In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, the students will be asked to assist a discount shoe store owner, who is planning a one day sale promotion, to choose a famous brand shoe to feature for the one day sale. Students will determine which one will bring in more customers, as well as provide the most profit. Students will need to read a data table, calculate the total profit margin per pair, and the total sales potential profit margin determined by the number of sneakers in stock. Students will also need to consider comfort, durability, and specific details about each brand. A twist is added to the problem when additional stock items are added, plus one of the brands is removed and two new brands are added.

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