Threshold concepts, systems and learning for sustainability

Sandri, Orana

doi:10.1080/13504622.2012.753413

Cited by 46 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In addition to these examples, it is relevant here to address a threshold mentioned in literature in connection to education in another discipline. Within sustainability education, Sandri (2013) reports that 'systems thinking' is suggested as being a threshold concept. Systems thinking refers to the notion that different matters or components together form more complex systems.…”

Section: Threshold Concepts In Logistics -A Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the threshold theory, liminality is used as described by Sandri (2013) as 'the process of transformation through engagement with a threshold concept'. This transformation is often considered troublesome.…”

Section: Threshold Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such problems are often considered as seemingly unsolvable by students. According to Sandri (2013), applying a systems perspective is helpful for viewing sustainability problems in a more 'solvable' way. Systems thinking represents a different way of viewing the world, and works as a threshold for understanding complex sustainability issues.…”

Section: Threshold Concepts -Some Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

Oskarsson¹

2014

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Logistics is regarded as an area of high importance in business, contributing to profitability and competitiveness. Logistics is crucial also from a societal perspective, since logistical activities count for a big proportion of a country's GNP, and since effective logistics systems can help reducing some of the environmental problems we face today. Higher education has an important role to play in order to provide business and society with well-educated logistics personnel. Since not much research is published within higher education in logistics, the purpose of this thesis was defined as:To contribute to the knowledge on teaching and learning logistics in higher education.More specifically, two research questions were set up: RQ1:What knowledge and skills are important for students to learn during higher education in logistics? RQ2:How can students' learning of these skills and knowledge be facilitated?A comprehensive literature review serves as a basis for the study. The literature on logistics education gives limited guidance concerning what is to be learned during higher education in logistics, as well as how to facilitate learning within logistics. These findings indicate that the logistics teaching faculty do not base their course designs and teaching practices on solid knowledge on what and how to teach.Although a major finding of my work is that more research is needed, some more concrete propositions can be made. In order to reach some kind of answers to the research questions, a selection of pedagogical theories was applied on logistics education with help from illustrating examples, partly found in literature, and partly from specific studies performed as part of this thesis.Concerning the first research question, I propose a tentative model, illustrating how different logistics knowledge and skills can be positioned against each other. A division is made between subject-specific and generic knowledge and skills, and two core generic skills within logistics are proposed: Total cost analysis and Structured investigation method.From pedagogical literature, the concept of thresholds was introduced. A threshold refers to something that is troublesome for students to overcome, but once passed leads to a new way of understanding. The identification of the thresholds associated with acquiring important knowledge and skills, is therefore important for teachers. Some thresholds concerning logistics education are discussed in the thesis. For the two core generic skills proposed above, it is suggested that 'case-specific adaptation of total cost models' is a threshold for total cost analysis, and 'investigation planning' is suggested as a threshold for structured investigation method.The question of how something can be learned is dependent on what is to be learned. Since there is a lack of clear answers concerning the what, the second research question (focusing the how) is difficult to answer in a concrete manner. On a general level, some findings were found though.Logistics is a discipline where educ...

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Section: Threshold Concepts In Logistics -A Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Threshold Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Threshold Concepts -Some Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

Oskarsson¹

2014

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“…We also use an inventory‐based approach to help students become familiar with the study forests. In addition to obtaining information currently used in forest planning and prescription development (e.g., ownership objectives, legal constraints, stand density, structure and composition, prices, and harvesting costs) we developed an expanded inventory and thus a broader definition of the system of interest (Sandri, 2013) by focusing on complexity concepts relevant in a management context. We have students put together a formal inventory of major drivers, interactions, thresholds, and variables that drive thresholds, etc., with a special emphasis on describing feedback loops.…”

Section: Pedagogical Approach and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Complex Adaptive Systems Science in Natural Resource Management: Examples from Forestry

Puettmann

Parrott

Messier

2016

Natural Sciences Education

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the Lockheed Fire ignited the west slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains burning approximately 7,819 acres. Foresters and other land managers were left with challenging decisions on how to evaluate tree mortality. Big Creek Lumber Company, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)'s Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR), and other resource professionals familiar with this region teamed up to develop a method for evaluating damage and thereby mortality for redwood, California nutmeg, live oak, tanoak, California bay, Pacific madrone, big leaf maple, Douglas-fir, Monterey pine, and knobcone pine. Quantitative damage criteria were used to design three Mortality Assessment models (MA), divided into three diameter at breast height classes (1-8.9, 9-16.9, >17 inches), for all tree species. These models were compared against pre-fire data from 82, one-fifth acre fixed plots from SPR's Continuous Forest Inventory. Since the initial evaluation using the new MA in Fall 2009, each of the 2,877 trees were re-evaluated in Spring 2010 and Spring 2011 to determine if initial evaluations from the MA in 2009 were correct. To date, predictions to determine individual tree mortality using the Mortality Assessment models have been 89.3% correct.

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“…Natural Resource Management (NRM) graduates need well‐developed systems thinking skills, as well as strong communication and collaboration skills to articulate their ideas and effectively manage social–ecological systems (SESs) (Sample et al, 1999; Bosch et al, 2007; Sandri, 2013). Graduates who consider a SES as a whole, rather than as separate social and ecological components, are better able to address the “wicked” and “messy” problems that challenge natural resource managers (LaChapelle et al, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Resource Management Students’ Perceptions of Conceptual Change in a Capstone Course

Casper

Balgopal

Fernández‐Giménez

2016

Natural Sciences Education

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Core Ideas Students’ conceptual change of systems thinking was facilitated by a capstone class. Conceptual change was influenced by stakeholders, peers, and a large group project. Students’ conceptions of biophysical and social systems became more integrated. Currently, there is a concern that natural resource management (NRM) students are not graduating with well‐developed systems thinking, communication, and group work skills. Through our phenomenological exploratory study, we used conceptual change and discourse theories to frame our questions: How do students describe their conceptions of social‐ecological systems and resilience as changing over the course of an NRM capstone course, and what do they think helped change them? Using semi‐structured interviews (n = 3) we found that students’ conceptions of social and biophysical systems became more integrated, and their ideas about systems thinking and resilience broadened to encompass greater complexity. These conceptual shifts were influenced by interactions with other students, natural resource professionals, and stakeholders during class, as well as their engagement with one another in a semester‐long group project. The conceptual change these students demonstrated indicates that large conceptual shifts can occur in a capstone class.

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Threshold concepts, systems and learning for sustainability

Cited by 46 publications

References 25 publications

Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics

Teaching Complex Adaptive Systems Science in Natural Resource Management: Examples from Forestry

Natural Resource Management Students’ Perceptions of Conceptual Change in a Capstone Course

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