Study of the Specificities of Thinking in Chemistry Education within the Science Education Cluster

Authors

Nisyya Syarifatul Husna , Hernani Hernani , Ahmad Mudzakir

DOI:

10.29303/jppipa.v9i12.4033

Published:

2023-12-31

Issue:

Vol. 9 No. 12 (2023): December

Keywords:

Chemistry Systems Thinking, Literature Review, Pedagogy, Systems Thinking, Science Education

Review

Downloads

How to Cite

Husna, N. S., Hernani, H., & Mudzakir, A. (2023). Study of the Specificities of Thinking in Chemistry Education within the Science Education Cluster. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, 9(12), 1426–1434. https://doi.org/10.29303/jppipa.v9i12.4033

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Abstract

The aim of this research is to explore the concept of systems thinking in relation to the specificities of systems thinking in science education by conducting a content analysis of studies published between 2010 and 2020. Most of the articles were published between 2017 and 2019. This study employs a descriptive content analysis method on 40 articles about systems thinking in science, utilizing a literature review of international articles. The instruments used include a content analysis format created by the researcher and two expert researchers. Doubtful data were discussed holistically in relation to the content analysis. The results of the research reveal the specificities of systems thinking within the science field. In the realm of chemistry, a systems-based approach through the integration of green chemistry and systemic synthesis questions has proven effective in enhancing systems thinking skills and awareness of sustainability. The application of molecular sustainability principles in chemistry education can lead students to complex thinking, with an understanding of chemistry linked to various systems such as social, economic, and environmental contexts, fostering a holistic understanding. Integrating systems thinking approaches in science education can enhance students' comprehension of the complexities of the real world and equip them with the necessary skills to address increasingly dynamic and interconnected global challenges. The practical implications of these findings highlight the importance of developing a systems-oriented curriculum to support more comprehensive and integrative learning

References

Anastas, P. T., & Zimmerman, J. B. (2016). The Molecular Basis of Sustainability. Chem, 1(1), 10–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2016.06.016

Arnold, R. D., & Wade, J. P. (2015). A definition of systems thinking: A systems approach. Procedia Computer Science, 44(C), 669–678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.03.050

Assaraf, O. B. Z., & Orion, N. (2005). Development of system thinking skills in the context of earth system education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42(5), 518–560. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20061

Aubrecht, K. B., Bourgeois, M., Brush, E. J., Mackellar, J., & Wissinger, J. E. (2019). Integrating Green Chemistry in the Curriculum: Building Student Skills in Systems Thinking, Safety, and Sustainability. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2872–2880. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00354

Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, O., & Orion, N. (2010). Four case studies, six years later: Developing system thinking skills in junior high school and sustaining them over time. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(10), 1253–1280. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20383

Billie, E., & Dorit, R. (2017). A Curriculum Unit for Promoting Complex System Thinking: The Case of Combined System Dynamics and Agent Based Models for Population Growth. Journal of Advances in Education Research, 2(2), 39–60. https://doi.org/10.22606/jaer.2017.22001

Borg and Gall. (1983). Educational Research an Introduction.Loggman: New York.

Brandstädter, K., Harms, U., & Großschedl, J. (2012). Assessing System Thinking Through Different Concept-Mapping Practices. International Journal of Science Education, 34(14), 2147–2170. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2012.716549

Breil, B. (2018). Teacher’s Toolkit: Using a Systems Thinking Approach to Figure Out why a Ball Drops, Bounces, and Stops. Science Scope, 42(4), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.2505/4/ss18_042_04_74

Busta, L., & Russo, S. E. (2020). Enhancing Interdisciplinary and Systems Thinking with an Integrative Plant Chemistry Module Applied in Diverse Undergraduate Course Settings. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(12), 4406–4413. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00395

Connell, K. H., Remington, S., & Armstrong, C. (2012). Assessing systems thinking skills in two undergraduate sustainability courses: a comparison of teaching strategies. Journal of Sustainability Education, 3(March). http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/13783

Engström, S., Norström, P., Söderberg, H., Teachers, A. T., Thinking, S., & Textbooks, T. (2021). A Model for Teaching Systems Thinking: A Tool for Analysing Technology Teachers’ Conceptualising of Systems Thinking, and How it is Described in Technology Textbooks for Compulsory School. Techne Serien-Forskning i Slöjdpedagogik Och Slöjdvetenskap, 28(2), 241–251.

Fowler, W. C., Ting, J. M., Meng, S., Li, L., & Tirrell, M. V. (2019). Integrating Systems Thinking into Teaching Emerging Technologies. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2805–2813. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00280

Gilbert, L. A., Gross, D. S., & Kreutz, K. J. (2019). Developing undergraduate students’ systems thinking skills with an InTeGrate module. Journal of Geoscience Education, 67(1), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2018.1529469

Gilissen, M. G. R., Knippels, M. C. P. J., Verhoeff, R. P., & van Joolingen, W. R. (2020). Teachers’ and educators’ perspectives on systems thinking and its implementation in Dutch biology education. Journal of Biological Education, 54(5), 485–496. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1609564

Hayes, C., Stott, K., Lamb, K. J., & Hurst, G. A. (2020). “Making Every Second Count”: Utilizing TikTok and Systems Thinking to Facilitate Scientific Public Engagement and Contextualization of Chemistry at Home. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(10), 3858–3866. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00511

Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Jordan, R., Eberbach, C., & Sinha, S. (2017). Systems learning with a conceptual representation: a quasi-experimental study. Instructional Science, 45(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-016-9392-y

Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Marathe, S., & Liu, L. (2007). Fish swim, rocks sit, and lungs breathe: Expert-novice understanding of complex systems. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 16(3), 307–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508400701413401

Ho, F. M. (2019). Turning Challenges into Opportunities for Promoting Systems Thinking through Chemistry Education. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2764–2776. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00309

Holovatch, Y., Kenna, R., & Thurner, S. (2017). Complex systems: physics beyond physics. European Journal of Physics, 38(2). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/aa5a87

Hrin, T. N., Milenković, D. D., Segedinac, M. D., & Horvat, S. (2016). Enhancement and assessment of students’ systems thinking skills by application of systemic synthesis questions in the organic chemistry course. Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society, 81(12), 1455–1471. https://doi.org/10.2298/JSC160811097H

Hung, W. (2008). Enhancing systems-thinking skills with modelling. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(6), 1099–1120. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00791.x

Jacobson, M. J., Markauskaite, L., Portolese, A., Kapur, M., Lai, P. K., & Roberts, G. (2017). Designs for learning about climate change as a complex system. Learning and Instruction, 52, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.03.007

Keynan, A., Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., & Goldman, D. (2014). The repertory grid as a tool for evaluating the development of students’ ecological system thinking abilities. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 41, 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2013.09.012

Kim, D. H., & Senge, P. M. (1994). Putting systems thinking into practice. System Dynamics Review, 10(2–3), 277–290. https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.4260100213

Korbel, J., Hanel, R., & Thurner, S. (2018). Classification of complex systems by their sample-space scaling exponents. New Journal of Physics, 20(9). https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aadcbe

Lee, T. D., Gail Jones, M., & Chesnutt, K. (2019). Teaching Systems Thinking in the Context of the Water Cycle. Research in Science Education, 49(1), 137–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9613-7

Mahaffy, P. G., Matlin, S. A., Whalen, J. M., & Holme, T. A. (2019). Integrating the Molecular Basis of Sustainability into General Chemistry through Systems Thinking. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2730–2741. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00390

Mandinach, E. B. (1989). Model-Building and the Use of Computer Simulation of Dynamic Systems. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 5(2), 221–243. https://doi.org/10.2190/7w4f-xy0h-l6fh-39r8

Matlin, S. A., Mehta, G., Hopf, H., & Krief, A. (2016). One-world chemistry and systems thinking. Nature Chemistry, 8(5), 393–398. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2498

Mor, M., & Zion, M. (2021). Applying a system thinking learning approach to improve perception of homoeostasis - a fundamental principle of biology. Journal of Biological Education, 55(4), 341–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2019.1687105

Omotayo, T., Olanipekun, A., Obi, L., & Boateng, P. (2020). A systems thinking approach for incremental reduction of non-physical waste. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 10(4), 509–528. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-10-2019-0100

Orgill, M. K., York, S., & Mackellar, J. (2019). Introduction to Systems Thinking for the Chemistry Education Community. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2720–2729. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00169

Penner, D. E. (2000). Explaining systems: Investigating middle school students’ understanding of emergent phenomena. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(8), 784–806. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-2736(200010)37:8<784::AID-TEA3>3.0.CO;2-E

Perc, M. (2018). Stability of subsystem solutions in agent-based models. European Journal of Physics, 39(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/aa903d

Rakbamrung, P., Thepnuan, P., & Nujenjit, N. (2015). Use of a System Thinking Learning Force and Motion Concept in Physics for Nurse Course. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197(February), 126–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.068

Raved, L., & Yarden, A. (2014). Developing seventh grade students’ systems thinking skills in the context of the human circulatory system. Frontiers in Public Health, 2(DEC), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00260

Roychoudhury, A., Shepardson, D. P., Hirsch, A., Niyogi, D., Mehta, J., & Top, S. (2017). The Need to Introduce System Thinking in Teaching Climate Change. Science Educator, Winter, 73–79.

Snapir, Z., Eberbach, C., Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, O., Hmelo-Silver, C., & Tripto, J. (2017). Characterising the development of the understanding of human body systems in high-school biology students – A longitudinal study. International Journal of Science Education, 39(15), 2092–2127. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1364445

Talanquer, V. (2019). Some Insights into Assessing Chemical Systems Thinking. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2918–2925. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00218

Tejeda, J., & Ferreira, S. (2014). Applying systems thinking to analyze wind energy sustainability. Procedia Computer Science, 28(Cser), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2014.03.027

Tripto, J., Assaraf, O. B.-Z., & Amit, M. (2013). Mapping What They Know: Concept Maps as an Effective Tool for Assessing Students’ Systems Thinking. American Journal of Operations Research, 03(01), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajor.2013.31a022

Tripto, J., Assaraf, O. B. Z., & Amit, M. (2018). Recurring patterns in the development of high school biology students’ system thinking over time. Instructional Science, 46(5), 639–680. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9447-3

Tripto, J., Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., Snapir, Z., & Amit, M. (2016). The ‘What is a system’ reflection interview as a knowledge integration activity for high school students’ understanding of complex systems in human biology. International Journal of Science Education, 38(4), 564–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1150620

Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., Redman, C., & Mills, S. B. (2011). Moving forward on competence in sustainability research and problem solving. Environment, 53(2), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.2011.554496

York, S., & Orgill, M. K. (2020). ChEMIST Table: A Tool for Designing or Modifying Instruction for a Systems Thinking Approach in Chemistry Education. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(8), 2114–2129. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00382

Author Biographies

Nisyya Syarifatul Husna, Universitas Pendidikan Infdinesia

Hernani Hernani, Universitas Pendidikan Infdinesia

Ahmad Mudzakir, Universitas Pendidikan Infdinesia

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Nisyya Syarifatul Husna, Hernani Hernani, Ahmad Mudzakir

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY License). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, web sites, blogs, and other platforms by providing an appropriate reference. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).