Comparing Model Types

Summary

In this instructional video, Casey, an educator who leverages the BioInteractive Model Builder, walks viewers through the three distinct model types the platform can generate—conceptual, causal, and stock‑and‑flow—and explains when each is most appropriate for higher‑education biology courses.

The tutorial defines core terminology: objects represent system components, while connectors (lines or arrows) illustrate relationships. Conceptual models use neutral connectors to map associations, exemplified by phylogenetic trees and student‑created concept maps of DNA‑replication proteins. Causal models introduce colored arrows—blue for positive, red for negative—to depict cause‑and‑effect links, illustrated with a carbon‑cycle diagram that asks students to predict outcomes of altered respiration. Stock‑and‑flow models add a third layer, assigning objects as stocks, flows, or variables, allowing precise tracking of material movement such as carbon shifting between atmospheric and biospheric stocks under the influence of sunlight.

Casey highlights real classroom applications: sophomore cell‑biology students built complex concept maps, while causal models prompt predictive reasoning about ecosystem dynamics. The stock‑and‑flow example clarifies that sunlight functions as a variable, not a stock, and that photosynthesis and respiration act as flows moving carbon between stocks. He cautions that, although powerful for modeling molecules, energy, or electrons, stock‑and‑flow diagrams demand substantial scaffolding before introduction.

The video concludes that educators can select any model type via the creation tool, with supplemental resources—including additional tutorials and a pedagogy guide—available to support best practices. By matching model complexity to learning objectives, instructors can deepen students’ systems thinking while avoiding cognitive overload.

Original Description

Professor Kasey Christopher introduces the three types of models - conceptual, causal, and stock and flow - that you can create in Model Builder and explains when you might want to use each.

For more Model Builder resources, go to the BioInteractive website: https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/model-builder