This article presents findings from a massive, free-of-charge online extension course titled Systems Thinking, which was conducted in Brazil in May and June 2024. The course engaged 345 participants. The research aimed to analyse how students' backgrounds, learning methods, and use of AI tools influenced learning outcomes. A mixed-method approach…

For a sustainable future, equipping sustainability change agents with relevant sustainability competencies is crucial. Among these competencies is system thinking competence -- the understanding of complex interrelationships among the dimensions of sustainable development and the impacts of the interrelationships. Learning approaches relevant to…

Sociocognitive (Atkinson, 2011) and complex dynamic systems approaches (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008) highlight the inextricable connectedness of social and cognitive phenomena in second language (L2) learning. Previous research found numerous ties between L2 learning and both learners' sociocultural background as well as their affective…

This study, adopting a longitudinal approach, traces the dynamic word knowledge development of two essential dimensions (meaning and collocation) both receptively and productively in Chinese context. Seven freshmen students (from the same class in a university in Guangzhou) of different language levels were selected to be observed of their English…

L2 classroom is a place and process that undergoes an array of incessant and concurrent changes affecting its main agents, i.e. the teacher and students in a non-linear and unpredictable manner. Various aspects of their cognitive and affective potential fluctuate and intensify or weaken depending on what is going on in a particular L2…

This paper addresses some methodological issues concerning traditional linear approaches and shows the need for a paradigm shift in education research towards the Complexity and Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (NDS) framework. It presents a quantitative piece of research aiming to test the nonlinear dynamical hypothesis in education. It applies…

Systemising is the drive to analyse or construct systems, and can be assessed by a systemising quotient (SQ). Empathising is the drive to identify mental states and respond with an appropriate emotion, and can be assessed by an empathising quotient (EQ). Previous evidence suggests that: (1) males are more drawn to systemise than females, and…

It is often questioned as to why fewer women enter science. This study assesses whether a cognitive style characterized by systemizing being at a higher level than empathizing (S greater than E) is better than sex in predicating entry into the physical sciences compared to humanities. 415 students in both types of discipline (203 males, 212…

Seeking to determine the training methods that can most effectively develop highly proficient performance, this report describes the molecular analytic techniques currently used in the Air Force (the instructional systems (ISD) approach based on breaking a complex task into discrete steps) and presents the limitations of these techniques for…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on adult learning issues and human resource development (HRD). "Creating a Systemic Framework for the Transfer of Learning from an Action Learning Experience" (Suzanne D. Butterfield, Kitty Gold, Verna J. Willis) discusses a study of the organizational elements that affect learning and…

This document is intended to assist practitioners involved in the delivery of Part One General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs), which are GNVQs designed for students in the United Kingdom who are at Key Stage 4 and the post-16 level. Section 1 examines the following topics of interest to centers that are contemplating introducing Part…