Micro-Macro Compatibility: When Does a Complex Systems Approach Strongly Benefit Learning?

• In Event: Supporting Systems Learning 2.0: The Next Phase of Research in Complex Systems in Science Education

Abstract

What are the levers by which a complex systems approach may empower learning? This study explores middle-school students’ learning of the gaseous phase through an emergent complex-systems perspective in contrast to learning through a normative disciplinary view. Understanding the structure of matter and its properties is central to everyday knowledge of many phenomena. Although much effort has been expended in its teaching, students display difficulties in understanding chemical systems (Nakhleh, 1992; Talanquer, 2007). A variety of alternative notions about gases include ordered packing and weightlessness (Mas & Perez, 1987; Stavy, 1988). The main sources of difficulty touch upon the small scales at which the micro-world operates and the systemic nature of such phenomena (Johnstone, 1993; Levy & Wilensky, 2009). This study addresses the issue of matter’s systemic nature, seen as objects and behaviors operating in at least two description levels, which need to be coordinated to obtain a deep understanding. The experimental curriculum is based on a complex systems approach that sees macro-phenomena as emerging from interactions at the micro-level (Bar-Yam, 1997) that has previously shown advantages to learning (e.g., Sengupta & Wilensky, 2010; Wilensky & Reisman, 2006).
Seventh-grade students’ understanding of Gas Laws and Kinetic Molecular Theory (KMT) was studied using pre- and post-test questionnaires and interviews. 47 experimental group students learned with a 12-lessons curriculum that includes exploration of agent-based models, based upon a complex systems approach. 45 students in a comparison group learned with a disciplinary commonly-used 12-lessons curriculum.

Significant learning gains and strong effect sizes were found with the experimental group’s learning gains with respect to those of the comparison group: 80(54)%versus 28(45)%, unpaired-t 4.95**, Cohen’s d 1.05. Specifically, understanding the micro-level and the system’s stochastic nature and concepts of density, diffusion and KMT advanced much more; but not, pressure, temperature and Gas Laws, nor the macro-level or relating the micro- and macro-levels.

The concepts that were learned better with an emergent approach (diffusion, density) were compared with those that were learned as well through both perspectives (temperature, pressure). The micro- and macro-appearances of these concepts in common phenomena shows dissimilarity for the first group and similarity for the second group.

Based on this, we propose a construct named Micro-Macro Compatibility that describes the degree of perceptual similarity between micro- and macro-levels. Rising temperature is associated with greater agitation as both the micro-level increase in molecular speeds and greater macro-level activity. Temperature shows greater micro-macro compatibility and is learned with normative curriculum, as the two levels are more easily coordinated. Diffusion at the micro-level involves molecules moving everywhere, colliding and changing direction; macro-level diffusion shows directional changes in the amount of diffusing molecules over space. Diffusion has less micro-macro compatibility and benefits largely from a complexity approach. Given the greater learning of the micro-level with the complexity curriculum, together with using the construct of Micro-Macro Compatibility, it would seem that the particular levers a complexity approach moves learning is in offering a two-level view of phenomena that supports disentangling the levels when they are dissimilar.

Authors

• Sigal Samon, University of Haifa

• Sharona T. Levy, University of Haifa