The Use of an Agent-Based Programmable Modeling Tool in 8th Grade Students’ Model-Based Inquiry

This is an interpretive case study seeking to develop detailed descriptions of how agent-based programming activities support a group of eighth-grade students in conducting model-based inquiry. Videotape of students’ programming processes and group discussion are used as the data sources to identify student activity and conversation patterns and gain insight into the changes in student understanding. Findings suggest that an agent-based programming task can 1) expose students’ personal model and understandings, 2) provoke and support a series of model-based inquiry activities, such as elaborating target phenomenon, abstracting patterns, and revising conceptual model, and 3) provoke and support tangible and productive conversations among students, as well as between an instructor and students.