Complexity Context to Classroom Interactions and Climate
Introduction
The purpose of this study was
to develop a predictive agentbased model ( ABM ) to determine the relationship between classroom environment , teacher – student interaction patterns , and varying levels of teacher support in charter school eighth-grade mathematics classrooms to capture their combined impact on achievement . A major goal was to develop not only an effective predictive toot but also a visual simulation representation of the changes in classroom networks , teacher / student and student / student interactions , behavioral interaction markers that impact classroom climate , and corresponding environment . The topic is relevant because of the quick pace and number of charter schools are being opened , dramatically transforming the educational terrain in North Carolina . Charter schools vary extensively in philosophy , mission , and pedagogy and represent almost 4 % of the enrollment in North Carolina public schools ( Cheng , Hitt , Kisida , & Mills , 2015 ; NC Department of Education , 2015 ). Given the achievement gap ’ s racial disparities that direct most American educational reform policy , many charter schools were established under the guise of lessening that gap ( Cheng et al ., 2015 ).
Assessing the success of charter schools as a reform has had mixed results ( Eisen & Ladd , 2015 ; Guo , 2015 ). Assessment attempts in North Carolina have been replete with political posturing , accusations , misinformation , and lack of funding for comprehensive evaluation ( Guo , 2015 ). Determining if and how charter schools impact achievement is important to determine whether or not charter schools are effective as an education reform . Though , achievement tests alone do not give the complete picture ( U . S . Department of Education , 2007 ). Many critical factors , such as climate in charter schools , have not been examined . When school climate is considered , charter schools “ appear to demonstrate a better attunement to student needs and greater success in meeting them ” ( U . S . Department of Education , 2007 , p . 4 ).
When key variables in relation to achievement were researched , they were often studied in isolation without regard for the charter school systems as an integrated whole . Yet , classrooms operate as complex adaptive systems ( CAS ). A school classroom , characterized as a complex adaptive system depends on the environment and contingency , subsumed by “ the nature of the ever-changing interactions among the constituent parts ” ( Hadžikadić , O ’ Brien , & Khouja , 2013 , p . 11 ). Investigating classroom interactions by merely reducing them to mere constituent parts contributes to minimum understanding the cointeraction of classroom elements and the environment , as well as implications resulting from the fact that the classroom interactions give rise to aggregate systemlevel outcomes of achievement scores in charter schools ( Johnson , 2016 ). A complexity context and corresponding simulation methodological approaches allow for more intricate investigation of nonlinear classroom interactions in relation to achievement score outcomes , in order to better grasp the nature , magnitude , and nuances of the inherent complexity unique to charter schools ( Hadžikadić et al ., 2013 , p . 15 ).
In the literature , no studies were found that utilized a complexity context with a methodological approach involving qualitative , quantitative , and network analyses , as well as ABM , as used in this research . The literature revealed that complex educational systems , like classrooms , can be accounted for and accommodated by
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