Measurement and Development of Systems Thinking–Empirical Findings Regarding the Structure of System Competence and Its Promotion by Means of Analogue and Digital Models

Abstract

The challenges within the context of global climate change illustrate the relevance of system competence for evaluating complex human-environmental relations. By means of pre-post design this empirical comparison study examines the changes of the contextual systems thinking of students using (1) analogue or (2) digital soil erosion models (simulation), respectively (3) a combination of both approaches. Based on the "Freiburg heuristic competence model of systems thinking", test items are developed and validated. Confirmatory factor analyses suggest a four-dimensional competence structure. Analyses of variance reveal a significant higher mean value of system competence in the group that has experienced a combined analogue and digital intervention compared to the group with mere computer simulation.