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1. System dynamics and sustainability: A research agenda for the coming decade(s)

   de Gooyert, V.; Goncalves, P.; Herrera, H.; Kampmann, C.; Kapmeier, F.; Kopainsky, B.; Moxnes, E.; Rooney-Varga, J.; Rouwette, E.; Struben, J.; et al (July 2021, International System Dynamics Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   With detrimental effects of climate change already here, deteriorated natural habitats, increased pollution of soils, air, and water, and appropriate action still lagging behind, work on sustainability that applies system dynamics is more urgent than ever. In July 2018, a number of researchers - mainly active in Europe - commenced an open dialogue on system dynamics and sustainability at emlyon business school in Lyon. The aim of that meeting was to assess how to increase system dynamics and sustainability research output and impact. Since then a network has emerged and, some members of the group have begun working on a number of collaborative initiatives around research, teaching, and grants. More ambitiously, discussions also have evolved around the value of more coordinated avenues for future system dynamics research. At the 2020 SD Conference in Bergen, we, the “SD&Sus Lyon Group”, would like to present some of our progress in our thinking so far. In this essay bundle, we present some of the ideas that we have developed on near future avenues for system dynamics research and applications in the domain of sustainability. The aim of this essay bundle is to initiate a dialogue about how the system dynamics community may achieve impact through coordinated accumulation of policy-relevant knowledge in the area of sustainability and to make progress on identifying those critical avenues. 

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2. Design-Based Research: A Methodology to Extend and Enrich Biology Education Research

   https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-11-0245  

   Scott, Emily E.; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Doherty, Jennifer H. (September 2020, CBE—Life Sciences Education)

   Tanner (Ed.)

   Recent calls in biology education research (BER) have recommended that researchers leverage learning theories and methodologies from other disciplines to investigate the mechanisms by which students to develop sophisticated ideas. We suggest design-based research from the learning sciences is a compelling methodology for achieving this aim. Design-based research investigates the “learning ecologies” that move student thinking toward mastery. These “learning ecologies” are grounded in theories of learning, produce measurable changes in student learning, generate design principles that guide the development of instructional tools, and are enacted using extended, iterative teaching experiments. In this essay, we introduce readers to the key elements of design-based research, using our own research into student learning in undergraduate physiology as an example of design-based research in BER. Then, we discuss how design-based research can extend work already done in BER and foster interdisciplinary collaborations among cognitive and learning scientists, biology education researchers, and instructors. We also explore some of the challenges associated with this methodological approach. 

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3. Investigating Help-Giving Behavior in a Cross-Platform Learning Environment

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23204-7_2  

   Ahmed, Ishrat; Mawasi, Areej; Wang, Shang; Wylie, Ruth; Bergner, Yoav; Whitehurst, Amanda; Walker, Erin (January 2019, International Conference of Artificial Intelligence in Education)

   A key promise of adaptive collaborative learning support is the ability to improve learning outcomes by providing individual students with the help they need to collaborate more effectively. These systems have focused on a single platform. However, recent technology-supported collaborative learning platforms allow students to collaborate in different contexts: computer-supported classroom environments, network based online learning environments, or virtual learning environments with pedagogical agents. Our goal is to better understand how students participate in collaborative behaviors across platforms, focusing on a specific type of collaboration - help-giving. We conducted a classroom study (N = 20) to understand how students engage in help-giving across two platforms: an interactive digital learning environment and an online Q&A community. The results indicate that help-giving behavior across the two platforms is mostly influenced by the context rather than by individual differences. We discuss the implications of the results and suggest design recommendations for developing an adaptive collaborative learning support system that promotes learning and transfer. 

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4. Early Career Engineers’ Views of Ethics and Social Responsibility: Study Overview

   Claussen, S.; Jesiek, B. K.; Zoltowski, C. B.; Howland, S. (July 2021, Proceedings of the 2021 American Society of Engineering Education Virtual Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   Amidst growing concerns about a lack of attention to ethics in engineering education and professional practice, a variety of formal course-based interventions and informal or extracurricular programs have been created to improve the social and ethical commitments of engineering graduates. To supplement the formal and informal ethics education received as undergraduate students, engineering professionals often also participate in workplace training and professional development activities on ethics, compliance, and related topics. Despite this preparation, there is growing evidence to suggest that technical professionals are often challenged to navigate ethical situations and dilemmas. Some prior research has focused on assessing the impacts of a variety of learning experiences on students’ understandings of ethics and social responsibility, including the PIs’ prior NSF-funded CCE STEM study which followed engineering students through the four years of their undergraduate studies using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. This prior project explored how the students’ views on these topics changed across demographic groups, over time, between institutions, and due to specific interventions. Yet, there has been little longitudinal research on how these views and perceptions change (or do not change) among engineers during the school-to-work transition. Furthermore, there has been little exploration of how these views are influenced by the professional contexts in which these engineers work, including cultures and norms prevalent in different technical fields, organizations, and industry sectors. This NSF-supported Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) study responds to these gaps in the literature by asking: RQ1) How do perceptions of ethics and social responsibility change in the transition from undergraduate engineering degree programs to the workplace (or graduate studies), and how are these perceptions shaped or influenced?, and RQ2) How do perceptions of ethics and social responsibility vary depending on a given individual’s engineering discipline/background and current professional setting? This paper gives an overview of the research project, describing in particular the longitudinal, mixed-methods study design which will involve collecting and analyzing data from a large sample of early career engineers. More specifically, we will present the proposed study contexts, timeline, target subject populations, and procedures for quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. We will also describe how this study leverages our prior project, thereby allowing unique longitudinal comparisons that span participants’ years as an engineering undergraduate student to their time as an early-career professional. Through this project, we aim to better understand how early career engineers’ perceptions of social and ethical responsibility are shaped by their prior experiences and current professional contexts. This paper will likely be of particular interest to scholars who teach or research engineering ethics, social responsibility, and professional practice. 

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5. Expanding the Frame: Designing a Learning Analytics System Using a Theory of Learning

   Philip, Philip (January 2020, International Conference of the Learning Sciences)

   null (Ed.)

   This essay presents the case of designing a learning analytics system using a theory of learning. Learning analytics systems are often institutional artifacts using data collected from and to support educational practice and practitioners including learners, teachers, and administrators. There is a substantial and growing body of work under the learning analytics banner. Much of it framed technically around data harvested from digital tools and presentation mechanisms called dashboards. Using a specific case involving a collaborative game-based education research project, this paper provides a broad, sociotechnical design perspective through three frame expanding sections: the educational game’s learning theory-driven approach, the information architecture of the learning analytics system, and the activity system that the information from learning analytics information are used within. This paper illustrates a portion of the conceptual landscape that can guide the design, development, and research for these data systems that are potentially consequential for students and educators. 

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