CLE Book: Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers

Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers
with a foreword by Jay W. Forrester

Tracing Connections is for anyone who’s ever wondered how Systems Thinking can be effectively used to significantly and successfully transform education, business, public policy, and research.

In ten chapters, teachers, World Bank Executives, corporate consultants, researchers and college professors lead the reader through an amazing spectrum of applied Systems Thinking that leads to unexpected realizations and critical understanding.

Inspired by Barry Richmond, Systems Thinking pioneer, isee systems founder, and creator of STELLA and iThink, Tracing Connections reveals how a new way of thinking can radically improve your ability to work through complex issues and uncover elegant solutions.

Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers can be purchased at www.iseesystems.com.

 

Press release for Tracing Connections:

Tracing Connections Showcases Wide Spectrum of 
Applied Systems Thinking Initiatives

Lebanon, NH and Acton, MA, March 9, 2010 — isee systems, developer of Systems Thinking software STELLA® and iThink® and The Creative Learning Exchange, an organization that supports Systems Thinking in K-12 education, have partnered to publish Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers. The book collects the experiences and thoughts of practitioners from education, business, public policy, and research to present its powerful applicability of Systems Thinking.

“Every day we hear from customers who have applied Systems Thinking using STELLA and iThink to find incredibly innovative solutions to entrenched problems,” says Joanne Egner. “It’s exciting, especially when you think of how Systems Thinking could be unlocking insights for so many more people. We understand why Barry Richmond, our company’s founder and a Systems Thinking pioneer was so driven to extend its use. Tracing Connections is an important, new vehicle for explaining Systems Thinking and inspiring new practitioners through real, working examples.”

Chapter authors include:

• Tracy Benson, Coordinator of The Waters Foundation Systems Thinking in Schools project
• Frank Draper, physics and field science teacher, Catalina Foothills School District
• James Doyle, Associate Professor of Psychology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Diana Fisher, math teacher, Wilson High School, and author of Modeling Dynamic Systems and Lessons in Mathematics: A Dynamic Approach
• Ali Mashayekhi, Professor of Management, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran
• John Morecroft, Professor of Management Science and Operations, London Business School
• John Newman, Lead Economist, Poverty and Gender Group, The World Bank
• Corey Peck, Managing Director, Lexidyne, LLC
• Steve Peterson, Principal Consultant, Lexidyne, LLC
• Khalid Saeed, Professor of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Jeanine Skorinko, Assistant Professor of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, Founding Chair, Society for Organizational Learning and senior lecturer at MIT

Systems Thinking was pioneered by Barry Richmond, founder of isee systems and creator of STELLA and iThink software. Richmond believed that Systems Thinking was especially important in K-12 education where it could help students understand the complexities of biology, math, and even literature and give them tools for solving real-world problems as adults. The Fifth Discipline author Peter Senge writes, “This extraordinary book could not come at a better time as more and more people realize that patching up our industrial age schools will achieve neither the innovation nor the inclusiveness so desperately needed.”

“We’re especially proud to be part of the effort to bring Systems Thinking practice to more people, especially those working with K-12 students who can use it to make a real difference,” says Lees Stuntz, Executive Director of The Creative Learning Exchange. “One of Barry Richmond’s passions in life was to bring Systems Thinking to students. His vision was that we would be training the future decision makers to be systems citizens. This book helps delineate that vision of the future through the words of Barry’s good friends and colleagues.”

Proceeds from Tracing Connections will fund the Tracing Connections in Systems Thinking Scholarships that offer learning opportunities for educators to use Systems Thinking and System Dynamics in K-12 education. This year we will be offering some scholarships to help educators attend the ST/DM Conference organized by The Creative Learning Exchange.

Tracing Connections: Voices of Systems Thinkers can be purchased at www.iseesystems.com.

About isee systems (www.iseesystems.com) — isee systems is the world leader and innovator in Systems Thinking software. Founded in 1985, isee released STELLA®, the first software application to bring Systems Thinking to the desktop. In addition to STELLA, which is primarily used by educators, isee offers iThink® for business simulation. Thousands of individuals and organizations in over 80 countries use isee software to gain insight and shared understanding of environmental, financial, organizational, biological, chemical, mathematical, humanistic, and other systems.

About The Creative Learning Exchange (www.clexchange.org) — The Creative Learning Exchange (CLE) was founded in 1991 as a non-profit organization to encourage the development of systems citizens who use Systems Thinking and System Dynamics to meet the interconnected challenges that face them at personal, community, and global levels. The CLE encourages an active, learner-centered process of discovery in K-12 education that engages students in meaningful, real-world problem solving through the mastery of Systems Thinking and System Dynamics modeling. The CLE website offers free curricular materials, newsletters, and documents that relate to systems education. The website also includes information about The Creative Learning Exchange’s biennial conference to help educators and students learn and utilize Systems Thinking and System Dynamics in their personal learning as well as in the classroom and the school organization.