Systems Thinking Education—Seeing the Forest through the Trees

Abstract

Systems thinking is an indispensable tool in comprehending and analyzing real-world phenomena. Observed processes are naturally composed of many interconnected components which ought to be studied jointly rather than individually. Engineering systems thinking is a very valuable skill, which helps to successfully execute multi-disciplinary projects. In high-tech companies that deal with complex and dynamic systems projects, the need for engineers with high systems thinking skills is growing. Engineers with high systems thinking skills are able to understand the big picture and the project in its entirety, both functionally and conceptually, without necessarily knowing all of the small details. Systems thinking enables understanding the entire system beyond its components, and clarifies the importance of the isolated component as part of the system as a whole. Systems thinking helps understand how sub-systems connect to one whole system, and provides solutions for the client's specifications and requirements. In addition, systems thinking enables perceiving the inter-relationships and mutual influence among the system's components and other systems. The current study examined the development of systems thinking among engineers and engineering students. In addition, the personality traits of engineers with high systems thinking skills were examined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type test. This article also presents the initial results of the development of a new systems thinking study course, taught as a pilot course to industrial and management engineering students. It seems that engineers with certain personality traits can acquire or improve their systems thinking capabilities through a gradual, long-term learning process and by acquiring the necessary tools. Additionally, the study includes recommendations for the continuation of ongoing research on developing systems thinking.

Growing Our Own Timber! Lived Experiences of Five School Principals in Using a Systems Thinking Approach for School Development

“…For instance, our literature review indicates that fields such as engineering, medicine, finance, health, planning, development, and education, to mention just a few, all acknowledge the benefits of using ST. Although most scholars emphasize its holistic nature (Garland et al, 2018;Kensler et al, 2011;Koral-Kordova et al, 2018;Senge, 2006), there is also a triangular characteristic element to it, particularly in terms of its contribution to organizational improvement. The triple view of ST entails, first, looking at organizations holistically while focusing on internal interrelationships of its constituent parts with future orientation being its ultimate goal (Shaked & Schechter, 2013).…”

“…Therefore, obtaining clear insights about ST may enable school leaders to understand and analyze the context within which they operate, and to design programs that can adapt to the conditions on the ground. While we acknowledge that there is not just one definition of ST (Cabrera, 2006), a significant number of scholars (Chow et al, 2013;Garland et al, 2018;Kensler et al, 2011;Koral-Kordova et al, 2018;Senge, 2006;Shaked & Schechter, 2013) converge on the view that it entails looking at a system holistically. It focuses on the integration of a system's constituent components, and interrelationships between components remain its strongest characteristic.…”

Could Education for Sustainable Development Benefit from a Systems Thinking Approach?

“…One student cannot be expected to be an expert in all areas, but they can value their strengths and limitations working in teams with the same level of "systems understanding" to solve transdisciplinary problems [30]. "One of the reasons for using systems thinking to approach sustainability is because systems thinking is an appropriate education approach to complex problems and could provide a kind of common language for students from different disciplines" [21] (p. 3). Throughout the last decade, there have been several researchers arguing for an education with possibilities to enunciate an aim at a meta-level, advocating a kind of learning that raises awareness of social, individual, economic and environmental perspectives in a societal development [42][43][44][45].…”

“…"It is clear that systems education, from informal learning to formal educational programs, is at the foundation of the key leverages to develop new ways of more holistic thinking to ensure systemic decision and policymaking" [21] (p. 3.…”

“…Critical thinking, problem-solving skills and action are often mentioned in literature from both the research field in systems thinking [21][22][23][24][25][26] and the research field in sustainable development [4,19,[27][28][29]. Development of a critical approach is often mentioned within both research fields.…”