The Earth Scientist – Summer 2016
In collaboration with the National Earth Science Teachers Association, the MEL team wrote a series of articles targeted toward the science educator, and specifically, to facilitate use of all the MEL activities in the classroom.
To access the full issue, please click here.
- To access an article introducing the MEL, and using the Climate Change MEL as an example, please click here.
- To access an article on the Moon MEL, please click here.
- To access an article on the Wetlands MEL, please click here.
- To access an article on the Fracking MEL, please click here.
- To access on how to assess the MEL activities, please click here.
Workshop Presentations
Lombardi, D., Bailey, J. M., Burrell, S., Girtain, C., Wallace, C., & Miller, J. (2015). Critical thinking in earth science: Using the model-evidence link diagram. Workshop presented at the 2015 Regional Conference of the National Science Teachers Association, Philadelphia, PA. [NSTA PDF]
Lombardi, D. (2014, December). Critical thinking in Earth Science: Using the Model-Evidence Link (MEL) diagram. Workshop presented at the Pennsylvania Science Teachers Association Conference, State College, PA. [PSTA PDF]
Hopkins, J. (2014, November). Critical thinking in Earth Science: Using the Model-Evidence Link (MEL) diagram. Workshop presented at the Nevada STEM Conference, Reno, NV. [NV STEM PDF]
Holzer, M., Girtain, C., Lombardi, D., & Bailey, J. M. (2014, October). Critical thinking in Earth Science: Using the Model-Evidence Link (MEL) diagram. Workshop presented at the New Jersey Science Convention, Princeton, NJ. [NJSC PDF]
Project-Related Work
Lombardi, D., Bickel, E. S., Brandt, C. B., & Burg, C. (2017). Categorising students’ evaluations of evidence and explanations about climate change. International Journal of Global Warming, 12(3/4), 313-330. doi: 10.1504/IJGW.2017.10005879 [PDF]
Lombardi, D., Brandt, C. B., Bickel, E. S., & Burg, C. (2016). Students’ evaluations about climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 38(8), 1393-1414. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2016.1193912 [PDF]
Lombardi, D., & Bailey, J. M. (2015). Promoting critical evaluation in the science classroom. Poster presented at the 2015 Summer National Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD. [PDF]
Burrell, S., Lombardi, D., & Bailey, J. M. (2015). The effect of a student-centered academic intervention on teacher practice in high school Earth science classrooms: A mixed methods study. Presented at the 2015 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD. [PDF]
Lombardi, D., Bickel, E. S., Young, T., & Bailey, J. M. (2015). Learning about the moon: Results from a first-year pilot study. Poster presented at the Winter Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, San Diego, CA. [PDF]
Lombardi, D., & Bailey, J. M. (2014). How did the moon form? Evaluating alternative explanations. Poster presented at the 2014 Winter Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Orlando, FL. [PDF]
Supporting Background Work
The structure and mode of MEL diagrams were originally developed by researchers at Rutgers University under the NSF-supported PRACCIS (Promoting Reasoning and Conceptual Change in Science) project. For more details, see: Chinn, C. A., & Buckland, L. A. (2012). Model-based instruction: Fostering change in evolutionary conceptions and in epistemic practices. In K. S. Rosengren, E. M. Evans, S. Brem, & G. M. Sinatra (Eds.), Evolution challenges: Integrating research and practice in teaching and learning about evolution (pp. 211-232). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lombardi, D., Sibley, B., & Carroll, K. (2013). What’s the alternative? Using
model-evidence link diagrams to weigh alternative models in argumentation.
The Science Teacher, 80(5), 36-41. [PDF]
Lombardi, D., Sinatra, G. M., & Nussbaum, E. M. (2013). Plausibility
reappraisals and shifts in middle school students’ climate change conceptions.
Learning and Instruction, 27, 50-62. doi: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.03.001. [PDF]
Lombardi, D. (2012). Students’ conceptions about climate change: Using critical evaluation to influence plausibility reappraisals and knowledge reconstruction. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV. [PDF]
Shared Information from Others Using the MEL Activities
Muğaloğlu, E. (2016) Teachers’ ideas about the benefits and challenges of teaching climate change through evidence-based thinking. Presented at the International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Bodrum, Turkey. [Powerpoint download] [PDF]