| The Systems Thinking Playbook Exercise 23: Paper Fold |
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Author(s):
Linda Booth Sweeney, & Dennis Meadows |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Folding a paper in half mutiple times illustrates the concepts of exponential growth and limits to growth.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System. The nature of the system (in this case a rule of doubling) impacts the trend over time (in this case exponential growth). Compounding structures are a building block within more complex systems. Available from Chelsea Green Publishers. |
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 PDF
More about the book at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_systems_thinking_playbook:hardcover%20with%20dvd
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| The Systems Thinking Playbook Exercise 26: Harvest |
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Author(s):
Linda Booth Sweeney, & Dennis Meadows |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Fishing companies choose how much to fish, knowing the rules for regeneration of the population.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System. The rules and goals embedded within the system create the typical trend of a declining fish population. In addition, individual teams do not generally see themselves as causing the problem. Rather, they tend to blame others for the loss of fish. Available from Chelsea Green Publishers. |
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PDF
More about the book at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_systems_thinking_playbook:hardcover%20with%20dvd
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| The Systems Thinking Playbook Exercise 28: Avalanche |
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Author(s):
Linda Booth Sweeney, & Dennis Meadows |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Given a pole, participants must lower the pole to the ground without losing contact with the pole or allowing washers to fall off the ends.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Incorrect High-Leverage Policies. As participants attempt to reach a shared goal, the tendency is to blame one another for failure rather than looking at the underlying structure of the system Available at Chelsea Green Publishers. |
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PDF
More about the book at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_systems_thinking_playbook:hardcover%20with%20dvd
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| The Systems Thinking Playbook Exercise 30: Group Juggle |
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Author(s):
Linda Booth Sweeney, & Dennis Meadows |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Participants in this group activity attempt to improve performance on a particular task.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Incorrect High-Leverage Policies. Participants attempt to improve performance by changing the structure of the system, but the action is only effective up to a point. Participants must change a mental model about the rules in order to create significant change in the system. Available from Chelsea Green Publishers. |
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More about the book at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_systems_thinking_playbook:hardcover%20with%20dvd
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| The Systems Thinking Playbook Exercise 4: Thumb Wrestling |
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Author(s):
Linda Booth Sweeney, & Dennis Meadows |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Participants play a game with commonly known rules and goals.
Available from Chelsea Green Publishers.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Ineffective Action. Participant's mental models about the the system structure (the game) get in the way of significantly improving performance. As efforts increase, performance actually goes down. |
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PDF
More about the book at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_systems_thinking_playbook:hardcover%20with%20dvd
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| The Systems Thinking Playbook Exercise 6: Warped Juggle |
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Author(s):
Linda Booth Sweeney, & Dennis Meadows |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Participants in this group activity attempt to improve performance as they toss an object among individuals in a particular order.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Incorrect High-Leverage Policies. Participants attempt to improve performance by changing the structure of the system, but the action is only effective up to a point. Participants must change a mental model about the rules in order to create significant change in the system.
Available from Chelsea Green Publishers. |
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PDF
More about the book at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/the_systems_thinking_playbook:hardcover%20with%20dvd
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| The Tree Game for Primary Students (Grades K-3) |
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Author(s):
Anne LaVigne, & Lindsey Weaver |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Students explore what happens to the number of trees in a forest over time as a forester plants and a lumberjack harvests a certain number of trees each year. While playing the game, the class tracks the number of trees over time. Students can see trends and discuss what’s happening to the forest and why, connecting it to real-world needs and desires for lumber and paper products. They can then run and discuss a second scenario that shows how that trend can be reversed.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Short and Long Term Conflicts. People sometimes decide to use natural resources to meet present goals (satisfy customers, increase profits) and ignore long-term consequences. In systems where renewable resources are used up, people often blame others. Decisions to use the resource faster than it can be replenished is the real cause, however. |
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 Zipped (Models & PDF)
Link to the simulation: http://www.clexchange.org/curriculum/shapeofchange/soc_6_treegame.asp
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| Tooling Game |
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Author(s):
John Sterman, & Will Glass Husain |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From Catalina Foothills School District. STELLA II v. 3.0 model of John Sterman's "Tooling Game of Deadline Pressure." This model helps students analyze study habits; "tooling" is an MIT word for studying.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Short and Long Term Conflicts. Many people are familiar with the story of the grasshopper and the ant. This simulation allows students to experience the long-term pain of not keeping up with homework assignments! Students may think that teachers are out to "get them" with ever-increasing piles of assignments, but this simulation shows that their own study habits can be to blame for the end-of-the-semester crunch they run into. |
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Zipped (Models & PDF)
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| Understanding Oscillations in Simple Systems |
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Author(s):
Nathaniel J Mass, & Peter M Senge |
Subject:
System Dynamics |
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This paper presents some arguments to succcesfully develop insight into simple oscillating systems. The paper analyzes a one-level model for the population growth of rabbits in a closed field to illustrate why a first-order negative-feedback system exhibits a smooth transition to equilibrium. It also analyzes a simple inventory workforce model to provide an intuitive explanation of the causes of convergent, divergent, and undamped oscillations. (D-2045-2, SDG, MIT 1975)
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System. This paper addresses the topic of oscillation and can be used as a precusor to the Oscillations curriculum. In this curriculum, five interdisciplinary areas are covered in a series of lessons, utilizing a family of models that all generate oscillation. Oscillation in real-world systems is often considered problematic rather than a consequence of system structure. This progression of lessons will help students understand that undesirable behavior can be a consequence of system structure and not a result of outside, uncontrollable influences. In other words, a system that oscillates does so because it has an inherent tendency to do so. |
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PDF
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| Understanding the Tragedy of the Sahel (D-4302) |
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Author(s):
Corey L. Lofdahl |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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A system dynamics analysis of the Sahel famine, through the tragedy of the commons and a number of models. Requires a Macintosh computer and STELLA software.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System. In systems where renewable resources are used up, people often blame others. Decisions to use the resource faster than it can be replenished is the real cause, however. |
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Zipped (Models & PDF)
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