The Role of System Science in Future School Science Curricula

Learning to Understand the Forms of Causality Implicit in Scientifically Accepted Explanations

“…While one would generally expect them to understand less about the more complex forms, the existing research reveals developing competencies across the levels of the dimensions. These forms support the building of systemic understanding in science and increasingly there is a call to revise curriculum to build such understanding (e.g., Mayer & Kumano, 1999). The most recent research does indicate a greater interest in investigating complex causal concepts (e.g., Friedman, 2001;Metz, 1998a;Wilensky & Resnick, 1999).…”

The ‘everywhere and nowhere’ nature of thinking as a subject-specific competency

“…The actual investigation was not experimental, but in any case systems sciences demand different types of investigative approaches and reasoning strategies (Mayer & Kumano, 1999). The unit did require the shaping of a question and the gathering of evidence to build a case.…”

The interplay of context and concepts in primary school children's systems thinkingT

“…Learning about systems, in turn, challenges educators to help children experience the real-world stories behind conceptual knowledge (Mayer and Kumano, 1999) -that is to bring contextual and conceptual knowledge into a rich interplay with each other. Mayer and Kumano recommend more fieldwork, a focus on both parts and wholes, and greater attention to narrative and contextual description (Mayer and Kumano, 1999). The latter is a challenge that can be easily overlooked (Hipkins, 2001) since curriculum planning traditionally focuses on 'facts' (or maybe concepts) to be learned.…”