Understanding Educational Systems

Making Sense of Learning and New Technologies

Systems Thinking makes it possible to analyse and understand complex phenomena such as those involved educational research questions (indeed any human activity) which are often very complex, and is a useful tool to use when commencing research to better understand the complexities involved.

Systems Thinking is the process of understanding how things, regarded as systems, influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish. In organisations, such as schools or classrooms, systems consist of people, structures, and processes that work together to make an organisation “healthy” or “unhealthy”.

Systems thinking has been defined as an approach to problem-solving, by viewing “problems” as parts of an overall system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome or event. Systems thinking is not however one thing but a set of habits or practices within a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. This approach to systems thinking focuses on cyclical or repeating processes rather than linear cause and effect.

A system is an organised group of related objects or components that form a whole. Systems thinking is thus an holistic approach to the identification and solving of problems where the focal points are treated as components of a system, and their interactions and interrelationships are analysed individually to see how they influence the functioning of the entire system.

System

The structure, properties, behaviour and interactivity of people and components (inputs, processes and outputs) within and between natural, managed, constructed and digital environments.

Systems Thinking

A holistic approach to the identification and solving of problems where parts and components of a system, their interactions and interrelationships are analysed individually to see how they influence the functioning of the whole system. This approach enables students to understand systems and work with complexity, uncertainty and risk.

Bicycle Brake Example

An example of systems thinking would be understanding a problem with a bicycle not braking fast enough. Rather than trying to improve the brake by looking in great detail at the material composition of the brake pads (a reductionist approach), the boundary of the braking system may be extended to include the interactions between the:

• brake pads;
• brake leavers;
• cables;
• cyclist reaction time;
• tires;
• road conditions;
• weather conditions;
• time of day; etc.

Unintended Consequences

Sometimes research and subsequent design solutions have unintended outcomes, these can be positive such as an unforeseen use for a product, but can also be a negative outcome such as an environmental impact.

Systems thinking can also be described as the process of understanding how a group of interacting, interrelated, interdependent components influence each other within the whole. Rather than viewing each problem as an independent entity, it must be considered in the context of its relationship to other parts of the system. Systems thinking teaches students how to solve problems, communicate, use data, and design policies for greater success.

By making or modifying a model and plugging in data, researchers can almost immediately see the influence of their choices. This type of interactive modelling is a key advantage of systems thinking.

For your Delphi Study assignment, you will analyse your selected organisation using these systems modelling techniques and construct a connection circle and flow map for your organisation;

From your systems analysis, you will then identify a challenge facing your selected organisation and from this, develop a research question and 10 options to ask your experts based on the trends, technologies, and challenges we will be exploring in Weeks 4, 5 and 6.

You can create a Connection Circle using any graphics program such as Draw.Io or on paper, and take a photo of this. Using your Connection Circle you should identify at least three Causal Loops and model these in a Flow Map.

The intent is not for you to produce an accurate simulation, but use these tools to think divergently and consider your organisation's problem through different a lens, particularly in how the various parts of your problem interact with each other, and wider systems.

You can create a simple Flow Map using the Loopy tool.