In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will be asked to create a Solar Cooker for a community event. Students will receive a poster informing them of the event and important information about material, and blueprint. After students create their models, they will receive a letter from the governor explaining the rules and regulations. Students will notice a volume and mass restriction. Students will then need to modify their design and test their effectiveness.

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