Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers - Softcover

Tracy Benson; James K. Doyle; Frank Draper; Diana M. Fisher; Ali Mashayekhi; John D. W. Morecroft; John L. Newman; Corey Peck; Steve Peterson; Barry M. Richmond; Khalid Saeed; Peter M. Senge; Jeanine Skorinko

Softcover

ISBN 10: 097049212X ISBN 13: 9780970492128

Publisher: isee systems, inc. and Creative Learning Exchange, 2010

Synopsis

Tracing Connections shows how Systems Thinking can be used to transform education, business, public policy, and research. This book reveals how a new way of thinking can radically improve your ability to work through complex issues and uncover elegant solutions. It will leave you with a better understanding of what systems thinking is, who is using it, and why applying systems thinking is so important is this world of growing interdependence. Twelve of the world's foremost systems thinkers share how they use this powerful thinking tool to change lives.

The Thinking in Systems Thinking: Eight Critical Skills, Barry Richmond, creator of STELLA and iThink -- Defines critical thinking skills that are necessary to evolve our thinking, learning, and communicating capacities.

Barry Richmond's Influence on Systems Thinking: From Academia to Widespread Accessibility, Ali Mashayekhi, Sharif University of Technology -- An explanation of the role of Barry Richmond in the growth of systems thinking.

Systems Thinking for Anyone: Practices to Consider, Steve Peterson, Lexidyne, LLC -- Identifies many existing systems problems and discusses how systems thinking is needed to tackle such problems.

Teaching by Wondering Around: Learning About the World Naturally, Frank Draper, Catalina Foothills School District -- Discusses how he has integrated systems thinking into his teaching of science to high school students.

Changing School Culture: Creating Student-Centered Classrooms, Tracy Benson, Waters Foundation, Systems Thinking in Schools Project -- Uses classroom stories to describe applications of systems thinking skills.

Modeling for High School Students: Teaching Critical Thinking through System Dynamics, Diana M. Fisher, Wilson High School -- Discusses the process of learning systems thinking. Provides examples of how students have used systems thinking and offers helpful tools for new systems thinking practitioners.

Romeo and Juliet in Brazil: Use of Metaphorical Models for Feedback Systems Thinking, John Morecroft, London Business School -- Discusses the spectrum of models from fisheries to Romeo and Juliet to global oil production.

The Value of Critical Thinking Skills: Modeling Price and Inventory Dynamics, Corey Peck, Lexidyne, LLC -- Details a client engagement in which critical thinking skills were incorporated to provide a richer, more actionable understanding of inventory and pricing dynamics in a basic materials market.

Finding System Dynamics: An Exploration in International Development, John L. Newman, The World Bank -- Describes the effectiveness of systems thinking modeling to inform international development work.

The Power of the Situation: Modeling Classic Experiments in Social Psychology, James K. Doyle, Khalid Saeed, Jeanine Skorinko, Worcester Polytechnic Institute -- Honors Barry Richmond's remarkable contribution in crossing interdisciplinary boundaries by highlighting how system dynamics can realistically interact with social/psychological models for use in future research and psychological education.

Education for an Interdependent World: Developing Systems Citizens, Peter M. Senge, MIT and Society for Organizational Learning -- Focuses on a new kind of thinking to educate youth that addresses the interconnected social, economic, cultural, ecological, and global challenges the world faces. Discusses how our current education system must change utilizing a systems perspective.

About this title

About the Author:

Tracy Benson, Ed.D. Educational Leadership, University of Arizona, Coordinator of the Waters Foundation, Systems Thinking in Schools project, Tucson, Arizona.

James K. Doyle, PhD, University of Colorado, Associate Professor of Psychology and Head of the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts. James is a social psychologist specializing in judgment and decision making.

Frank Draper, PhD, Teaching and Teacher Education, University of Arizona, Physics and field sciences teacher, Catalina Foothills School District, Tucson, Arizona.

Diana M. Fisher, BS and MAT in Mathematics, Math teacher, Wilson High School, Portland, Oregon. Diana has written two books: Modeling Dynamic Systems: Lessons for a First Course and Lessons in Mathematics: A Dynamic Approach.

Ali Mashayekhi, PhD Sloan School of Management, MIT, Professor of Management, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran. Ali teaches system dynamics, organizational learning and strategic management. He is quite active in teaching, research and consulting in the U.S.

John Morecroft, PhD Sloan School of Management, MIT, Professor of Management Science and Operations, London Business School, London. John teaches system dynamics, problem structuring and strategy in MBA, PhD and executive education programs. John is the author of Strategic Modelling and Business Dynamics: A Feedback Systems Approach.

Corey Peck, Managing Director, Lexidyne, LLC, a leading systems thinking company, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Corey teaches workshops focused on systems thinking and dynamic modeling. He specializes in simulations of flow dynamics to inform decision makers about the operational realities impacting their strategic choices. Corey is the co-author of Pharmaceutical Product Branding Strategies: Simulating Patient Flow and Portfolio Dynamics.

Steve Peterson, Principal Consultant, Lexidyne, LLC, West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Steve designs and delivers workshops focused on systems thinking and dynamic modeling. He works with non-profits, government (defense and energy), health care and pharmaceutical companies. While working at isee systems with Barry, Steve helped to develop the STELLA and iThink software packages.

John L. Newman, PhD Economics, Yale University, Lead Economist, Poverty and Gender Group, Latin America and Caribbean Region, The World Bank. John has published in the areas of impact evaluation, labor economics, macroeconomics, and poverty analysis.

Barry M. Richmond, PhD Sloan School of Management, MIT, Pioneer in system dynamics, creator of user-friendly STELLA and iThink software, revolutionized the system dynamics modeling process and opened computer simulation modeling to a far larger field of participants.

Khalid Saeed, PhD Sloan School of Management, MIT, Professor of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Peter M. Senge, PhD Sloan School of Management, MIT, Founding Chair of the Society for Organizational Learning, and senior lecturer, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the author of several books, including the widely acclaimed, The Fifth Discipline.

Jeanine Skorinko, PhD Social Psychology, University of Virginia, Assistant Professor of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts. Jeanine joined WPI in 2007, and was introduced to system dynamics then.

Review:

Systems thinking provides the missing intellectual and cognitive underpinning for education for sustainability and global citizenship. This extraordinary book could not come at a better time as more and more people realize that patching up our industrial age schools will achieve neither the innovation nor the inclusiveness so desperately needed. Building on Barry Richmond's seminal work on the critical thinking skills embedded in rigorous systems thinking, the book gives a wide sampling of the progress that has been made by innovative educators in the past two decades in curricula and pedagogy. Long regarded as the stuff of graduate education, these skills are being embedded in primary education and developed to remarkably advanced levels in secondary education. --

Peter Senge, MIT and Society for Organizational Learning, author of The Fifth Discipline

About this edition

• Publisher: isee systems, inc. and Creative Learning Exchange
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 097049212X
• ISBN 13: 9780970492128
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 211
• Editor: Joy Richmond, Lees Stuntz, Kathy Richmond, Joanne Egner