By considering the interconnectedness of various elements, such as curriculum, instruction, assessment, and school organization, systems thinking provides a framework to understand the underlying patterns, feedback loops, and leverage points that shape educational outcomes. Frick's (1993) systems view of restructuring education supports the notion…

This paper discusses engineering praxis ethos (EPE), a proposed framework for constructing a STEM learning environment embedding interrelated components of learner experience and design activity, which can support curriculum and instructional design and evaluation in STEM education. The authors propose that STEM is a meta-discipline that relies on…

Underutilized in higher education, soft systems thinking can mitigate common challenges in implementing instructional design and technology initiatives. A valuable approach is soft systems methodology (SSM), which captures multiple stakeholder perspectives in rich pictures and activity models to support structured conversations about how to…

This paper explores the role and history of systems theory and thinking in the fields of instructional/educational technology and design. The foundations of ID/ET as fields are rich in behavioral, systematic, and positivist notions of process, but we assert that it is weaker in the reflective, thoughtful, deep and meaningful orientations. Woven…

This brief explains how four important system design initiatives frequently promoted by state and local education agencies for school improvement can be implemented through an intentional systematic approach for a powerful, positive impact on student outcomes. As technical assistance providers with expertise in four specific frameworks for…

Change is a constant presence within today's higher education institutions. Local faculty professional development opportunities may provide avenues for enacting these organizational changes through personal continuous improvement. While working to meet these organizational priorities, it is also essential that professional development must…

A core element of systems thinking is perspective taking. Perspectives help people distinguish between salient and irrelevant information, take particular types of actions, and make sense of the world. In this article, we consider what systems thinking and perspective taking means for designers in education. First, we present a framework,…

The Soil Nutrient Relationships course serves juniors and seniors with a major or minor in agronomy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Pre-pandemic enrollment averaged 65 students. In 2021 and 2022, course enrollment was 42 and 55, respectively. The course was adjusted to a flipped design in 2017. Moving into 2021, the Soil Nutrient…

This study proposes a local theory called "Inside-Outside" to strengthen a deprived school microsystem. The theory aims to reduce the cycle of ignorance in schools with poor infrastructure facilities, large groups of students, located in high-crime areas, children from low-income families with low levels of schooling, and families unable…

This paper explores the implications for learning design in HRM education in the 21st century. An open systems perspective is used to argue the importance of establishing productive relationships between academia, professional associations, regulators and industry (resource inputs) to support the creation of optimal learning environments (the…

Students learn best when teachers get out of the way. Unfortunately, university classrooms continue to be intensely teacher-centric, are driven by the teacher's agenda and calendar, and embrace simple models rather than complex alternatives. These simple types of learning environments frustrate students' development of the risk-­taking and choice…

Not until the core concepts of biology are clearly defined and become the focus of instruction and assessment can we expect meaningful improvements in biological literacy and the removal of unnecessary barriers to student engagement.

This article reviews current scholarship about how to promote change in instructional practices used in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. The review is based on 191 conceptual and empirical journal articles published between 1995 and 2008. Four broad categories of change strategies were developed to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate four attractor states in schools through the perceptions of formal leaders that engaged in and reflected upon school reform regarding the Millennial generation. The term attractor was used as a metaphor for a habitual pattern, gleaned from complexity science which informs of new ways in which to…

Describes the difference between systemic and systematic as they relate to school reform and instructional design. Highlights include a history of systems theory; systems engineering; instructional systems design; systemic versus reductionist thinking; social systems; and systemic change in education, including power relationships. (LRW)