Designing to learn about complex systems

Complex systems are commonly found in natural and physical science. Underst anding such systems is often difficult because they may be viewed from mult iple perspectives and their analysis may conflict with or extend beyond the range of everyday experience. There are many complex structural, behaviora l, and functional relations to understand as well. Design activities, which allow explorations of how systems work, can be an excellent way to help ch ildren acquire a deeper, more systemic understanding of such complex domain s. We report on a design experiment in which 6th ade children learned about the human respiratory system by designing artificial lungs and building pa rtial working models. Structure-behavior-function models are used as a fram ework for the cognitive analysis of the domain. The design activities helpe d students learn about the respiratory system. The design students indeed l earned more than students receiving direct instruction. They learned to vie w the respiratory system more systemically. As expected, because of the sho rt time they spent on the exercise, they understood more about structure th an function and more about the functions of different parts of the respirat ory system than its causal behaviors. This early Learning by Design experim ent makes several important suggestions about successful learning from desi gn activities: (a) the need to define design challenges functionally; (b) t he importance of dynamic feedback; (c) the need for multiple iterations tow ard a solution; and most important; (d) thinking about design as a system o f activities and allocating time so that the full system can be carried out , allowing its full set of affordances to be realized.