From Conceptual Models to Agent-based Simulations: Why and How

Abstract. The core problem we address in this paper is how to take a declarative conceptual representation of a complex system and produce an agent-based simulation of that model. In particular, we describe a computational technique that takes Structure-Behavior-Function models of complex systems and simulates the behavior of the modeled system in NetLogo, an agent-based programming and simulation environment. This technique has been implemented in an interactive learning environment to promote complex systems learning among middle school students