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“Astrobiology, Complexity and Emergence” for Middle School
Julia Brodsky
Art of Inquiry, LLC, Rockville, MD, 20854; info@artofinquiry.net
Introduction:
There is a growing interest in teaching the holistic
approach to science among K-12 science education and
parental communities. The exciting field of
astrobiology provides a great example of a multi-
disciplinary perspective that emphasizes system
thinking, complexity, and emergence. By presenting
familiar scientific phenomena in unusual settings and
emphasizing the process over results, it helps students
maintain their natural curiosity and develop critical
thinking.
Our approach:
We find storytelling and role-play to be excellent
tools for the development of scientific identity. It has
turned out that students overwhelmingly prefer finding
patterns and interrelationships in complex systems to
the accumulation of facts. They often feel elated when
they start seeing the same scientific concepts in diverse
settings or observe the dynamics of systems over time.
We have developed and taught an astrobiology
course for 9-12-year-old students. Our approach can be
implemented in the classroom, in a homeschool setting,
as an after-school activity, or as a science fair project.
Since students have no advance knowledge of the
subject, the class can be taught in mixed-age groups. So
far, we have successfully introduced the following
topics:
Definition of life
Emergence in natural sciences
Emergence in biology
Emergence in social sciences
System thinking and its application to early mass
extinctions
The idea of the self-regulating planet
Search for life in the Solar system
Exoplanets
Space habitats
Terraforming
At the end of each course, we have been receiving very
positive responses from student and parents.
We have observed a high level of engagement, the
increase in scientific dialogue in families and peer groups,
and strengthening of intellectual friendship among
students. By discussing the open-ended topics such as
ethics of terraforming planets, implications of space law,
and life preservation, our astrobiology course has brought
together students who were interested in science and
humanities.
References:
• Staley, James T. (2003) Astrobiology, the
transcendent science: the promise of
astrobiology as an integrative approach for
science and engineering education and research;
Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 14: 347-354
• Forrester, Jay W. (2016), Learning through
System Dynamics as Preparation for the 21st
Century; System Dynamics Review, v 32, p187-
203.
• Mirkes, Maria (2018) Extreme education,
NooGen, TED talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dll-jtmrD70
• Abrahamson, D., Kapur, M. (2018). Reinventing
discovery learning: A field-wide design-
research program; Instructional Science, 46(1),
1-10
• Rothstein, Dan and Santana, Luz, (2015), Make
Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their
Own Questions; Harvard Education Press, 6th
edition, Right Question Institute
• Brodsky, Julia (2015) Bright, Brave, Open
Minds – Engaging Young Children in Math
Inquiry; Natural Math, Delta Stream Media
• Jacobson, M.J., and Wilensky, U., (2006),
Complex Systems in Education: Scientific and
Educational Importance and Implications for the
Learning Sciences; Journal of the Learning
Sciences, v.15(1), p.11–34.
• Raia, F., (2005), Students' understanding of
complex dynamic systems; Journal of
Geoscience Education, v. 53, p. 297-308
