Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University, 3844 CC Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Bonhoeffer College Bruggertstraat, 7545 AX Enschede, The Netherlands.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2021 Sep;20(3):ar37. doi: 10.1187/cbe.20-05-0088.
The main aim of this study is to teach students to take a systems perspective in understanding complex biological problems. Two lessons were designed and tested in two secondary classes (15- to 16-year-old students), using a lesson study approach. Three students from each class were observed more closely when visualizing and reasoning about two complex biological problems. The results, based on student worksheets, peer discussions, classroom observations, and interviews, indicated that students were able to visualize complex problems with the aid of a systems model based on eight system characteristics: boundary, components, interactions, input and output, feedback, hierarchy, dynamics, and emergence. Moreover, explicit scaffolds encouraged students to reason across different levels of biological organization. Based on the findings, four design guidelines were formulated: 1) Start with a central complex problem/question. 2) Let students visualize a complex biological problem using a systems model. 3) Assist students in reasoning step by step within and between the levels of biological organization. 4) Make students explicitly aware of the use of the system characteristics in various contexts. As systems thinking assists students in creating an overview of a system and reasoning about a complex problem systematically, it is also valuable outside the biology classroom.
本研究的主要目的是教导学生从系统的角度理解复杂的生物问题。采用课例研究的方法，设计并测试了两节中学课程（15-16 岁的学生）。在观察和推理两个复杂的生物问题时，对每个班级的三名学生进行了更密切的观察。基于学生的工作表、同伴讨论、课堂观察和访谈的结果表明，学生们能够在基于八个系统特征（边界、组成部分、相互作用、输入和输出、反馈、层次结构、动态和涌现）的系统模型的帮助下，对复杂问题进行可视化。此外，明确的支架鼓励学生在不同的生物组织层次上进行推理。基于这些发现，制定了四项设计原则：1）从一个核心的复杂问题/问题开始。2）让学生使用系统模型对复杂的生物问题进行可视化。3）帮助学生在生物组织的各个层次内和层次之间逐步进行推理。4）让学生明确意识到在不同情境下使用系统特征。由于系统思维有助于学生建立对系统的总体认识，并系统地推理复杂问题，因此它在生物学课堂之外也具有价值。
