Evaluation Of High School Students’ Systems Thinking In The Context Of Chemical Science

In May 2017,the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry(IUPAC)launched a global project--Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education(STICE),which proposed to introduce systems thinking into formal chemistry teaching in order to cultivate chemists with systems thinking perspectives.Systems thinking refers to the ability to understand and explain the characteristics and behavior of complex systems,which can help citizens better respond to complex global challenges such as sustainability,pollution and climate change.In order to help students acquire a more comprehensive view of chemistry,systems thinking should be introduced into chemistry education to overcome the defects of reductionism which only pay attention to parts and ignore the whole and the interrelation between parts.The field of science education has begun to pay attention to students’ systems thinking,but the research on systems thinking focuses on theoretical discussion and course practice,while the research on the evaluation tools of systems thinking is very few.In this context,this paper identifies the following research questions:(1)How to construct the theoretical framework of systems thinking in the context of chemistry discipline?(2)How to develop the tool suitable for the systems thinking assessment of high school students?(3)How to test the quality and applicability of the measurement tool?(4)What is the development status of systems thinking in high school students?Based on the above research issues,this paper carries out the following research works:By combing relevant literature at home and abroad,we understood the conceptual connotation of system and systems thinking,and defined the chemical system and systems thinking in this study.Then,based on the research of the theoretical model of systems thinking in the field of science education,the composition of systems thinking was clarified,and the theoretical framework of systems thinking under the background of chemistry was constructed by combining the characteristics of chemistry discipline.The current middle school chemistry teaching content was analyzed based on the general high school chemistry curriculum standard,and the situational problem of "photochemical smog" under the nitrogen cycle system was determined as the content carrier of the evaluation tool.Based on the framework of systems thinking ability,the evaluation tool of systems thinking was designed and developed.Then,a small test was conducted and the quality of the tool was checked using the Rasch model.Based on the results of the test,the tool was revised and improved.Finally,using the developed systems thinking evaluation tool,the empirical research was carried out to investigate the development status and performance differences of high school students’ systems thinking.This paper mainly draws the following conclusions:(1)Based on the hierarchical model of systems thinking(STH model),this study expands and refines the ability characteristics of systems thinking,integrates the characteristics of chemistry,and constructs the theoretical framework of systems thinking under the background of chemistry.(2)Based on Wilson’s four-cornerstone model,a systems thinking assessment tool for senior high school students is designed and developed.The quality of the tool is tested by using the Rasch model.The tool shows good performance in separation,reliability,fitting index,and person-item correspondence.(3)The current development status and performance characteristics of systems thinking of senior high school students are examined.The results are as follows:① The hierarchy of systems thinking ability is verified by quantitative method;② The study found that the systems thinking ability of students in Grade 2 is mainly at the level of "ability to recognize the relationship between system components"(S1)and "ability to recognize the dynamic relationship within the system"(S2).Higher levels of "the ability to organize system components and processes within a relational framework"(S3)and"the ability to understand the cyclical nature of the system"(S4)become the key constraints on the development of students’ systems thinking ability.③ There is no gender difference in students’ ability of systems thinking,that is,students’ ability of systems thinking is not affected by gender.④ There are differences in students’academic performance in the level of systems thinking ability,and there is a positive correlation between them.However,the group of students with the highest academic performance,their average level of systems thinking ability is only at the level of "the ability to identify the dynamic relationships within the system".Focusing on the research issues,this paper,through theoretical research and empirical investigation,enriches the research connotation of systems thinking under the background of chemistry discipline,constructs the theoretical framework of systems thinking ability,and develops the evaluation tool of systems thinking,which provides an example for the evaluation of systems thinking in the field of chemistry education.According to the results of the empirical research,some teaching suggestions are put forward,such as organizing teaching content with systems thinking method and developing learning based on problem or project,which can provide reference for chemical educators to cultivate and improve students’ high-level systems thinking ability.