Abstract: Knowing the nature of models is fundamental to modeling, and hence, modeling competence. We propose that model abstraction, or thinking of models as abstractions, is an important and overlooked aspect of the nature of models dimension of competence. Models are inherently abstractions because they are analog structures that are pulled away, or abstracted, from their referents. Moreover, while modeling researchers readily agree that models are abstractions, they do not specify abstraction as a characteristic of models that students should learn. ...
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Topics: 
Mathematics education
Artificial intelligence
Cognitive science