Learning Causality in a Complex World
Understandings of Consequence
1st Edition
Published on 28. June 2012
208 pages
978-1-61048-865-5 (ISBN)
Description
What do children's interactions on the playground have to do with foreign policy? How does science understanding in middle school relate to environmental disasters in third world countries? The causal patterns that we detect and how we act upon them pervade every aspect of our lives. These skills will only become more important in the future as our world becomes more global and more interconnected. Yet we aren't very skilled at thinking about causality. Research shows that instead we rely on limiting default assumptions that can lead to poor choices in a complex world. What can we do about it? This book offers ways to become aware of these patterns and to reframe our thinking to become more effective learners and citizens of the world. Through examples and accessible explanations, it offers a causal curriculum to enable more effective learning so that we can put the power of better causal understanding to work for ourselves and the next generation- for today and tomorrow.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN-13
978-1-61048-865-5 (9781610488655)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2012
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
€110.30
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Tina Grotzer is associate professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a senior researcher at Project Zero. Dr. Grotzer studies how people reason about causal complexity and its implications for K-12 education and the public understanding of science. For this work, she received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, one of the highest honors given by the United States government.
Content
Ch 1: Introduction
Part 1: The Lure of Simple Causality
Ch 2: Simple Linear Causality: One Thing Makes Another Happen
Ch 3: The Cognitive Science of Simple Causality: Why Do We Get Stuck?
Part 2: Getting Beyond Simple: A Set of Causal Patterns for the Curriculum
Ch 4: Domino Causality: Effects that Become Causes
Ch 5: Cyclic Causality: Loops and Feedback
Ch 6: Spiraling Causality: Escalation and De-escalation
Ch 7: Mutual Causality: Symbiosis and Bi-Directionality
Ch 8: Relational Causality: Balances and Differentials
Part 3: Features of Complex Causality and Our Related Default Assumptions
Ch 9: Across Time and Distance: Detecting Delayed and Distant Effects
Ch 10: "What Happened?" vs. "What's Going On?": Thinking about Steady States
Ch 11: What You Can't See Does Matter: Attending to Obvious and Non-Obvious Causes
Ch 12: It's Not Always a Case of Who Did It: Minding Passive and Unintentional Causality
Ch 13: Step by Step...Or Not: The Mind-Bending Concept of Simultaneous Causality
Ch 14: Figuring Out What to Count On: Dealing with Stochastic Causality
Ch 15: Isn't Anybody in Charge Around Here?: Attending to Distributed Causality and Emergence
Part 4: Summing Up: The Implications for Helping a New Generation Understand Causal Complexity
Ch 16: Putting it All Together: Teaching for Causal Complexity
Part 1: The Lure of Simple Causality
Ch 2: Simple Linear Causality: One Thing Makes Another Happen
Ch 3: The Cognitive Science of Simple Causality: Why Do We Get Stuck?
Part 2: Getting Beyond Simple: A Set of Causal Patterns for the Curriculum
Ch 4: Domino Causality: Effects that Become Causes
Ch 5: Cyclic Causality: Loops and Feedback
Ch 6: Spiraling Causality: Escalation and De-escalation
Ch 7: Mutual Causality: Symbiosis and Bi-Directionality
Ch 8: Relational Causality: Balances and Differentials
Part 3: Features of Complex Causality and Our Related Default Assumptions
Ch 9: Across Time and Distance: Detecting Delayed and Distant Effects
Ch 10: "What Happened?" vs. "What's Going On?": Thinking about Steady States
Ch 11: What You Can't See Does Matter: Attending to Obvious and Non-Obvious Causes
Ch 12: It's Not Always a Case of Who Did It: Minding Passive and Unintentional Causality
Ch 13: Step by Step...Or Not: The Mind-Bending Concept of Simultaneous Causality
Ch 14: Figuring Out What to Count On: Dealing with Stochastic Causality
Ch 15: Isn't Anybody in Charge Around Here?: Attending to Distributed Causality and Emergence
Part 4: Summing Up: The Implications for Helping a New Generation Understand Causal Complexity
Ch 16: Putting it All Together: Teaching for Causal Complexity
