Bertalanfy (1968 p. 158) stated that the living cell and organism is not a static pattern or machine-like structure consisting of more or less permanent “building materials” in which “energy-yielding materials from nutrition are broken down to provide the energy requirements for the process.
If we think about processes in the systems, the statement above is telling us, in observing the system we created, it is good if we can observe in nature from a single living organism to the complex living organism (such as a human). Let’s look into ‘us’, we need energy, we take food (as a resource), where did we get the resources is depend on our preferences. Yet, I believe whatever we have in the ‘machine’ is sometimes, is emulated from either some part of our body or more. Instructional design one of the disciplines that is very heavy in the processes, need to look into an example from nature to maintain the smoothness of the processes. For example, look into how the water travels from root to the stem and arrive at the leaves. The root as a gatekeeper control the amount of water, if we water it more than the amount required, the plant will ‘drown’. The water needs to adjust and pass so many protocols of the plant, and the plant that needs the water have to accept the water to enter, or it will die.
Bertalanfy (1968 p. 121) stated:
We realize at once, howver, that there may be systems in equilibrium in the organisms, but that organism as such cannot be considered as an equlibrium system. The organism is not a ‘closed’, but an open system. We term a system ‘closed’ if no material enters or leaves it; it is called ‘open’; if there is import and export of material.
What I have learned from most of the ID models is, no model is perfect but most of the models have contributed a lot in producing quality instruction that is delivered to the learner. So the challenge is, did the content designed by the ID fit the learner’s preferences? Back to the process, the plant (the learners) need the water (resources) to live, but the plant (the learners) also need to control the water (resources) to avoid the from ‘drown’. In other words, even though the learners need the resources but it needs to be controlled, the ‘protocol’ that control is the method of delivery and the learning objectives.
This article intends to determine the ‘means’ that may be appropriate in identify the task in the ID process to achieve the ‘ends’. If you disagree, I’m open to any constructive criticism which I think, is healthy in generating new ideas.
Reference:
Bertalanfy, L (1968). General System Theory (Revised Ed.). NY: George Barziller, Inc.
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