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Working to develop Systems Citizens in K-12 Education

2018 CLE Conference

CLE Conference

 

The 2018 CLE ST/DM Conference was a success! Great presentations from teachers, system dynamisists, and others. Beta testing of Splash!, System stories, and More!

Learn more about this exciting conference

Splash! A New Way to Play

Create animated models of ecosystems? Predator and Prey dynamics? No problem with Splash! Think what fun kids will have using this new visual software to learn and integrate the powerful concepts of systems thinking to use as they think critically about the world.

Over the years we have found that the gap between the kinesthetic and pencil and paper tools (games, behavior-over-time graphs, causal loop diagrams and connection circles) and stock/flow mapping and modeling has been hard to cross for many students and teachers. We think Splash! will help bridge the gap.

 

Splash! is a creative partnership between the CLE and BTN.
Learn more about Splash!.

Model Mysteries

Model Mysteries Book Cover

An Exploration of Vampires, Zombies, and Other Fantastic Scenarios to Make the World a Better Place

by Anne LaVigne and Lees Stuntz

If you’re interested in thinking about how to solve mysteries and like the idea of creating computer models and applying them to real-world problems, this book is for you. You can use it independently as a student, work with a group of students, or if you’re a teacher, share it with interested students to complete a guided or independent study.

 

Learn more, get the book, and some extensions (including some models with Stella Online!) at the Model Mysteries page.

 

Video

Splash!

 


Splash! A New Kind of System Dynamics Software

More videos

 

 

Recent Newsletter Articles

DynamiQueST 2018 World Climate Simulation

Taking Notes

DynamiQueST is a showcase of the power of simulations and creative student projects that utilize critical thinking skills to analyze complex dynamic systems. Organized by the CLE and Innovation Academy Charter School (IACS), and hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute, on March 16, about 45 students in grades 7-12 participated in this student centered conference that celebrates the application of systems thinking in schools.

Read more in The Exchange

Modeling Air-Powered Rockets
by Chris DiCarlo

Taking Notes

an excerpt from the article....

"As students learn about forces and Newton’s Laws, they can add new variables for force and mass to their models to calculate the acceleration and improve their models even more....This circular feedback relationship between drag force and speed makes it impossible to properly analyze with high school level mathematics, but adding this relationship to our model is no more difficult than adding any other force. The addition of the drag force completes the model, which is now able to accurately simulate a rocket flight."

Read more in The Exchange

Studying Homeostasis in the Skeletal System Using Feedback Loops
by Ashley Young

Taking Notes

Students can have difficulty with the study of bone anatomy, as many of the types of bone cells sound similar (osteoclasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes, etc.), and they can lose sight of how these cells work together to form and remodel bone tissue during growth and/or injury.
This activity was designed to help students better understand how the different cell types help our body maintain homeostasis in blood calcium levels, as well as make connections to a well known bone disease — osteoporosis.

Read more in The Exchange

 

Download the most recent copy of The Exchange vol 27.2

New Year's News

A generous donor has put up a $16,000 match for Splash!

As soon as we raise $16,000, the donor will complete the funding for Version 1 of our intuitive, fun App.

This January we are finishing up a simple, running demo of Splash! and will be working on making a full Version 1 over the next 4 months to have it ready for the ST/DM conference, June 30-July 2.

Help us finish up funding!

$16,000 to go!

Donate Now!

Splash! is a creative partnership between

 
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