Learning causality in a complex world : understandings of consequence / Tina A. Grotzer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grotzer, Tina.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Causation.

Physical Description:

xiii, 193 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2012.

Summary:

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 developing 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 lives become more global and more interconnected. Yet we aren't very skilled at thinking about causality. Research shows that we instead rely on limiting default assumptions that can lend to poor choices in a complex world. What can we do about it? Learning Causality in a Complex World 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. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction

Simple linear causality : one thing makes another happen

The cognitive science of simple causality : why do we get stuck?

Domino causality : effects that become causes

Cyclic causality : loops and feedback

Spiraling causality : escalation and de-escalation

Mutual causality : symbiosis and bi-directionality

Relational causality : balances and differentials

Across time and distance : detecting delayed and distant effects

"What happened?" vs. "what's going on?" : thinking about steady states

What you can't see does matter : attending to obvious and non-obvious causes

It's not always a case of who did it : minding passive and unintentional causality

Step by step, or not : the mind-bending concept of simultaneous causality

Figuring out what to count on : dealing with stochastic causality

Isn't anybody in charge around here? : attending to distributed causality and emergence

Summing up : the implications for helping a new generation understand causal complexity

Putting it all together : teaching for causal complexity.

ISBN:

9781610488631

1610488636

9781610488648

1610488644

OCLC:

774500444