Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Individual Level

Abstract

Analysis of results from research in cognitive science and discipline-based education in recent years suggests that student thinking and learning can be better understood and investigated by adopting a systemic perspective that recognizes the complex and dynamic interactions taking place within and across multiple interconnected and interdependent levels that shape student reasoning in academic settings, including individual and classroom levels. In this first article, we review and discuss the results from research that have helped us better understand the complex system dynamics that characterize thinking and learning at the individual student level. The second article in the set [Talanquer et al. J. Chem. Educ. 10.1021/ acs.jchemed.3c00839] addresses issues at the classroom level. In both papers, we use our analysis to foreground major research insights gained in recent years and to summarize their implications for chemistry education.

Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Classroom Level

“…How students engage in the learning process is affected by individual characteristics and experiences, as well as by sociocultural factors that shape the cognitive structures that support self-regulation (e.g., goal setting, selecting strategies, monitoring activity), self-perception (e.g., self-efficacy, identity), emotion (e.g., positive associations, negative responses), and reasoning (e.g., framing activity, decision-making, problem-solving). In the first paper of this two-part perspective, we reviewed major features of these cognitive processes at the individual level . Thus, we only summarize insights into how student interactions shape group cognition and behavior and affect student learning in interactive classrooms.…”

“…Based on existing research in cognitive science and science education, in the first article of this two-part perspective, we analyzed the complex dynamics of student thinking and learning at the individual level . This second part builds upon this work to analyze the actors and factors that research suggests shape the complex social and knowledge dynamics in classrooms, which are affected by interactions with components at other levels.…”

An Educational Framework for Teaching Chemistry Using a Systems Thinking Approach

“…Educators should use these data to critically reflect on aspects of the lesson that they can modify to enhance student learning. This reflection demands paying attention not only to cognitive but also to affective issues impacting student learning and recognizing and affecting barriers acting at the individual and classroom levels. , …”