Systems Thinking Activity

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Systems Thinking Activity
Time 40 mins Group size Any Requirements
Paper and pens
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• Activity Purpose

To encourage the students to think about
systems. A good activity to use when first
introducing systems thinking.
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Running the activity Think of something that you
have heard described as a "system". This can be
something from everyday life, or something from
your professional life (if nothing comes to mind,
think of this course). Describe this system in
words in half a page or less take about 15
minutes for this description. Now draw a diagram
of the system you have described take another
10-15 minutes for this part of the activity.
Looking at your text and the diagram, try to
identify any information that is present in the
text and not in the diagram, or that is in the
diagram and not in the text. If you wanted to
describe your system to others, which would you
show them - the text or the diagram?