Using system characteristics for reasoning about complex chemical phenomena

Chemists encounter complex phenomena on different levels of granularity, from interacting molecules to their role in society, presenting a challenge for educators. Systems thinking can help clarify this complexity. This study investigates how chemists, chemistry teachers, and teacher educators reason about complex chemical phenomena in terms of eight system characteristics (components, interactions, hierarchy, dynamics, input-output, feedback, boundary, and emergence), and how these characteristics might be applied for teaching systems thinking in chemistry education. Data were collected through thirty semi-structured interviews. Findings show that the system characteristics are suitable for reasoning about complex phenomena across different levels of granularity and for capturing aspects of chemical reasoning (e.g. structure and properties). However, interpretations of these characteristics vary due to overlaps, informal meanings, omissions, and the type of phenomenon and level of granularity considered. Teachers and teacher educators find the characteristics useful for supporting students’ thinking and enhancing context-based education. Challenges facing include difficulties in interpretation, expressed feelings of incompetence, and uncertainty about their added value. Additionally, usage appeared to vary by question and subject, without consensus. Based on these insights, we propose directions for professional development to enhance the use of system characteristics in chemistry education.