How Much Food Could Our School Grow? An Example Modeling Problem.

For the past few years, in GAIMME Time, we have discussed the benefits of teaching mathematical modeling as well as some practical guidance. In this column, we will look at one very open-ended problem and explore how it could be turned into a modeling problem that could be adopted and tailored to address a wide range of student learning objectives at multiple levels.

How much food could our school grow? The question sounds simple enough, but it is rich with modeling opportunities for students at many levels. Below, we explore just a subset of the questions that can be part of this larger modeling question.