Social connections are crucial for today's middle and high school students. We address this social need through a 3-H Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Cycle. Through the Three Sisters Garden activity presented here, we teach secondary school students about biodiversity and sustainability as we integrate the arts into STEM (STEAM). Students…

We report here a teacher action research project in which a Systems Thinking approach was implemented into a 15 h Depth Study for students in their final year of secondary chemistry. Students were introduced to the concept of Systems Thinking and the use of systems maps, along with the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development…

The innovative volume seeks to broaden the scope of research on mathematical problem solving in different educational environments. It brings together contributions not only from leading researchers, but also highlights collaborations with younger researchers to broadly explore mathematical problem-solving across many fields: mathematics…

With the introduction of "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"), teachers have been called to find meaningful and engaging ways to teach science content while incorporating engineering practices and, to a lesser extent, computing and computational thinking. The task becomes even more complex when they also have to…

Many students lack problem-solving skills. As teenagers, they tend to blame external forces or other people when something goes wrong, instead of trying to understand the root cause to prevent it from happening again. This article discusses the Lean Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, which the Board of Cooperative Educational Services in…

Learning to see reality at multiple levels provides instructional leaders with several advantages (e.g., being adaptive and solving problems before they occur, being creative by choosing a different future, and being generative by bringing forth something new). Four distinct levels of reality in systems thinking are: events encountered on a daily…

This article demonstrates how the system archetype "drifting goals" can be used in the classroom to explore ethical dilemmas. System archetypes provide a framework that shifts the focus from seeing ethical dilemmas as stemming solely from the acts of individuals to exploring the systemic structures that are responsible for generic patterns of…

Discusses conceptual models of thought that have recently emerged to confront the conventional approaches to analysis and solution to complex environmental problems. In addition to a critical attack on the tradition of specialization and reductionism, several models are summarized that originated from ecology, cybernetics, and system theory. (BC)

This simulation helps students in grades four to eight see their planet as one environment with limited resources shared by all. Students learn that the earth is a large system comprised of small systems, that systems are interdependent and often have irreplaceable parts, and that resources are not equally divided among countries. (RM)

One of the difficulties encountered by novice problem solvers in introductory physics is in the area of problem solving. It has been shown in other studies that poor problem solvers are affected by the surface aspects of the problem in contrast with more efficient problem solvers who are capable of constructing a mental model of the physical…

This guide is intended for use in teaching a course in human and product transportation systems. The purpose of the course is twofold. First, students are introduced to the design process and the steps used to analyze various solutions to basic problems. Second, the course focuses on the application of the design and evaluation process to review a…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in an adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course, focuses on support systems for injured workers. The following items are included: module overview; list of basic, thinking, interpersonal, information utilization, and other skills…

This document introduces the underlying principles and components of Ohio's Integrated Technical and Academic Competencies (ITAC) system of career-focused education, which combines high-level academics and technical skills with a real-life context for learning that maximizes students' present and future academic and career success. The document…

Designed for Ohio educators responsible for planning programs to prepare high school students for careers in the arts and communication, this document presents an overview of Ohio's Integrated Technical and Academic Competencies (ITAC) system of career-focused education and specific information about the arts and communication ITAC career cluster.…

Designed for Ohio educators responsible for planning programs to prepare high school students for careers in construction, this document presents an overview of Ohio's Integrated Technical and Academic Competencies (ITAC) system of career-focused education and specific information about the construction subcluster of the industrial and engineering…