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…

Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technological innovation that continues to garner attention for use in education. This self-study of two teacher educators spans immersive head-mounted virtual reality implementation from 2014-2023 with middle-grades students, preservice teachers, and adult learners. Empirical data sources include learner…

The research objectives were to 1) study the current conditions, problems, and good practices regarding teaching and learning 2) develop a blended instructional model using problem-based learning with graphic organizers to enhance systems thinking skills in computational science for students in lower secondary school and 3) study the results of…

Scholars have called for considering professional learning (PL) through the lens of complexity. One lens for operating amidst complexity is design. Designers thrive in complexity because of the responsive nature of their work; a designer develops their practice in response to a particular situation, adapting as it changes. Thus, a design lens is…

Integral to fostering computational thinking (CT) skills, which are increasingly essential in today's digital era, has been the shift of paper-based pictorial modeling activities to computational modeling. Research has indicated that modeling activities can advance students' understanding of a system's mechanism (i.e., systems thinking), such as…

The research on the ability to think in systems in education is also minimal, which is why the ability to think in systems in Indonesia has not been optimally trained. Dealing with a system's complexity can be challenging at any age, particularly for students who must apply the system's cognitive capabilities during the learning process. Systems…

In this study, we explore systems thinking maps as a local literacy practice in a systems thinking professional development institute for PreK-8 teachers. Existing literature underscores the necessity of equipping teachers with a robust understanding of systems thinking; this study addresses a call in the research to find ways to do so. Rooted in…

In this study, we propose to analyse students' drawings using the Semiotic Cultural Psychological Theory (SCPT), a socio-cultural psychological model that integrates semiotics with dynamic systems theory. According to the SCPT framework, students-generated drawings can be analysed in terms of generalised meanings, i.e., implicit assumptions about…

Climate change in coastal areas is a complex problem that involves value systems and requires various scientific disciplines. Integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) approach is needed in learning so that it can train students to think holistically, structured and systematically. This research was carried out with…

Systems thinking (ST) is an essential competence for future life and biology learning. Appropriate assessment is critical for collecting sufficient information to develop ST in biology education. This research offers an ST framework based on a comprehensive understanding of biological systems, encompassing four skills across three complexity…

Objective: Systems thinking can be counterintuitive to everyday ways of knowing. This can surface doubt around predicted patterns of emergence in complex systems data, especially as it relates to the current climate crisis and related justice-oriented solutions. Method: Our study describes a four-year design-based research project in which we…

Public education has evolved throughout the years, whereas traditional school settings focused on students sitting quietly in the classroom waiting for instructions from their teachers who orchestrated the lessons and procedures for running the classroom. Although student voice always existed, it was often overlooked. For the most part, emphasis…

The systems thinking approach requires understanding and interpreting complex systems. This review investigated how the systems thinking approach in science education is positioned in peer-reviewed empirical research articles and to identify the trends used in the current literature. A systematic review of open-access, empirical peer-reviewed…

Teachers are masters of content and of creating connections (e.g., students-content, students-students, teacher-students, teacher-parents). Both impact one's ability to create and sustain brave and productive learning environments. Teachers connect students to the content, and to each other. At the top of the list of important connections are…

This study examines how middle school students develop an increasingly coherent understanding of aquatic ecosystems. As part of a broader design research study that used Structure-Behavior-Function (SBF) theory as an organizing conceptual representation, we created two instructional units that focused on pond and aquarium environments. We coded…