Reasoning about systems is necessary for understanding many modern issues that face society and is important for future scientists and all citizens. Systems thinking may allow students to make connections and identify common themes between seemingly different situations and phenomena, and is relevant to the focus on cross-cutting concepts in…

In this plenary address, I suggest that Complexity Theory has the potential to contribute a transdisciplinary theme to applied linguistics. Transdisciplinary themes supersede disciplines and spur new kinds of creative activity (Halliday 2001 [1990]). Investigating complex systems requires researchers to pay attention to system dynamics. Since…

Data-mining systems provide a variety of opportunities for school district personnel to streamline operations and focus on student achievement. This article describes the value of data mining for school personnel, finance departments, teacher evaluations, and in the classroom. It suggests that much could be learned about district practices if one…

Using narrative inquiry, these authors explored the diverse types of reasoning that seem to direct stakeholders' approaches to educational decision-making. They labeled these approaches as simple, complicated, and complex. They begin their account by explaining the attributes of narrative inquiry that guided their work. Through the scholarly…

Critical pedagogy, practitioner experience and a regulatory perspective are employed to scrutinize the notion of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as it occurs in the literature. They promote understanding of the challenges impeding the completion of unfinished ESD businesses. In response to practitioner-expressed needs, this paper…

Twenty Japanese university freshmen majoring in International Studies (N = 4) and Nursing (N = 16) participated in a 10-month project examining changes in their motivation. Using monthly focus group interviews and a 35-item questionnaire, the dynamic systems of various types of learners of English over two semesters were explored. Trajectories of…

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has been applied to the study of second language acquisition to possibly account for the nonlinear development and variability found within second language development. Characteristics of a dynamic system that make it compatible with examining the developmental trajectory of second language acquisition include…

This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to…

Workforce development is a set of processes that govern the identification, recruitment, assessment and training of job seekers into employment as well as the maintenance and advancement of these persons in their careers. Given the complexity of what workforce development entails, a systems approach is illustrated to ensure that the broader goal…

Our case study is a response to the need for research and reporting on specific strategies employed by software designers to produce effective multimedia instructional solutions. A systemic approach for identifying appropriate software features and conducting a formative evaluation that evaluates both the overall effectiveness of the multimedia…

Interacting with a system is key to uncovering its causal structure. A computational framework for interventional causal learning has been developed over the last decade, but how real causal learners might achieve or approximate the computations entailed by this framework is still poorly understood. Here we describe an interactive computer task in…

By the increase of e-learning platforms, huge data sets are made from different kinds of the collected traces. These traces differ from one learner to another according to their characteristics (learning styles, preferences, performed actions, etc.). Learners' traces are very heterogeneous and voluminous, so their treatments and exploitations are…

This chapter reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of undergraduate research as a student, faculty, and institutional success pathway, and provides the context for the Council on Undergraduate Research's support for developing and enhancing undergraduate research in systems and consortia. The chapter also provides brief introductions to each…

In this paper, we look at the inner workings of a school district through the lens of the "district operating system (DOS)," a set of interlocking mutually-reinforcing modules that includes functions like procurement, contracting, data and IT policy, the general counsel's office, human resources, and the systems for employee and family…

To date, few studies have investigated the production of linguistic complexity and accuracy with naturalistic data. Very often, the data are obtained in a laboratory or laboratory-style settings, with tasks defined by the researcher rather than the instructor (Hatch, 1978; Seedhouse, 2004). Additionally, replicability of studies that investigate…