Original Project
Models
There is no guarantee that ideas based solely on a model are correct.
Item MO069004: If a student makes a drawing of how he thinks people see in the dark and it turns out it was incorrect, he should make a new version that more accurately represents what he now knows about how people see in the dark.
A student draws a diagram that describes how she thinks people see in the dark. Based on her drawing, she predicts that if people stay in a totally dark room for a long time, eventually their eyes will adjust to the darkness and they will be able to see.
When she tries this experiment in a totally dark room, it turns out that her prediction was incorrect, and that she is unable to adjust to the darkness. What should she do with her drawing?
- Because her drawing does not accurately represent what really happens, she should make a new version of it that better predicts what she actually experienced in the dark room.
- Because her drawing was not useful in making an accurate prediction, she should discard it and not use drawings anymore to make predictions.
- Because her drawing represents how she thinks the world works, she should not change it but should be confident that she can use it to make accurate predictions.
- Because her drawing represents how she thinks the world works, she should use it to make other predictions and keep checking them until one of them turns out to be correct.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1554 | 3107 | 50% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 900 | 1918 | 47% |
| 9–12 | 648 | 1173 | 55% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 704 | 1459 | 48% |
| Female | 815 | 1569 | 52% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1427 | 2811 | 51% |
| Other | 93 | 212 | 44% |