By some estimates, over 1.2 billion tons of soil was blown across the Great Plains during the height of the Dust Bowl. The so-called "black blizzards" these massive dust storms caused suffocated cattle, sickened children, and destroyed thousands of family farms. Formerly prosperous farmers, unsure why they had such bad luck, wondered if…

A multitude of global challenges that society grapples with, including climate change, social injustices, and economic disparities, persist largely due to the shortcomings of effectively responding to complex systems. In this article, we consider adopting systems literacy as a comprehensive educational approach to navigate in complex systems. We…

This article describes the use of mapping strategies in an interdisciplinary course using "Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory" (Repko & Szostak, 2021). The use of interdisciplinary mapping took place in a 300-level undergraduate course and focused on maps presented in the textbook, including the system map (and systems…

This paper, the second in a series of three, explores the representation of Earth System Science (ESS) in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2018a)) through the Cross Curriculum Priority area of Sustainability and the Australian Curriculum: Science (F-12), with a focus on F-10. Part I (in Teaching Science, 68.1) overviewed the current…

Living in a Delta, amidst water, land and air, means living and engaging with complex concerns. To address these concerns the Rotterdam Arts and Sciences Lab (RASL) has developed an education- and research program for Higher Education in which the (alpha-, beta-, and gamma-) sciences and the arts are combined to engage with with all of the scales,…

This article addresses key issues in WAC/WID regarding translation and biliteracy. Informed by translingual scholarship, genre studies, and history of the English language research, it first defines translation politically and historically, and as always involving negotiations of meaning-making across linguistic repertoires and genres. It then…

Approaching elective courses and courses on special topics in Chemistry can seem daunting at times, given the varied backgrounds of the students, together with the broad nature of topics. Often, institutions may give incentives for creating sustainability related course offerings, but knowing where to start and how to organize the information…

This paper, presented in three parts, overviews the current understandings of the Earth System and the relatively recent interdisciplinary field of Earth System Science (ESS) from a school education perspective. The representation of ESS in the Australian Curriculum is explored through the Cross Curriculum Priority area of Sustainability and the…

Biological systems exhibit strong dynamic variations; for example, a system may have a tendency towards either a steady state, periodic behaviour or chaotic oscillations. These findings, explained by dynamic systems theory, have allowed researchers to formally relate a wide variety of systems, such as the theory of rumour propagation, glucose…

In Fall 2016, the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chartered the New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) initiative. NEET aims to educate young engineers to build the new machines and systems that will address societal needs of the 21st century. Students enter NEET in their sophomore year and join…

This paper discusses the instructional design experiences and processes shared by a multi-disciplinary group--including more than a dozen faculty, staff, and students--while developing a series of online courses on Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) for professional engineers, a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The team…

Agency has attracted considerable attention, especially of late. Nevertheless, perceptions of language learners as nonagentive persist. In this article the Douglas Fir Group's call for a transdisciplinary perspective is heeded in a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory's (CDST) conceptualization of agency. It is suggested that CDST maintains the…

The launching of The Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning is a signal achievement. I begin this commentary by speculating on why it is that the Psychology of Language Learning (PLL) has enjoyed such vigor of late. I expect that one reason is the coming together of a critical mass of researchers and strong leaders over their shared…

The automated water filtration design challenge integrates computer programming and basic electronics concepts through the SIMILAR systems engineering design process. The SIMILAR systems design process is to state the problem, investigate alternatives, model the system, integrate the system, launch the system, assess performance, and reevaluate…

Collaborations and partnerships across disciplines are becoming increasingly recognized as valuable endeavors toward solving emerging global challenges in our rapidly changing world. Thus, it is crucial to create STEM educational strategies that infuse diverse and interconnected perspectives among scientists, policymakers, and the general public.…