Supporting systems thinking: Collaborative learning with an interactive carbon cycle visualisation

This study aims to investigate upper secondary school students’ engagement in computer-supported collaborative learning while interacting with a digital interactive visualisation of the carbon cycle. Task-based interviews were conducted with student pairs who used the visualisation to complete a carbon cycle activity, focusing on the transformation and movement of carbon compounds between carbon reservoirs. Drawing on an activity theory framework, the analysis identified contradictions and alignments among elements of the learning activity system. Findings indicate that students’ ability to construct system-based explanations was enhanced by access to key scientific concepts, effective interaction with the visualisation, and guided instructional support. Students’ development of explanations was sometimes obstructed when they engaged task-irrelevant concepts, lacked access to concepts or made unhelpful interpretations of the visualised information. Furthermore, a collaborative and socially supportive learning environment played a critical role in fostering collective sense-making and active engagement with the complexities of Earth system processes.