A New Approach to Teaching About Systems

Science sometimes teaches systems as a series of parts rather than a whole with interactive parts. This article describes what is called “systems biology” which is interdisciplinary science... See More

Science sometimes teaches systems as a series of parts rather than a whole with interactive parts. This article describes what is called “systems biology” which is interdisciplinary science for understanding biological systems as a whole rather than the sum of their parts. This article describes two lessons in a module called Ecological Networks: ‘Environmental Influence on Gene Networks’ and ‘Observing Beyond our Senses: Inquiry Drives Technology.’ The article describes them and the website provides even more in-depth information. This is a great approach to understand systems.

Wow this has so many uses!

This article introduces a lesson on what a network is and how changing one part can effect other parts. It is based on a model students create of a "cell phone" calling tree network. This is... See More

This article introduces a lesson on what a network is and how changing one part can effect other parts. It is based on a model students create of a "cell phone" calling tree network. This is then extended using a software tool that is still available online which is a version that is used to model biological networks for food chains, energy in environment, disease transmission, etc. It could also model sociological effects as well. This looks amazing as a resource and I can see so many uses for it - among other things, it would be a good mixer for the beginning of a school year. This could be used in any secondary classroom that deals with concepts of interrelated systems.