| Studying The Lorax with Feedback Loops |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, & Alan Ticotsky |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Students read "The Lorax," by Dr. Suess, and then develop a connection circle and causal loops to understand and illustrate the themes of the story.
Complex Systems Connection: Separate Cause and Effect, Short and Long Term Conflicts. Short-term focus on making money results in depletion of resource and environmental degradation over time and the collapse of the business. Actions and their detrimental consequences are separated by time. |
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 PDF
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| Soda/Profit/Advertising Game |
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Author(s):
Sam DeVore, Will Glass-Husain, & Mike Slootmaker |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From Catalina Foothills School District. STELLA II v. 3.0 models of the MIT Beer Game, called the Soda Game in our high school version, where students operate a retail soda business. Worksheets included.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System. |
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 Zipped (Models & PDF)
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| Smallpox Crisis Management Simulation |
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Author(s):
Ron Zaraza |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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Twenty-three students from three Portland area high schools accepted an invitation to serve as part of the CMT for an unspecified disaster simulation. In 30 hours at Wilson High School, they went from the introduction of the problem to a fully developed and model-tested plan for dealing with a smallpox outbreak, reducing deaths from a possible 750,000+ to fewer than 250. They developed a control plan that used the same strategies the World Health Organization developed over a ten-year period for dealing with smallpox outbreaks.
Complex Systems Connection: Separate Cause and Effect. For some illness/disease, symptoms appear long after initial infection. Sometimes people travel great distance while infected because they are unaware of the infection. Medical "detectives" faced with an epidemic must understand how the infection spreads and how quickly. Delays in the system make this more difficult. |
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Zipped (Models & PDF)
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| Simple Splash! Models to Illustrate Oscillation |
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Author(s):
Lees Stuntz, & Diana Fisher |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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These are two simple scenarios to create oscillations using Splash! with the user being part of the model by manipulating the sliders. |
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| Shape of Change (Lesson 9): The Connection Game, including Stocks and Flows |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, Alan Ticotsky, & Debra Lyneis |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From "The Shape of Change." Students play a game in which their movements around the room depend on the movements of other players.
Complex Systems Connection: Ineffective Action, Incorrect High-Leverage Policies. This lesson can be used to gain an intuitive understanding of what it means to say a policy has "low leverage." This lesson can be used to gain an intuitive understanding of what it means to say a policy has "high leverage." |
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| Shape of Change (Lesson 8): The Rainforest Game, including Stocks and Flows |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, Alan Ticotsky, & Debra Lyneis |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From "The Shape of Change." In this simulation game, students act out the lives of trees, following different planting and harvesting policies. Students may be surprised to learn that, while the game seems very active, the stock/flow map of the game is quite basic.
Complex Systems Connection: Short and Long Term Conflicts, Separate Cause and Effect.
People sometimes decide to use natural resources to meet present goals (satisfy customers, increase profits) and ignore long-term consequences. Delays in a system involving renewable resources can make it difficult to understand how present decisions to use the resource will affect long-term sustainability. |
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| Shape of Change (Lesson 7): The Tree Game Puzzle, including Stocks and Flows |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, Alan Ticotsky, & Debra Lyneis |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From "The Shape of Change." This puzzle is an extension of the Tree Game. After playing the Tree Game, students explore what happens to the number of trees in a forest following a variety of planting and harvesting policies. In the Stocks and Flows lesson, students begin to learn to clarify their thinking, and experience the power of making stock/flow maps.
Complex Systems Connection: Short and Long Term Conflicts, Cause within System. People sometimes decide to use natural resources to meet present goals (satisfy customers, increase profits) and ignore long-term consequences. In systems where renewable resources are used up, people often blame others. Decisions to use the resource faster than it can be replenished is the real cause, however. |
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| Shape of Change (Lesson 6): The Tree Game, including Stocks and Flows |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, Alan Ticotsky, & Debra Lyneis |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From "The Shape of Change." Students explore what happens to the number of trees in a forest over time as a forester plants and harvests each year. With the included Stocks and Flows lesson, they gain experience anticipating and observing how a stock changes with different inflow and outflow rates.
Complex Systems Connection: Cause within System, Short and Long Term Conflicts. People sometimes decide to use natural resources to meet present goals (satisfy customers, increase profits) and ignore long-term consequences. In systems where renewable resources are used up, people often blame others. Decisions to use the resource faster than it can be replenished is the real cause, however. |
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PDF
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| Shape of Change (Lesson 5): The Infection Game, including Stocks and Flows |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, Alan Ticotsky, & Debra Lyneis |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From "The Shape of Change." Students play a game that simulates the spread of an epidemic. The included Infection Game stock/flow map combines all the elements that were used in the previous lessons. Students apply all that they have learned about behavior over time graphs, stocks and flows, and reinforcing and balancing feedback loops to understand how and why the infection spread among them.
Complex Systems Connection: Separate Cause and Effect. For some illness/disease, symptoms appear long after initial infection. Sometimes people travel great distance while infected because they are unaware of the infection. Medical "detectives" faced with an epidemic must understand how the infection spreads and how quickly. Delays in the system make this more difficult. |
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PDF
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| Shape of Change (Lesson 4): It's Cool, including Stocks and Flows |
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Author(s):
Rob Quaden, Alan Ticotsky, & Debra Lyneis |
Subject:
Cross-Curricular |
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From "The Shape of Change." Students engage in the scientific method as they measure, record, and graph the changing temperature of a cooling cup of boiling water, learning why the change happens with the use of stock/flow diagrams. |
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