@PhdThesis{diss_mods_00015963,
  author = 	{Fraune, Kristina},
  title = 	{Modeling system thinking -- assessment, structure validation and development},
  year = 	{2014},
  publisher = 	{Christian-Albrechts-Universit{\"a}t zu Kiel},
  address = 	{Kiel},
  keywords = 	{education; assessment; system thinking},
  abstract = 	{Contributing to the demand of implementing complex system principles in science education to strengthen scientific understanding, the present thesis focuses at different aims in current system thinking research. Addressing the need to establish appropriate assessment tools, different assessment instruments were evaluated. A computer based Concept Mapping practice proved to be a promising extension to traditional questionnaire techniques, particularly enriching the structural visualization. 
Further, regarding the need to characterize the structure of system thinking, complex system principles and emergent multilevel behaviour were transferred and constructed in form of an biological intervention unit (``The blue mussel in the context of the Wadden Sea ecosystem''), providing a comparable knowledge input in elementary and secondary school to evaluate system thinking in both grades. These investigations supported the underlying two-factorial theoretical model of system thinking (Sommer {\&} L{\"u}cken, 2010) by providing valid conclusions concerning the model structure and construct stability for both class levels. This structural analysis offers an important contribution to the ongoing discussion about the dimensionality of system thinking. Moreover, it points to investigations concerning the exploration of elementary students' abilities to develop system thinking, corroborating suggestions about implementing complex system principles as early as possible (Assaraf {\&} Orion, 2010; Evagorou et al., 2009; Sommer {\&} L{\"u}cken, 2010) to prevent failure in system understanding (Jacobson {\&} Wilensky, 2006). Owing to the two-factorial structure, the analysis of the internal relationship between structural and procedural system thinking tied in with a bidirectional theoretical assumption ( Schneider, Rittle-Johnson {\&} Star, 2011) and subsequently confirmed an iterative model structure. Due to the fact that even implementing general cognitive abilities into the structural model didn't affect this structural pattern, this investigation provides important information for the development of system thinking. 
In summary, these investigations offer diverse connecting factors being relevant both scientifically and educationally. The understanding of complex system principles is cognitively beneficial, concerning to scientific contexts but also to an employability framework. In educational contexts, the way of how students learn influences their knowledge structuring, determining the resulting knowledge pattern. Therefore, this connection should be noticed as an interlinked process concerning system thinking development. Consequently, an adequate understanding of system thinking development can contribute to curricula design and development, including teaching units that support students' system thinking appropriately thereby effectively preparing them for the demands of everyday life in 21st century.},
  url = 	{https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/diss_mods_00015963},
  file = 	{:https://macau.uni-kiel.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dissertation_derivate_00005791/Fraune_Dissertation.pdf:PDF},
  language = 	{en}
}