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Description:   

What is Modeling Instruction? What are conceptual models? What is modeling? What is it like for teachers? For students? How does it work? Why does it work? What (if anything) does it have to do with the IB?

This course will focus on the role of models and modeling in learning as it relates to teaching STEM content in both formal and informal contexts. We will review fundamental theories of thinking and learning, and we will examine the latest theoretical trends in science instruction.
We will delve into the cognitive underpinnings of Modeling Theory—learning about some of the seminal theories upon which it is based, engage in Modeling discourse, practice discourse management, watch videos of Modeling classrooms, and make sense of student thinking by watching them whiteboard and listening to them discuss scientific observations and explanations. We will look at how Modeling uncovers the spectrum of middle and high school science topics, exploring the storylines from the various disciplines, discussing the fundamental models of each of these disciplines with expert Modelers from physics, chemistry, biology, and middle school science. This is not a Modeling Workshop, but by the end of the course you will have a good grounding in models-based cognition and instruction, and a working knowledge of how Modeling Instruction unfolds in the middle and high school science classrooms.

Objectives:

1. To provide students with a thorough understanding of the theories in which Modeling Instruction is grounded and how Modeling Instruction is aligned with the IB.

2. To familiarize students with the classroom practices of Modeling Instruction, the rationale for these practices, how and when they are used, and what the expected outcomes are.

3. To give students weekly opportunities (contextualized in physics, chemistry and biology) to experience Modeling strategies and, insofar as it is possible, to learn as students learn in a Modeling classroom.

4. To provide students with an opportunity to design an instructional sequence for science learning using Modeling Instruction.

5. To guide students in the use of technology as a cognitive tool to support teaching and learning.

6. To provide students with a forum to discuss their own efforts to implement Modeling Instruction and/or share insights into student thinking and learning in their own classrooms to whatever extent they are able.   

Meeting Dates / Times: Sundays,  March 15 - May 24, 2026
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM  Kuala Lumpur Time / 10:00AM - 11:30 AM Switzerland time
Location:  Zoom ( Zoom link will be sent in the confirmation email, after you register. 
Costs: $700

Meet the Instructor(s):  Urska Manners and Francis Maginn 

Francis Maginn first started teaching math and science in Taiwan in 2014. He received his M.Ed. in secondary physics education in 2021 and moved to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he taught IB DP physics and 9th grade physics. In 2025, he moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to teach IB DP physics and integrated science at The International School of Kuala Lumpur. Francis started implementing Modeling Instruction in 2017 after reading Steven Gilbert's book on models-based science teaching and joining AMTA. Since then, he has led multiple workshops in science education, most recently on Modeling Instruction in the IB and on implementing inquiry-based approaches in elementary school science teaching.













Urška Manners got her B.Sc. in Geology-Physics/Math from Brown University and her Ph.D. in Geophysics from the University of California San Diego. She has been teaching science, including IB Physics, at international schools for the past 17 years and is currently teaching IBDP Physics and grade 9 and 10 physics at the International School Basel. Urška took her first Modeling Instruction workshop in 2018 as part of her journey to become a better science teacher and has never looked back. She is excited about sharing this method with other teachers around the world.