Systems Thinking in Schools
A Waters Foundation Program
Our mission is to increase the capacity of educators to deliver student academic and lifetime benefits through the effective application of systems thinking concepts, habits and tools in classroom instruction and school improvement - www.watersfoundation.org
What is Systems Thinking?
Systems thinking offers a powerful new perspective, a specialized language, and a set of tools that can be used to address the most stubborn problems in schools and everyday life. Systems thinking is a way of understanding reality that emphasizes the relationships among a system's parts, rather than the parts themselves. Based on a field of study known as system dynamics, systems thinking has a practical value that rests on a solid theoretical foundation.
As Bob Dylan noted in his iconic song, the times they are a-changin. Complexity is increasing exponentially, and school systems need to prepare students for today's challenges and tomorrow's world. Employers consistently rank applied thinking skills - such as systems thinking - as crucial for the 21st-century workforce. Likewise, various researchers identify systems knowledge as crucial to successful living and learning in today's context. In recognition of the importance of this emerging form of literacy, local, state, and national education standards are increasingly including demonstrated understanding of dynamic systems as an integral knowledge area.
For the past 20 years, schools in Tucson, Arizona, and other forward-thinking communities in the United States, the Netherlands, Singapore, and beyond have been teaching their students how to deal with complex, dynamic problems by applying a systems thinking approach. Applications have been implemented through new instructional strategies at every grade level.
But no matter the topic or the students' ages, their success in the classroom and in the workplace is consistently high.
Why is that? Because when students look at the world through a systems lens, they gain insight into the underlying structures that produce certain patterns of behavior - both in their schoolwork and lives - and learn to test proposed actions for unintended consequences. They also immediately recognize the relevance of their schoolwork, engage with real-world problems, and develop a useful and practical skillset that will serve them throughout their lives.
Research shows that instructional settings that optimize learning are student-centered, experiential, holistic, and authentic.
In addition, they provide students with opportunities to express themselves in different ways, reflect and interact with other students, and collaborate. Learning in these settings involves the construction of ideas and systems and not just rote memorization or manipulation of facts and figures. Systems thinking brings all of these characteristics into the curriculum. Pairing the powerful concepts of systems thinking with best practices in instructional strategies accelerates studentsÂ’ in developing their abilities to live in today's increasingly complex world.
