The higher up this ladder the student proceeds, the greater the understanding. Systems thinking is a high priority in both the new NCTM standards and Project 2061, pioneering efforts to change the teaching of math and science to meet our needs for the next century, but it is a hybrid in most schools. However, basic knowledge and confidence are not sufficient conditions to insure success in implementing the systems approach. The teachers must be willing and able to share control of the classroom and learning process with the students. With traditional methods, teachers most often know what sorts of questions and responses students are likely to pose.
Teachers therefore can impart knowledge and exercise control through their disciplinary expertise.
However with the systems thinking approach, these interactions change substantially. Instead, learning becomes more interactive with responsibility shared among teachers and students. The teachers no longer function soley as transmitters of content knowledge. Instead, they become facilitators of learning. Students play a more active role in their own learning.