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Sustainability
Volume 17
Issue 15
10.3390/su17157008
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Can Green Building Science Support Systems Thinking for Energy Education?

by
Laura B. Cole
1,*,
Jessica Justice
2,
Delaney O’Brien
1,
Jayedi Aman
3,
Jong Bum Kim
3,
Aysegul Akturk
4 and
Laura Zangori
2
1
Department of Design & Merchandising, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
2
Department of Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
3
Department of Architectural Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
4
Department of Architecture, Gebze Technical University, 41400 Kocaeli, Turkey
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 7008; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157008 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 30 June 2025 / Revised: 23 July 2025 / Accepted: 29 July 2025 / Published: 1 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education through Green Infrastructure)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Systems thinking (ST) is a foundational cognitive skillset to advance sustainability education but has not been well examined for learners prior to higher education. This case study research in rural middle schools in the Midwestern U.S. examines systems thinking outcomes of a place-based energy literacy unit focused on energy-efficient building design. The unit employs the science of energy-efficient, green buildings to illuminate the ways in which energy flows between natural and built environments. The unit emphasized electrical, light, and thermal energy systems and the ways these systems interact to create functional and energy-efficient buildings. This study focuses on three case study classrooms where students across schools (n = 89 students) created systems models as part of pre- and post-unit tests (n = 162 models). The unit tests consisted of student drawings, annotations, and writings, culminating into student-developed systems models. Growth from pre- to post-test was observed in both the identification of system elements and the linkages between elements. System elements included in the models were common classroom features, such as windows, lights, and temperature control, suggesting that rooting the unit in place-based teaching may support ST skills.
Keywords: systems modeling; systems thinking; green building education; energy education; place-based education systems modeling; systems thinking; green building education; energy education; place-based education

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MDPI and ACS Style

Cole, L.B.; Justice, J.; O’Brien, D.; Aman, J.; Kim, J.B.; Akturk, A.; Zangori, L. Can Green Building Science Support Systems Thinking for Energy Education? Sustainability 2025, 17, 7008. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157008

AMA Style

Cole LB, Justice J, O’Brien D, Aman J, Kim JB, Akturk A, Zangori L. Can Green Building Science Support Systems Thinking for Energy Education? Sustainability. 2025; 17(15):7008. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157008

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cole, Laura B., Jessica Justice, Delaney O’Brien, Jayedi Aman, Jong Bum Kim, Aysegul Akturk, and Laura Zangori. 2025. "Can Green Building Science Support Systems Thinking for Energy Education?" Sustainability 17, no. 15: 7008. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157008

APA Style

Cole, L. B., Justice, J., O’Brien, D., Aman, J., Kim, J. B., Akturk, A., & Zangori, L. (2025). Can Green Building Science Support Systems Thinking for Energy Education? Sustainability, 17(15), 7008. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17157008

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