The Systems Thinker, July/August 2012, Vol. 23 No. 5

THESYSTEMS THINKER® BUILDINGSHAREDUNDERSTANDING

VOLUME 23 NUMBER 5 JUNE/JULY 2012

FEATURE Schools That Learn: Context and Engagement by Peter Senge Today, many educators advocate for a “systems view,” but what exactly does that look like? In this article, Peter Senge describes his observation of how two boys tackled a classroom project, using a simulation model to explore the impact of various design decisions. The challenge of wrestling with a real-world problem deeply engaged the students and helped them develop their skills in what Barry Richmond called “Operational Thinking”—the ability to understand how the parts of MORE a system interact to generate certain patterns of behavior. ®

FROM THE RESOURCE SHELF Creating Tomorrow’s Innovators Today by Janice Molloy In his latest book, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, Tony Wagner makes the case that most of our schools are failing to provide students with the hands-on, collaborative learning that fosters creative, critical thinking. Instead, they continue to prepare students in traditional ways for a career path that no longer exists. Wagner features the stories of several young innovators to illustrate how we can best MORE provide students with the tools they need to flourish in creating the future. ® QUICKLINKS SYSTEMS STORIES Register Now: Systems Thinking Concepts for Environmental Education 2012 Conference by Jaimie P. Cloud Submit an Article Systems theorists and educators have a great deal to teach environmental educators and others Read Leverage Points Blog about how to prepare young people to think and act with systems as the context for decision Search for Products making. In this article, Jaimie Cloud looks at how two systems concepts—entry MORE points and mental models—can be useful to environmental educators. ® SYSTEMSTHINKER PEGASUS CLASSICS RESOURCES Mental Models and Systems Thinking: Archives Going Deeper into Systemic Issues Subscription Options by Richard Karash Reading & Using Causal Loops In a causal loop diagram of a systemic issue, variables are connected in cause-and-effect relationships. But often the implicit thought processes behind those links are not well understood. Permission to Distribute In this article, Richard Karash shows that by mapping mental models onto a MORE diagram, we can begin to explore the more subtle aspects of a system. ®

SCHOOLS THAT LEARN: CONTEXT AND ENGAGEMENT BY PETER SENGE

n 1988, the first systems thinking classes were age, but he thinks it’s too started at Orange Grove Middle School in Tucson, close to the Indian burial IArizona, instigated by Frank Draper, a science grounds and will stir up teacher, and encouraged by Mary Scheetz, then Or - protests.” ange Grove’s principal. When my wife, Diane, and I We listened for a while first visited Frank’s eighth grade science class in as the two boys explained 1991, it was hard not to notice that something was their different trails and different. First, Frank was nowhere to be seen. In showed us some of the simu - fact, there was no teacher in the room. A couple of lated consequences. There students had some questions about their library re - were no black and white an - Reprinted with permis - search, and Frank had gone to the library with them swers, and it was clear that sion from the second (back in the pre-Internet walk-to-the library days). they understood this. This edition of Schools That But, to our amazement, the classroom had not de - was about design and mak - Learn: A Fifth Discipline scended into chaos. Instead, the thirty or so students ing choices. The bell rang, Fieldbook for Educators, Parents, and Everyone were glued to their new Macintosh computers, two signaling the end of the pe - Who Cares About to a machine, deeply engrossed in their conversa - riod, and they said goodbye, Education . tions with one another. agreeing as they left to come We learned that Frank and his colleague Mark back after school to see if Swanson had built their semester science curriculum they could agree on a proposal to share with the rest around a real project: the design of a new state park to of the class at the end of the week. (The students’ be developed north of Tucson. After studying the proposals and analyses were presented to the actual sorts of conflicts that inevitably arise in park and park planning commission at the end of the term.) wilderness area management, they were working with The students also learned a variety of conceptual a STELLA-based simulation model that showed the tools for mapping systems and for expressing and impacts of different decisions. They had an overall communicating with others about their understanding budget and a prescribed mission based on environ - of the interdependence in developing a park plan. mental quality, economics, and recreation and educa - Today, tools like behavior-over-time graphs, connec - tion targets they had set out for the park. At the time, tion circles, causal loop diagrams, stock-and-flow the students were working on designing the park’s mapping, and system archetypes are introduced in trail system. Once they laid out a proposed trail, the this school system as early as kindergarten. These simulation model calculated the environmental and young children are invited to look at daily experi - economic consequences, prompting energetic debates ences like how trust builds or deteriorates in a friend - over tradeoffs among different options. ship, or what happens during the process of breaking We had only been standing in the back of the a bad habit. As students get older, they can naturally room for a few minutes when a couple of young boys extend these tools to more complex subjects, and start came over and grabbed to develop their own simulation models. This process us. “We need your opin - develops not only deep content knowledge but think - TEAM TIP ion,” Joe said. “Billy and I ing skills to see how common system dynamics can The eight systems thinking skills have different trails. He underlie very different situations. identified by Barry Richmond are as thinks his is great because “Our approach was to invite kids to consider a relevant to those seeking to solve it makes a lot of money world view of complex interdependent systems. complex business problems as they (routing hikers past the Instead of abstract learning, we use simulations to best views), but it also begin to confront and to penetrate this world of are to K-12 students learning about does a lot of environmen - interdependence as it is embodied in particular real- the world around them. tal damage. Mine does life situations and how these systems relate to other less environmental dam - systems,” says Frank Draper.

2 THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® V olume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Roots of Engagement of inferential reasoning all the time, but it is often What was evident from the outset in the state park easier to see how this works in another person, since exercise at Orange Grove was the engagement of the our own reasoning is often “transparent” or invisible students. What made them so involved? to us. Educators understand the importance of re - First, the students were wrestling with real- flection (i.e., learning how to examine our own world problems rather than artificial schoolroom assumptions and reasoning) in developing higher- exercises. They could identify not only with the order skills, but it remains an elusive educational challenges of developing a new state park but also goal, all but completely ignored by traditional with the benefits of designing the park well. schooling. Didactic instruction bypasses it entirely. Second, the students were thinking for them - Teachers’ efforts to try to get students to reflect are selves. They knew there was no single right answer easily undermined by teachers’ authority and formal to the challenges they were fac - power, which intimidates students ing. Ultimately, they had to under - programmed to seek correct an - stand more clearly what would Educators understand the swers. As Scheetz said, reflection happen if different decisions were importance of reflection requires safety, which benefits made, and they had to frame the from an environment of mutual in - (i.e., learning how to resulting trade-offs appropriately. quiry. In this sense, students help - No single formula was presented examine our own assump - ing one another reflect is a by the instructor to point to the tions and reasoning) in powerful approach that goes well right answer. Rather, the students beyond teacher-centered strategies. developing higher-order had to sort out their own thinking For example, consider the about a real issue and explore dif - skills, but it remains an following (slightly stylized) inter - ferent proposals, ultimately com - elusive educational goal. action between Joe and Billy, ing to their own conclusions. working on their park trail Third, the teachers operated system. as mentors, not instructors. The teachers’ role was not Billy: “Your trails are a bad idea because they to give a prescribed method or guide the students to a are too close to the Indian burial grounds. You predetermined right answer. Indeed, the teachers did shouldn’t do that.” not know the best outcome and were co-learners with the students. But the teachers’ roles were no less cru - Joe: “Who says? There are no rules that say cial: they had to help the students make sense of the we can’t do that. They do a lot less environ - outcomes of different scenarios. Having been in - mental damage than yours.” volved in building the computer simulation gave the Billy: “Yeah, mine are a problem. But which is teachers important knowledge for this task, but no worse?” simple answers. A complex dynamic simulation model will often respond to changes in ways that its Joe: “I didn’t really think about the burial developers do not anticipate, as different feedback in - grounds. Maybe there is a way to avoid the teractions play out over time. burial grounds and also do less environmental The entire process engaged both teachers and damage?” students in mutual learning around a complex do - Billy: “Yeah, maybe, but I wonder how much main. They had to recognize that they were working less money we’ll make; the park has to gener - with a model and thus, by definition, their view was ate enough money to stay open. Let’s try some incomplete. One of the teachers’ roles was to help other routes.” the students describe the assumptions upon which the model was based and to invite the students to Today, many educators advocate for a “systems critique those assumptions and consider the implica - view” in education, but this simple interaction tions of alternative assumptions, a critical aspect of shows a critical but often missing element. The two scientific thinking. boys are debating about the way specific features of Fourth, working with partners drew the students a system interact over time in response to alternative into a joint inquiry. This not only enabled them to actions—for example, how trail location affects the get to know one another but forced them to continu - hiking patterns of visitors, the environmental effects, ally confront alternative views and assumptions. and park revenues. They step back to see how spe - This drew students into a natural process of seeing cific choices can have many different effects. They how each reasoned, employing past experiences and see different parts of the system interacting as a re - assumptions to draw conclusions that guided ac - sult of the choices they have made, and they adjust tions. Appreciating this in the other made them more their choices accordingly. This is what the late pio - open to testing their own reasoning. neering educator Barry Richmond called “opera - Of course, human beings follow such processes tional thinking.” It was one of eight interdependent

Barry Richmond identified eight component skills of systems thinking. They are: 1. High-Altitude Thinking: to gain a view of the 5. Closed-Loop Thinking: to identify the web of interdisciplinary big picture rather than the interacting feedback loops (causal relationships) minutiae of any particular field of study that link together all the interacting parts 2. System-as-Cause (endogenous) Thinking: to 6. Scientific Thinking: to use mathematic models distinguish the factors most relevant to an issue and simulation experiments as hypotheses, or behavior of interest and how they interact to explaining the links between feedback and generate observed behavior behavior 3. Dynamic Thinking: to visualize behavior 7. Empathic Thinking: to inquire about working patterns over time and see incidents as parts of hypotheses and communicate them effectively for patterns of behavior rather than isolated events individual and organizational learning 4. Operational Thinking: to understand how the 8. Generic Thinking: to understand how certain parts of a system interact to generate these feedback structures generate the same behavior patterns of behavior in a variety of settings and contexts.

Also see Barry Richmond, “The Thinking in Systems Thinking: Eight Critical Skills,” in Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers , (isee Systems and Creative Learning Exchange, 2010).

systems thinking skills that he saw as critically im - challenged—even young learners can engage in so - portant (see “Eight Systems Thinking Skills”). phisticated processes of building rigor and rele - Other skills were also evident: The students were vance. learning to see change—the consequences of how The exchange also illustrates the dance of col - the park’s trail system was laid out—as differing laborative inquiry—thinking together about a com - patterns of behavior over time, plex matter. The boys are probing exhibiting dynamic thinking. And each other’s ways of thinking they learned how to formulate a In concert with scientific through the design problem they hypothesis—what consequences thinking—where the model’s face and making their own think - they expected from different assumptions are made ing more explicit in the process. changes—and to test their expec - In this way, collaboration and re - tations against a formal model of explicit and challenged— flection become inseparable ele - the system. They thus engaged in even young learners can ments of mutual learning. They scientific thinking. engage in sophisticated are helping one another; neither Operational thinking really is right nor wrong; both are learn - comes alive when students can processes of building rigor ing. Joe hadn’t really thought use interactive models to simulate and relevance. about the Indian burial grounds and analyze the effects of differ - as a constraint; this was outside ent actions on overall system be - the assumptions upon which he havior. In concert with scientific thinking —where was operating. Likewise, Billy had not paid a lot of the model’s assumptions are made explicit and attention to the environmental damage of his trails because he was focused on maximizing hiker traffic and park revenues. Both conclude that there may be THE GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENT GAP still better overall designs if they expand their as - The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the sumption sets. In short, the boys are becoming more New Survival Skills Our Children Need—And What We Can Do About It , by aware of their own taken-for-granted assumptions as Tony Wagner (Basic Books, 2008) they think through ideas together. This book describes seven skills that people need to thrive in the world at Of course, such interactions both build and de - large: critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration across networks pend upon mutual respect. It is easy to imagine two and leading by influence, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepre - young boys simply arguing about who is right and neurialism, effective oral and written communications, accessing and ana - lyzing information, and curiosity and imagination. Wagner then describes never challenging their own reasoning. This is why how schools might evolve to foster these skills. [Systems educator] Tracy educators like Scheetz understand that realizing the Benson, praising this book, noted that many schools are using it as they benefit of systems thinking tools is inseparable from develop curriculum and classroom approaches to prepare students for the deep and broad engagement of students, and that twenty-first century. how, in turn, this depends on the overall school en - —Art Kleiner vironment. As Scheetz says, “an environment where learning is likely to occur is one that is safe and

4 THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® V olume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Education (Crown Business, 2012). It was adapted from secure and where taking risks is okay” (see “The part of “Education for an Interdependent World” in Joy Global Achievement Gap”). • Richmond, Lees Stuntz, Kathy Richmond, and Joanne Egner (editors), Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Peter Senge is the author of The Fifth Discipline , co- Thinkers (isee Systems and Creative Learning Exchange, author of The Necessary Revolution , and founding chair of 2010). Tracing Connections was a commemorative vol - the Society for Organizational Learning. This essay is ume in honor of Barry Richmond, a pioneer in systems reprinted with permission from the second edition of thinking, managing director and founder of High Perform - Schools That Learn: A Fifth Discipline Fieldbook for ance Systems, and designer/developer of the STELLA Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About modeling software, who passed away suddenly in 2002.

NEXT STEPS

The skills that make up systems thinking are best STEPS IN THE SYSTEMS THINKING METHOD understood when seen in the context of the iterative, four-step process that constitutes the systems think - ing method (see “Steps in the Systems Thinking Method”). Each skill plays a role in supporting one or more of these steps. In employing systems thinking, you first specify the problem or issue you wish to address. You then construct a hypothesis, or model, to explain the cause of the problem. Next, you test the hypothesis by simulating the model. If the model can generate the problem, you have an entertainable hypothesis that you can communicate to others and use to begin to implement change.

Adapted from The ‘Thinking’ in Systems Thinking: Seven Essential Skills , by Barry Richmond (Pegasus Communications, 2000).

F R O M T H E R E S O U R C E S H E L F

CREATING TOMORROW’S INNOVATORS TODAY BY JANICE MOLLOY

n 2010, IBM’s Institute for Business Value sur - panies’ abilities to innovate for the future; only 49 veyed 1,500 chief executives from 60 counties and percent believed that their organizations were 3I3 industries to determine the foremost issue con - equipped to deal with the rising complexity they face. fronting them and their organizations. The answer: The good news, according to Tony Wagner, for - global complexity. When asked in turn about the most mer co-director of the Change Leadership Group at important leadership the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is that TEAM TIP competency for manag - the key qualities necessary for innovation—curiosity, Look at the ways in which your ing this complexity, the collaboration, associative or integrative thinking, and CEOs identified “cre - a bias toward action and experimentation—are skills organization recruits and rewards ativity” as the crucial that can be learned rather than being strictly innate. people. Do these practices support factor for future suc - Nevertheless, in his latest book, Creating Innova - or undermine innovation? cess. But they weren’t tors: The Making of Young People Who Will Change confident in their com - the World (Scribner, 2012), he makes the case that

5 THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® V olume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. most of our schools, at all levels, are failing to pro - Finding a Path vide students with the hands-on, collaborative learn - Given the scant attention paid to fostering creativity, ing that fosters creative, critical thinking. Instead, it’s no shock that the young innovators whom Wag - they continue to prepare students in traditional ways ner features in the book worked hard to create their for a career path that no longer exists. own opportunities. Kirk Phelps left Phillips Exeter Academy and Stanford University without graduat - Breaking the Mold ing, yet at 29 has already had successful careers at To illustrate that a different way of teaching and Apple working on the iPhone and SunRun, a leading learning is possible, Wagner introduces several edu - home solar power company. Zander Srodes became cational programs that are striving to break the ex - an advocate for sea turtle conservancy, authoring a isting mold, including the High Tech High network book, leading ecological tours, and earning numer - of K–12 schools in San Diego, California, Olin Col - ous youth achievement awards and grants—all lege in Needham, MA, the MIT Media Lab, and while struggling in the classroom. Syreeta Gates, Stanford’s d.school. The essential difference be - who founded SWT Life, which provides New York tween these programs and other, more conventional City teens with entrepreneurial coaching and per - ones is that these schools promote: sonal development training, dropped out of City • Collaboration versus individual achievement Technical College of New York before finding a • Multidisciplinary learning versus specialization sense of purpose through volunteer work. • Trial and error versus risk avoidance Virtually all of Wagner’s interview subjects ben - • Creating versus consuming efited from the guidance of a mentor and participa - tion in unconventional learning experiences. In • Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation many cases, the mentor’s efforts weren’t recognized Wagner quotes Richard Miller, president of Olin or well compensated by mainstream institutions but College, on the college’s goal, one that is largely instead were done as labor of love. Such is the case shared by the other leading-edge institutions Wagner of Amanda Alonzo, who works as a science teacher studied: and science fair faculty advisor. She spends as many We’ve trying to teach students to take initiative—to as four hours a day after school mentoring 40 stu - transmit attitudes, motivations, and behaviors ver - dents a year on their science fair projects. For her ef - sus mere knowledge. Today, it’s not what you forts, she receives only a $1,800 stipend on top of know, it’s having the right questions. I see three her teacher’s salary. stages in the evolution of learning: The first is the memorization-based, multiple-choice approach, which is still widely prevalent; then there’s project- Encouraging Creative Work based learning where the problem is already deter - So where do we go from here? Wagner is aware that mined; finally, there’s design-based learning where schools alone can’t shoulder the burden for develop - you have to define the problem. That way of learn - ing innovators—parents and employers have a role ing is part of every class here. We are trying to to play as well. Based on his interviews with inno - teach students how to frame problems versus repeat vators and their families, he identified ways in the answers. which parents can encourage the “spirit of play, pas - To achieve this objective, schools require a new sion, and purpose that are the wellsprings for cre - kind of educator, one who serves more as a coach ative work.” Some of these include allowing plenty and co-learner than as an authority in an academic of time for play and discovery; encouraging reading; subject. Wagner highlights two graduate schools of providing toys that encourage imagination and in - education that have developed new teaching models: vention; limiting screen time; and allowing kids to the High Tech High Graduate School of Education make and learn from mistakes. and the Upper Valley Educators Institute in Wagner also interviewed business leaders, in - Lebanon, NH. In both of these programs, novice cluding Tom Kelley from IDEO and Annmarie Neal teachers spend most of their time working with a from Cisco Systems, about how management prac - mentor in a school setting rather than sitting in lec - tices need to change for young innovators to thrive tures learning about education theory. In this way, in corporations. Many of the characteristics they de - these programs resemble the approach to teacher ed - scribed as being vital—such as the free flow of in - ucation used in Finland, a country that has produced formation up and down the organization and outstanding results on international assessments. In - trust—are reminiscent of the characteristics of a terestingly—but maybe not surprisingly, give how learning organization as described by Peter Senge in entrenched traditional educational philosophies have The Fifth Discipline more than two decades ago. proven to be—neither the High Tech High Graduate The US Army is also aware of the need for a School of Education nor the Upper Valley Educators new organizational model. According to the report, Institute has received accreditation from its respec - “The Army Learning Concept for 2015,” “[T]he tive regional accreditation agency. Army cannot risk failure through complacency, lack

6 THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® V olume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. of imagination, or resistance to change.” The report There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quicken- recommends three steps for establishing a more ef- ing that is translated through you into action, and fective learning model, including converting class- because there is only one you in all time, this ex- room experiences to collaborative problem-solving pression is unique. And if you will block it, it will events; tailoring learning to the individual learner’s never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your busi- experience and competence level; and using a ness to determine how good it is nor how valuable blended learning approach that incorporate simula- nor how it compares with other expressions. It is tions, gaming technology, and other technology- your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, based instruction. to keep the channel open. Staying the Course The rest of us have an obligation, too, to give members of the next generation the tools they need Recognizing that change can take time, Wagner con- to flourish. If we don’t, they will pay the price for cludes the book with a letter to today’s young innova- our failure of imagination and foresight. • tors, who may have to persevere in less-than-optimal circumstances. To encourage them to stay the course, Janice Molloy is content director at Pegasus Communica- he quotes dancer and choreographer Martha Graham: tions and managing editor of The Systems Thinker.

SYSTEMSSTORIES

SYSTEMS THINKING CONCEPTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION BY JAIMIE P.CLOUD

he goal of education for sustainability (EFS) is “to EE and EFS are not the same, but do share a com- develop in young people and adults new knowl- mon interest in achieving a quality of life for all edgeT and new ways of thinking needed to achieve eco- within the means of nature, I think one of the great- nomic prosperity, participate democratically, secure est opportunities that EFS can offer to EE that will justice and equity, and all the while regenerate the strengthen its capacity over the next 10 years is the health of the ecosystems, the gift upon which all life contribution of the tools, concepts, archetypes, and and all production depend” (The Cloud Institute, “habits of mind” of systems thinking and system dy- 2005). The environmental education (EE) movement namics education—a core content area of EFS. Al- has been instrumental in bringing awareness, knowl- though one can teach systems thinking and system edge, heart, and political capital to the plight and to dynamics without teaching about sustainability, one the beauty of our natural systems and has forced many cannot do the reverse. of us to think more deeply and profoundly about our Systems thinking and system dynamics education relationship to nature. What then can the UN Decade encourage us to look at the relationships between and for Education for Sus- among the parts of a system—not just at the parts TEAMTIP tainable Development themselves—and they help us to understand the im- (2005–2014) and, more plications of those relationships over time. We know Use the idea of “entry points” as a specifically, what can from ecologists that everything is interconnected to way for people on a cross-functional we as Educators for everything else on this planet, and systems theorists team to introduce themselves and Sustainability and and educators have a great deal to teach us about how others, contribute to the to prepare young people (and ourselves) to think and their perspective on a given issue. EE community? act in light of systems as the context for decision Recognizing that making. One of seven of the dimensions on our

7 THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® Volume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Rubric for a Whole Systems Thinker entitled “Under - profoundly spiritual. All of those entry points are con - standing of Systems as the Context for Decision nected to and interdependent upon one another, and Making” measures the extent to which one sees both all are critical to the move toward sustainability. the whole system and its parts, as well as the extent to If your ultimate goal is to achieve sustainability which an individual can place oneself within the sys - —either because of your interest in or passion for tem. This kind of thinking and acting is critical to en - something or because of your perspective (“Where vironmental educators from an instructional point of you stand depends on where you sit,” Istvan Banyai view as well as from the point of view of developing in Zoom , Viking Books, 1995)—it is critical that you partnerships and plans to strengthen the field of EE understand the concept of entry points. There is no over the next 10 years. (For more “right place” for an entry point. on systems thinking/system All of those entry points are There is no hierarchy or preferred dynamics education go to connected to and inter- sequence for an entry point—no www.clexchange.org and “first here and then there.” No www.watersfoundation.org .) dependent upon one matter what your interest, per - I will highlight two examples another, and all are critical spective, or entry point, you and of concepts of systems thinking to the move toward your interests are inextricably in - and system dynamics education – terlinked to all the other interests, entry points and mental models — sustainability. perspectives, and entry points. We to illustrate their usefulness. are all interdependent on one an - other and on the natural systems. Entry Points: Where Do We Begin? This way of thinking binds all of us through our com - One very useful concept of systems thinking/system mon interests, affords us many more allies (in some dynamics education is the concept of entry points. The cases seemingly strange bedfellows), and does not re - basic idea is this: A system is made up of two or more quire us to convince one another which entry point is parts that interact with one another over time. Systems the “right” or “most important” one. The pursuit of are “nested” in other systems. A relationship, a body, self-interest must be considered in light of the context an engine, and a rain forest are all systems. A system of interdependence. is not linear; rather it is more weblike. It is dynamic. How might it be beneficial for environmental There is no one way into a system. For example, if a educators to make use of the concept of entry person is feeling ill, and your goal is to assist in mak - points? Is it being done by some already? ing that person feel well, you might enter into a diag - nosis by asking, “Where does it hurt?” On the other Mental Models hand, another friend might enter by asking, “What did Another interesting concept of systems thinkers and you eat this morning?” Then again, another might ask, system dynamicists and educators is that of mental “What kinds of materials have you used to renovate models. A mental model is made up of your values, your new apartment?” All of those questions are gen - your assumptions, your education, and your experi - erated by certain experiences, expertise, and interests, ence. It is a paradigm—a frame through which you un - and all are interconnected to one another and to the derstand the world around you. Transcending person who is not feeling very well. paradigms requires an experience or set of experiences If one takes a holistic or “whole systems” ap - that compels you to think and see things differently. proach to the diagnosis, any one of those questions Another dimension in our Whole Systems Thinker will lead you to the others and to a more compre - Rubric is entitled “Paradigm Shifter.” That dimension hensive understanding of the situation. measures “the extent to which one recognizes mental For many environmental educators, the entry models and paradigms as guiding constructs that point to their involvement with local, regional, or change over time with new knowledge and applied in - global sustainability/sustainable development is their sights.” If you “accept that things are the way they are love for and connection to the flora and fauna of na - because that is the way they have always been” (a de - ture, their understanding of the significance of the scription of the poorest degree of quality of a paradigm natural systems to life on the planet, or all of these. shifter on our rubric), then you are possibly working For others, their interest in sustainable development with some dated mental models. “Resources are un - comes from their love for and connection to the is - limited on Earth and nature is a stock of resources to sues of mental and physical human health. Still others be converted to human purpose” is a mental model that are drawn to the entrepreneurial challenge that unsus - many economists and strip miners are still employing tainability poses to our survival. There are people today. “Everything revolves around the Earth—and by whose entry point into sustainability is their desire for extension, us” was the mental model of the Church of economic well-being, justice and equity, issues such Rome before Copernicus proved otherwise in 1543 as human rights, poverty, or climate change, and their AD (or until 1992 when the Church of Rome conceded sense of intergenerational responsibility, place, or that Copernicus might have been right). self-efficacy. For some, the entry point is simply and Mental models give rise to goals, structures,

8 THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® V olume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. rules, delays, and parameters, according to Donella however, your mental model for a game is the “non Meadows in “Twelve Leverage Points to Intervene in zero-sum game” in which the players are interde - a System.” They are the sources of human systems, pendent, then you know that the only way to win and open-minded people can update/shift their men - that game is if everyone wins. The structure is dif - tal models when the need arises, thus allowing the ferent, the rules are different, and therefore, if you possibility of new, more elegant systems to emerge. want to “win” the game, the behavior is different. The pedagogy of paradigm shifting is rooted in expe - The Social Trap. This mental model goes: “It riential, learner-centered approaches to teaching and doesn’t make any difference what I do—because learning. Master paradigm shifters are “Nobody else is doing it” or “Everybody else is • able to expose and examine mental models; doing it, so why shouldn’t I?” You stand on your • able to evolve/alter/improve mental models and chair at a concert to get a better view, but before you paradigms when proven necessary; know it, everyone is standing on a chair. You have • skilled at communicating the value of the new the same view as before, but now you work harder mental model and paradigm; for it. This social trap, like the Tragedy of the Com - mons, arises when what holds true for the members • able to demonstrate vigilant attention paid to our of a group, taken separately, does not hold true of habitual patterns of thinking (mental models, para - the group taken together. The opposite of a social digms, unquestioned assumptions, resignations, etc.); trap is collective action. Just as locks are made to and keep honest people honest, we live in communities • able to hold the tension of paradox and contro - in which we are mutually responsible for one an - versy without trying to resolve it quickly, and will other and for the group of which we are a part be decisively influential on our ability to “be on the (Robert Costanza, “Social traps and environmental turn” toward a sustainable future. policy,” Bioscience , 37(6), 1987). Shifting paradigms “when proven necessary” is the work of educators for a sustainable future. A few Conclusion of the germane mental models that we have uncov - In 1949, Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Al - ered in our work, and those that have proven to be manac that “All ethics so far evolved rest upon a sin - “necessary to shift” in order to move toward a sus - gle premise: that the individual is a member of a tainable future, include “the Titanic syndrome,” “the community of interdependent parts. His instincts zero-sum game,” and “the social trap.” prompt him to compete for his place in the commu - nity but his ethics prompt him to co-operate (perhaps The Titanic Syndrome. This mental model goes, in order that there may be a place to compete for).” “We are going down anyway—so I [and my family] Given the goals of EE, which mental models might as well go first class.” If you imagine the kinds will drive the structures, rules, and behaviors de - of goals, structures, rules, and behavior that arise out signed and applied to reach them? of this mental model, you can begin to understand the For sustainability educators, environmental edu - problem. If, on the other hand, you value “intergener - cators, and others, these and many, many other con - ational responsibility” and you understand the neces - cepts, tools, and archetypes of systems thinking and sity of taking responsibility for the fact that the system dynamics education and the other core con - well-being of future generations is largely dependent tent, competencies, and habits of mind that character - upon the choices and decisions you make (as well as ize EFS will improve, enhance, and contribute to your the choices and decisions of others) during your life - work and your life. Come over, the water is fine. • time, and of choosing, designing, planning, making decisions, and acting in ways that will benefit the Jaimie P. Cloud is the founder and president of the Cloud “seventh generation,” then you can also imagine the Institute for Sustainability Education (formerly the Sustain - kinds of goals, structures, rules, and behaviors that ability Education Center) in New York City. Jaime teaches will arise from that mental model. extensively, writes, and facilitates the collaborative devel - What is the goal? Which mental models will opment of numerous interdisciplinary instructional units, drive the structures, rules, and behaviors designed courses, and programs that are designed through the lens and applied to reach it? of sustainability. The Zero-Sum Game. The “zero-sum game” (Saul Stahl, A Gentle Introduction to Game Theory , This article originally was adapted from Jaimie P. Cloud, American Mathematical Society, 1999) is the type “Some Systems Thinking Concepts for Environmental Educa - of game in which there are winners and losers. If tors during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Develop - ment,“ Education for Sustainable Development: Papers in your mental model for a game—even the “big en - Honour of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sus - chilada” game of life—is based on the winner/loser tainable Development (2005-2014) (Routledge, 2009). It is paradigm, then when playing a game, any game, you reprinted here with permission from the Cloud Institute for always play to win. Who wants to be a loser? If, Sustainability Education.

MENTAL MODELS AND SYSTEMS THINKING: GOING DEEPER INTO SYSTEMIC ISSUES

BY RICHARD KARASH

n a causal loop diagram of a systemic issue, vari - says a change in revenues affects profits, we’re deal - ables are connected in cause-and-effect relation - ing with arithmetic laws. But a link between change Iships. But often the implicit thought processes in revenues and investments in R&D represents a behind those links are not well understood. How process that involves quite a bit of human choice. does a change in a teacher’s expectations affect a Once we have selected a link or two that repre - student’s performance? How does a change in the sent human choice, we want to ask ourselves: Why amount of money available for new product invest - is that choice being made? To explicitly represent ment affect the flow of new products? Exploring the the thought process, we add a thought bubble to the mental models behind such links helps us become link. Like the thought bubbles in cartoons, which clearer about the mechanisms that produce the ob - represent what the character is thinking but not say - served behavior and can lead to better solutions. ing, these thought bubbles represent the intangible Adding thought processes explicitly to causal thought processes that may or may not be visible to loop diagrams is one of a series of steps we call the people involved. When filling in the thought Going Deeper™. By mapping mental models onto a bubble, it is usually helpful to project ourselves into diagram, we can begin the process of exploring the the situation and perhaps even role play it. The more subtle aspects of the system. thought bubble should capture the line of thinking that makes the actions represented in the loop ra - The Steps of the Process tional from each individual’s point of view. Going Deeper begins with a causal loop diagram of a systemic issue. Once the diagram is finished, the first Borrowing Example step is to look for the links that represent human To see how the process works, let’s look at the story choice (as opposed to those that represent hard physi - of a young couple, Joan and Bob, who find them - cal mechanisms). For example, if we have a link that selves forced to borrow from their credit cards to get through a sequence of cash shortages. Unfortu - CASH FLOW AND BORROWING nately, the high interest and payments on their accu - mulated debt eventually pushes them into deeper cash flow problems, forcing them to borrow even more to stay afloat. Once we get clear of our school • Draw the causal loop diagram. In this story, loan debt, things will get easier. as cash flow problems go up, borrowing goes up. As s We can’t not pay our bills! We know the borrowing increases, the cash flow problems go Cash borrowing is creating problems, but we’ll down (B1 in “Cash Flow and Borrowing”). But over Flow have to solve them later. Problems B1 Borrowing the long term, as borrowing goes up, loan payments go up, and cash flow problems increase (R2). This s o follows the “Fixes That Fail” storyline. • Add a thought bubble to the link(s) that R2 D ela represent human choice. In this loop, human choice y comes into play in the decision to “solve” the cash Loan flow problem by borrowing, so we want to add the Payments s bubble to the arrow between “Cash Flow Problems” A young couple facing cash shortages finds themselves forced to borrow from their and “Borrowing.” credit cards (B1). However, the high loan payments on the accumulated debt push • Presume rationality. To fill in the thought them into deeper cash flow problems, forcing them to borrow still more (R2). bubble, we want to ask ourselves, “Assuming that these people are acting rationally from their point of THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® V olume 23, Number 5 June/July 2012 © 2012 PEGASUS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 10 view, what is the thinking that leads to the choice to ber, when they began the project, the release was take on extra debt?” scheduled to ship in March, but it was delayed to • Suggest several possibilities. Perhaps they July when a few more features seemed necessary. In might think they just need to get through this tough November, it was delayed again to add even more situation and things will get better afterwards features. In December, the release was again (“Once we get clear of our school loan debt, things rescheduled—a full 12 months later than originally will get easier.”). Or perhaps they feel they have no planned! choice at this point (“We can’t not pay our bills! We To capture this story in a loop, we would say the know the borrowing is creating problems, but we’ll more features, the longer the projected development have to solve them later.”). time, which means the further out the projected de - livery date. And it seems like the later projected de - • Project the emotion of the situation into the livery date is causing even more features to be thought bubble. We might want to add, “What will added. But how is this occurring (R3 in “Software the neighbors think if our car is repossessed!” Development Delay”)? • Capture multiple perspectives. Perhaps Joan If we want to go deeper into the thought expects that their cash problems will get better once processes involved, we would put a thought bubble she earns her degree and enters the job market, between “Projected Delivery Date” and “No. of Fea - whereas Bob is counting on that promotion the boss tures,” so we can explore why features are being promised him “once he proved himself in the com - added. One possibility may be that marketing thinks pany.” By projecting viewpoints from multiple per - that the longer the wait, the higher the customers’ spectives, we can get a fuller sense of the situation. expectations (“They won’t think it was worth the wait. We’ll look like turkeys!”). From the develop - The whole purpose of the Going Deeper process ers’ perspective, the delay may be seen as an oppor - is to give visibility to non-obvious reasons why the tunity to experiment and add new features (“Now I system is functioning the way it is. If we leap to have the time to put in that new XYZ feature I’ve al - simple conclusions (“they should know better than ways wanted to design.”). to build up credit card debt”) or blame systemic Sometimes the process of filling in the thought problems on individuals (“they’re just not being re - bubbles leads to additional variables that might be This article was sponsible”), we may miss the larger learning that included in the diagram. For example, we might hy - originally published could come from a deeper analysis, and the ability pothesize that the longer the decision remains open, in The Systems to take that learning and apply it to other situations. the more bugs are discovered in the current release, Thinker ® V6N1, and the more opportunities are identified for future February 1995. Software Development improvements (another reinforcing loop). By contin - In another setting, a manager in charge of a new uing to dig deeper into the thinking process, we may release for a well-established software product envi - unearth systemic interconnections that were not ob - sioned a tidy package with some specific functional - vious upon initial inspection of the problem. ity. The plan was to develop it within a short time frame, using a small development team. In Septem - From Understanding to Action In dealing with complex situations, we want more

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT DELAY than just understanding—we want to design effec - tive actions. Examining our mental models and achieving deeper insights can propel a team toward action in a way that doesn’t happen if you stop after drawing a causal loop diagram. By using both the “They won’t think it was worth s systems thinking and mental model framework to the wait. We’ll look like turkeys!” Number explore a problem, we can more effectively move of “Now I’ll be able to put in that Features from superficial understanding to deeper under - new XYZ feature I’ve always Projected standing, thereby liberating action. • wanted to design.” Development s Time R3 Richard Karash has been teaching systems thinking and the disciplines of organizational learning since 1991. He was a senior staff member at Innovation Associates, a Projected founding trustee of the Society for Organizational Learning, Delivery s a founding member of the SoL Coaching Community of Time Practice, and co-creator of “Coaching from a Systems In a software development project where the number of features added to the Perspective.” He teaches in leadership programs, trains product extends the development time and the delivery date (R3), we may want to professionals, and does executive coaching. use a thought bubble to explore why a delay results in more features being added. Editorial support provided by Colleen Lannon.

LEARNING QUOTES Upcoming Workshops by the Society for Organizational Learning The Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) has several seats still available in their upcoming “A sustainable society is one that is workshops. Click on the links for detailed descriptions. far-reaching enough, flexible August 14-17, 2012 September 9-14, 2012 November 7-11, 2012 enough, and wise enough not to Executive Champions' Foundations for Leadership Leading and Learning for undermine either its physical or its Workshop with Peter Senge and Beth Sustainability social systems of support.” with Peter Senge, Otto Jandernoa with Peter Senge, Joe Laur, –Donella Meadows Scharmer, and Arawana Bedford, MA and Darcy Winslow Hayashi For registration information, Bedford, MA “Most people can become more Stowe, VT contact Lisa Kim . For registration information, creative and innovative— For registration information, contact Lisa Kim . given the right environment and contact Frank Schneider . opportunities.” –Tony Wagner Summer Learning—at Your Home or Office! “Although one can teach systems If you’re looking for personal and professional opportunities without incurring the travel expenses, Pegasus On-Demand Media Library thinking and system dynamics look no further. Through the , you can view all of our without teaching about recorded programs, when and where you like. With a six-month or one-year subscription, access sustainability, one cannot do more than 50 recorded webinars and conference keynote videos for one low subscription price. the reverse.” Past webinars include (click each title for a preview): –Jaimie Cloud I Turning Stagnation into Innovation Using Polarity Management I The Power of Narrative for Building Organizational Engagement I Why Visual Meetings Are Essential for Systems Thinking in Groups I THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® Systems Thinking Concepts and Tools for More Effective Problem Solving

EDITOR: Janice Molloy ([email protected] ) Conference highlights include keynote presentations by: I I I I I I FOUNDING PUBLISHER: Daniel H. Kim Peter Senge Juana Bordas John Seely Brown Charlotte Roberts David Sibbet Katie PRODUCTION: Nancy Daugherty I I Browse the Library Now! CIRCULATION: Mark Alpert Salen Thomas Crum Linda Booth Sweeney ([email protected] ) THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® explores both the theory and practice of systems thinking and We’ve Moved! related organizational development disciplines. Articles by leading thinkers and practitioners articulate the challenges and issues involved in At the end of June, we moved to our new offices in Westford, MA. We’re enjoying our sunny new creating organizations on the leading edge of innovation. We encourage dialogue about space—and have managed to avoid too many trips to the ice cream place right up the street. Here is systemic issues and strive to provide a forum for debating such issues. Unsolicited articles, stories, our updated mailing information (our phone numbers and email addresses have stayed the same): and letters to the editor are welcome. Pegasus Communications, Inc. If you’re ever in the area, stop by and visit. THE SYSTEMS THINKER ® (ISSN 1050-2726) 319 Littleton Road is published 10 times a year by Pegasus Communications, Inc. Signed articles represent Westford, MA 01886-4133 the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the editors. The list price is $189.00 for one year. Site licenses, volume discounts, and for the 2012 Systems Thinking in Action Conference back issues are also available. REGISTER NOW Copyright © 2012 Pegasus Communications, Inc. for Only $995—Teams Pay Even Less ! All rights reserved. No part of this news- letter may be reproduced or transmitted in any 22 nd Annual Systems Thinking in Action Conference: The Power Is in the Connections form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without November 12 –14, 2012 • Downtown Marriott Hotel • Indianapolis, Indiana written permission from Pegasus Communications. ORDERS AND PAYMENTS INFORMATION Even though it’s still summer here in Massachusetts, we’re getting more and Phone 800-272-0945 • 781-398-9700 more excited about our November conference! Keynotes, concurrent sessions, • Fax 781-894-7175 [email protected] “Going Deeper” workshops, pre- and post-conference programs, evening EDITORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF events—you can find details about these and more on our conference website . Phone 781-398-9700 • Fax 781-894-7175 Learn More and Register ... [email protected] 319 Littleton Road / Check back often for updates. Westford, MA 01886 USA www.pegasuscom.com