ABSTRACT
The models of nature that scientists construct are as diverse as their disciplines, and much of the rhetoric and practice of science is governed by efforts to invent, revise, and contest models. Our program of research was aimed at exploring the implications of this view of science in the education of children in the elementary grades: Can modeling practices be introduced to young children? Can teachers effectively support the growth and development of model-based reasoning? What forms of mathematics best support modeling practices?
