Thoughts on a Pedagogy OF Complexity

There is now a developed and extensive literature on the implications of the "complexity frame of reference" (Castellani & Hafferty, 2009) for education in general and pedagogy in particular. This includes a wide range of interesting contributions which consider how complexity can inform, inter alia, research on educational systems (Cochran-Smith et al., 2014; Radford, 2008) and theories of learning (Mercer, 2011; Fromberg, 2010), as well as work dealing with specific pedagogical domains including physical education (Atencio et al., 2014, Tan et al. 2010), clinical education and in particular the learning of clinical teams (Noel et al., 2013; Bleakley, 2010; Gonnering, 2010), and learning in relation to systems engineering (Thompson et al., 2011, Foster et al., 2001). This material has contributed considerably to David Byrne's thinking about the subject matter of this essay which is not the implications of complexity for pedagogy but rather how a pedagogy OF complexity might be developed and, more specifically, a pedagogy of what Morin (2008) has called "general" (as opposed to "restricted") complexity. In this article, Byrne contemplates "how" the complexity frame of reference should be taught at all appropriate educational levels. The article is intended to contribute to a debate about the pedagogy of complexity by putting forth some ideas and stimulating a response. It draws on what is available in the literature and Byrne's own teaching experiences.