2019 EJRNL PP OR BATZRI 1
Terbatas Yanti Sri Rahayu, S.Sos
» ITB
Terbatas Yanti Sri Rahayu, S.Sos
» ITB
In this two-part study, we examine undergraduate university students’ expression of two important
system thinking characteristics—dynamic thinking and
cyclic thinking—focusing particularly on students of geology. The study was conducted using an Earth systems
questionnaire designed to elicit and reflect either dynamic
or cyclic thinking. The study’s first part was quantitative.
Its population consisted of a research group (223 students
majoring in geology or physical geography) and a control
group (312 students with no background in geology). The
students were asked to rate their agreement with each
statement on a Likert scale. Overall, the students in the
research group expressed higher levels of dynamic thinking
than those in the control group. The geology students
showed relatively strong dynamic thinking toward the
geosphere and hydrosphere, but not the biosphere. In cyclic
thinking, their levels were significantly higher for all Earth
systems, suggesting a connection between learning about
different cycles in Earth systems, developing cyclic
thinking and applying it to other Earth cycles. The second
part was qualitative and administered only to the students
who majored in geology. They were asked to freely explain
their answers to the questionnaire’s statements. Our aim
was to identify recurring patterns in how these students
express their dynamic and cyclic thinking. Their explanations were given to four experts in the field of Earth science, who then presented, in a semi-structured interview,
the recurring characteristics of dynamic thinking that they
found in the students’ explanations.