Effects of Teacher Training in Systems Thinking on Biology Students—An Intervention Study

Abstract

Systems thinking provides many advantages in solving complex scientific, economic and sociocultural problems in the field of education for sustainable development. Various studies have shown that systems thinking can be promoted in students at all levels of school education. Previous studies have mainly focused on how to directly develop and support systems thinking in students. The present study focused on biology teachers by investigating the extent that their content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) augments systems thinking in students attending biology classes. On the basis of the finding that content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) are an essential aspect of any type of training, we investigated in a teacher training program the effects of varying amounts of CK and PCK to the ability of biology teachers to foster systems thinking in students. Therefore, a quasi-experimental intervention study was implemented in a pre- and posttest control group design. The results revealed that biology teacher training can sufficiently improve systems thinking in biology students and that PCK plays an at least equally important role as CK in promoting systems thinking.

How Can Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Be Effectively Implemented in Teaching and Learning? An Analysis of Educational Science Recommendations of Methods and Procedures to Promote ESD Goals

“…The overwhelming majority of authors suggested only methods and procedures that are compatible with the constructivist learning paradigm for promoting comprehensive ESD goals [31]. In this view, self-regulated and self-directed learning of applicable knowledge and problem-solving skills are assigned a central role [32].…”

Students’ systems thinking while modeling a dynamic ecological system

“…However, very different aspects of modeling have been emphasized in the systems thinking literature: Various frameworks explicitly include modeling as a systems thinking skill, which, however, can describe different skills. For example, modeling can involve inferring statements about future system states but also understanding and/or creating system models (e.g., Sommer and Lücken, 2010;Mehren et al, 2018;Gilissen et al, 2020;Mambrey et al, 2020;Streiling et al, 2021). From a different perspective, models are viewed as representations of complex systems (Streiling et al, 2021;Kiesewetter and Schmiemann, 2022;Mambrey et al, 2022b).…”

“…For example, modeling can involve inferring statements about future system states but also understanding and/or creating system models (e.g., Sommer and Lücken, 2010;Mehren et al, 2018;Gilissen et al, 2020;Mambrey et al, 2020;Streiling et al, 2021). From a different perspective, models are viewed as representations of complex systems (Streiling et al, 2021;Kiesewetter and Schmiemann, 2022;Mambrey et al, 2022b). In addition, they are the starting point for developing predictions (Gilissen et al, 2020).…”

Board 234: ChangeMaker K12: A Platform To Support Teacher Candidates in Systems Thinking, Engineering Education, and Change

“…TCs were questioned regarding their use of project materials and curricula, their involvement in the Design and Innovation camps, their participation in the Becoming Changemaker coursework, their perceptions of the project's successes and challenges, and their perceptions of their own and their potential students' outcomes. [12] and consists of 11 items which prompted participants to rate their confidence in their teaching skills based on a series of statements on a Likert scale from 1(strongly disagree) to 5(strongly agree). One item on each scale was reverse coded.…”

“…Research suggests that using a systems perspective in teacher preparation can facilitate the formation of a teacher identity and improve TC capacity for developing solutions to problems that arise in the context of their own practice [4]. Other studies demonstrate effective strategies for enhancing TCs' capacity for systems thinking in environmental science [5], engineering education [6], and biology [7].…”