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Introduction
This “Concepts in Context” section provides an example of how the systems concepts introduced in this web site can be used by teachers and students to help frame and focus a student paper on an environmental issue. The explanations are written for teachers, but enterprising students should be able to follow them without too much trouble.
A systems approach can contribute to better student analyses of an issue in two fundamentally different, yet complementary ways:
- It can facilitate a “big picture,” holistic (often interdisciplinary) perspective on the issue allowing more inclusive, and therefore more equitable and effective solutions.
- It can provide analytic tools and techniques for identifying the most important factors driving (or preventing) change, thereby helping to focus problem-solving efforts where they can be most effective.
Here we use the development of a hypothetical student paper on coral reef conservation to illustrate these benefits. This sample paper is presented in two stages:
- The first outlines a basic level of systems thinking that might be appropriate for a high school project or college term paper.
- The second points the way to a more sophisticated level of analysis, involving more advanced systems modeling, and might be more appropriate for a college senior honors thesis or “capstone” thesis involving 2-3 semesters of upper-division work.
We’ll follow a hypothetical student, Kendra, through this assignment. Kendra’s choices and actions will be highlighted in purple text and augmented with graphs and diagrams. |
