 |
|
Home > Curriculum
CLE Curriculum Search
| Research |
| 15 records found. |
Currently displaying page 2 of 2 |
[<<
Prev]
1
2 |
| Learning System Thinking: The role of semiotic and cognitive resources |
|
|
Author(s):
Maria Larsson |
Subject:
Research |
| |
Three empirical studies provide detailed analyses of video-recorded collaborative work in System Dynamics education. In a Masters program in environmental studies, students are introduced to systems thinking and the method of creating Causal Loop Diagrams and interactive computer models for analyzing and solving complex problems. They learn how to use the terminology, symbols and methods of a specific semiotic domain. The research questions concern how interacting with systems thinking tools affect students in the process of collaboratively analyzing and modeling complex problems, and how cognitive and semiotic resources are used in this process. The study provides a conceptual lens with which to discuss and perceive the complexity of learning to express knowledge with new representational tools: both its visual and spatial formalism and the related terminology. Three theoretical perspectives are applied: the socio-cultural perspective, the social semiotic, and the constructivist perspective. |
| |
Link to the file: http://www.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12588&postid=1503748
|
| Systems Thinking and Dynamic Modeling within K-12 Schools: Effects on Student Learning |
|
|
Author(s):
Anne LaVigne |
Subject:
Research |
| |
The increasing trend of use of systems thinking and dynamic modeling could not have occurred without a network of educators who saw the benefits for their students and who worked and continue to work on developing capacity to apply systems thinking and dynamic modeling within classroom instruction and organizational learning.
Perhaps some important questions to consider are "How and why has it spread thus far?" and "What keeps it from spreading more quickly?" One partial answer begins with yet another question: "After twenty years, what evidence exists that using systems thinking/dynamic modeling (ST/DM) methodologies has a positive, desirable effect on student learning?"
Four areas of evidence are available, each in different quantities and with different measurement criteria. The largest body of evidence is found within the anecdotes of teachers who describe thinking and learning results for their students. Although smaller in quantity, action research (a methodology used to investigate a particular question about learning) and student survey results allow for observation of some general trends relating to student learning/thinking. Finally, empirical research studies are less prevalent, but have occurred within K-12 classrooms. |
| |
 PDF
|
| Teaching Characteristics of Complex Systems in K-12 Education: Lessons Learned |
|
|
Author(s):
Jennifer Andersen, Anne LaVigne, & Lees Stuntz |
Subject:
Research |
| |
This paper describes lessons learned while completing a pilot project initiated by Professor Jay Forrester through the Creative Learning Exchange. The goal of the Characteristics of Complex Systems Project (CCSP) is to create online curriculum materials for K-12 students and interested adults that will illustrate the characteristics of complex systems first enunciated by Forrester (1969) and appearing repeatedly in the systems thinking/system dynamics literature since then. The pilot project was designed to address the characteristic “The cause of the problem is within the system” through the creation of a family of models that share the generic 2nd order negative feedback loop that generates oscillation. Students can encounter these models in various formats and subject areas. Through repeated exposure to models and materials that incorporate instructional scaffolding principles , students learn to recognize the perceived problematic behavior exhibited is a consequence of the internal system structure. The lessons learned during the pilot project are being used to inform further development of curriculum materials that illustrate Forrester’s characteristics for K-12 students. |
| |
|
| The Feedback Method : A System Dynamics Approach to Teaching Macroeconomics |
|
|
Author(s):
David Wheat |
Subject:
Research |
| |
This thesis documents a method for improving undergraduate instruction in macroeconomics. Called the feedback method, it enables students to learn about dynamic behavior in a market economy by using feedback loop diagrams and interactive computer simulation models instead of static graphs or differential equations. There are at least two types of pedagogical problems associated with graphical representation of the economy. First, students seem to have difficulty interpreting static graphs used to illustrate dynamics, which raises questions about the value added by graphs to student understanding. Secondly, the most prominent graph in modern macroeconomics principles textbooks-the aggregate supply and demand (AS/AD) model-appears to misrepresent disequilibrium conditions in the economy and cause students who understand the graph to misunderstand important behavior in the economy. The feedback method emphasizes dynamics rather than static equilibrium conditions. How the economy changes over time in different contexts is the behavioral question that students repeatedly encounter. The structure of the economy is explained in terms of reinforcing and counteracting feedback loops. Student understanding of the source of dynamic economic behavior requires seeking, identifying, and explaining relevant feedback structure in an economic system. Interactive computer simulation activities reinforce the insights gained from studying feedback loops. Even small-scale student participation in model-building seems to facilitate understanding of a larger model; moreover, such participation may build respect for the scientific method and an appreciation for theory building by economists. The feedback method is a structural explanation of economic behavior, but it also provides an improved learning structure for students, and the thesis reports on four experiments designed to test that claim. Two experiments examined student preferences for methods of learning macroeconomics; for example, using static graphs or a feedback loop diagram. The experimental designs were quite different, but the results were the same-a significant majority preferred the feedback method. The most commonly cited reason: feedback loops enable the students to visualize a process in the economy. The third and fourth experiments addressed the performance question. In the third experiment, students showed more understanding of GDP when they had access to a stock-and-flow feedback diagram of the economy. In the final experiment, students using feedback loop diagrams displayed more understanding of business cycle dynamics than other students who had access to an AS/AD graph. Teaching students to search for feedback structure in the economy and using computer simulation to connect structure with behavior appears to be a promising method for teaching macroeconomics. |
| |
Link to the file: https://bora.uib.no/handle/1956/2239
|
| Using Systems Thinking to Improve Interdisciplinary Learning Outcomes: Reflections on a Pilot Study in Land Economics |
|
|
Author(s):
Leah Greden Mathews , & Andrew Jones |
Subject:
Research |
| |
Abstract: Systems thinking is an inquiry-based method of learning that uses the technique of perspective-taking, fosters holistic thinking, and engages in belief-testing. This paper describes a pilot study in an undergraduate Land Economics course that investigated how systems thinking could be used to facilitate the process of interdisciplinary integration. Results suggest that systems thinking is well suited for this purpose. |
| |
PDF
|
|
| Sorted Ascending by Title |
Sort descending by title
|
Hide Descriptions
|
[<<
Prev]
1
2
|
|
|
