I chose the Immune System as the complex adaptive system. Pathogens, white blood cells, antibodies and so on would be the agents, while the environment is, essentially, the entire human body. The white blood cells and antibodies recognize harmful pathogens and fight them off in order to preserve the environment.
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A phenomenon to describe would be an urban system and its effect with the weather. The agents can be the amount of urbanization in terms of square miles or homes/ industries/construction. The environment can be any region that has not been previously modified by humans. The interactions are how much urbanization will affect the amount of rainfall, average temperature and native flora and fauna.
Communicable diseases are a great example for computer simulation. Its interesting how applying the traveling factor greatly increases the opportunity for disease spreading. Then keeping in mind the places where a great amount of people “cluster” to work and study, students will start wonder how to prevent a global epidemic.
A few years ago I was on an Earthwatch Expedition in Reno Nevada. The scientist was studying global warming. The complex adaptive system involved two agents, caterpillars and wasps. The wasps would land on caterpillars are called parasitoids They kill the caterpillars by laying eggs in them (this gives their offspring a safe, food-rich place to grow). Caterpillars and parasitoids live in a delicate balance, one that climate change could destroy. The warming environment changes the timing of the life-cycle of both the caterpillar and wasp. It also changes the trees these insects live and feed on.
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I think my original thought about weather could still fit as a complex adaptive system. The environment would be included/the same as the agents. These would be moisture levels, temperature and pressure. As all of these agents interact and change the weather for a location would be ever changing and adapting to the agents presented.
I chose a school as my environment. The agents being students, parents, teachers, administration.
Students can interact with parents, teachers, administration, students, and be either supported, or not supported.
Teachers can interact with parents, teachers, administration, students, and be either supported, or not supported.
Parents can interact with parents, teachers, administration, students, and be either supported, or not supported.
Administration can interact with parents, teachers, administration, students, and be either supported, or not supported.
This all based on a hypothesis that I have that parental support will guide student success, and that support of teachers will increase productivity and pedagogical efficiency.
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That is a good idea. You can tie it into an aeronautics curriculum. This is powerful.
I would love to see what the science olympiad students do and see how that could be applied to a computer model. I have a great activity that is hands on for disease outbreaks, and the computer model might be great for the class I am teaching this year called, Medical Detectives.
What a great idea. In grade 8 we teach so much Earth science. Using computer models that address this adaptive complex system to review the rock cycle as we move through curriculum would be interesting for sure.
A complex system could be the inner earth’s processes involving volcanoes and earthquakes.
Also: patterns in the atmosphere/hydrosphere.
ALSO: star, comet, astroid, planets, Earth, Moon movements can be studied closely and predicted.
I would like to create an adaptive system that showed the affect of ocean temperature on the Florida coral reef system. I could include the affect on corals, algae and fish populations.
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In grade 8 we have tons of plate tectonic information and volcanoes and earthquakes. We also have all the weathering, erosion and deposition we need to cover.
You could also consider track migrating patterns of ocean species.
That’s a good idea! Thanks
In my example of erosion the agents would be temperature, precipitation , wind, animals and types rock/soil. The agents can interact with each other to effect the rates of erosion in a given area.
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Agents of erosion are temperature, water, wind, organisms, chemicals, and rock, soil ect. The interaction between them is the wearing away of the rock and soil by the action of wind, water, chemicals, organisms and the effect of temperature on all of these. The environment is the earth system although it could be applied to other planet systems as well.
Hi Carrie, I liked your example of factors effecting tornado formation. The factors (agents) do have an incredible effect on each other. It was a great example to use.
the interaction of matter under conditions that are theoretical in a black hole would be an interesting study
Metamorphic rock is created as a result of heat and pressure. A simulation could be developed to show how igneous or sedimentary rock could change into metamorphic rock as the agent of pressure is increased or the agent of temperature is increased.
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i agree. This would be a great model