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System Dynamics Rapport
Posted by Christian Abarca on 11/30/2004
Creating system dynamics rapport
First. Thank you all for your work and concerns. It gave sense to all my work as a teacher, husband and dad.
I’ve decided to write because I need to share with you two fundamental aspects about education and system dynamics.
In an environment in which a few computers exists and the conscience says me that system dynamics is the key system to improve learning in the students… there is a collapse.
Alter a while and an impossibility to work with computers. I realize that there was something more fundamental that working with system dynamics to teach specific stuff every year.
I realize that it is necessary a paradigm evolution.
Actually, as teachers, we do not question our
activity: teaching.
In part, because we were educated in a form we are
repeating: teaching.
It doesn’t matter the audience or the academic grade of the professor, the system is very similar as kindergarten or a 12th degree class.
We, who have a knowledge and a practice experience, we can teach, we can manage a methodology we can use in an environment and in equilibrium with the needs of our students.
And we do not question what we do, even when we teach system dynamics.
We know what generates learning (the tool and its uses), but my question appears from something deeper, with more commitment, of our deepest vocation:
Am I responsible about the learning of my students?
Or am I responsible about the emission of curricula stuff?
Am I responsible about the learning of my students?
Or I trust that the infrastructure ensure the process?
Am I responsible about the learning of my students?
Or their needs define the learning insight?
Deeply, I’ve decided to take charge, being responsible, in the generation of learning in my students.
Which variables can I handle that can influence the student learning?
Here are a few: motivation, empathy, curiosity, group communication, dialogue (as William Isaacs), interest, group work, individual acceptance, common meanings, shared visions, hearing capacity, observation capacity, individual capacity of talking, individual-group or collective rapport (believes, worth, meaning, experiences).
A tool or a process couldn’t generate learning by
itself: only a teacher, a student, or someone who applies it could generate learning.
Sharing aspects of the list discussion:
- Society is not the problem, our mental models are.
- System dynamics is like the myth of Sisifo, we need
to work hard, to believe in our work. Is like throwing sea-stars again to the sea. Maybe there will be 10.000 that we can not save. But the effort is viable for the few we send again to the sea.
- System dynamics couldn’t be elective. We must teach
the subjects WITH system dynamics.
- As baseball, system dynamics must go by bases. Mr.
Barry Richmond stated a bases program for thinking. We need to work IN the first bases of creating thinking capabilities.
- We must cover the material, the stuff,
strategically. The students go for the specifics, but we, as teachers, must cover the basics.
I hope we can use some of these skills developed by B.
Richmond in “System thinking: critical thinking skills for the 1990s and beyond” 1993.
1. Dynamic thinking.
2. Closed-loop thinking.
3. Structural thinking.
4. Operational thinking.
5. Continuum thinking.
Two things: system dynamics is a matter of working with moving systems. We need to establish all the curricula content as dynamic stuff.
Second. Making a dynamic methodology to work with students is a fundamental base to develop further models in system dynamics.
As Pindaro (Greek poet, 400 B.C.) says: Do not aspire to the immortal, but empty the field of possible.
We as system dynamicists can gather: if we do not aspire to the immortal, but empty the field of possible, we can aspire to the immortal.
Christian Abarca
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