Experience Systems Thinking

SPOILER ALERT! You are standing at the doorway of an unforgettable learning experience that may alter your perception of the world forever! And all of this in an exercise using…wait for it…pickup sticks!

We begin the exercise by defining a system. Then we proceed through the five stages of the learning activity itself. After the learning activity, we answer questions about why a disorganized pile of pickup sticks is an example of a system and how systems thinking skills show up in this learning activity. Notice in questions #2 and #3 below how the same systems thinking skills can be applied to two different stages showing the general or “generic” nature of systems thinking skills. Some closing comments about systems thinking skills conclude this section.

STVIC FAQ

Pickup Sticks Activity

A system is a collection of interconnected parts that work together to achieve a common goal.

The parts can be physical objects, activities or ideas.

A SYSTEM IS a collection of interconnected parts that work together to achieve a common goal.

A system is A COLLECTION OF interconnected parts that word together to achieve a common goal.

A system is a collection of INTERCONNECTED PARTS that work together to achieve a common goal.

A system is a collection of interconnected parts THAT WORK TOGETHER to achieve a common goal.

A system is a collection of interconnected parts that work together TO ACHIEVE A COMMON GOAL.

SOME QUESTIONS

Question #1

Why is a disorganized pile of pickup sticks a system?

Here are a few reasons:

Boundary: The pile has a defined boundary that distinguishes it from its surrounding environment. This is a characteristic of a system.
Components: Each pickup stick is an individual component in the system and has its own properties such as length, color, and position in the pile.
Interaction between components: Even in a disorganized state, the sticks still interact with each other. For example, in the game of pickup sticks, the position of one stick might affect the ability to pick up another stick without disturbing the pile.

Question #2

Which systems thinking skills are used when organizing pickup sticks into color categories from a disorganized pile of sticks?

Here are a few:

Categorization: This skill involves setting up categories for the different colors of sticks and placing each stick in the same category as other sticks of similar color.
Pattern Recognition: Grouping the sticks based on their colors requires the ability to see the pattern of similar colored sticks in the chaos of the pile. This skill helps recognize which sticks belong to each color category.
Wholistic Thinking: Viewing the entire pile as a system of sticks means focusing on how each stick is interconnected with the others instead of only studying each stick in isolation. The whole pile shows new characteristics that aren’t seen in any individual stick.

Question #3

Which systems thinking skills are used to organize color-categorized pickup sticks into an arrowhead?

Here are a few:

Categorization: Sorting the pickup sticks by color which helps determine how to balance the colors within the arrowhead shape.
Pattern Recognition: Identifying the geometric shape of an arrowhead and understanding how to replicate that shape using the sticks.
Wholistic Thinking: Understanding the relationship between the sticks and how they should be arranged with each other to create the new shape of the arrowhead.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Systems thinking skills build on our general thinking skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving.

These general thinking skills are inherently cross disciplinary and so are the systems thinking skills derived from them.

Systems thinking skills are strengthened by challenging ourselves to use them in diverse situations.

When you begin your learning journey we strongly recommend you join a systems thinking oriented community where you can learn with other systems thinkers and start practicing your systems thinking skills. You will feel your systems thinking skills come ALIVE when dialoguing with others and participating in systems thinking oriented projects. With growing systems thinking literacy you will soon be aware that you’re expressing your inner systems thoughts with greater confidence, clarity and authenticity with YOUR systems thinking voice!

Important! For most people it’s not easy to grasp the core concepts of systems thinking in a single experience. This is in part because each of us learns abstract ideas in some ways much more easily than other ways. We hope this introductory experience has heightened your curiosity to see how the core concepts of systems thinking are being learned and put into practice in different ways by the different people in the STVIC community.