In this curriculum, we make our models explicit, discuss, revise and add to them in order to make sense of some phenomenon we've noticed in the biological universe. Since most of the data or patterns we work with are relatively specific, our models naturally come together with some very specific language. For example, when answering the specific question, "What is regulating the numbers of wolves on Isle Royale?" we tend to generate model ideas specific to the system: wolves eat moose and moose depend on other resources, wolf mortality increases during harsh winters, wolves are generally unable to immigrate across the ephemeral ice shelf on Lake Superior, etc. But at some point we may want to step back and broaden our thinking, addressing a bigger question, "How are populations regulated?" This requires a generalized model.
You can imagine generalizing a model in a couple of ways. One approach is more abstract, and the other more concrete. Which approach is preferred will depend on your student population, their familiarity with models and generalizing models (so, how far along you are in the year), and your own classroom management and time constraints.
1. Abstract Method: Present students with their current, specific case model ideas and ask them to make the language more general. You can give them the more general question (e.g. "How are populations regulated?") as a guide.
2. Concrete Method: Present students with one or two novel, specific-case phenomena. Do the statements in the current model apply to these new scenarios? What would you have to do to make the ideas in the current model apply to all of the scenarios in front of them? This approach has the added advantage of giving students practice with model application (applying a model to a new scenario) besides being a bit more accessible to the concrete learner. You must, of course, be mindful of the new scenarios you choose, considering how they might get you to a more general model. (Natural Selection provides an opportunity to practice this concrete method of generalizing models using peppered moths and antibiotic resistance as novel scenarios for students to consider after creating a model based on the Galapagos finches of Daphne Major.)