Present and future social and ecological challenges are complex both to understand and to attempt to solve. To comprehend the complex systems underlying these issues, students need systems thinking skills. However, in science education, a uniform delineation of systems thinking across contexts has yet to be established. While there seems to be…

The theory of evolution can be a useful basis for developing students' understanding of ecology. Our study used concept maps to examine the development of sixth-grade students' understanding of the Antarctic ecosystem following several evolution 'Science Days' conducted at 'Nature Campus' -- an informal learning environment comprised of a natural…

The understanding of complex, dynamic and animate systems has a special standing in education for sustainable development and biology. Thus one important role of science teacher education is to promote student teachers' Content Related Knowledge (CRK) for teaching systems thinking, consisting of extensive Content Knowledge (CK) and well formed…

This study's goal was to analyze various teaching approaches within the context of natural science lessons, especially in biology. The main focus of the paper lies on the effectiveness of different teaching methods in promoting systems thinking in the field of Education for Sustainable Development. The following methods were incorporated into the…

Technology implementation research indicates that teachers' beliefs and knowledge, as well as a host of institutional factors, can influence technology integration. Drawing on third-generation activity theory, this article conceptualizes technology implementation as a network of planning and integration activities carried out by technology…

In this article, the author discusses how an instructional leader can overcome organizational inertia and create a genuine systemic change by starting small. To make a successful change, an organization must do the following: (1) Find the right staff and a powerful idea; (2) Provide a sponsor; (3) Start small; (4) Get results; (5) Find a…