Teaching About the Social Construction of Reality Using a Model of Information Processing

Demerath, Loren; Reid, James; Dante Suarez, E.

This paper proposes leveraging the recent fusing of Big Data, computer modeling, and complexity science for teaching students about complexity. The emergence and evolution of information orders, including social structural orders, is a product of social interactions. A simple computational model of how social interaction leads to emergent cultures is proposed for teaching students the mechanisms of complexity’s development. A large-scale poker game is also described where students learn the theory and principles behind the model in the course of play. Using the model and game can help instructors achieve learning objectives that include understanding the importance of diversity, how multiple realities can exist simultaneously, and why majority group members are usually unaware of their privileges.