Investigating Systems Complexity with the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) Using Multiple Models: Introducing High School Students to Approaches in Mechanobiology

Understanding and developing habits in complex systems thinking using STEM-integrated perspectives is essential in addressing education and workforce needs in society. In this study, we investigated a learning intervention that incorporated multiple models designed to improve engineering students’ understanding of complex systems through investigating the mechanobiology of the Venus flytrap. Mechanobiology is a transdisciplinary field that integrates biology, engineering, chemistry, and physics to explore how cells and tissues sense and respond to forces in their environment. We used an exploratory, mixed-methods approach to examine the impact of this new curriculum on investigating flytrap closure and prey digestion. We then evaluated students’ understanding of complex systems characteristics (i.e., many interacting parts, decentralization, non-linear interactions, emergence, and adaptation) and in their ability to transfer these principles to other systems. Qualitative analyses demonstrate that students articulated key systems principles in relation to their understanding of flytrap mechanobiology, while descriptive summaries of pre- and post-surveys suggest broader conceptual gains. Furthermore, students demonstrated the transfer of systems thinking to other contexts and reported an enhanced understanding of real-world STEM research.