Approaches to Teaching Mathematics Through Modeling

This chapter focuses on framing teaching practices that stem from a models and modeling perspective. Drawing on this perspective, we articulate how modeling is grounded in the dual notions that mathematics is learned through modeling and that the iterative process of designing products and processes is an approach to modeling that can be especially productive for students’ learning. We provide empirical evidence from 2 case studies, one from middle grades mathematics and one from post‐secondary engineering that illustrate how six principles of mathematical modeling activities are necessary for good modeling tasks and four effective teaching practices for this approach to modeling.