Vol. 2, Issue 3
May - June 2004
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DynamiQUEST Brings Systems Thinking Students Together

Kristen Mahony
Education Advocate
isee systems, inc. 

DynamiQUEST, a gathering of students in grades 3-12 from New England and Canada, embodies the spirit of systems thinking by providing a rich environment of project presentations, interactive learning and constructive feedback. This event is sponsored by the Creative Learning Exchange ("CLE") and held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Its purpose is to provide a way for students to meet one another and share their projects. It offers teachers from different schools evidence of student work in systems thinking/system dynamics, a venue for teachers and students to network, and a forum to celebrate students' achievements.

Kristen was recently hired as our Education Advocate. She is currently finishing her Masters of Education at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction. She has a B.S. in Environmental Science and taught high school science for four years.

E-mail: kmahony@iseesystems.com

At this year's DynamiQUEST, six schools were represented: four from Massachusetts, one from Vermont and one from Ottawa, Canada. Students presented their own models through a poster session where they were coached by adults and their peers. The student presenters held up under the scrutiny of Jay Forrester, the founder of the discipline, and other leaders in the field of system dynamics. When not in the poster session, students participated in systems games run by Dennis Meadows, author of "The Systems Thinking Playbook" with Linda Booth Sweeney. The level of understanding demonstrated by these students is indicative of the benefits of using systems to teach complex concepts.

A sample of projects and quotes:

By studying roller coasters, students get an opportunity to see velocity and distance over time first hand. Understanding the role these play in acceleration, however, is more complicated, unless you can use STELLA to help you. By entering the experimental data into the program, the student was able to use the interface level of STELLA to determine the acceleration of the coaster. She not only explained the relationships between velocity and acceleration well, but also was able to identify different scenarios where systems thinking can be used to understand difficult concepts saying, "STELLA is a great program. Everyone should use it!"

One study examined historical trends in town tax rates for funding K-8 schools in Vermont and the real impact of recent efforts at "equalization" in the state funding process. Enrollments have increased while the tax rate has stabilized and is now starting to drop. The two students were questioned by Jay Forrester and other adults and were able to answer the questions expertly. They were able to demonstrate an understanding of a problem close to them in a way that many adults in their community could not.

Three eighth graders constructed a model to look at the reindeer population of St. Matthew's Island. By looking at the history of the island population, they began with a lot of speculation and developed a very complicated model. Through coaching from their teacher, the students scaled back their model so that they were able to match the historical data they had researched. The students remarked, "If you make one little change, it is magnified 10-20 times." When comparing this project to others in school, another student said, "The great thing about systems thinking is that you actually have to think to do it."

This annual event is proof that if students are given the tools to communicate their understanding of complex systems, adults are able to see how smart they are. The excitement generated by the level of thinking and problem solving by these students was inspiring.

If you are interested in finding out more about DynamiQUEST or to learn how you can participate next year, check out the CLE website at www.clexchange.org.