Complex Adaptive Systems and Learning---AAT Planning Grant Proposal

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9616389 Jacobson There are two overall goals of this proposed planning project: (a) conduct preliminary research into cognitive and learning aspects associated with emerging areas of scientific inquiry dealing with complexity adaptive systems, and (b) develop a mock-up of a theory-and research-based technological learning environment to help students learn the intellectual perspectives being identified in complex adaptive systems research and how these can be applied across a wide range of natural phenomena. Research into systems, the operation of the immune system, economic-has identified how many disparate phenomena can be characterized by the interactions of numerous individual elements that self-organize at a higher systems level, and in turn show emergent and adaptive properties not exhibited by the individual elements. There are also ways that a complex adaptive system takes in data from its environments, finds regularities in the data, and compresses these perceived regularities into schemes that are used to describe and predict its future. Unlike complex nonadaptive systems such as stars or galaxies, a complex adaptive system exhibits evolutionary processes in that these schemes are subjected to selection pressures in the context of specific environmental conditions that tend to change the schemes over time. Further, complex adaptive systems seem to function best under conditions that may be described as intermediate between chaos and order-sometime referred to as the edge of chaos. A central hypothesis of this project is that in order for learners to understand relevant scientific phenomena from the perspective of complex adaptive systems, they will need to acquire new ways of thinking, ways that focus on the self-organizing, emergent, and adaptive features of the complex whole rather than the reductive decomposition of complexity into simple, isolated parts. A second and related hypothesis of this project is that these new ways of thinking may be counter-intuitive or conflict wi th commonly held beliefs, and thus require students to undergo a process of conceptual change before they can understand important conceptual perspectives associated with complex adaptive systems. Obtaining base-line data concerning these hypotheses will be important in order to inform the development of technological and nontechnology learning materials and activities for students as they learn about complexity and complex adaptive systems. There are four components of the project: (a) review of the scientific, psychological, and learning science literatures on the content related to complex adaptive systems and the cognitive factors relevant to learning about difficult, counter-intuitive scientific knowledge, (b) consult with content experts in areas involving complex adaptive systems, and with cognitive psychologists and science educators with expertise in scientific knowledge representation, misconceptions, and conceptual change, (c) conduct exploratory studies of students and teachers working on problems involving complex adaptive systems and using existing complex adaptive systems simulation software, and (d) develop a mock-up of an integrated case-based hypermedia, visualization, and computer modeling learning environment dealing with complex adaptive systems phenomena such as the flocking behavior of birds and selected cases of biological evolution. It is heed that the results of this research will provide insights into the nature of the understandings experts and novice college and high school students have about various complex adaptive systems phenomena. In addition, this project should prepare for future work into the development of technological learning environments that can help students deeply learn centrally important ideas in this emerging area of scientific inquiry with relevance to a wide range of natural phenomena.