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

这个拟议的规划项目有两个总体目标：(a)对与处理复杂适应系统的新兴科学探究领域相关的认知和学习方面进行初步研究，(b)开发一个基于理论和研究的技术学习环境模型，以帮助学生学习在复杂适应系统研究中确定的智力观点，以及如何将这些观点应用于广泛的自然现象。对系统的研究，免疫系统的运作，经济，已经确定了许多不同的现象可以通过许多个体元素的相互作用来表征，这些个体元素在更高的系统水平上自我组织，反过来又表现出个体元素没有表现出的涌现和适应特性。复杂的自适应系统也可以从其环境中获取数据，发现数据中的规律，并将这些感知到的规律压缩成用于描述和预测其未来的方案。与恒星或星系等复杂的非适应性系统不同，复杂的适应性系统表现出进化过程，因为这些方案受到特定环境条件下的选择压力的影响，这些环境条件往往会随着时间的推移而改变方案。此外，复杂的自适应系统似乎在介于混乱和有序之间的条件下运行得最好，有时也被称为混乱的边缘。这个项目的一个中心假设是，为了让学习者从复杂适应系统的角度理解相关的科学现象，他们需要获得新的思维方式，这些方式关注于复杂整体的自组织、涌现和适应性特征，而不是将复杂性简化成简单、孤立的部分。这个项目的第二个和相关的假设是，这些新的思维方式可能是反直觉的，或者与普遍持有的信念相冲突，因此要求学生在能够理解与复杂适应系统相关的重要概念观点之前经历一个概念变化的过程。获取关于这些假设的基线数据将是重要的，以便为学生学习复杂性和复杂自适应系统时提供技术和非技术学习材料和活动的发展信息。该项目有四个组成部分：(a)回顾与复杂适应系统相关的科学、心理学和学习科学文献，以及与学习困难的、反直觉的科学知识相关的认知因素；(b)咨询涉及复杂适应系统领域的内容专家，以及在科学知识表征、误解和概念变化方面具有专长的认知心理学家和科学教育工作者；(c)利用现有的复杂适应系统模拟软件，对研究复杂适应系统问题的学生和教师进行探索性研究；(d)开发一个基于案例的综合超媒体、可视化和计算机建模学习环境的模型，处理复杂适应系统现象，如鸟类的群集行为和选定的生物进化案例。值得注意的是，本研究的结果将有助于深入了解专家和初学大学生对各种复杂适应系统现象的理解本质。此外，这个项目应该为未来的技术学习环境的发展做好准备，这些环境可以帮助学生深入学习与广泛的自然现象相关的这一新兴科学探究领域的重要思想。

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.