The prevalence of systems thinking pedagogy is growing in classrooms because of its inclusion in the Next Generation Science Standards and its potential as a tool for addressing complex, global problems. While most of the research on systems thinking targets the ways students develop system thinking skills, this qualitative study explores…

In interdisciplinary studies, multiple definitions and practices proliferate. Interdisciplinarians such as William H. Newell claim that complex systems theory provides the rationale that we need to guide reform. However, complex systems theory alone cannot rationalize interdisciplinarity and inform what Ernest Boyer calls the scholarship of…

In this study, we interviewed victims of bias incidents and members of a bias response team to investigate the process the team used to respond to incidents. Incidents included acts of sexism, homophobia, and racism on a large, predominantly White research university in the Midwest. Data were analyzed using a 4-stage coding process. The emergent…

Teacher learning, whether in-service, continued education, or experience based, is a key component of school reform. Specific research on the use of teacher learning to improve student achievement and instructional practices in and across schools is limited. The research questions addressed in this study were: (a) the degree to which teacher…

Examines educational change from the perspective of differing research and development paradigms. Describes total quality management, zero defects management, systems thinking, and implications of these paradigms. Also discusses postmodernism, constructivism, and the future for development in education. (AEF)

Results-driven education, systems thinking, and constructivism are producing profound changes in schools and the conception and implementation of staff development. The paradigm shift is essential for creating learning communities where teachers and administrators collaborate with peers, researchers, and students to make sense of the…

This study examined the effectiveness of Reflections: A Systemic Change Model, a staff development model based on the concepts of systemic change, constructivism, and paradigm shift. A pilot study was conducted to determine whether the model was realistic, feasible, and effective. It occurred during 1998 in a 6-week summer school supervision…

This book explores how three ideas, results-driven education, systems thinking, and constructivism, are shaping a new direction in staff development in schools. Results-driven education judges the success of schooling by what students actually know and what they can do as a result of their time in school. Systems thinking is a framework for seeing…

Discusses the systemic reform of education and training based on a review of pertinent literature, including a conceptual framework; the GOALS 2000 legislation; models of learning, including constructivism, student empowerment, and andragogy; the potential of technology in systemic reform; equitable access; using the National Information…

This book examines lifelong learning in the Information Age and the role of higher education (HE) in providing the educational services needed by lifelong learners. The following are among the topics discussed in the book's eight chapters: (1) changes in HE (repercussions of globalization in the educational sector; competition in higher learning;…

For the twenty-eighth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…