| Making Friends for Primary Students (Grades K-3) |
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Author(s):
Anne LaVigne, & Lindsey Buckler |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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This lesson is very similar to the “Making Friends” lesson in The Shape of Change. The main difference is the wording of the questions, the handouts, and the activity rules, which are aimed at younger students. In addition, a simple online simulation is available as an extension. Students explore what happens to the number of friends over time, given different scenarios for gaining new friends. Students can also explore what might happen if they lose friends. |
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 Zipped (Models & PDF)
Link to the simulation: http://www.clexchange.org/curriculum/shapeofchange/soc_2_Friendship.asp
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| Micro-Lesson: Beyond the In and Out Game |
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Author(s):
Anne LaVigne |
Subject:
Micro Lesson |
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This short lesson gives a description of how use the Splash! modeling app to build the model from In and Out Game in the Shape of Change. There are links to the simulation and the model on the CLE website. |
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 PDF
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| Micro-Lesson: Making Thinking Visible - A Video Collection |
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Author(s):
Anne LaVigne |
Subject:
Micro Lesson |
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A short introduction to the Making Thinking Visible Video series. |
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PDF
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| Mistakes Made in the Early Years Teaching Students and Teachers to Create System Models |
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Author(s):
Diana Fisher |
Subject:
Implementation |
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From CC-STADUS/CC-SUSTAIN. Presented at the 16th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society in Quebec '98. The mistakes the author made on the journey to teach herself, her students, and other teachers to create STELLA models to study dynamic phenomenon. Some mistakes relate to classroom experiences and others relate to team teaching experiences. |
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PDF
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| Model Mysteries: An Exploration of Vampires, Zombies, and Other Fantastic Scenarios to Make the World a Better Place |
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Author(s):
Anne LaVigne, & Lees Stuntz |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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This book contains six main chapters, each with a new mystery to solve. Each chapter has a number of similar stories to try, depending on your interest. The modeling activities are intended for students from ages 10 to 110. In other words, if you’re interested in thinking about how to solve mysteries and like the idea of creating computer models and applying them to real-world problems, this book is for you. You can use it independently as a student, work with a group of students, or if you’re a teacher, share it with interested students to complete a guided or independent study project.
In addition to the main chapters, Chapter 7 provides an extension to build additional capacity in modeling, and Chapter 8 includes next steps, additional resources, and information about modeling software. You can also reference the appendices for details about completing the chapter mysteries.
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| Modeling Air-Powered Rockets |
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Author(s):
Christopher DiCarlo |
Subject:
Science |
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Students learn the physics of forces acting on a paper rocket in the context of systems thinking and modeling tools in this project. The lessons become more authentic and engaging when the classroom moves outside. |
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PDF
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| Modeling Dynamic Systems Section 10 |
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Author(s):
Diana Fisher |
Subject:
System Dynamics |
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There are several characteristics of complex systems that can be discussed with students during these lessons. The fictitious city seems to face a dilemma; the tanning industry provides needed jobs in the present, but water pollution can cause serious detrimental effects over the long term. This is closely coupled with the idea that cause and effect in complex systems are often separated by time and space.
In the case of pollution, contamination can take decades to produce measurable effects. In the meantime, the range of impact can spread far from the initial source via transport in water, wind, etc. Finally, the lesson mentions that tanning has been outsourced from this country to developing countries; a classic case of "shifting the burden." Rather than allowing the true costs of tanning to be reflected in the prices of the finished goods, the industry itself escapes pressure to reform by sending the negative consequences to other, less regulated countries. |
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PDF
Link to the simulation: http://www.iseesystems.com
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| Modeling Dynamic Systems Section 6 |
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Author(s):
Diana Fisher |
Subject:
System Dynamics |
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In the classroom example provided in this section, the author lists many "potential systems problems" that are related to the issue of overpopulation. As an extension exercise, students can be asked to identify ways in which people have attempted to solve these related problems. Did the solutions address the underlying population issue in any way? Were they successful interventions? In complex systems, proposed solutions that do not recognize and address the underlying dynamics that need to be changed are low-leverage policies; they usually fail to achieve any significant change in the overall behavior of the system. Students can be asked to undertake a similar analysis in their own investigation of a news story. |
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PDF
Link to the simulation: http://www.iseesystems.com
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| Modeling Dynamic Systems Section 7 |
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Author(s):
Diana Fisher |
Subject:
System Dynamics |
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The dynamics of epidemics can be used to impart an intuitive understanding of what it means to say a policy has "high leverage." Students can be tasked with conducting policy analysis to determine the leverage points in preventing an infectious illness from becoming an epidemic. Along the way they will learn why well-intensioned but low-leverage policies in real life often fail to have the desired effects in complex systems.
For some illness/disease, symptoms appear long after initial infection. Sometimes people travel great distance while infected because they are unaware of the infection. Medical "detectives" faced with an epidemic must understand how the infection spreads and how quickly. Delays in the system make this more difficult. |
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Link to the file: http://www.iseesystems.com
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| Modeling Dynamic Systems Section 8 |
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Author(s):
Diana Fisher |
Subject:
System Dynamics |
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Policy analysis gives students an opportunity to learn first-hand that complex systems are rich in feedback. They will experience the frustration of implementing well-meaning interventions, only to have them defeated by the feedback mechanisms of the system itself. They will learn why some policies have more leverage than others, and why those policies are often the most difficult to implement correctly in real life. |
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PDF
Link to the simulation: http://www.iseesystems.com
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