Developing and evaluating systems thinking in first-year organic chemistry

Abstract

Powerful arguments recently advocate introducing systems thinking in chemistry education to equip graduates to address sustainability challenges. This study focused on developing teaching and assessment materials to foster the development of systems thinking understanding, skills and attitudes in first-year organic chemistry and to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to facilitate the development of systems thinking learning. We designed a systems thinking intervention to scaffold the development of systems thinking skills from a molecular-level foundation to sustainable action using concept maps and system-oriented concept mapping extensions (SOCMEs) as visualization tools. In the intervention, 18 students engaged in a jigsaw cooperative learning approach to learn about the chemical principles and real-world implications of the system of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, an anionic surfactant commonly used in laundry detergents. The research questions that guided this study asked which systems thinking skills students were developing during and after the intervention and what evidence suggested that students were developing a sustainable action perspective. We used a mixed-methods research design to collect and analyse data from students' perceptions, reflections, and demonstrations during and after the learning process. We used a concurrent triangulation design to compare the evidence from multiple perspectives to create a holistic understanding regarding the extent to which the intervention facilitated the development of systems thinking skills and a sustainable action perspective. We found that students were developing the ability to identify the concepts and relationships within the system. However, they needed help integrating the parts of the system to visualize the whole. During focus group interviews, students acknowledged that they were used to thinking about chemistry topics in isolation and were not used to imagining the real-world implications of chemistry. Evidence also suggested that students engaged deeply with the relevant topic of surfactants and gained an understanding of the system. The intervention enabled meaningful learning as students' moved between different levels of granularity to view the system as a whole and not just as a collection of parts. In conclusion, evidence suggested that students made meaningful progress towards developing systems thinking skills and a sustainable action perspective.