"We Have More Ideas!" Elementary Students in a Special Education Setting Use Systems Thinking

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Innovations in Application of Systems Thinking in Diverse Settings

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the experiences of teachers and students using systems thinking pedagogy in one special education classroom in a Title I public school with third, fourth, and fifth grade students during an interdisciplinary unit on ecosystems and sustainability grounded in the text Who Really Killed Cock Robin (George, 1971). Evidence from the data set drew attention to the students’ rich conversations around systems. Students progressed from individual to global understandings of interconnectedness, social responsibility, and individual and collective agency. We noted three main patterns of participation: 1) engaging in global connections; 2) developing student agency; and 3) incorporating prior knowledge. Findings indicate that systems thinking, with its nonlinear approach, leverages the strengths of neurodiverse learners.

Authors

• Rachel Lambert, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Chapman University

• Amy Lassiter Ardell, Chapman University