Contested futures for lighting in urban spaces: drawing on ideas about messiness and resistance to inform lighting education strategies against light pollution. Author Mary-Anne Kyriakou

A simple understanding of complex systems theory assists to orientate educational concepts originating in simple systems modelling. Post the industrial revolution and across a number of disciplines, emerging models have evolved to advance the 'factory' model of schooling, that is 'reductive, linear, predictable, and maintains an equilibrium' (Gough, 2013. page 1215). The reductive model does not  represent social, reflexivity, emergence and self organisation but instead represent "trailing edge" concepts of simple science discourse.  Complexity modelling has evolved beyond simple system modelling to include a number of system theories such as; chaos theory, adaptive systems theory and adaptive self-organisation and anti-centralised control theory.

These theories (with varying degrees of success) aim to acknowledge and understand the interactions across and within heterogeneous assemblages.

The Ted Lesson by Terri Elton introduces a number of complexity theories.

Activity 15 minutes

Go through the video and carry out the suggested activity.

1.1 Emergent Behaviour within complex systems

Extending ideas of complexity theory towards concepts of behaviour,  Mason (2014) discusses that within a complex system, minor elements may emerge to create new behaviours and patterns that transform the system. A scientific understanding of education as the ‘natural’ order of stability, predictability, and equilibrium does not take into consideration complex behaviour. Gough (2013) uses the example from new understandings (in the field of bacteriology) to illustrate emergence in bacteria behaviour, to extend an understanding of emergence in education that encompasses, “new concepts, metaphors and forms of social imagination”. Gough argues, 

to be suspicious of a simple systems rationality in which educational policies, directives, incentives and disincentives function as homeostatic devices, regulating the diverse inputs of students, teachers and researchers bringing them within closed circuits of corrective feedback in order to maintain stability and equilibrium.

Continuing on with concepts of complexity theory, key ideas from Mason (2014) describe the richness that occurs when acknowledging diversity:

 As a research paradigm, complexity theory cautions us not to marginalise or dispense with what is apparently trivial or inexplicable. What may appear to be marginal may well be part of the complexity of a system, and may be constituent of the critical level above which emergent properties and behaviours become possible.

 This type of modelling applied to education is open towards social, cultural, economic and political factors that influence the 'equilibrium' of the system and thereby recognizes their influence on behaviours and attitudes. Mason puts forward that complex theory gives value to the intersection of system variables to  bring about new possibilities,

Where complexity theory differs from other theories that may exhibit reductionist tendencies in research rationale and methodology, is that it suggests that it is in the dynamic interactions and adaptive orientation of a system that new phenomena, new properties and behaviours, emerge, that new patterns are developed and old ones change….

and,

Complexity theory draws attention to the emergent properties and behaviours that result not only from the essence of constituent elements, but more importantly, from the connections among them. But it's not only the exponential relationship between the elements or agents and the connections among them; and it's also not just the ‘essence’ of the constitutive elements or agents. Ralph Stacey has set down three vitally important parameters that drive complex adaptive systems: ‘the rate of information flow through the system, the richness of connectivity between agents in the system, and the level of diversity within and between the schemas of the agents’ (1996, p. 99). So, apart from rich, exponentially generated connectivity among constituent elements, it's also about the diversity of those constituent elements, and the rate of information flow—and feedback—through the system across time. (Mason, 2014)

Scale of phenomena and experience

Another aspect when analysing complexity behaviour, is the influence from the scale of the phenomena that brings about the possibility to influence changes and behaviour and patterns.

Citizen science as an emergent digital education practice, explores notions of scale through mass participation from citizens to contribute to large data sets to mapping behaviour and patterns.

The notions of scale and complexity are what underlie the principle of emergent phenomena. New properties or behaviours emerge when sufficient numbers and varieties of constituent elements or agents cluster together to form a sufficiently complex arrangement of incredible scale. (Mason, 2014)

Activity 25 minutes

Watch the video from Suga Mitra TedTalk here, do you think that complexity theory and self-organisation are played out to improve literacy and the standard of education in the slums? If so, why?

Do you consider the use of a computer by the children as an instrumental approach to education? How does this influence the quality of education?

1.3 From simple system modelling to uncovering mess in digital education

Drawing on Newtonian physics, previous models of educational systems privileged reductive and homogenous representations of knowledge, flattening the understanding of heterogeneous assemblages within the system. This reduction left out the relationships and constituents of assemblages including, social, cultural, political and economic (Makri, 2013) and reduced possibility for "leading edges" such as reflexivity, emergence and self organisation (Gough, 2013).

Applying this notion further to digital education, Collier and Ross (2015) (manifesto) put forward that “bad mess” comes about from reducing relationships within a complex heterogeneous assemblage to measurement and efficiency,

Bad mess ignores diversity and inequities, and narrows definitions of learning and education to what can be understood and measured efficiently.

By contrast, Collier and Ross put forward that an emergent approach to digital considers technology as a “fruitful mess” and the “not-yetness” brings about a qualitative approach, including a deeper understanding of behaviours and patterns.

Emerging digital technologies and practices contribute to the fruitful mess that characterises education, casting new light on issues of power, responsibility, sustainability, reach and contact. These areas of emergence offer ‘not-yetness’ – an acknowledgment and valuing of things we don’t yet understand, that we haven’t yet got under control.

Activity 10 minutes

Reflect on a familiar teaching environment that includes a level of digital teaching and prepare a simple chart on the different agents and elements that supports the system.

List some of the problems within the environment and list  major influences within the system.Are your opinions based in structural and/ or cultural views?

Using an idea presented in complex systems theory, how may an alternative approach change/ influence the system? List a couple of possibilities.

Reference texts

Gough, N. (2013). Towards deconstructive nonalignment: A complexivist view of curriculum, teaching and learning. South African Journal of Higher Education. Volume 27, Issue 5. p. 1213 - 1233 (Not available as a free download)

Makri, S. (2014) “Making my own luck”: Serendipity strategies and how to support them in digital information environments. Journal for the Association for Information Science and Technology. Volume 65, Issue 11.

Mason, M. (2008). What Is Complexity Theory and What Are Its Implications for Educational Change? Educational Philosophy and Theory. Volume 40, Issue 1, pages 35–49.

Ross, J. (2017). Speculative method in digital education research. Learning Media and Technology.42:2, 214-229.

Shepard, M. (2013). Minor urbanism: everyday entanglements of technology and urban life. Journal of Media and Cultural Studies. Volume 27, p.483-494. (Not available as a free download)