Review this week’s readings and the video Systems Thinking: A Way to Optimize Everything You Do. Imagine that you are making a presentation on systems thinking in schools to your school, educational organization, or an educational setting with which you are familiar. Create an 8- to 10-slide PowerPoint presentation that includes:
A concise description of what a system is
A brief description of Senge’s five disciplines
The key elements of each of the five disciplines
An explanation of the importance of systems thinking as it applies to education
A diagram showing the factors (internal and external forces) that influence the school system
A “References” slide
Materials: Senge, P. M., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., & Dutton, J. (2012). Schools that learn (updated and revised): A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. New York, NY: Crown Business.
pp. 123–156- summary
Like quality medicine, quality education hinges on a whole suite of life choices and a way of learning how to make them. Systems thinking can make an enormous contribution to education but can’t be treated as a solitary discipline. No one can work alone. Consider 1. events 2. Patterns and trends 3. systems structures (what forces are at play contributing to these patterns 4. mental modules-what about our thinking allows these patterns to exist. React, Anticipate, design and transform. Study statistics over time, look at patterns of behavior. What interrelated forces causes problems, specifically in education. Where do you need to focus to see the systematic structures more clearly
