Doctoral students and faculty make contributions to research on systems thinking

Doctoral students Amanda Provost and Gabriella Migliore, together with Dr. Nicole Panorkou, have published an open-access article in Education Sciences showcasing their research on students’ systems thinking. Their study titled Developing Middle School Students’ Systems Thinking in Earth Science Through Dynamic Simulations: The Case of the Rock Cycle presents a detailed framework of how students reason about the rock cycle, extending prior work by identifying specific sub-components. They also introduce an emerging framework for supporting systems thinking through thoughtfully designed simulations and questioning sequences. Together, these frameworks offer guidance for developing instructional modules aimed at strengthening students’ systems thinking in earth science contexts.