Subject: Glossary

Posted by Tim Joy on 2/3/2010
In Reply To:Glossary Posted by Richard Turnock on 2/3/2010

Message:

With what age group might these terms be most appropriate?

Take for instance, the following statement from the "stock" definition: "Stocks are the memory of a system and are only affected by flows." True. We know this, because we have built models, run them, added to them. The notion that a system might have a "memory" is an anthropomorphism, since what most students will first wonder about is how does a system "remember", rather than consider the memory as "stored data" or "accumulated stuff." Granted, in a way, "remembering" is a clever way to think about it. But if your students are 12 or 14 or 16, and their exposure to such concepts is limited, what then?

What words do we use to reach those at a basic level?

Tim

Follow Ups:

Glossary - Bob Gorman 2/3/2010 
Glossary - Ed Johnson 2/3/2010 
Systems Language - Tim Joy 2/4/2010