Making Sense of Complex Phenomena through Building Object- based Parallel Models

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9632612 Wilensky The content area of the project is learning about "complexity". Complexity is the study of systems in which phenomena exhibit complex behavior , the growth of a snowflake crystal, theperimeter pattern of a maple leaf, the dynamics of the Dow Jones or of a fourth grade classroom. These are all systems which can be modeled as composed of many distributed but interacting parts. They all exhibit non-linear or emergent qualities which place them beyond the scope of current K-12 mathematics curricula. The project goal is to make complexity accessible to students through the use of object-based parallel modeling languages (OBPML). Students build models of complex mathematical and scientific phenomena from "scratch" as well as exending models they are given from a library of "extensible models". Through these activities, the researchers seek: * To understand how learners make sense of complex phenomena when engaged in building object-based parallel models * To design computational tools and activities that foster learner's in a) building models of complex phenomena and b) building intuitive conceptions of complexity * To investigate the ways in which learners engaged in this kind of modeling change their beliefs about and attitudes towards the mathematical and scientific enterprises * To investigate patterns in the kinds of symbolization developed by learners engaged in object-based parallel modeling. OBPMLs afford a probabilistic and statistical approach to modeling. One outcome of the project is a strengthened and broadened role for probability and statistics in the mathematics and science curricula, combining it with computational techniques such as Monte Carlo simulations - thus developing a new subject area perhaps better called stochastics. In this respect and others, we expect to develop new mathematical content areas - content areas which live in an object-based parallel medium. ***