Thinking About Teaching Systems

Thinking with Technology Craig A. Cunningham, National Louis University, Chicago

Agenda Introduction

What is systems thinking?

Some general concepts

Examples of systems thinking

How is systems thinking acquired?

Examples of pK-12 educational projects

Wrap-up and conclusion

Some quotations "... systems thinking is based on the fundamental shift of perception from the

world as a machine to the world as a living system." --Fritjof Capra

“We are all tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an

inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly, affects all

indirectly. This is the way God's universe is made, this is the way it is

structured.” -Martin Luther King Jr. A Christmas Sermon of Peace, in The

Trumpet of Conscience, 1967.

"All the important problems we face are systemic problems: the survival of the

planet's ecology, world peace, the elimination of hunger and disease, the

education of youth, and social justice--just to name a few. Over the past several

decades the systemic nature of these complex problems has gradually entered

the public's consciousness. Complex problems are systemic, complex problems

are counterintuitive, systemic problems are everywhere, systemic problems are

messy problems." Larry Hutchins, 1995 (Systemic Thinking: Solving Complex

Problems)

Quotations, continued Faced with the new realties, our systems have to transform----as

society has transformed. …it is imperative that we understand what

these transformations and new realities are. We have to grasp their

implicates for our systems, and apply our understanding of these

implications to the transformation of our systems. - Bela Banathy

(pioneer of thinking about social systems as systems)

The general claim of evolutionary systems theory is that there have

now been discovered basic regularities, patterns or laws, that apply

in broad fashion to all three great realms of evolution, the physical,

biological and social spheres and that a unity of science --a

coherent and unified world view--is now possible. These general

systems theories claim in other words that "everything is connected

to everything else"-- the web of life as a scientific and not just

religious conclusion as it had been in period prior to the Rational

Scientific paradigm. (Wilbur, 1996)

Quotations, cont. Peter Senge, in The Fifth Discipline: "Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing

wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for

seeing patterns of change rather than static “snapshots.” It is a set of general

principles — distilled over the course of the twentieth century, spanning fields

as diverse as the physical and social sciences, engineering, and

management....During the last thirty years, these tools have been applied to

understand a wide range of corporate, urban, regional, economic, political,

ecological, and even psychological systems. And systems thinking is a

sensibility — for the subtle interconnectedness that gives living systems their

unique character. http://www.systemsthinker.com/interests/systemsthinking/

" we need to end the travesty of the educator that is removed from context.

Real life experiences, and therefore knowledge, do not come chopped up in

discrete subjects but are invariably interdisciplinary. " (Hutchins, 1996)

The 21st Century Skills Framework includes this goal: “Analyze how parts of a

whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex

systems“

What is systems thinking?

A "system is a configuration of parts connected and joined together by a web of relationships".

http://www.hent.org/world/rss/files/systems_think.htm

A system is an entity which maintains its existence through the mutual interaction of its parts.

http://www.systems-thinking.org/index.htm

Also known as "dynamic complexity modeling"...close relationship to modeling and simulations

Center for Ecoliteracy shifts in thinking (http://www.ecoliteracy.org/nature-our-teacher/systems-thinking):

From objects to relationships

From parts to the whole

From objective knowledge to contextual knowledge

From quantity to quality

From structure to process

From contents to patterns

What is... Continued Systematic thinking refers to approaches that are repeatable and

use data and information so that improvement and learning are

possible.

https://ccip.ode.state.oh.us/DocumentLibrary/ViewDocument.aspx

Systems thinking is the process of predicting, on the basis of

anything at all, how something influences another thing. It has been

defined as an approach to problem solving, by viewing "problems"

as parts of an overall system, rather than reacting to present

outcomes or events and potentially contributing to further

development of the undesired issue or problem. Systems thinking is

a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of

a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with

each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. Systems

thinking's focus is on effect, not cause.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking#The_concept_of_a_sy

stem

Some basic concepts

A system is a dynamic and complex whole, interacting as a structured

functional unit;

energy, material and information flow among the different elements that

compose the system;

a system is a community situated within an environment

energy, material and information flow from and to the surrounding environment

via semi-permeable membranes or boundaries;

systems are often composed of entities seeking equilibrium (through self-

regulation, perhaps) but can exhibit oscillating, chaotic, or exponential behavior.

(adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking)

More basic concepts

Systems have inputs, outputs, processes, and parameters

Systems usually involve some entropy or disorder

Feedback loops within the system regulate it (or lead it out

of control)

There is a hierarchy of subsystems within any system

Convergence (different processes/same outputs) and

divergence (same processes/different outputs) (due to

randomness or unknown factors)

Examples of systems thinking

The Gaia Hypothesis (James Lovelock) "proposes

that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings

on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and

self-regulating complex system, maintaining the

conditions for life on the planet."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Predicting the Behavior of Education Systems

(Thomas Green) (for example: the value of a

certain degree (high school, college, grad, Ph.D.)

depends on what percentage of job pool has that;

the person who is LAST to get a degree gets no

benefit)

More examples A supermarket can be seen as any of the following

kinds of systems, depending on the perspective:

a "profit making system" … from the perspective of management

and owners

a "distribution system“… from the perspective of the suppliers

an "employment system“… from the perspective of employees

a "materials supply system“… from the perspective of customers

an "entertainment system“… from the perspective of loiterers

a "social system" …from the perspective of local residents

a "dating system" …from the perspective of single customers

More examples? (from audience)

How is systems thinking acquired?

Creative Learning Exchange: “To develop Systems Citizens in K-12

education who use systems thinking, system dynamics, and an

active, learner-centered approach to meet the interconnected

challenges that face them at personal, community, and global

levels”

Roadmaps: “Road Maps can be a resource for both beginners and

advanced system dynamics modelers, and requires no previous

system dynamics knowledge and only basic math skills.”

http://www.clexchange.org/curriculum/roadmaps.asp

CLE offers correlation tables to various sets of standards

(http://www.clexchange.org/curriculum/standards/commoncore.asp)

http://www.clexchange.org/curriculum/standards/stem.asp

How is systems thinking acquired? continued

Center for Interdisciplinary Excellence

in System Dynamics offers a 5-Course Graduate Certificate in

System Dynamics for Educators

The “ladder of engagement”:

Knowledge: what do we know about the behavior of the

system?

Understanding: what drives the behavior of the system

Influence: How can we design and evaluate policies to better

manage the system?

Basic principles for systems pedagogy

Basic Principles (from Barry Richmond,

http://www.clexchange.org/ftp/conference/cle_2002/Richmond%20k

eynote.pdf):

Systems can be studied as part of subject-specific curricula

(through “dynamic modeling” of topic of study) OR as an

interdisciplinary subject focused on general approaches to

systems

Systems are seen by students as authentic and engaging

Systems lend themselves to discovery approaches

The building of models and simulations is key to understanding

the components of systems

“Word and arrow” diagrams:

Behavior over time graphs:

More on pedagogy Types of thinking related to systems thinking:

10,000 Meters Thinking (big picture)

System as Cause Thinking

Dynamic Thinking

Operational Thinking (distinguishing between “stocks” and “flows”)

Closed-loop Thinking (same cycle over and over)

Continuum Thinking

Nonlinear Thinking

Quantitative Thinking

Scientific Thinking

Behavior over time graphs (BOTGs)

One goal of teaching systems thinking is to create “systems

citizens” who understand the mutuality of all things and are

expanding their sense of self, increasing empathy and respect,

learning to listen to different perspectives, and committed to solving

systemic problems that face the global community.

“To appreciate the nature of systems, students must have extensive

personal experience in working with systems. This means creating

system dynamics models on a computer, simulating their behavior,

exploring how the models respond to changes in structure and

policies, and comparing model behavior to the real systems being

represented. Such active modeling should extend at least

throughout the several years of middle school and high school. As

early as possible, schools should move away from canned models

that have been previously prepared for student use. Instead,

students should create models, examine their shortcomings, and

learn from discovering improvements.” - Jay W. Forrester

http://www.clexchange.org/ftp/documents/whyk12sd/Y_2009-02LearningThroughSD.pdf

Systems thinking is related to “habits of mind” Cp: Costa and Kallick’s Discovering and Exploring Habits of Mind

"Persistence: persevering when the solution to a problem is not readily apparent“

"Managing impulsivity: effective problem solving requires a sense of deliberativeness and thinking before acting.“

"Listening to others with understanding and empathy: learning to do this requires holding in abeyance values,

judgments, opinions, and prejudices in order to listen to and entertain another person's thoughts“

"Flexibility in thinking: capacity to change one's mind as additional data is received“

"Metacognition: awareness of our own thinking“

"Checking for accuracy and precision“

"Questioning and problem posing: effective problem solvers know how to ask questions to fill in the gaps between what

they know and what they don"t know"

"Drawing on past knowledge and applying it to new and novel situations“

"Precision of language and thought“

"Using all the senses“

"Ingenuity, originality, insightfulness: creativity“

"Wonderment, inquisitiveness, curiosity, and the enjoyment of problem solving“

"Responsible risk taking“

"Displaying a sense of humor: people who engage in the mystery of humor have the ability to perceive situations from

an original and often interesting vantage point.“

"Thinking interdependently“

"The humility of continuous learning"

Use of technology to teach and

support systems thinking SimCity http://simcity.ea.com/play/classic/index.html

The Death Clock http://www.deathclock.com/

Pandemic http://pandemic3.com/

Stella (http://www.iseesystems.com/)

50 great examples of data visualization: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/06/50-great-

examples-of-data-visualization/

(lots of examples for using Stella available:

http://www.iseesystems.com/community/downloads/EducationDownloads.aspx)

Online examples, too: for example: http://forio.com/simulate/simulation/netsim/h1n1/#

http://forio.com/simulate/simulation/netsim/virtual-hamlet/

Examples of pK-12 educational projects

http://www.watersfoundation.org/index.cfm?fuseactio

n=stdm.classinstruction

Systems Thinking Playbook

http://www.lindaboothsweeney.net/resources

Systems thinking Handbook

http://livebinders.com/play/play/127669

Webinar about teacing systems dynamics to high

schoolers: http://www.iseesystems.com/community/

WebSeminars/ModelingDynamicSystems.aspx

More examples, pk-12 Modeling and Simulation Tools for Elementary and Middle School Science Instruction

Elementary/middle school simulation/modeling software: http://www.stagecast.com/

Model of a flower garden (grades 3-8): http://www.stagecast.com/clients/flowergarden3.html

More sims for younger students: http://www.stagecast.com/cgi-

bin/templator.cgi?PAGE=School/LESSONWORLDS

Video testimony from middle-school teacher: http://www.stagecast.com/school.html

Lesson plan matrix: http://www.stagecast.com/cgi-bin/templator.cgi?PAGE=School/MATRIX

Science modeling/data representation resources from Christina Schwartz's syllabus for science

in elementary school

http://wise.berkeley.edu/

http://cases.soe.umich.edu/

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/

http://caseit.uwrf.edu/

http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/

http://www.globe.gov/

Rich Lehrer's publications on data modeling in schools:

http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/x4904.xml?show=SelectedPublications#faculty

Thinking with Data: A Cross-Curricular Approach to Data Literacy:

http://www.rcet.org/twd/index.html (unit on world-water crisis for both teachers and students)

Other Examples?

Lots of discussion/examples in syllabus for TIE 512:

http://craigcunningham.com/nlu/tie512win10/

Wrap-up and conclusion Well-developed systems thinking curricula exist at

the high school, college, and adult education levels

Systems thinking is not taught systematically in pk-

12 settings

What’s needed is more attention to modeling and

use of simulations across the curriculum

Would love to hear from anyone with additional

ideas: craig.cunningham@nl.edu