Abstract
This chapter explores the people, process, and environment (PPE) approach within post-pandemic online education systems, beginning with foundational systems thinking concepts. It compares multiple systems thinking models, presenting the PPE model's straightforward way. PPE is a “back to the basics” prescriptive model that simplifies systems thinking and defines it as an optimization tool in online education. The study used the PPE approach and Quality Matters concepts as guidelines to analyze three case studies: a preK-12 online school, a degree college, and a corporate learning setting. Using open coding, the results identified commonalities across these reports, showing relationships between established associations to systems thinking principles and the need for more technological awareness, acceptance, and preparedness; improved readiness and adaptability of online systems; and increased learning management system utilization. The PPE model needs further grounded theory development to validate its application in diverse educational landscapes.
TopIntroduction
In December 2019, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) manifested as a zoonosis in the Chinese province of Hubei. By March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease a global pandemic (WHO, 2020). As the condition continued to spread, a new and unforeseen concern arose, posing a grave threat to healthcare facilities around the globe. Consequently, while humanity fought the COVID-19 pandemic, it was also introduced to a new way of life. The epidemic significantly affected people's health, finances, and communities, and most of those affected were unprepared for most of its damage (Karakose, 2021). The global COVID-19 pandemic has catastrophically damaged healthcare, national economies, and schools.
As a result, many governments across the globe expended remarkable efforts to handle the numerous difficulties in fields such as healthcare, the economy, and education (Aduhene & Osei-Assibey, 2021; Buonsenso et al., 2021; Crawford et al., 2020; Desson et al., 2020; Fouad et al., 2020; Higginson et al., 2020; Hoekman et al., 2020; Nayak et al., 2021; Shmis et al., 2020; Tumwesige, J., 2020). The extensive spread of the COVID-19 virus has emphasized the urgent need for all educational institutions to make substantial modifications to their administration, curriculum, and pedagogical approaches. During the first weeks of the pandemic, many schools across the globe suspended in-person education, focusing instead on online and hybrid choices (Karakose, 2021; Singh et al., 2021). Most nations worldwide implemented distance education programs before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that students' access to education would not be significantly hampered (Murphy, 2020; Tesar, 2020).
Thus, COVID-19 forced learning organizations to analyze their processes holistically for survival, and COVID-19 significantly affected these foundations. The traditional education systems before COVID-19 needed to prepare the people, processes, and environment (PPE) for such an urgent transition to online learning. In this chapter, we discuss the concept of systems thinking in online education, capitalize upon lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide recommendations for future learning organizations based on three case studies in different learning contexts: PreK-12, higher education, and in a corporate setting.
Key Terms in this Chapter
People: Individuals interacting and contributing within a system, which could include students, teachers, school administrators, student support staff, and other stakeholders interacting with the system.
Systems Thinking: A comprehensive approach to understanding interactions and relationships through a system's components. People can resolve complex issues by acknowledging a system's dynamics and the possible impact of its actions.
Environment: External conditions and factors that could influence or interact with the system contribute to the formation of a system's development and behavior. These could include physical space, human constructs such as culture, or larger systems that impact smaller systems.
Online Education System: Facilitates remote teaching and learning in a structured virtual environment and usually consists of learning management systems, instructional content, assessments, communication tools, and student support tools such as help functions.
Interconnectedness: Refers to the different system components' relationships and dependencies, emphasizing how system components could significantly impact other system parts.
Intersection: Refers to the space where various system components meet and interact, which could reveal emergent system properties.
Process: The actions or methods used to obtain a specific system outcome or goal, which can involve coordinating system resources and people to achieve that result.