Subject: MIT introductory system dynamics course materials now on the web

Posted by John Sterman on 4/7/2004

Message:

Folks,


I'm happy to announce that the syllabus, lecture schedule, and assignments for the introductory course in system dynamics here at MIT are now available through MIT's Open CourseWare project, at .


Anyone, from instructors to those interested in self-study, can use the materials for free in any noncommercial setting (the terms of use are described at http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/terms-of-use.htm).


A few comments:


The text for the course is Business Dynamics (see http://www.mhhe.com/sterman); the specific readings to accompany the course and assignments are described on the OCW site.


We include the syllabus and assignments, but not detailed lecture notes or assignment solutions. We want to encourage people to learn system dynamics, but we also want to preserve the utility of the material for faculty who may wish to use the materials in their courses. Making lecture notes and solutions available undercuts the effectiveness of the material not only for instructors but for students as well.


If you are an instructor or considering offering a course in system dynamics, I can arrange for you to receive the Business Dynamics Instructor's Manual and access to the Instructor's section of the BD website. Send me an email describing the course you teach (or will be teaching), including the university/dept/program, information about the course, approximate number of students, and so on. Please note: for the same reasons we don't post solutions to the assignments online, access to the Instructor's Manual is restricted to, well, instructors. Thanks for your understanding.


The MIT Open CourseWare project provides free online access to a wide range of courses across the entire MIT curriculum (now more than 700 and growing). Visit http://ocw.mit.edu.


John Sterman