Transparency of Model Structures in Learning Environments

["Phil Odence"]

A few thoughts regarding Sauds inquiry about making model struture
transparent:

- Lead with behavior, then with structure. Weve found that people get a lot
more interested in structure, once they experienced some behavior that they
wish to have explained.

- Use simplified versions of structure. Generally models that provide
credible outputs for a learning environment demand structural complexity
which may not add to the dynamics, but certainly adds to the spagetti.
Simplify struture to the minium required to explain the behavior of
interest.

- Use a slow reveal technique, like ithinks logic tracing capability. The
idea is that even simplified structure can be overwhelming to the
uninitiated. So start with a little structure and build up gradually adding
more pieces. I would think you could program something like this in your VB
interface.

Phil Odence
HPS
From: "Phil Odence" <podence@hps-inc.com>

[muhammad@ifi.uib.no]

Hi everyone,

My question is an addition to the query raised by joddi-anne about the
development of learning environments.

My current thesis work is about making the model structures transparent in
learning environments. The model structure is made transparent by allowing
the policy designer to analyse integration, feedbacks, delays and
non-linearities. There can be a number of approaches to make these
fundamental elements transparent. An example is a causal tracing provided
in Vensim, through causal tracing a user can find the causes of model
behavior.

I am using Tareq Abdul Hamids s/w development project model developed in
Powersim. I am planning to make front end interface in Powersim or in
Visual Basic.

I will appreciate if any one can give me the references of existing work or
any suggestion about making model structures transparent in learning
environments in structure behavior perspective with the help of fundamental
SD elements (Integration,feedback,delays,nonlinearity).

Best regards


Saud
..........................................
Muhammad Nadeem Saud
System Dynamics Program,
Dept. of Information Science,
University of Bergen, Norway.

Email: muhammad@ifi.uib.no
: muhammadsaud@hotmail.com