 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
GLOSSARY INQUIRY: COMPLICATED SYSTEM
A system composed of many interacting (yet in themselves inert) parts that can be studied using probabilistic models and statistical methods.
Unlike simple systems, which only have a few variables or parts, complicated systems have a significant number of interacting variables or parts, which make precise prediction of the those individual variables or parts very difficult. However, such systems can be adequately described in terms of their global, collective characteristics or behaviours using probabilistic or statistical methods. A complicated system should also be distinguished from complex systems, since 1) its component parts are inert rather than dynamic and adaptive, and 2) the operating assumption is that its behaviour as a whole can be entirely understood by reducing it to its parts—it does not embody emergent possibilities.
Most educational research in the 20th century has been framed by statistical approaches—for example, large-scale high stakes assessment, the normal curve and intelligence testing. In fact, many mathematicians and statisticians regard much of this research as a misapplication.
See related terms: Reductionism.
