An Investigation of The System Concept

Hill, Doug; Redden, Michael G.

doi:10.1111/j.1949-8594.1985.tb09616.x

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Roberts () found that fifth and sixth graders significantly improved their systemic reasoning after the explicit teaching about feedback loop models and were able to identify underlying structures of models and demonstrate understanding of the factors that allowed the system to change. Hill and Redden () found that third and fourth graders who were exposed to explicit teaching of systemic reasoning performed better at complex system tasks than those who did not receive systemic instruction. The above evidence suggests the potential benefit of teaching systemic reasoning at elementary or even early elementary school levels.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early elementary students’ understanding of complex ecosystems: A learning progression approach

Hokayem

Gotwals

2016

J Res Sci Teach

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Engaging in systemic reasoning about ecological issues is critical for early elementary students to develop future understanding of critical environmental issues such as global warming and loss of biodiversity. However, ecological issues are rarely taught in ways to highlight systemic reasoning in elementary schools. In this study, we conducted semi‐structured interviews with 44 students from the first through fourth grades. Using an iterative process, we developed an empirically grounded learning progression that captures how elementary students use systemic reasoning to explain interactions in ecosystems. This learning progression contains five reasoning patterns: anthropomorphic reasoning, concrete practical reasoning, simple causal reasoning, semi‐complex causal reasoning, and complex causal reasoning. The results also show that many students exhibited mixed‐level reasoning, meaning that they used reasoning patterns at multiple levels to construct a single response. We discuss the implications of the study for learning progression research and teaching ecosystems at early elementary grades. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 1524–1545, 2016

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early elementary students’ understanding of complex ecosystems: A learning progression approach

Hokayem

Gotwals

2016

J Res Sci Teach

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“…Scientists and educators recognise the systems concept as an important framework for organising observations and explana tions in scientific and other disciplines (Hill and Redden, 1985; American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993; Bar-Yam, 1997). Within ecology, paradigm shifts such as from an equilibrium to a nonequilibrium view, from a focus on uni lateral to reciprocal controls, and from an emphasis on simple to multiple routes of causality (Pickett et al, 1994), reflect the growing prevalence of a systems view of biotic/abiotic interac tions, including those between humans and the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Assessing students' systems reasoning in ecology

Hogan¹

2000

Journal of Biological Education

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In this study, several assessment rubrics were used to analyse students' systems reasoning about food web perturbations and pollutant effects within ecosystems. An analytic paper/pencil task and a constructive interview task prompted the reasoning of two classes of 11 year old students (n = 52), before and after they participated in a month-long, hands-on unit in which they constructed, observed, and manipulated mini-ecosystems. When analysing population dynamics in response to perturbations within a food web students used predominately one-way linear, rather than more sophisticated two-way and cyclic reasoning, both before and after the instructional unit. They thus had limited models of patterns of relationships and reciprocal effects in ecosystems. When tracing how three different pollutants travel through and affect an ecosystem, 10 out of 16 focal students noted only effects that occur when pollutants come into direct contact with organisms, rather than indirect impacts on organisms. These results point to limitations in awareness of patterns of systems interactions, and naive or missing domain-specific knowledge, as constraining students' systems reasoning in ecology.

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“…In a study of 4th grade students, Assaraf & Orion (2010) found most students were able to advance in their understanding of the components and processes of hydrological systems, as well as recognizing the interconnections between the components. Based on these findings, and the work of others (Evagorou et al, 2009;Hill & Redden, 1985), we decided that including a computational systems thinking perspective was worthwhile to attempt to study if it could be developmentally and pedagogically appropriate for PSTs in an elementary science methods course.…”

Section: Weintrop Et Al (2016)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Preservice Elementary Science Teachers’ Understanding of Climate Change from a Computational Thinking Systems Perspective

Breslyn

McGinnis

2019

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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There is a need to approach environmental education (EE) topics, such as climate change, with a framework that productively reflects its inherent complexity. This study investigates how computational thinking (CT), specifically systems thinking (ST), may prepare educators to teach climate change. As scientists increasingly rely on computational techniques in their studies of complex EE topics, it is incumbent on science education to provide learners with computational thinking opportunities. We investigated how elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in a science methods course (N=35) adapted a curricular resource on the climate change topic of sea level rise to integrate the CT practice of ST. Changes in their thinking were analyzed. Findings suggest that PSTs prior to instruction held a limited understanding of climate systems, often conflating weather and climate. Post instruction, their thinking expanded to consider the relationships between carbon dioxide, global warming, ice melt, and sea level rise. Further, many were able to describe these systems in a future EE teaching activity for young learners. A major implication was the need to develop a continuum of CT practices for elementary educators, with an emphasis on ST, for complex environmental education topics, that could frame their pedagogical thinking for climate change education.

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An Investigation of The System Concept

Cited by 10 publications

References 3 publications

Early elementary students’ understanding of complex ecosystems: A learning progression approach

Early elementary students’ understanding of complex ecosystems: A learning progression approach

Assessing students' systems reasoning in ecology

Investigating Preservice Elementary Science Teachers’ Understanding of Climate Change from a Computational Thinking Systems Perspective

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