System Dynamics in Primary and
Secondary Education
What we’re learning about how kids,
and their teachers learn...
Lees Stuntz and Anne LaVigne
Creative Learning Exchange
ISDC 2018, Reykjavik, Iceland
Jay’s vision for K-12 —
always present as a challenge
i we
..and John Bemis
©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
System Dynamics is HARD — one reason
why it’s difficult to increase adoption.
Innovation Characteristics that influence Rate of Adoption
1 Relative
Advantage
2 Compatibility
3 Complexity
4 _ Divisibility
5 Communicability
Degree to which the innovation is superior to
existing products
Degree to which the innovation matches the
values and experiences of the individuals
Degree to which the
innovation is relatively difficult
to understand or use
Degree to which the innovation can be tried ona
limited basis
Degree to which the beneficial results of use are
observable or describable to others
Kids can’t start here...and neither can
r.
for that matte
most people,
ANS ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Oo” Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
How do we scaffold the critical thinking
skills generated by System Dynamics?
*Creating interesting and engaging contexts:
*Stories
*Games
¢Simulations
¢Using age appropriate, visual tools
Ya
CEARNING ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchang: Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Barry Richmond’s
Eight Systems Thinking Skills
* 10,000 Meters Thinking
¢ System as Cause Thinking
¢ Dynamic Thinking
* Operational Thinking
* Closed-Loop Thinking
* Scientific Thinking
* Generic Thinking
¢ Empathic Thinking
CREATIVE
LEARNING ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
ange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Habits of a Systems Thinker from the
Waters Foundation
Recognizes the impact of time
delays when exploring cause
and effect relationships
Observes how elements within
systems change over time,
e214 generating patterns and trends
Years
(©2014 Waters Foundation, Systems Thinking in Schools
‘wow watersfoundation org
identifies the circular nature of
complex cause and effect
relationships
Uses understanding of system
structure to identify possible
leverage actions
2014 Wink
‘©2014 Waters Foundation, Sysiems Thinking in Schools
www. watersfoundation org
Pays attention to accumulations
and their rates of change
Recognizes that a system
structure generates its behavior
re)
| (©2014 Waters Foundation, Systems uli sn Schools
ww watersfoundation
Scaffolding understanding of ...
¢Behavior over time
Feedback
Accumulation
*Modeling
a ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible S$ Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
ANS ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Oo” Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Representing continuous trends while
playing the World Climate Simulation
a TAA ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
(exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
\ Thinking Visible
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
ANS ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Oo” Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Connection circles ...
a tool created by educators
Sea Otters
Fur ZO
Traders
Desire to i)
Kelp
Plants
Protect Shrim
Biodiversity ‘
Eagles Fish
and Seals
Sand <— Sea
and Silt Urchins
a ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
g' Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
From using connection circles to find
feed back... Students identified
feedback loops.
Fear in the Mouse
. Teasing of
Community
Despereaux
Amount Desperaux
tries to act mouse-like
:
. ay E/ ANE ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
“a Permission granted for copying and for « nic distribution for non- ial, educational purposes with attribution
..to drawing loop diagrams
i - |
Edseaticr!
iahe. .
Deter ae
uferts Gy g}.
Coes eS He
sl antes
a ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
g' Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
ANS ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Oo” Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Thinking about their garden’s health,
variable names are painted on rocks, so
kids can “play” anytime.
purposes with attribution
Shoe stockroom — A variation of the In-
and-Out Game from The Shape of Change.
tHE SHOE corPoRATION
STOCK ROOM
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Exchan: Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Play a game, then use simulation
or modeling software
to explore related models.
Infection The spread of a social media site
Likelihood
People
Non members joining Members
Non member
fraction
Contacts
Contacts between per person
members and per month
Total people
Reee non members
©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Simulation that engages
within curricular contexts
Population Dynamics: Connecting Past, Present and Future
ring Springs: A Little Bounce in the World
“Then, click “Sim
Rate of change Position of,
Imposition the Spring
o_O {initial postion
Velstty Resistance
factor Displacement
Resistance’
Equliorium
postion
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ang Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
\\ Dive in — How can you stop zombie chickens from over-
populating planet Earth?
Chickens, Public Domain [modified].
LEARNING ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
aking Thinking ible © Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
... then connecting the same model to
other contexts.
Story 1: Dodo Disappearance
Overview
In the 1600s, the dodo, a type of bird went extinct. Use this model to consider the basics of why this
animal became extinct and how that extinction might have been stopped.
Details
1. Time units.
2. Dodos (stock).
3. Birth fraction
4. Death fraction
D Dare
1. Re-label and change the numbers in the previous model to make sense for
this situation.
2. Determine how long it would take for the population of dodos to disappear.
Dodo, by Christian Friedrich
Stdlze. Public Domain
In summary...
With scaffolding, students (and their teachers) can
draw BOTGs, identify feedback, create S/F maps, and
copy/modify models BUT... it’s still difficult for them
to build their own original models.
Waa
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a wane \
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LEARNING ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
What now?
*How do we make the “leap” for students and
teachers from simulations and copying models to
creating models?
We needed a visual, attractive and easily
understandable bridge between current effective
K-12 methodologies and the abstract modeling
software available.
Building a bridge...
a ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchang: Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Making
e
Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
From water in an MIT basement.....
“In 1968, Jay started a student-run System Dynamics
Laboratory course. The lab part was a room in the
basement of the Sloan School. The purpose of the lab
course was to give students some hands-on experience and
physical, intuitive feel for some systems behavior. | was
asked to design the course and stock the empty room with
slow-moving, intuitive physical systems. | procured tanks of
water, plastic tubing, valves and clamps for
hydraulic experiments, and also springs, weights, and
electrical devices.”
David W. Peterson
CREATIVE ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
LEARNING ae A ee
g' Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
an
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
...to “Tubs & Pumps”
The "Tubs and
Pumps’ activity,
developed by
Chris Browne,
Barry Newell
and Katrina
Proust
LEARNING ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
ge Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
...to Splash!
Systems Thinking Tool System Dynamics Tool System Dynamics Tool
Causal Loop Diagram Visual Stock/Flow Model - Splash! Traditional Stock/Flow Model
kind acts
Acts of iad o De scot nness per week Acts of Kindness
Kindness /
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a mteinaven ae
Kindness
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cssanaeee peng Hest 3000
ty r.~SCS~*:~“‘i‘=s™S = 1500
kind acts a, e
° 25 50 75 100
per week ea ep eee wot
Acts of Kindness
a ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Quotes from students at BETA testing
¢“The animation of the particles in Splash! makes it much
easier to see the relationships between different
variables, as well as the making of Systems Thinking
models much more interactive.” 8" grader
¢ “It is easy to use and the colorful liquid physics
simulations make the modeling process fun and exciting. |
think Splash! does a great job of making systems
dynamics modeling intuitive.” 12‘ grader
¢“The app is fun to use, the fluid is beautiful to look at! and
it teaches you system dynamics without you
knowing.” 10¢ grader
TAA ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
gi Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Splash! and SplashCards
| SplachCards
Jash!
Birth Faction riers Fun, Easy Experiments to Get You
Splashing Right Away!
+
‘Splash! s a colaboration between STN snd CLE ©2018, Creative Leaming Exchange, ww clexchange.org
jash! A creative collaboration between
Sa] VISUAL sh, CREATIVE
. Ss (Bx Exchange
ie,
SIMULATIONS retro
aS ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchan: Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Going Forward
We need experienced SD professionals to reach
out and motivate pre-college educators and
students.
We are here to help, to cooperate with you, to
support you in your efforts.
TAA ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
ange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Going Forward
Resources available through the Creative
Learning Exchange
Polary Sense \\
°Splash!
¢Simulations
* Books
¢Curriculum
*DynamiQueST
*Capacity Building Workshops
a ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exchange Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making Thinking Visible Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
Help us create systems citizens of the
world who can handle complexity.
from the
past
wig
mm: |S Gs
Your
Picture
aan ©2018 Creative Learning Exchange, www.clexchange.org
Exch Working in K-12 education to develop Systems Citizens
‘Making
an
ALES Permission granted for copying and for electronic distribution for non-commercial, educational purposes with attribution
CREATIVE
hanve
Exc
Making Thinking Visible
Stay connected http://www.clexchange.org
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stuntzIn@clexchange.org and lavignea@clexchange.org
Donate to Splash! clexchange.org/splash
