Improving Education In Public Schools:
Innovative Teachers To The Rescue
Gordon S. Brown, Dean of Engineering Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge Mass, 02139
Address for mail: PO Box 272, Grantham N.H. 03753
ABSTRACT
This paper addresses the widespread belief that today's public schools are not
preparing our youth to conquer the problems of tomorrow. Although there is
consensus within both academia and business that the need for reform is urgent,
there is no generally accepted strategy for achieving improvement, nor is money to
finance the job readily available. Creative ideas by great teachers are certainly the
nucleus for reform, and, contrary to common opinion, there are many good ideas,
and many great teachers.
But teachers are not the only players. All schools are dynamic systems of
great complexity. Unfortunately, many essential features of school-system
structures are poorly understood. Asa result, well intended attempts at reform
since World War II have often merely tweaked the system rather than implanting
permanent improvement. Most proposals have focused on more math, more
science, longer school days, or more homework, without understanding why there
is such small yield from what already exists in the schools. This author believes that
only by a major restructuring of the relations between student and teacher, by the
adoption of a new paradigm for the teaching-learning process, and by the
introduction of much modern technology into the classroom, will our schools fulfill
the demands that the future will make on students.
The restructuring program described herein has been carried out in the
Orange Grove Middle School in the Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD),
Tucson, Arizona.
164
System Dynamics '90 165
INTRODUCTION
As most nations have acquired technology for exploiting energy, orbiting
satellites, radio, television, telephones, automobiles, jet aircraft, bio-materials, and
better health care, expectations have expanded. But as these expectations are being
realized, societies everywhere have begun to experience a shrinking of resources of
water, food, and fuel, while experiencing major increases in pollution, and more
stress and instability in their societies. Our world has become a vast and complex
interdependent dynamic system for which the buzz words are “everything affects
everything else.” All citizens need increasingly to be educated to more than a casual
understanding of the complexities and the interdependencies of events happening
around them. And for those who make the big decisions that affect our daily
lives—especially our business leaders and government officials—it is crucial that
such understanding be substantial.
THE GENESIS OF THE PROBLEMS
Most of today’s technologies emerged during the last half century. Prior to
that, a teenager’s learning in high school could serve throughout a lifetime. But that
simple view of education no longer applies. Not only must everyone know more
facts, but understanding must include a knowledge of how the world operates. The
mere learning of fragmented information is inadequate. Facts must be anchored to
meaning so that knowledge can be used in creative and benign ways. By teaching
our youth to be "systems thinkers,” and by giving them the skills to put knowledge
to use, they will stand a far better chance of becoming wiser participants in society.
But the traditional paradigms guiding most pre-college schools rarely
prepare students to be systems thinkers. Education has taught little about dynamic
situations—how things change through time. In most high schools the structure of
the curriculum is strongly discipline oriented. The peer demands on teachers for
recognition, their heavy teaching loads and the specter of the college-board
examination hurdle facing their students, all work against efforts of teachers to
166 System Dynamics '90
establish dialogue with teachers in related disciplines. As a result, too many
students acquire, at best, only a fragmented body of knowledge, which often is
remembered only until the next quiz.
The integration of unrelated facts into an understanding of how the real
world operates is usually left to the student. Too few achieve such an integration.
Fortunately, the emphasis on learning by disciplines is less in junior high and
middle schools. The disciplinary emphasis usually is insignificant in elementary
schools. Because of fewer disciplinary barriers I believe the place to begin
restructuring our public education system is at the elementary and middle school
levels.
Even so, the education of present teachers in elementary and middle schools
failed to stress the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge. Also, the idea of
teaching systems thinking was rarely mentioned. Many teachers need not only to
change the way they look at their role in the classroom, but also to change the way
they view the world. This calls for a new paradigm, along with unlearning much
that was learned in the past.
COPING WITH CHANGE
First I must mention the work of Professor Jay W. Forrester of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Forrester is the founder of the field of
system dynamics and the international System Dynamics Society. After teaching
the principles and application of system dynamics successfully at the graduate level
at MIT for about a decade, he perceived the need for most citizens to have some
understanding of the subject. His vision several years ago triggered action to teach
system dynamics in pre-college public schools.
A key feature of Jay Forrester's work is stress on the fact that we daily
encounter systems—in the home, in the body, when controlling air traffic, or when
managing a business. A great many teachers fail to realize the urgency of letting
System Dynamics '90 167
students know this by bringing systems thinking into their teaching. In all real-life
situations the character of system structure, and cause and effect relationships
within feedback loops determine the dynamics of behavior. It is essential to learn
these concepts to understand how the real world works. Also, it is important to
know that feedback can be either positive or negative, depending on the properties
of the system components. Positive feedback creates all growth processes.
Negative feedback exerts control and gives stability, but can also cause oscillation.
There is no doubt in my mind that there is a big difference between "systems
thinking” and "critical thinking” as usually interpreted. I have noted that students
often have a fuzzy understanding of the words "fact,” "knowledge,” and “wisdom,”
which reminds me of the words written in 1795 by William Cowper in his poem
"The Task", Book VI, " The Winter Walk at Noon", lines 88 through 98:
Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one,
have oftimes no connexion. Knowledge dwells
in heads replete with thoughts of other men,
wisdom in minds attentive to their own.
Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass,
the mere materials with which wisdom builds,
till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place
does but encomber whom it seems to enrich.
Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;
wisdom is humble that he knows no more."
As I reflect on the Cowper lines I conclude that in the first four he is saying
that too much of our knowledge (information or mere facts), is fragmented, and in
lines 5 through 8 he is saying that it is through the interconnectedness of knowledge
that we achieve understanding. The words "till smoothed and squared and fitted to
its place does but encomber whom it seems to enrich" are a poets way of saying
“structure and putting ideas in a correct relationship are essential to
understanding." It is the road to gaining wisdom, in other words, systems thinking.
168 System Dynamics '90
In a companion paper, Draper and Swanson describe a “Learner-Directed
Systems Education Program” comprising a new paradigm, new learning
procedures and new educational tools that have been introduced into the 7th-8th
grade general science program at the Orange Grove Middle School in Tucson, AZ.
After seeing what Draper and Swanson have achieved by implementing systems
thinking with a Macintosh computer and STELLA software to build models, i.e. to
simulate, it is clear that both the concepts and the tools for problem analysis can be
introduced at the middle school level. :
The use of computers in the classroom (not in a computer lab) has, for us in
Tucson, resulted ina unique learning environment. It is not necessary to teach the
Macintosh computer to 7th or 8th grade students. They learn what they need to
know as the teacher guides them through a simulation in class. They work in
groups of two or three to a computer (certainly not one per computer) and thereby
help one another.
Dr. Barry Richmond says that this situation, in effect, multiplies the number
of teachers by the number of students. Before doing a simulation, the students
spend several class periods gathering information about the topic, they take notes
during lectures, learn about a library, and read references. Then, working as a
group, they plan the simulation. By working this way Draper's students do not
merely try to remember the material for a test but actually use it in a project
simulating real life situations. This has led us to identify a new teaching paradigm
which we define as “systems thinking and learner-directed learning.”
At the classroom level a single teacher can fine-tune the subject matter but, a)
because of the difficulties of collaborating with teachers in related disciplines, and
b) the shortage of both time and freedom money, the effort will have only a small
effect. At the school level it is not always clear who is in charge of reform. Is it the
teacher, the superintendent, the school district, or the state school board? But
System Dynamics '90 169
regardless of who has the ball, a public school is not amenable to change by methods
commonly accepted in industry.
Dr. Richmond points out that achieving academic change is more like
working up a recipe—it is not merely having ingredients of the obvious kind, such
as knowledgeable and good teachers, enlightened administrators, and an acceptance
of the need for change, but the ingredients must be blended in the right sequence in
the right amounts, and baked for the proper amount of time. As in cooking, there is
art in academic administration.
A few other often overlooked ingredients to the mix justify mention:
a) primary legal responsibility rests with the state and local school boards,
b) many teachers graduate from teacher training colleges with a license to teach
only one specific subject,
c) schools comprise hardware such as buildings and equipment, and software such
as codes and regulations, and all must be constantly updated to remain
compatible,
d) there must be an understanding that information should flow both up and down
between students, teachers, the administration, the school boards, the parents,
and the general public,
) the patrons of public education are the tax payers and they must be kept
informed,
f) the administrator must be a person who, instead of merely tolerating reform-
minded teachers, must support them by creating the environment where the new
ideas can be nourished and integrated into the curriculum.
In addition to the above, Dr. Richmond identifies a source of help not
officially a part of the school system. He names it "the citizen champion" whose
role is to become involved, daily at times, to open doors, to anticipate needs, to find
money, and, in many instances, to identify closely with teachers and bring
credibility to a program.
170 System Dynamics 'S0
Without realizing it, Ihave been playing this role of citizen champion in the
Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD) Middle School ever since I first met
Frank Draper. Also, Mrs. Kenneth Hayden, who introduced me to public education
in Tucson in the Fall of 1987, has played this role since she began her work with
students and teachers to introduce "Dialogues in Action" into the elementary
schools. Frankly, the more I think about the problem of achieving restructuring,
the more I believe that the citizen champion is essential.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
A number of new components to the restructuring effort now exist in our
project in Tucson. One is the program that Mrs. Hayden began in the Tucson
Unified School District (TUSD) elementary schools two decades ago. To support
her program, she formed Ideals Associated, a 501 3(c) foundation and funded it
privately. During the conduct of her work she learned that it is in the 4th grade that
students begin to encounter trouble with writing, reading, speaking, working with
others and with the development of self esteem. In the absence of any of these skills,
the chance that a student will drop out is great. Following the early work with 4th
grade students, Mrs. Hayden moved up to 6th grade where the work is still
privately funded, and is carried on by three 6th grade teachers during the school
year, with a 2-week program in the summer at the request of both students and
teachers. Its future growth is restrained by the limited budget of Ideals Associated,
and by the fact that teachers in the TUSD carry heavy teaching loads and obtain
little financial support for equipment or for innovation.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Hayden's program has salvaged many “at-risk” students
from a dead-end future. To her surprise, the dialog program hastened the academic
growth of both average and gifted students. The at-risk group made the most rapid
gains in language, reading, and computation. The act of taking charge of a
partner's learning converted impatient and highly-competitive high achievers into
team players.
System Dynamics '90 171
The second component to the restructuring is the presence of Frank Draper
as leader. He became involved as a result of my casual attendance at a neighborhood
meeting when the Superintendent of our CFSD district was soliciting voter support
for a forthcoming bond issue to build a new high school. Here I learned of his
interest in a high school that would differ in both substance and structure from
traditional high schools. I met with him and asked that he consider introducing the
subject of system dynamics into the program. I showed him my copy of the
Academic Users Guide To STELLA, and after about 20 minutes he said “please go
and see Frank Draper.” This I did. Frank Draper's and my interests were mutually
reinforcing. The program cited above emerged and has become visible, viable and
vigorous at the middle school level. On February 27, 1990, the school board
approved a new mission statement for the curriculum of Frank's school, and the
new Espero Middle School, which will open next fall. In both schools an
“Interdisciplinary Approach to Curriculum Planning and Learning,”
and the "Development of Systems Thinking as a means of Viewing the World as an
Interdependent Dynamic System,” play central roles. Since its beginning about two
years ago, the systems thinking program in the Orange Grove School has been
funded by additional private support given to Ideals Associated.
All this leads me to conclude that the optimum level to begin the introduction
of systems thinking is at the 4th grade, then work up through the middle schools to
high schools. I have noted that progress in introducing systems thinking is achieved
much more quickly and more economically when the effort begins in an elementary
or middle school. Elsewhere in the country, however, most effort is focused on
high schools where discipline pressures are strong and where the difficulties of
making change are great.
Because high schools are usually located at sites away from elementary
schools, there is inherently a time delay before the lower schools hear about
advances in teaching in the high schools. But when the change takes place first in
the lower school, the students will take with them information about improved
172 System Dynamics '90
teaching practices as they move to the higher grades on other campuses, and thus
generate pressure for change. Also, they will be prepared for the more advanced
study of systems that a high school should offer.
This is no mere ‘trickle up' situation. On the contrary, it is a powerful means for
extending reform throughout a system. Student flow up takes information flow up.
Some of the key features of our program are:
a) We have a new paradigm, namely SYSTEMS THINKING with LEARNER
directed LEARNING,
b) The leadership of the program comes from within the school, specifically from
Frank Draper who is a very talented teacher with a great vision of the future.
During the past two years he has combined his skill at developing computer
software with his broad background in education and industry to develop about
30 models and simulations of real world problems. He has now been joined by
his colleague, Mark Swanson. Our Principal, Ms. Mary Scheetz, has established
teams of 7th and 8th grade teachers to promote interdisciplinary planning and
teaching,
c) we have adopted a considerable amount of modern technology, and use it to
achieve enhanced learning and efficiencies in operation. Our Macintosh
computers were a grant from the Apple Computer Company and we are a
member of the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Program,
d) Our administration is skilled at encouraging information flow up from the troops
in the trenches, whereas in many places information (orders) flows only
downwards,
e) Our administration knows that the hardware and the software in a school system
must be kept compatible, which means that the environment is constantly
monitored and updated,
f) We have citizen champions who work at the task and are welcomed by the
teachers and the administration,
System Dynamics ‘90 173
g) Frank Draper paraphrases George Bernard Shaw by saying,"We now have
students in search of knowledge, not knowledge in search of students,” and our
students are only 12-14 years old.
References
1. Forrester, Jay W. "System Dynamics as a Foundation for Pre-College Education,” Paper
D-4133, April 10, 1990, Systems Dynamics Group, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA.
2. Richmond, Barry, et al. 1967. Academic Users Guide to STELLA, High Performance
Systems, Lyme, NH 03758.
3. Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. "The Turning Point,” Carnegie Corporation,
New York.
4. Draper, Frank. Personal Communications to Dr. Forrester, May 2, 1989, and October 1, 1989.
5. Draper, Frank. "The World of Systems," A new elective for 7th or 8th grade students at
Orange Grove Middle School, Tucson, AZ 85718.
6. Draper, Frank and Mark Swanson. "Learner Directed Systems Education: A Successful
Example," Systems Dynamics Review. ( Accepted for publication Summer 1990).
7. Ashby, Sir Eric. "The Administrator, Bottleneck or Pump?” DAEDALUS. Spring 1962, Vol.
91, No 2. Jour. American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
8. Cowper, William. 1908. The Poetical Works of William Cowper, Macmillan & Co. London,
Edited by William Benham, p. 267.
