The main problem students will encounter in this MEA is determining the appropriate placement of required furniture in a classroom with a new school that is being constructed. The MEA provides students the opportunity to use their knowledge of Measurement and Geometry in order to work as an engineer in solving a realistic problem. The students will need to review and incorporate the usage of Mathematical formulas and sketching in order to help make their final determination to the client within the MEA. The students may need to reconsider their initial thinking once they encounter a problem with the specifications.

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 processes. 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 MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx