This MEA allows students to explore the creation of a model to rank hotels. Students are presented with the first part of the problem and the data which includes cost, meals served, pet friendly, and closeness to highway. They will determine which hotel will receive their highest recommendation. The second part of the task adds two hotels and additional data related to discounts. Students need to apply and test their model and make modifications as needed. All findings are submitted to the client in writing. Students may use this information to plan a family vacation researching which hotels they might stay in as they travel.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx