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3556709

Systems thinking as an approach to develop chemistry students’ professional skills

Date
April 5, 2021

Research suggests that while most chemistry students possess adequate content knowledge when they graduate, they often lack the professional skills required to succeed in their future careers. A current priority in chemistry education is identifying and implementing educational strategies and approaches that will help develop students’ professional skills before they enter the workforce. Systems thinking is an approach for examining and addressing complex behaviors and phenomena from a more holistic perspective. Proponents of systems thinking recognize this approach for its ability to promote meaningful learning of chemistry content and prepare students to understand and address complex, real-world challenges such as sustainability and climate change. A systems thinking approach is also particularly well-suited to build students’ problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills and might support their development of other professional skills.

In this presentation, we will briefly establish the definition and characteristics of a systems thinking approach in chemistry education and then discuss the professional skills and attitudes that directly correlate with, complement, or may indirectly result from chemistry students’ engagement in systems thinking. We propose that a systems thinking approach will benefit students’ comprehension of chemistry concepts and their development of the professional skills required for success in their future careers.

Presenter

Speaker Image for Sarah York
Graduate Research Fellow, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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