and evaluate the
model” (van Buuren et al. 2010, p.112). First, a realistic context (e.g. a tennis ball
bouncing on the floor) is analysed and simplified to be manageable by ignoring
realistic effects or situational factors (e.g. the ball moving vertically without rotation,
air resistance and aerodynamics effects); the stripped-down, mental model is then
translated into a computational model. Next, the computational model is constructed
by graphical elements: state variables (e.g. height, velocity); in- and out-flows of
state variables (i.e. rates of change); auxiliary variables; constants (e.g. acceleration
due to gravity); events (e.g. bounce) that provoke discrete, instantaneous changes of
state variables; and relations that are visualised by connectors between variables,
constants, events (Fig. 12.5) and are specified by simple mathematical formulas.
As the model is executed, differential equations behind the model are automatically solved by numerical iteration methods and so result in values of variables as a
function of time. To interpret these modelling data, the modeller needs to choose
relevant representations of the resulting values of variables such as (a) graphs that
show more explicit, comprehensible relationship between variables; (b) animations
that visualise behaviours of modelled objects. To validate the model (i.e. evaluating
its descriptive, predictive and explanatory quality), the modeller compares modelling
138
T. Ellermeijer and T.-B. Tran