I didn't attend the session, but it's clear that this session, and
especially the students presenting their work from the Catalina Foothills
Highschool were are an absolute knockout!!
Daniel Kim notes, "Watch out! They get it a lot easier than we do!"
Andrea Dyer told me, "The students showed systems thinking diagrams that
brought tears to my eyes. These were sixth and eighth graders. Someone
asked, 'When should systems dynamics be introduced?' and the reply was,
'Oh, fifth grade is just fine.'"
Unfortunately, the session was not taped.
I hope that some of the people who attended will share their impressions by
replying to this note.
-- Rick
The session description in the Pegasus materials was:
> Starting Early: How K-12 Students Are
> Becoming Systems Thinkers
> Joan Yates is the System Dynamics Project Manager,
> Catlina Foothills School District. This presentation
> also features students from the school district
> What if your newly hired workers had been using system dynamics
> and systems thinking since elementary school? What can a business
> learn from a public school about how to introduce systems
> thinking to its workforce? As more and more businesses recognize
> that skill in systems thinking is an essential element of basic
> management lit-eracy, they not only seek knowledgeable recruits,
> but also look for ways to build internal capability. Learn how
> one school district has organized to teach staff and students
> alike how to use systems thinking and system dynamics, as three
> K-12 public school students and one of their system dynamics
> mentors share some projects and the tools and techniques they
> have used. Long before they become the sought-after leaders of
> tomorrow, these students are cultivating the mental models and
> skills required to make decisions and take effective action based
> on a deep under-standing of the dynamics of the systems that will
> affect their lives and their work.
>
> Joan Yates has been the System Dynamics Project Manager in the
> Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson,Arizona, for the
> last six years. She has taught writing, literature, and
> mathematics, and has served as a junior high school
> administrator. Joan has collaborated with fellow staff members to
> implement concepts of systems thinking, system dynamics, and
> organization-al learning within individual classrooms, the
> school, and the district. She will be joined by students from the
> district.
>
>
--Richard Karash ("Rick") | <http://world.std.com/~rkarash> Speaker, Facilitator, Trainer | email: Richard@Karash.com "Towards learning organizations" | Host for Learning-Org Discussion (617)227-0106, fax (617)523-3839 | <http://www.learning-org.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>