Integrating Systems: the History of Systems from von Bertalanffy to Profound Learning

This paper explores the role and history of systems theory and thinking in the fields of instructional/educational technology and design. The foundations of ID/ET as fields are rich in behavioral, systematic, and positivist notions of process, but we assert that it is weaker in the reflective, thoughtful, deep and meaningful orientations. Woven into the history of the role of systems in ID/ET are connections to constructivism, learning sciences, qualitative research, holistic ontological and epistemic philosophy as foundations to the impact of systems theories on our field. Understanding systems theory histories without the broader contexts of the other similarly focused and highly influential movements in educational change keeps the perceptions within the field as unidimensional. A more complete and textured analysis of the history of systems theory and thinking is offered through the interdisciplinary lens of intersective, but heretofore rarely integrated, perspectives on related disciplines and their force upon the implementation of systems thinking and theories in our field. The ultimate assertion here is to push the envelope of the history of our field toward interpretive or anti-positivist boundaries.

Our purpose in this paper, however, goes beyond just history. While historical perspective is useful and important in and of itself, we are interested in a different kind of generativity. Specifically, we wish to begin to explore the edges of where we might go next. Ideally, the proper integration of systems theory within ID/ET can gradually move us toward anti-positivist approaches which we believe will then lead us out of the philosophical desert toward a form of ID/ET for human flourishing and profound living. With the foundations and backdrops of the history of systems theories including those mentioned above, we believe that the intellectual history can then feed a synthetic activity and a potential new direction. We believe that the recent work in profound learning can offer a new direction where we can see beyond our current milieu. We assert that Educational Technology, Instructional Design, Learning Sciences are all in a bit of a philosophical desert at present. A potential endpoint in profound learning and living can help to inform and expand the broader sense of systems thinking. This paper adds significantly to the theoretical discussions of systems theory and thinking.