Systems ThinkingThis is a featured page

systems thnnking What is systems thinking and how does it apply in the classroom? Systems thinking encourages one to step back and see the whole picture, rather than focusing on just its parts. It is an attempt to see the "forest" as well as the "trees."

Systems thinking in the classroom can include an integrated and thematic curriculum, aligned goals and measures and ensuring that all parts of the classroom are working together toward. In the classroom, systems thinking explores the interdependencies among the elements of a system, looking for patterns rather than memorizing isolated facts. Systems thinking encourages creativity, questioning and problem solving.

Systems thinking involves shifting attention

  • from the parts to the whole,
  • from objects to relationships,
  • from structures to processes,
  • from hierarchies to networks,
  • from the rational to the intuitive,
  • from analysis to synthesis,
  • from linear to non-linear thinking.

Research and Articles:

  • Systems Thinking "in 25 Words or Less" When we were first exploring the idea of systems thinking in our school district, a fellow school board member drew me aside and asked me to tell him "in 25 words or less" just what systems thinking was and what it had to do with educating children. I was stumped!

  • The Creative Learning Exchange Our goal is to develop Systems Citizens in K-12 education who use systems thinking and system dynamics to meet the interconnected challenges that face them at personal, community, and global levels.

  • Systems Thinking in Education ProgramThis site is dedicated to providing systems thinking tools for use in college preparatory curriculum in Northwest secondary schools. Professional educators have recognized "Systems Thinking" as a key skill for preparing students for life in the 21st century, providing skills for understanding the complex issues of the day.


  • System Dynamics A good explanation of system dynamics; a method for studying the world around us. Unlike other scientists, who study the world by breaking it up into smaller and smaller pieces, system dynamicists look at things as a whole.

  • What is Systemic Change? The Network for Creative Change is dedicated to creative systemic change or whole system change. Whether at the individual level, the community, workplace or globally, systemic change can be measured as a shift in values, assumptions, beliefs, and by a new awareness and new behaviours which incorporate and reflect the shift in perspective.

Open Source Software/Freeware/Downloads:

  • iThink Software Guides you and your business team through the creation of models that simulate business processes and scenarios; pointing out the impacts of a new procedure or policy, and offering opportunity to fix undesirable outcomes. Based on Systems Thinking, iThink models serve as "practice fields", showing you outcomes that could be painful, costly, or embarrassing if discovered in reality. Download trial available.

  • Road Maps is a self-study guide to learning system dynamics. It is organized as a series of chapters, and is being developed by the System Dynamics in Education Project at MIT. Presently, nine chapters of Road Maps are available.

  • Inspiration Software Learning to think. Learning to learn. These are the essential skills for student success in every curriculum area and academic pursuit. Research in both educational theory and cognitive psychology tells us that visual learning is among the very best methods for teaching students of all ages how to think and how to learn.

Websites/Podcasts/Videos:

  • Systems Thinking & System Dynamics There are several key concepts important to systems thinking and system dynamics that can be incorporated into an introductory geoscience course.

  • Thinking Maps, Inc. is an educational consulting and publishing company specializing in providing professional staff development for K-12 schools across the country. Our main focus is the implementation, on a school-wide and district-wide basis, of Thinking Maps®, a common visual language for learning within and across disciplines.

Effective Implementation Examples:



Student/Teacher Voices:



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amcdanie 		Latest page update: made by amcdanie , Nov 7 2007, 9:19 PM EST (about this update About This Update amcdanie Edited by amcdanie


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