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EDU 6505 – Modeling Dynamic Systems

 

Modeling Dynamic Systems studies how humans develop their understanding of complex real-world events and processes, examines the use of computer models and simulations of dynamic systems as strategies for promoting such understanding, and explores applications of these models and simulations in teaching and learning environments.” – Dr. Robert Sigfried

 

Weekly assignments require students to read assigned chapters from the following textbook:

 

Senge, P. (2001). Schools that Learn. New York.

 

Additional Activity: Language and Conversation Map

 

Passage Index

Quotes and connections from assigned chapters in the textbook.*

*Student selected.

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Passage

Page(s)

Thoughts

Getting Started: Chapter II

A Primer to the Five Disciplines

 

 

Cultivating Individual Aspirations and Awareness

 

PM – “Personal mastery is a set of practices that support children and adults – in keeping their dreams whole while cultivating an awareness of the reality around them.”

59

This is acknowledged at Haverford through a system of personal goal setting, and self-evaluation.

PM – “Schools and other organizations have a key role…setting a context where people have time to reflect on their vision by establishing an organizational commitment to truth…avoiding taking a position about what people should want, or how they should view the world.”

60

Time is set aside, primarily during faculty meetings, in committees, and during in-service days for reflection.

 

Teachers who are serious about their profession use some of their summer vacation for reflection as well. Haverford provides a shared book each summer for teachers to read, and often invites the author to come and discuss the book with the faculty.

 

The school takes a position by default by publishing a mission statement.

 

PM – Personal Vision

62

Akin to the Decision Education Foundation (DEF) – Values

PM – “I want opportunities to experiment with new forms of teaching and learning where I felt comfortable with the administration.”

63

Private schools such as Haverford make it possible to realize this.

PM – The Process of Choice

“…returning to your notes… and actively choosing (elements of your vision) for which you are ready…”

65

Akin to DEFAlternatives & Commitment

 

MM – Mental Models

 

“Mental models limit people’s ability to change.”

67

Change often requires people to think outside the box (mental model).

MM – “People ask questions… because they are trying to learn more about their own and each other’s …attitudes and beliefs.”

68

Groups should not feel pressured to produce immediate answers.

 

MM – The Ladder of Inference

 

Observable data

Data selected

Meanings added

Assumptions made

Conclusions drawn

Beliefs adopted

68-71

Similar to DEFInformation – Except the process for this link is to collect the most accurate and useful information in the decision-making process.

 

The inference ladder feeds into “whisper down the lane” misinformation, and assumptions based on first impressions, which can be misleading and unfounded.

SV – Shared Vision

 

“The parent wants the childe to be successful…The teachers wants to create a terrific curriculum….the administration is concerned about state mandates…the child wants to learn what the child wants to learn.”

 

Margaret Wheatley – “…clear core values and vision…”

72

It is rare when all four groups – parents, teachers, administration, and students can agree on a shared vision.

 

The child is best served from a model expounded by pediatrician Mel Levine (p. 141) and his organization All Kinds of Minds.

 

My students really enjoy a project called Topic Experts, which allows for them to take control of their learning, while following specific format and guidelines approved by the school curriculum committee.

TL – Team Learning

 

 “As members of a community we need to meet in person when we talk about what we really care about.”

73

Care should be taken to not allow group meetings to be dominated by those who habitually complain and downplay the usefulness of group discussions on topics.

TL – Collective Thinking

 

“…alignment develops when students all feel involved in common learning…by seeing and respecting each other and establishing common mental models of reality”

 

“Dialogue encourages people to “suspend” their assumptions.”

73-76

WebQuest: Put Yourself in Their Shoes: The Children of Iraq – The 2005 exercise with 5th graders allowed for the group to establish common mental models of reality. Each student has an opportunity to take an individual position by writing an essay that includes essential elements of the DEF decision-making chain.

 

Suspending assumptions is often difficult, especially for children who a quick to adopt the beliefs of family and friends without considering all of the information, their core values, alternatives. It is only when common mental models of reality can be defined, that children can begin to form an independent opinion.

 

TL – Team Learning: When meeting groups may want to…

 

“Surfacing of assumptions…display of assumptions…inquiry: new dimensions of thinking…”

 

“Avoid agendas and elaborate presentations…inhibiting the flow of new ideas….”

 

“Avoid manipulative consensus building….”

 

Use a facilitator.

76

Team Learning may require a modest agenda, and an initial presentation for group members to allow their assumptions to surface, display the assumptions, and begin the process of inquiry.

 

Watch out for know-it-all types, and those who attempt to squelch team learning.

 

The Dean of Faculty may serve as a valuable facilitator for team learning activities with a group of teachers.

 

A teacher can serve as the facilitator in the classroom.

 

An outside facilitator should be used when team learning involves parents, teachers, administrators, and board members.

ST – Systems Thinking

 

Tools, methods and practices:

 

Feedback-related systems thinking:

 

“… simulations, stock and flow diagrams, causal loops, system archetypes, conversations about feedback.”

 

 

78-79*

*p. 89 – “…stock and flow diagrams do not spell out the unique qualities of a particular situation…”

 

Prefer DEF decision-making system:

 

Frame – the situation

Useful Information – collect facts

Alternatives – what choices are available

Values & consequences – what is important

Sound reasoning – does it make sense

Commitment – do whatever it takes to follow-through on the decision.

 

ST – Systems thinking

 

Events – circumstances or dilemma

Patterns and trends - history

Systemic structures – unrelated factors

Mental models – common thinking

 

82-83

DEF decision process:

 

Information gathering

Values

Reasoning: Does it make sense based on what the common thinking is?

ST – “…small changes become larger…exponential growth…”

 

Mahatma Gandhi’s protest.

84-85

Works when there are “…well-established channels of communication…”

 

 

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Passage

Page(s)

Project connections / comments

Classroom: Chapter III

 

 

“…the value of exercises that teach reflection and inquiry, of tools that foster systems understanding…explicitly focusing on aspirations and collaboration.”

 

“…methods that improve the quality of thinking and interacting can make everything else that goes on in the classroom more powerful.”

102

West Point Bridge

“…new conversational practices in the classroom…pull out new ideas from their reading and build on each others thoughts.”

103

Iraq WebQuest

“…students learn in multiple ways and their abilities are not fixed at birth.”

104

Mel Levine

http://www.allkindsofminds.org

 

“…classrooms are environments of continual openness…”

105

This can happen if the teacher likes children, and is not afraid of a little noise in the classroom.

On a typical day students will…

106

Engage in classroom conversation, compose written work, access Web pages for information, and read and compose e-mail.

What structures help students learn?

106

Regular computer studies classes based on classroom curriculum, and collaboration between the homeroom teacher and the technology coordinator.

How are assignments organized?

106

I organize all assignments and post them to my Web page.

Who makes decisions about student learning goals and performance expectations?

106

Grade-level classroom teachers, curriculum and technology coordinators meet with the division head to discuss learning goals and expectations.

What kinds of information do students get from learning experiences?

106

Students access information based on real-world problems.

 

“Students pursue problems that challenge and fascinate them”.

107

Mel Levine – All Kinds of Minds

Topic Experts

“…every inadequate answer is adequate in another context.”

107

This encourages students to participate in class discussion, as well as gets kids to see things from a different perspective.

“There is a reflective mindset among students and teachers.”

107

This can be difficult given the fast pace of school life, unless it is built into lessons or included as a regular part of community business.

 

Teachers who actively seek professional development opportunities are those who likely reflect on “the problem at hand.”

“Children come into intimate contact with some of the deepest ideas from science, mathematics, and from the art of intellectual model building” – Seymour Papert

107

Logo – Escher & Optical Illusions; West Point Bridge.

 

Decision-making skills (DEF) questions guide written essays and movie scripts: Iraq WebQuest; MLK essay; Jimmy Jammer Movie…

“…acknowledging one’s own … problems, risk taking, humor, collaboration, compassion, modeling, and moral purpose…

107

If the classroom is a place of continual openness, then these characteristics are essential.

Step 4: The top five.

108

Above (107).

Step 5: “What practices…capabilities…policies would have to be put in place…”

109

Evaluation / promotion system tied to professional development…

“…yes and, rather than yes but…

110

Not discounting the points of others, adds to the knowledge base and works as an “anti-fragment” in the classroom.

Personal Mastery (PM): “The epitome of personal mastery in the classroom is helping children to decipher their passions, to explore whether they believe these are possible, and to nurture their courage to delve into it…”

111

Mel Levine – Topic Experts

 

PM - …my guidelines were …legal, safe, and something they wanted to learn…”

112

Topic Experts

PM – Quiet reflection…visualization.

112

Reflection - DEF decision-making skills: Reasoning – Does this choice make sense?

 

Visualization – from script, to storyboard, to movie: Jimmy Jammer

PM - “…any time someone feels discounted, revenge will follow.”

114

“Think thrice before getting even with an adversary. It is better to try to find common ground…”

PM – “Not having the answers is one of the greatest ways to arrive at a true solution.”

115

Do not be afraid to say “I don’t know the answer, but let’s see if we can find it together.”

PM – “…teaching and learning lie at the dangerous intersection of personal and public life and that good teaching comes from the integrity and identity of the teacher, not methods and techniques.

115

Palmer, P. (1998). The Courage to Teach. *

 

*p. 63

 

“Intellect works in concert with feeling, so if I want to open my students’ minds, I must open their emotions as well.” – Truths about Teaching.

*PM – “This book raises a question about teaching that goes unasked in our national dialog…”

*4

Palmer, P. (1998). The Courage to Teach.

 

The deepest of questions: “Who is the self that teaches?” This requires teachers to have a reflective nature that is ongoing.

*PM – “The hallmark of the community of truth is in it’s claim that reality is a web of communal relationships, and we can know reality only by being in community with it.”

*95

Palmer, P. (1998). The Courage to Teach.

 

To establish a “community of truth,” teachers must establish an open dialogue with their students.

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Passage

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Seeing the Learner: Chapter IV

 

 

With “…the growing awareness of multiple intelligences…no one can claim (with validity) that…(test) scores reflect any more than a fragment of actual capabilities and potential.”

117

Leslie Owens Wilson. The Learning Theory Index – University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point:

 

http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/learning/index.htm

 

Care should be taken to “…value the learner and treat them with dignity.”

 

“This child has dignity built right in. Our job is to acknowledge it, and work with it.”

 

118-120

Every student has the potential to make a meaningful contribution to a class or community beginning with what their strengths and interests are.

“In daily practice…greet children in the hallway..”

 

“…set up activities where kids can talk about their hobbies and family backgrounds in a way that they won’t be judged or picked on.”

122

Make eye contact, model kind and courteous behavior by holding doors, saying “good morning,” and “thank you.”

 

Topic Experts

 

Immigration Quest

“The question is not if you are smart, but how you are smart.”

125

Howard Gardner: Frames of the Mind: The Theory of  Multiple Intelligences.

 

“Step 3: Imagining the Intelligent…”

 

“Step 4: Individual Reflection…”

126-127

Useful not only for students in the classroom, but also for teachers – perhaps as an in-service activity.

“For kids diagnosed with A.D.D. or other behavior problems, the real issue may be that nobody is reaching them the way that their mind works.”

128

Historical references on the concept of learning disabilities:

 

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/cise/ose/information/uvald/Iddef.html

 

“…a very teacher-directed learning environment, increasingly out of sync with children’s varied backgrounds.”

 

“…units of instruction…incorporate each of the eight learning styles so that all of the children…function at least part of the time in their comfort zone….children would (also) work in an unfamiliar learning style that would force them to stretch.

131

A teacher-directed learning environment is evident when the classroom is set up with individual desks in columns and rows.

 

Teachers should revisit each unit of instruction, and attempt to incorporate activities and options for students to access and immerse themselves through one or more of the eight intelligences (125):

 

Word smart

Logic smart

Picture smart

Body smart

Music smart

Nature smart

People smart

Self smart

Open Circle is a discussion tool that helps children empathy toward and respect for others.”

133

The Open Circle Elementary School Curriculum

Wellesley College: http://www.wellesley.edu/OpenCircle/home.html

 

I have discovered that setting up computer labs with tables and workstations on the perimeter of the room allows for “open circle” dialogue and discussion on a regular basis.

“…the choices we make should add to our shared vision of the school.”

134

Top-down exclusive decisions from administrators alienate students, teachers, and parents, and are generally not long lasting.

 

Good schools involve the entire community when making new policies.

 

Overcoming Absurdity:

 

“Students without a purpose for their studies are lifeless learners.”

 

“Absurd times in school that taught us to turn off our talents.”

 

“Unable to find connections in school, (students) look outside for it in ways that may not be appropriate, safe, or in their long-term best interests.”

 

“Schools need to provide an environment that gives students a belief in their own inherent value.”

138-139

Projects that allow students to express their own opinions, and take ownership:

 

Iraq WebQuest – Position essay.

 

Service learning opportunities:

 

Hunger essay – Who is hungry, why are people hungry, what can we do to solve the problem – new ideas.

 

MLK essay

 

Topic Experts

“…students generally do not experience learning environments that respect diversity and build on what they bring to the classroom.”

140

Immigration Quest

Describe aesthetic learning moments:

140

  1. Open Circle – Allowing students to share personal anecdotes.
  2. U.S. Immigration: Our cultural diversity is what makes us great.
  3. No “wrong” answer is a “bad” answer.

Describe absurd learning moments:

140

  1. Learning grammar in isolation.
  2. No talking allowed.
  3. Substitutes with no clear lesson plan to follow.
  4. “Canned” movies or computer games that do not have extensions or follow-up activities.

How students approach their lessons with me:

141

Students know to check my Web page, and their e-mail to re-read for assignment directions. Students feel comfortable to ask questions, however this comfort zone sometimes results in students overlooking the obvious.

What are the signs that students have lost their connection to what is going on in class.

141

Extended periods of quiet; students asking for permission to leave the classroom…

 

How can teachers help students connect to real learning?

141

Teachers should observe students in a number of different activities: art; music; gym; and recess. Teachers should eat lunch with students, and discover what students are interested in.

 

For projects that may be difficult for some students, try partnering them with a student with a different learning style, and look for ways that both students can make a meaningful contribution.

Mel Levine

141-142

“…favors informed observation and description over labeling….the strength of your strength, not the weakness of your weaknesses…”

 

http://www.allkindsofminds.org

 

“…each child has strengths and weaknesses; each has something to learn from another.”

“Many kids can’t read social situations, but negative messages from teachers come through loud and clear, and linger for years, much more vividly than the lesson being taught.

 

Positive messages linger too.

143-144

Teachers need to look for things that kids do well, celebrate it, and then set positive goals that are not put downs, but allow for students to stretch.

The Learning Research and Development Center at The University of Pittsburgh

 

The Institute for Research in Learning

 

MMAP computer simulations for elementary and middle school students.

 

“…learning is fundamentally social…failure to learn is a result of exclusion from participation.

145-146

LRDC

http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu

 

IRL

http://www.irl.org

 

Kids feel excluded when projects do not provide opportunities for them to use their “intelligence.”

 

Emotional Intelligence:

 

“…when students come back from being suspended, we go that extra step and discuss with them the reason for their emotional state- to make the suspension a learning opportunity. I also use emotional intelligence as an opening point on our programs on parenting skills.”

147

Making good decisions – the ability to “Stop-Think-Decide” is an important component. People who have developed strong emotional intelligence do not make impulsive decisions based on their emotional state.

“Drills and rote memorization had become popular forms of teaching after the Soviet Union had beat the United States into space with Sputnik…the teach and test, rote-learning model was the only way they knew to bring so many students along so far – no matter how much alienation and resistance it created.

149

Nearly fifty years later, teachers (and parents) should be equipped to differentiate their instruction.

“…a student turned to his friend on the way out the door and said – “You know what I like about this classroom? It’s a mess.”

150

I like to leave the classroom the way that we left it the day before, only dusting and recycling items that are clearly ready for the bin.

“The strength of my teaching came from knowing each student as a unique learner who needed unique direction.”

152

To know the students, you have to “be in community” with them. Allow for classroom dialogue, make un-announced observations and take notes, have individual meetings and discussions with children and their parents.

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Practices:

Chapter V – A five disciplines developmental journey.

 

 

“…children remain trapped…memorizing isolated facts and events without connecting them together.”

154

Reminds me of a class where students are forced to learn isolated grammar rules, but they have difficulty writing complete sentences or coherent paragraphs.

Background: Children’s Capabilities: “Children have the ability to step back and find many ways to deal with the challenges before them…exploring new directions, both individually, and in teams…”

154

Higher-order thinking skills

Birth to Age 4

 

Analogous thinking – Making comparisons

Sequential thinking – Following patterns…

 

Mental models & shared vision:

 

“Teachers make sure that children understand why rules exist, instead of sending a list and enforcing it…

 

155-156

Experiential learning

 

Consensus of what is true

K-2 -Teacher as mediator:

 

“Look at the facial expression on this character. What is she thinking? What is going on in this picture? What do the words tell you about this picture.

 

Analogous, sequential, and personal/social.

157

Ability to use references (books and other publications) to make inferences.

“By arranging topics in a visual pattern, kids can see interrelationships more easily; they learn how to keep track of causes and effects and the ways in which different ideas “fit” with one another.”

158

Critical component to Web page design.

 

Also see: ADA compliance.

 

Verbal reasoning: “The difference between a fourth grader and a sixth grader has less to do with vocabulary and sentence structure and more to do with complexity of the plot line.”

158

Intermediate students are able to comprehend, discuss, and write about more complex ideas.

Self-awareness: “…by third grade, students begin to accept the people have views that are different from their own.”

159

At which point teachers should begin to encourage a discussion about the strength of diversity.

“Fifth graders and older can accept simple versions of the ladder of inference…

 

“…asking fighters to write down a description of what happened, but every sentence must begin with the word “I.”

160-161

Mental models to use for conflict resolution.

Personal mastery: Giving children opportunities to choose, and stretch.

 

Be sure to have students reflect:

 

Vision – What did you hope would happen?

Current reality – What actually happened?

Priorities – How might you have done it differently?

161

West Point Bridge Report

 

Topic Experts

“Team learning…depends on a fairly high degree of cognitive, emotional/linguistic sensitivity, and self-awareness.”

161-162

Grades 3-5 & up.

“Open-ended group projects require students to consider why they are doing this assignment?”

162

I almost always ask this question for each assignment that we work on in class.

Systems thinking: “This is a loop…The systems language allows them to trigger their newfound reasoning skills…”

163

DEF skills:

 

>Frame>Information>Alternatives>

Values>Reasoning>Commitment>

Middle School through High School:

“…they are ready…to think and talk explicitly about their own (and others) assumptions, values, hopes and dreams.”

163

Opportunities for teachers to reach a consensus on goals for learning in the classroom.

 

Mental models: “…questions of ethics and values…they instinctively know the need to hold up attitudes for scrutiny and change…”

 

(p. 165) Table: Row 6: Building Shared Vision

 

“…students learn planning, listening, and convening skills that will serve them all of their lives.”

164-166

This provides a baseline, or foundation from which the class can move forward.

“What is the point of education?...helping young people learn how to create the lives they truly want to create.”

167

Acknowledged.

Structural tension: “…between the desired state and the current reality in relationship to those goals.”

 

“All disciplines are un-natural…It takes discipline for the skier to lean down, but that is what the skier must do.”

168

Bucking the system.

“…adults inadvertently censor young people not only from try to create what might matter to them, but from even thinking or trying…young people don’t have the chance to toughen up…develop character…or learn skills needed to accomplish anything difficult.”

170

Keep the textbook as a reference, and work together to design desired learning expectations.

“Kids lie for many reasons…if we lie to young people they will learn to distort reality.”

 

Learning requires the ability to evaluate our actions: Did they work? Did they not work?...To develop this skill, young people need to be able to tolerate disappointment and frustration, but not let that stop them.”

171

Somehow kids learn that if they are caught being wrong, that something horrible has happened.

 

Debugging in Logo is a great exercise for kids to get over frustration and disappointment.

Self-esteem trap: “If we read the biographies of some of the most successful people in history, we find the majority of them had grave doubts about themselves…”

171

What is the difference between low self-esteem and depression?

 

Do we agree that depression can get in the way of success?

 

Generative love: “What can the individual love enough to bring into being, even though that will usually mean going well beyond his or her current abilities?  When that question is answered, un-involvement, indifference, and rebellion become commitment, caring, and collaboration.”

173

Based on a shared vision of reality.

Actions produce results that are evaluated…Actions are choices…fundamental choice is a choice about our basic values…”

 

Primary choice – goals, aspirations, and ambitions.

Secondary choice – Needed to support primary choices

 

173

True, but not deep enough…I refer to the Decision Education Foundation (DEF).

Shared Vision – “What would you like this classroom to be like…?...How would you like to be treated…?

175-179

Students must demonstrate a level of intellectual maturity for this idea to go forward.

 

Teachers must use their best judgment as to how and when to administer these kinds of questions.

Homework: The Beast – “Increase the quality, not the quantity.”

183

Acknowledged.

Assessment as Learning: “Design assessments to make individuals aware of three types of knowledge:

 

Formal knowledge: Facts

Applicable knowledge: Transfer knowledge into action

Longitudinal knowledge: Acting effectively over time…

 

“We need assessments designed for learning, not assessments that are used for blaming, ranking, or certifying.”

 

“The importance of timeliness is especially significant….the closer the students are to the learning, the more meaningful the feedback.”

186-189

Required tools:

 

Scaffolding such as word and fact banks.

 

Assignments such as position papers or essays which allow for individual thought.

 

Reflection or follow-up activities.

 

Use e-mail to monitor progress and provide feedback.

Reflection: “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly the first time.”

190

Acknowledged.

 

“The best way to gather evidence of student growth is to engage in kid watching….If you really want to know about a child…keep records of spontaneous acts, collecting anecdotes and examples of his or her written or visual expression.”

197

Use a clipboard to take notes, and/or videotape a class.

 

Seek a peer evaluator to take notes.

Intellectual Behaviors: A list of 14 behaviors worth noting.

 

“Teachers have incorporated these behaviors into reports and parent conferences.”

197-208

Outstanding list worth sharing!

Paulo Freire“Their silence contributed to their own powerless position in society...reinforcing loops of ignorance…”

209

Dialogue is essential to growth.

 

http://www.paulofreire.org

 

“…in order to create a better and sustainable future for our children, schools and communities, bringing mental models about knowledge and learning to the surface in the interest of democracy, equality, and social justice is the first step.”

211

See Bono’s speech to the National Prayer Breakfast.

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Productive Conversation:

Chapter VI

 

 

Check-In

 

“…if students enjoy the opportunity to speak upon arrival in a classroom, they may become more present.”

 

“The process of check-in…is powerful when forging relationships and creating an atmosphere of openness and deep listening.”

215

Acknowledged.

“I often marveled at how you not only allowed us to get off task, but actually encouraged conversations seemingly irrelevant to that day’s topic. However, over time I came to recognize the importance of his strategy, because it was through these conversations that the material became rich and relevant to each of us.”

217

PM. Requires confidence.

 

The teacher must confidently serve as a guide in classroom conversation by asking questions which require students to reflect and think critically about the topic.

Cue Lines

 

“…you might be right, but I’d like to understand more. What leads you to believe…

 

“How do you see your position as the best way to resolve your concerns?”

218

Good for when students are adamant about their position, when others disagree.

Protocols for when you’re at an Impasse

 

“Ask for the group’s help in redesigning the situation.”

221

Requires time, and a willingness to go off-course.

Reframing the Parent-Teacher Conference

 

conferencing…conferring….Both words stem from the Latin conferre, meaning to “bring together”, to “consult together”, to “compare.”

 

If parents jump up the “ladder of inference”- making a broad generalization about the child, or school – the educator can say: “Let’s talk about that; tell me what you have seen because I want to record this accurately…”

223-226

Team approach.

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Systems Thinking

Chapter VII

 

 

“In more successful schools, system dynamics is combined with a project oriented approach, where teachers are no longer necessarily seen as lecturers in control of the flow of wisdom….teachers become advisors and coaches to students who are creating projects that may lie beyond a teachers experience.”

233

Topic Experts

“..urban development…they put their own assumptions up for critique and learn to improve them…they search for a wider range of alternatives than the first “intuitively obvious” answer.”

234-235

Hunger and the Can DriveHunger Essay

 

“An innovative personality knows that mistakes are stepping-stones to better understanding.”

 

“Schools should move away from canned models.

237

Acknowledged.

Systems thinking is the ability to understand (and sometimes to predict) interactions and relationships in complex, dynamic systems: the kinds of systems we are surrounded by and embedded in.”

 

Ex: population, land use, climate, traffic patterns…

239

Temperature and Latitude

Behavior over time graphs

241 - 242

Immigration Statistics

 

Character graphs – Come Morning: Free’s level of understanding and control by chapter.

Stock and flow diagrams….”a fundamental shift in thinking for students and teacher alike in terms of inflows and outflows.”

 

If you draw a well-designed stock and flow diagram you are half-way toward building a computer model.”

244-245

From the Articles of Confederation to The Constitution.

“…it’s important to ask students to predict how the graph of the mammoth population will change as they change probability numbers. See the Creative Learning Exchange>>>

246

 

http://www.clexchange.org

Passage Index  2

“Not every teacher will move to building models as part of the curriculum. It takes time to be comfortable with software and computer resources…

247

Acknowledged. We are using the ISTE standard for Teachers, specifically standard #17 for collaboration in the computer lab setting. This approach continues to give teachers learning and growth opportunities for implementing models in their curriculum.

Lessons for a first class in System Dynamics

253

http://www.summercreek.com

 

The Children’s Machine

Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer.

 

“The point is not the computer; it’s the human identity that very thoughtful use of the computers can reclaim.”

261

Seymour Papert - http://www.papert.org/

 

 

For use in the Comprehensive Essay on Kelly’s Education

“…causal loops are like training wheels…they can lead to as many misunderstandings as they lead to understandings…

 

…teachers prefer stock and flow models because they engage children in thinking about critical distinctions that causal diagrams ignore…

 

…system maps and models should be judged not on their validity, but on their usability, insight, and relevance.”

264

A nice overview of three models.

“Use your system as the first word, not the final word.”

 

“Use the model as a starting point for testing and experimentation.”

264-265

Acknowledged. World Capital Survey

Systems thinking in children’s stories.

266-267

Acknowledged. Who Cries for Wolf?

 

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