Learning About Systems
Learning about systems is an integral part of our collective journey. Through our activities we seek to equip ourselves and each other with the capabilities necessary to apply systems thinking knowledge and tools to address persistent negative patterns or amplify a pattern for success in our organizations / networks. A large part of this is equipping ourselves with the knowledge and tools necessary for the task at hand. Another critical factor is developing what one might call the 'habits and practices of a systems thinker' - habits of mind and action that deepen systems thinking skills with the goal of achieving mastery and fluency over time. To this end, we are collecting, curating, and developing resources to assist in these processes.
The following are some preliminary resources that are a useful starting point for thinking about systems. These resources reflect academic and policy writing, as well as videos and more informal communications. They have all played a central role in communicating and learning about systems thinking within the framework of the practicum, and have been well received by the cohort.
Downloads
Daniel Aronson "Overview of Systems Thinking"
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Linda Booth Sweeney "Identifying Good Systems Issues"
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Linda Booth Sweeney " Setting Boundaries: What's in and what's out?"
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Linda Booth Sweeney "Systems Thinking: A Means to Understanding the World"
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Jake Chapman "Introducing Systems Thinking"
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Curatone and Esposito "A systems-thinking approach to public policy eschews linear model for more holistic understanding of decision-making"
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Daniel H. Kim "Guidelines for Drawing Causal Loop Diagrams"
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Karl North "An Introduction to Systems Thinking"
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David Peters "The Application of Systems Thinking in Health: why use systems thinking?"
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Reos Toolkit Module 5 - Systems Thinking With the Iceberg: A Tool for Multi-stakeholder System Sight
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Peter Senge "The Fifth Discipline" A Summary
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Links
- "Where do we draw the line?" Linda's Booth Sweeney's 1 page blog about how and why we set boundaries around our systems issues - http://lindaboothsweeney.net/blog/?p=1127
- Peter Senge's Video - "What is Systems Thinking" (5 min) - Peter gives a big picture overview and some useful and accessible ways of talking about systems http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/science/what-is-systems-thinking-peter-senge-explains-systems-thinking-approach-and-principles
- Peter Senge - The Fifth Discipline - This book catapulted systems thinking into the mainstream here's a summary as a teaser to the full book -http://thebooksummaries.com/management/peter-senge-fifth-discipline-pdf-summary/
- Linda Booth Sweeney hosts on PBS! - This is a fun series with our very own Linda explaining systems thinking - What are Systems? video (2min 30sec) - http://mass.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/syslit14-sci-sys-bigidea/what-are-systems
- Engineers Without Borders' David Damberger discusses what happens when an NGO admits to failure at TEDX http://www.ted.com/talks/david_damberger_what_happens_when_an_ngo_admits_failure