The interplay of context and concepts in primary school children's systems thinkingT

Hipkins, Rosemary; Bull, Ally; Joyce, Chris

doi:10.1080/00219266.2008.9656114

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Literature indicates that appropriate learning experiences can help students understand systems interactions (Assaraf & Orion, 2005;Hipkins, Bull & Joyce, 2008). Findings on students' systems thinking indicate that some students may have improved their ability to recognize interrelationships, while others showed no improvement (Section 7.5).…”

Section: Recognizing and Appreciating Ecological Possibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Lebo¹,

Eames²,

Coll³

et al. 2013

Aust. J. environ. educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental, economic, and social trends suggest the need for more sustainable ways of thinking and patterns of behaviour. Such a shift would require humanity to function at high levels of ecological literacy, which relies on a certain amount of scientific literacy. However, troubling evidence indicates an international pattern of student disengagement with science at the secondary level. Evidence also suggests that it is difficult to integrate environmental or sustainability education at this level, both within New Zealand and elsewhere. This research was aimed at examining the use of a novel approach, using permaculture, in junior secondary science (Years 9 and 10) to enhance students’ ecological and scientific literacy, as well as their attitudes toward studying science in school.Permaculture is an ecological design system based on science and ethics. A permaculture approach to science education involves eco-design thinking, as well as the use of local permaculture properties and practitioners, and the science behind common permaculture practices. The approach is also meant to be relevant and engaging, and to promote systems thinking. This study involved the design and delivery of an intervention based on permaculture principles to one Year 10 science class in New Zealand.Research took the form of a naturalistic, interpretive, mixed methods case study, which included the use of questionnaires, interviews, and observations. Data collection focused on the impacts of a permaculture approach on the teaching and learning of science, on students’ ecological literacy, and on students’ attitudes toward learning science in school. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires probed students’ opinions on the environment, science, and learning science in school, and tested their sustainable thinking and systems thinking with concept mapping and SOLO Taxonomy exercises. Classroom observations took place over the course of 12 weeks, on average 3 days per week, totalling 31 days. Before and after some classroom visits, I had informal conversations with the teacher, along with three formal interviews before, during and after the intervention. Three focus groups of students were interviewed immediately following the intervention.Findings show that a permaculture approach to junior secondary science can impact positively on students’ understanding of science and sustainability, and may impact on their attitudes toward studying science in school. It also appeared to impact positively on the science teacher'sattitude toward including sustainability in his teaching practice, and on his own sustainability learning. Regarding both students and teachers, a permaculture approach appears to have been effective to cultivate attitudes and trellis learning.The teacher and the students responded favourably to many aspects of the intervention, including the overall focus on the environment, the field trips, and some classroom learning activities. The teacher reported appreciating the way the intervention contextualised science with real world examples. Most students reported appreciating the experiential aspects of the intervention, as well as the relevance that a permaculture approach to science education provided. Findings indicate that advances in ecological and scientific literacy varied among students. Some students appeared to: improve their use of science and sustainability vocabulary; become more aware of select socio-scientific issues; better recognise scientific and ecological limits and possibilities. Some students also showed advances in sustainable thinking and systems thinking. Although many students expressed concern about issues such as pollution, wildlife, and genetic engineering — and prioritised protecting the environment over making money — there appeared to be a disconnect between these feelings and a sense of personal responsibility to act. Most students reported enjoying learning science with a focus on the environment, with one cohort indicating much greater enjoyment of the permaculture approach than their usual level of enjoyment of learning science in school.Trends in environmental degradation, population growth, energy inflation, and economic stagnation — especially pronounced since the beginning of this inquiry in 2008 — indicate that the world of the future will require ecologically literate citizens who can design and create truly sustainable systems for all human endeavors. Cultivating such citizens, and trellising their science and sustainability learning has implications for science education. This thesis identifies an innovative approach for junior secondary science in New Zealand that provides a way towards a more sustainable future.

show abstract

Section: Recognizing and Appreciating Ecological Possibilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Lebo¹,

Eames²,

Coll³

et al. 2013

Aust. J. environ. educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The notion that systems thinking is a fundamental skill required for effective decision‐making in an increasingly complex world has been advanced by scholars from fields as diverse as environmental education (Hipkins et al, ; Hung, ; Ben‐Zvi‐Assaraf and Orion, ), organizational management (Senge, ), operations research (Maani and Maharaj, ; Blake and Henning, ; Checkland, ), health care (Colbert et al, ; Phillips and Stalter, ), and sustainability science (Kunsch et al, ; Fazey, ; Chai and Yeo, ). In spite of this agreement on its importance, a clear consensus on the definition and scope of what is included in systems thinking has been slow to emerge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Animated Visual Representation of Real‐Time Resource Flows Through a Community Enhances Systems Thinking

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We report on two studies designed to test the effect of visual feedback technology on several dimensions of systems thinking. Participants were exposed to ‘Citywide Dashboard’ (CWD), a visual depiction of a city designed for display on digital signage. CWD is dynamically animated based on real‐time water and electricity flow data and environmental conditions. In study 1, college students were exposed to CWD (or a control) for 6 days. Exposure enhanced perceptions of ecological embeddedness, connectedness to nature, and perceptions of responsibility and impact (causal extent) among those who were initially low in connectedness to nature. Study 2, conducted on a US adult sample, revealed that even brief exposure to the CWD expands perceptions of causal extent. Findings indicate that certain core aspects of systems thinking are malleable and can be enhanced through brief exposure to visual manipulations with technology designed to prime cognitive orientation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

“…Recent research suggests that systems thinking can, in fact, be explicitly taught in a classroom setting [ 6 , 10 , 11 ]. A general conclusion from prior studies is that students do not automatically or naturally integrate information–they must be explicitly taught to understand the nature and importance of relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching systems thinking to 4th and 5th graders using Environmental Dashboard display technology

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tackling complex environmental challenges requires the capacity to understand how relationships and interactions between parts result in dynamic behavior of whole systems. There has been convincing research that these “systems thinking” skills can be learned. However, there is little research on methods for teaching these skills to children or assessing their impact. The Environmental Dashboard is a technology that uses “sociotechnical” feedback–information feedback designed to affect thought and behavior. Environmental Dashboard (ED) combines real-time information on community resource use with images and words that reflect pro-environmental actions of community members. Prior research indicates that ED supports the development of systems thinking in adults. To assess its impact on children, the technology was installed in a primary school and children were passively exposed to ED displays. This resulted in no measurable impact on systems thinking skills. The next stage of this research examined the impact of actively integrating ED into lessons on electricity in 4th and 5th grade. This active integration enhanced both content-related systems thinking skills and content retention.

show abstract

The interplay of context and concepts in primary school children's systems thinkingT

Cited by 9 publications

References 4 publications

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

An Animated Visual Representation of Real‐Time Resource Flows Through a Community Enhances Systems Thinking

Teaching systems thinking to 4th and 5th graders using Environmental Dashboard display technology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About