Systems thinking is the ability to describe and/ or visualize a part of a complex reality , express that part of reality as a model, understand the model as a system, use the model to explain the behaviour of the system, anticipate the behaviour of the system, and evaluate its impacts on sustainable development, identify potential points of, and types of interventions, generate options to act, assess their impacts in the frame of sustainable development, and decide whether further actions are necessary or not.
What is the aim?
To enable learners to:
- Assess whether proposed interventions in the system lead to sustainability outcomes,
- Assess whether the choice of intervention in the system was appropriate to effect improved sustainability outcomes, and
- Decide whether further interventions are needed.
Activities, tasks, and suggested learning methods
In Step 9 learners developed strategies to change a system in intended directions of sustainable development. In this Step, they must assess whether their ideas or strategies can really improve sustainability outcomes. If not, they must go back to Step 8 or even Step 6 and re-think and re-plan the interventions.
As a preparatory task, share some examples of well-intended actions resulting in unintended consequences that create other problems. See examples at https://www.toptenz.net/10-fascinating-examples-of-unintended-consequences.php or https://fs.blog/2018/02/unintended-consequences/. Learners may themselves conduct an internet search on the term ‘unintended consequences’ and share the examples they find most interesting.
Next, let learners’ groups work together (such as by using the Group Jigsaw method) and present their strategies to each other. The other groups should provide feedback to the presenting group on the effects and consequences they expect of the strategies and interventions.
To guarantee that adequate information flows, one person from the original group should be part of the new group to explain the strategy.
The task for each group is to imagine the application of the strategy developed by their partner group, and
- Check if the changes planned would contribute to the SDGs? For this use the SDG analysis matrix.
- Is the planned strategy adequate, or will further interventions be necessary?
- Are there any unintended consequences, and do these improve sustainability behaviour or outcomes or worsen the situation, and how? Use the SDG analysis matrix for this task again.
- Let each group present their review to their partner group.
Ask the learners what to do if the strategies developed fails or may not work as intended. Encourage the learners to identify which step they need to go back to in order to review and correct their strategy.
For these different activities, learners may be supported by learning methods such as:
- Group Jigsaw
- Role play (for example organizing a jury)
- (SDG) Analysis Matrix
- Think Pair Share
- Debate
- Advocatus Diaboli
Suggested Final or Further Leading Questions
- What is the use of systems thinking to you personally?
- Can you think of some situations in your life where you could apply systems thinking tin strengthen sustainable development?
