Classification, Organization, Order, and Systems

Overview
    Misconceptions and concepts for classification, organization, order & systems by level: beginning intermidiate, & literate.

See also Experiment and Science investigation & inquiry unpacked

Classification, organization, order, and systems misconceptions and concepts

Initial perceptual naive misconceptions (any age)
(Explanations, Naive understanding, Misconceptions, or Perceptual responses)

  1. Things (objects) just have common characteristics or properties for no important or meaningful reason.
  2. Objects properties are random and have no use in understanding and explaining the world.
  3. Objects can only be grouped in one way.
  4. Order eixsts for no specific benefit (providing understanding or explanation).
  5. Order is one directional.
  6. Numbers can't be classified, because they are all different.
  7. Letters can't be classified, because they are all different.

Beginning concepts (preschool - 7 years)

Classification & Organization

  1. Objects, organisms, events, and systems can be organized into groups with similar properties (classification).
  2. Classification is one example of organization.
  3. Objects are classified by their common properties.
  4. Objects have properties.
  5. Objects are classified by there common properties.
  6. Objects are identified by their properties.
  7. Objects have more than one property.
  8. Objects can be ordered by their properties.
  9. Objects in a group share some characteristics while differing in others.
  10. Objects, organisms, events, and systems can be organized into groups with similar properties.
  11. Objects are identified by names.
  12. Objects with similar properties are the same.
  13. Objects with different properties are different.
  14. Objects can have properties that are the same and different, but still be the same (triangles - same shape, different size, color)
  15. Objects can be grouped into sets/ groups
  16. Sets can have cardinality. Cardinality of sets can be the same or different.
  17. Objects with similar properties that change sequentially can be ordered by that property

Order Concepts

  1. Most of the time certain events happen in a similar manner.
  2. Order is created by properties that change sequentially
  3. Some events are more likely to happen than others.
  4. Some events can be predicted more accurately than others.
  5. Sometimes people aren't sure what will happen because they don't know everything that might be having an effect on the event.
  6. Often a person can find out about a group of things by studying just a few of them.

System Concepts

  1. Parts are related to a whole.
  2. A whole is related to its parts.
  3. Parts are related to parts.
  4. System is a group of related objects.
  5. Most things are made of parts.
  6. Something may not work if a part is missing.
  7. When parts are put together they can do things they can't do alone.

Intermediate concepts (7 years - 11 years)

Classification & Organization

  1. Organization of objects, organisms, events, and systems help people understand similarities and differences that in turn help understand the world.
  2. Classification is one example of organization.
  3. Objects are classified by their properties.
  4. Classification by common properties can create similar groups.
  5. Objects in a group can share some characteristics while differing in others.
  6. A group of objects may be sub classified in one or more ways.
  7. A group of objects may be subclassified as members of an ascending hierarchy.
  8. A group or set can be described and classified by processes as well as properties.
  9. Thinking about things as groups or sets means looking at how every element relates to other members of the group or set.
  10. Objects may have properties of two different groups or sets.

Order

  1. Variables affect the order of events.
  2. Order is required to understand the world and predict events.

System

  1. System is a group of related objects that work together for a particular purpose (machines, organism).
  2. The parts in a system interact with the other parts to cause the system to work.
  3. A system may not work if a part is missing, broken, worn out, mismatched, or disconnected.
  4. Objects can be classified as either natural or of human design,
  5. Organization of objects, organisms, events, and systems help people understand similarities and differences that in turn help understand the world.
  6. Sometimes thinking about things as systems improves understanding and sometimes it doesn't.

Literate concepts (11+)

Classification & Organization

  1. Organizations such as the periodic table, classification of animals, properties of matter, cells, tissues, organs, organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems have helped in developing explanations about these objects and their interactions.
  2. Classification is one example of organization.
  3. Objects and events can be classified as members of an ascending hierarchy.
  4. A system can include processes as well as things.
  5. Thinking about things as systems means looking at how every part relates to others.
  6. Sometimes objects have properties of two different groups and it's difficult to decide in which group to put them.

Order

  1. Probability is the relative certainty or uncertainty that people assign to events happening or not happening in a certain place or time.
  2. Creating knowledge through observation of different variables influence on objects, organisms, populations, communities, and events helps create better explanatory models

System

  1. System is a group of related objects or components that form a whole.
  2. Can be concrete objects, groups of objects, processes, or ideas.
  3. Some systems have boundaries with input and output of resources and feedback.
  4. Output for one part of a system can be input for another.
  5. Such feedback is used to control the system.
  6. Systems are used as units of investigations.
  7. Thinking about how a system works means observing and collecting date on each part and how each part interacts with the others.
  8. Systems can be connected to other systems and thought of as a subsystem.
  9. Systmes may have what appear to be natural boundaries, but are generally arbitrary.
  10. System ideas are used outside of science. Technolog and business use system analysis which looks at systems relationships by their inputs and outputs. Computer programming use these ideas with procedural languages, functions, and object oriented programming.

 

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
homeofbob.com & schoolofbob.com