Dynamical Systems Theory – A Powerful Tool in the Educational Sciences

Nicolescu, Bogdan; Petrescu, Tudor C.

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.168

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…An L2 classroom offers opportunities for meaningful interactions, as well as the chance to develop strategies to make use of affordances outside the class and to answer learners' questions on how the L2 works. In CDST and DUB, instruction may be seen as an external force that may play a role in L2 learners ' development (e.g., Larsen-Freeman, 1997;Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008;Nicolescu & Petrescu, 2013). Because in a complex dynamic system "all parts are connected to all other parts" (de Bot & Larsen-Freeman, 2011, p. 10), predicting linear cause and effect relationships may be very difficult.…”

Section: Instruction As An External Force In Dynamic L2 Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation and variability in L2 learning trajectories: Learning the Finnish existential construction

Lesonen

Steinkrauss

Suni

et al. 2022

Journal of the European Second Language Association

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Taking an onomasiological approach and a dynamic usage-based perspective, this study explores how four beginning L2 learners of Finnish develop in expressing existentiality ('there is something somewhere') before and after instruction. Data were collected weekly over a period of nine months and examined for conventionalized and non-conventionalized constructions that express existentiality. As expected from a dynamic usage-based perspective, both inter-individual variation and intra-individual variability were identified. The initial repertoires of two of the learners were quite variable, as they used several different non-conventionalized constructions before settling on more conventionalized ones. In contrast, the two other learners did not independently try out different ways of expressing the targeted meaning but started to use the conventionalized Finnish existential construction only after pedagogical intervention. As one would expect from a usage-based perspective, some learners' initial repertoires included some item-based constructions that were similar to each other. As far as instruction is concerned, for all learners there was an increase in the use of the conventionalized construction after an explicit intervention, but the use was not morphologically accurate. The findings confirm two commonly held hypotheses in dynamic systems approaches: Learners own their own learning trajectories and initial trajectories are sometimes characterized by high degrees of variability because learners need to try out different strategies before they can adapt to the requirements of the new situation.

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Section: Instruction As An External Force In Dynamic L2 Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation and variability in L2 learning trajectories: Learning the Finnish existential construction

Lesonen

Steinkrauss

Suni

et al. 2022

Journal of the European Second Language Association

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“…This indicates that the paradigm has been highly effective in studying various natural phenomena, but also that its tools and concepts have been shaped by each of these disciplines, thus leading to certain terminological inconsistencies. For example, in relation to dynamical systems, many different theoretical labels have been used, such as dynamical systems theory (Vallacher and Nowak, 1994 , 1997 ; Nicolescu and Petrescu, 2013 ), dynamical systems approach (Finkenstädt and Grenfell, 2000 ), DSP (Beer, 1995 ; Shenoy et al, 2013 ), non-linear dynamics (Stephen et al, 2009b ), complex dynamical systems (Richardson et al, 2014 ), etc. In the present paper, I use the DSP as a broad term that comprises dynamical systems theory (DST), which evolved to tackle simple systems that can be modeled with high accuracy using only few variables (e.g., mathematical pendulum; Robinson, 1995 ; Gros, 2008 ), and complex systems theory (CST), which provides more advanced tools to study phenomena of higher degrees of complexity (e.g., ecosystems, living cells, human cognition, and behavior, Prigogine and Stengers, 1984 ; Gilden et al, 1995 ; Ward, 2002 ; Gros, 2008 ).…”

Section: Fundamentals Of the Dynamical Systems Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral Priming 2.0: Enter a Dynamical Systems Perspective

Krpan

2017

Front. Psychol.

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On a daily basis, people are exposed to numerous stimuli, ranging from colors and smells to sounds and words, that could potentially activate different cognitive constructs and influence their actions. This type of influence on human behavior is referred to as priming. Roughly two decades ago, behavioral priming was hailed as one of the core forces that shape automatic behavior. However, failures to replicate some of the representative findings in this domain soon followed, which posed the following question: “How robust are behavioral priming effects, and to what extent are they actually important in shaping people's actions?” To shed a new light on this question, I revisit behavioral priming through the prism of a dynamical systems perspective (DSP). The DSP is a scientific paradigm that has been developed through a combined effort of many different academic disciplines, ranging from mathematics and physics to biology, economics, psychology, etc., and it deals with behavior of simple and complex systems over time. In the present paper, I use conceptual and methodological tools stemming from the DSP to propose circumstances under which behavioral priming effects are likely to occur. More precisely, I outline three possible types of the influence of priming on human behavior, to which I refer as emergence, readjustment, and attractor switch, and propose experimental designs to examine them. Finally, I discuss relevant implications for behavioral priming effects and their replications.

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“…But this affirmation is something else entirely! Paraphrasing (Nicolescu, & Petrescu, 2013), holistic education is the same with "integrative nature of education must be like an ecosystem where" each student learns to find out his place in the real word through the all his experiences of learning and thinking.…”

Section: In Place Of Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

About the Systems Theory in the Field of Education Sciences

Nicolescu¹,

Petrescu²

2017

The European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences

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The objective of this presentation is the analysis of various aspects related to the principles of holistic education from the perspective of dynamic systems theory. Starting from the definition and concepts of dynamic systems, an argument will be made that holistic education, defined in the formal sense in harmony with the real world, it can not be done without discussing the entirety of the system of education, seen from the view of a systems integrator. This problem exists from ancient times, and it is not believed that a solution will be found in current times, possibly never. This problem is largely correlated with the fundamental problem of philosophy. Besides, neither philosophy, nor science could not yet determine whether the Universe has the border,. Hence, it follows that the "whole" can not really be known. We can assume that an "object" is a whole only if we "see" this like to be isolated from its exterior. So, we are forced to apply the principle of reductionist. Otherwise, the "object" is a part of the whole which is made by the "object" and its outside.

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Dynamical Systems Theory – A Powerful Tool in the Educational Sciences

Cited by 6 publications

References 11 publications

Variation and variability in L2 learning trajectories: Learning the Finnish existential construction

Variation and variability in L2 learning trajectories: Learning the Finnish existential construction

Behavioral Priming 2.0: Enter a Dynamical Systems Perspective

About the Systems Theory in the Field of Education Sciences

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