Systems Thinking
Ability to understand complexity and work with the interconnections and properties of systems.
Dimension Thinking — Understanding Our Complex World
For me
- Which problem in my class am I trying to fix with a simple solution although it has many causes?
- Which connections outside school reach into my teaching?
For my class
- What all happens when one thing happens?
- Which pattern do you recognise here – and where have you seen it before?
In the classroom
- A web of effects instead of a summary: one topic (e.g. classroom noise, plastic) in the middle, causes and consequences as arrows – draw the connections, don't list them.
- A systems game: everyone is part of a cycle and experiences how a change is passed along. Afterwards look for the leverage point.
Subject links
Science & society · History & geography · Economics & practical skills · Science & technology
Mini-exercise · 5 minutes
And then?
Name a change (e.g. “there is no more homework”). Ask around the circle: and then? Five rounds, until the consequences surprise you.
Open the “Systems Thinking” card