Explaining systems: Investigating middle school students' understanding of emergent phenomena

Abstract

Science, as with all cognitive activities, is fundamentally a matter of interpretation, sense‐making, and explanation. This study focused on a small group of middle school students as they developed understanding of a particular type of phenomena: emergent systems. Such systems are notable in that macro‐level properties emerge as the result of micro‐level interactions between system components. I describe students' initial understanding of emergent systems, as well as the ways in which their thinking came to reflect the following heuristics: (a) recognition that there may not be a singular causal force underlying the system; (b) distinguishing between micro‐ and macro‐levels of analysis; and (c) comprehending that even small changes at the micro‐level can have significant effects at the macro‐level (Resnick, 1994). I conclude by considering some implications for science education. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 784–806, 2000

The Art of Interconnected Thinking: Starting with the Young

“…However, Evagorou et al [79] claim that the resources for teaching systemic thinking within science are limited and that learning about complex systems is difficult in the current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature [84][85][86][87].…”

The Art of Interconnected Thinking: Starting with the Young

“…However, Evagorou et al [79] claim that the resources for teaching systemic thinking within science are limited and that learning about complex systems is difficult in the current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature [84][85][86][87].…”

Educating Systems Thinking for Sustainability: Experience with a Developing Country

“…They also argue that learning about complex systems is hard, and it has been proven difficult to improve under current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature (National Research Council, 2000;Penner, 2000;Sheehy et al, 2000;Richmond, 2001).…”

Teaching ‘Evolution readiness’ to fourth graders

“…Evolution by natural selection is an archetypal example of an emergent behavior in which macro-level properties emerge as the result of micro-level interactions between system components. Systems that exhibit such behavior are notoriously difficult to teach, even to students considerably older than the ones in our study (Penner 2000), and it was by no means obvious that we would succeed in leading ten-year -olds to an understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. Accordingly, we were pleased to see that so many of our young students improved in their understanding of this topic, and not at all surprised that some of our big ideas remained beyond the reach of many of them.…”

The Art of Interconnected Thinking: Starting with the Young

“…However, Evagorou et al [79] claim that the resources for teaching systemic thinking within science are limited and that learning about complex systems is difficult in the current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature [84][85][86][87].…”

Educating Systems Thinking for Sustainability: Experience with a Developing Country

“…They also argue that learning about complex systems is hard, and it has been proven difficult to improve under current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature (National Research Council, 2000;Penner, 2000;Sheehy et al, 2000;Richmond, 2001).…”

Teaching ‘Evolution readiness’ to fourth graders

“…Evolution by natural selection is an archetypal example of an emergent behavior in which macro-level properties emerge as the result of micro-level interactions between system components. Systems that exhibit such behavior are notoriously difficult to teach, even to students considerably older than the ones in our study (Penner 2000), and it was by no means obvious that we would succeed in leading ten-year -olds to an understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. Accordingly, we were pleased to see that so many of our young students improved in their understanding of this topic, and not at all surprised that some of our big ideas remained beyond the reach of many of them.…”

The Art of Interconnected Thinking: Starting with the Young

“…However, Evagorou et al [79] claim that the resources for teaching systemic thinking within science are limited and that learning about complex systems is difficult in the current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature [84][85][86][87].…”

Educating Systems Thinking for Sustainability: Experience with a Developing Country

“…They also argue that learning about complex systems is hard, and it has been proven difficult to improve under current educational settings. This argument is supported by many studies reported in the literature (National Research Council, 2000;Penner, 2000;Sheehy et al, 2000;Richmond, 2001).…”

Teaching ‘Evolution readiness’ to fourth graders

“…Evolution by natural selection is an archetypal example of an emergent behavior in which macro-level properties emerge as the result of micro-level interactions between system components. Systems that exhibit such behavior are notoriously difficult to teach, even to students considerably older than the ones in our study (Penner 2000), and it was by no means obvious that we would succeed in leading ten-year -olds to an understanding of evolutionary mechanisms. Accordingly, we were pleased to see that so many of our young students improved in their understanding of this topic, and not at all surprised that some of our big ideas remained beyond the reach of many of them.…”