Teaching about complex systems is no simple matter: building effective professional development for computer-supported complex systems instruction

Yoon, Susan A.; Anderson, Emma; Koehler-Yom, Jessica; Evans, Chad; Park, Mi-Young; Sheldon, Josh; Schoenfeld, Ilana; Wendel, Daniel; Scheintaub, Hal; Klopfer, Eric

doi:10.1007/s11251-016-9388-7

Cited by 38 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our next step will be to run an experimental efficacy trial to support these preliminary findings. In other publications, (e.g., [39,43]) we have discussed some of the challenges associated with professional development and teacher learning as a result of implementation, which will also be investigated further in subsequent studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula for the Next Generation Science Standards in High School Science Classrooms

Yoon

Anderson

Klopfer

et al. 2016

Systems

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present a curriculum and instruction framework for computer-supported teaching and learning about complex systems in high school science classrooms. This work responds to a need in K-12 science education research and practice for the articulation of design features for classroom instruction that can address the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) recently launched in the USA. We outline the features of the framework, including curricular relevance, cognitively rich pedagogies, computational tools for teaching and learning, and the development of content expertise, and provide examples of how the framework is translated into practice. We follow this up with evidence from a preliminary study conducted with 10 teachers and 361 students, aimed at understanding the extent to which students learned from the activities. Results demonstrated gains in students' complex systems understanding and biology content knowledge. In interviews, students identified influences of various aspects of the curriculum and instruction framework on their learning.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula for the Next Generation Science Standards in High School Science Classrooms

Yoon

Anderson

Klopfer

et al. 2016

Systems

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The outcomes of this study underline the importance of current and future studies on professional development for teachers in relation to teaching systems thinking (e.g. Rosenkränzer et al 2016aRosenkränzer et al , 2017Schuler et al 2018;Yoon et al 2017). For example, Yoon et al (2017) studied what type of professional development support teachers need to teach about complex systems in education.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Rosenkränzer et al 2016aRosenkränzer et al , 2017Schuler et al 2018;Yoon et al 2017). For example, Yoon et al (2017) studied what type of professional development support teachers need to teach about complex systems in education. Moreover, the results emphasize the need for more research on bridging the gap between research, curriculum development, pre-service teacher training and educational practice.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teachers’ and educators’ perspectives on systems thinking and its implementation in Dutch biology education

Gilissen

Knippels

Verhoeff

et al. 2019

Journal of Biological Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Systems thinking, the ability to reason about systems in abstract terms, fosters students' coherent understanding of biology. This study aimed to determine to what extent the integration of systems thinking in Dutch biology education is in line with perspectives from systems theories and experts. We related the perspective on systems thinking of systems biologists (n = 7) to those of biology teachers (n = 8) and educators (n = 9). The resulting perspectives were interpreted in terms of three systems theories, General Systems Theories (GST), Cybernetics and Dynamical Systems Theories (DST). Thirdly, we determined to what extent and how teachers and educators pay attention to systems thinking in their teaching practice. This was all done by the use of open-ended interviews and online questionnaires. The results show that the systems biologists and teacher educators involved implicitly refer to three systems theories, whereas the teachers refer to the GST and cybernetics only. Despite this, the results suggest that the implementation of systems thinking in Dutch pre-service teacher training and secondary biology education falls short of expectations. These outcomes underline the importance of teacher (educator) professional development on teaching systems thinking to bridge the gap between research and teaching practice.

show abstract

“…The literature regarding teaching and learning complex systems primarily considers teaching such principles in general and/or teaching primary and high school students [3,4,5,6], embedding such principles within other courses [7] or cataloguing what is being taught in Higher Education courses [8]. Here however, not only do we focus on teaching and learning complex systems as an explicit subject in Higher Education (often in dedicated degree programs) in component course-work based units of study (UoS) 1 , we seek to explore the experience of how the aforementioned challenges and opportunities are handled in teaching complex systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Interview‐Based Study of Pioneering Experiences in Teaching and Learning Complex Systems in Higher Education

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of complex systems as a field, students studying complex systems at University level have diverse disciplinary backgrounds. This brings challenges (e.g. wide range of computer programming skills) but also opportunities (e.g. facilitating interdisciplinary interactions and projects) for the classroom. However, there is little published regarding how these challenges and opportunities are handled in teaching and learning Complex Systems as an explicit subject in higher education, and how this differs in comparison to other subject areas. We seek to explore these particular challenges and opportunities via an interview-based study of pioneering teachers and learners (conducted amongst the authors) regarding their experiences. We compare and contrast those experiences, and analyse them with respect to the educational literature. Our discussions explored: approaches to curriculum design, how theories/models/frameworks of teaching and learning informed decisions and experience, how diversity in student backgrounds was addressed, and assessment task design. We found a striking level of commonality in the issues expressed as well as the strategies to handle them, for example a significant focus on problem-based learning, and the use of major student-led creative projects for both achieving and assessing learning outcomes.

show abstract

Teaching about complex systems is no simple matter: building effective professional development for computer-supported complex systems instruction

Cited by 38 publications

References 35 publications

Designing Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula for the Next Generation Science Standards in High School Science Classrooms

Designing Computer-Supported Complex Systems Curricula for the Next Generation Science Standards in High School Science Classrooms

Teachers’ and educators’ perspectives on systems thinking and its implementation in Dutch biology education

An Interview‐Based Study of Pioneering Experiences in Teaching and Learning Complex Systems in Higher Education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About