Can computational modeling in medical education support a constructionist educational framework? Insights from the seminal literature in Papertian constructionism and system dynamics

Abstract

Introduction The inclusion of a system dynamics course in our medical school curriculum was designed to encourage systems thinking through computational modeling. From anecdotal observations, it soon became evident that something more profound was occurring—rather than simply learning, our students appeared to be constructing knowledge by building computational models in a way that is consistent with Papert's constructionism. Approach In the absence of a reliable tool to identify constructionism, we examine the seminal literature of Forrester's system dynamics and Papert's constructionism by extracting key excerpts to look for evidence supporting the hypothesis that computational modeling may constitute a constructionist activity. Observations The literature suggests that there is substantial convergence between the educational approach of constructionism and the activity of constructing models in system dynamics. Discussion An examination of the seminal literature suggests that system dynamics modeling has features that are consistent with a constructionist approach. By extension, other approaches such as agent-based modeling also embody constructionist principles, and the expanding integration of artificial intelligence into computational modeling may present opportunities for novel approaches to constructionist learning. Formal real-world educational studies will be required to accumulate empirical learner data in order to confirm the constructionist nature of systems modeling.