Discusses design and evaluation concepts and methodologies in the context of comprehensive system design (CSD) and considers the concept of error throughout. Topics addressed include six core concepts of CSD; design processes; evaluation concepts; evaluation processes, including criterion-related validity, construct validity, and systemic…

Provides an overview of this special issue on educational systems design. The International Systems Institute (ISI), a nonprofit agency that contributed the issue, is described; and summaries of the papers are presented, organized according to major themes covered (i.e., conceptual models and issues, design applications, and design learning). (LRW)

Discussion of societal and technological changes in the 20th century and the resulting paradigm shift focuses on the need to develop a systems view of education. The genesis of the systems view is explained; an example of a possible systems model is presented; and applications in education are considered. (LRW)

Considers what constitutes a system for design learning (SDL) based on activities of the International Systems Institute and on designing and implementing SDL in a master's program in marriage and family therapy. Establishing a design culture by creating a design community and learning from anxiety are also discussed. (Contains 11 references.)…

Includes two columns that discuss comprehensive systems design in education, including the design architecture and the dynamics of design; and the use of metaphors in explaining teacher planning and classroom interactions, including mental planning and imagery and the relationships between metaphor and practice. (Contains 22 references.) (LRW)

Provides insights into the design of effective educational planning conversations derived from the metaphor of enthalpy (the amount of heat energy released when chemical reactions occur). Interprets enthalpy changes in the context of energy and the dynamics necessary to sustain an effective systems design conversation. (AEF)

Examines changes in the "supersystem" of instructional systems design (ISD) that indicate the need for a paradigm of training and education based on learning instead of sorting students. Emphasizes the necessity of developing initiative, teamwork, thinking skills, and diversity, as well as new learning-focused instructional theories and…

Discusses conceptual frameworks for the designing process, including conclusion-oriented design and decision-oriented design; describes the systemic quality cube of design that incorporates process, product, efficiency, and effectiveness and considers total, global, and systemic quality; and discusses present applications, including computerized…

Discussion of systems design in education focuses on relationships with other systems dimensions of the design framework. Relationship options that imply different patterns of instruction are described, including information exchange, cooperation, coordination, and integration, all focused on a community-based system of learning and human…

Examines the issue of community involvement in reformulating educational systems. Historical perspectives on community involvement in schools are reviewed; the roles of community members in educational settings and in educational systems design settings are discussed; and experiences from fieldwork observing community participation are related.…

Focuses on two mental activities--reflection and metaphor--that can be used with communication to facilitate changes in an educational system. Discusses two contexts in which they are being used: (1) in individual thinking and writing; and (2) as part of a facilitated group activity. (AEF)

Describes an instruction and control architecture for classroom training (ICACT) developed by the Army Research Institute that uses off-the-shelf software to create an authoring system for military training systems. Topics addressed include requirements for ICACT architecture; object-oriented modular construction; and interfaces for training…

Demonstrates how the Gestalt Approach can be useful in facilitating systems design for educational change. This approach focuses on awareness of the process that the group is involved with and helps to create an environment where individual and group concerns can be integrated and harmonized. Discusses the "Cycle of Experience" and…

Proposes an extended form of dialog for social systems design called design conversation. Two modes of social discourse are combined: strategic dialog (communication that focuses on the specific task of seeking solutions) and generative dialog (common frame of thinking and shared meaning in a group). Describes a conversation program of the…

A design group needs to sift through confusion, come together, and converse as a team before it can be productive in design tasks. At the 1994 Fuschl Conversation on Systems Design, the metaphor of lighting a fire was used to symbolize this coming together; three tables examine the relationships between the metaphor and starting a design…