Using Knowledge Visualization to Understand and Assess Systems Thinking

• In Event: Systems Thinking in Education SIG Business Meeting

Abstract

Educators have long needed more objective and scalable means to observe and assess how an understanding of system dynamics develops, especially in STEM learning. This keynote introduces a new approach to monitoring and analyzing students’ construction of semantic graphs of systems, in real-time, using technology. Exploratory research of this method in science classrooms that were studying drinking water ecology found correlations between expertise, instruction, and student’s graph construction that provide insights into how systems thinking develops. Results and broader implications for how such visualized knowledge assessment methods can facilitate self-regulated learning, formative evaluation, and new areas of research will be presented. A round-table session will follow the presentation to provide a forum for group discussion.

Author

• Lance Vikaros, Teachers College, Columbia University