Subject: Glossary

Posted by Bob Gorman on 2/3/2010
In Reply To:Glossary Posted by Tim Joy on 2/3/2010

Message:

Tim Joy wrote:
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?
If your 12 or 14 or 16 year olds are, like many, oriented to the real world rather than the cognitive world, they ask: When a bathtub is full, it overflows. How do you represent this is your 'systems diagrams'? Also, when a bathtub is empty, you cannot drain it further. Again, How do you represent this is your 'systems diagrams'?

Your thoughts!

Bob