ABSTRACT
Learning to do science primarily involves the enculturation of students to ways of thinking that reflect the systematicity characteristic of scientific practice (diSessa, 1988). In their search for systematicity, scientists spend considerable time and effort building and testing models of the phenomenon under investigation (Giere, 1988; Hestenes, 1992). Recognition of the importance of modeling by practicing scientists has lead to considerable research on the use of modeling as a central activity in science education (e.g., Penner, Giles, Lehrer, Schauble, 1997; Ost, 1987; Stewart, Hafner, Johnson, & Finkel, 1992).
