A structure for assessing systems thinking

Many educators agree on the importance of systems thinking. Indeed, it has reached buzzword status, with many state and national educational guidelines acknowledging the importance of systems thinking skills. Recent evidence of the support for systems thinking can be seen in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which now contain “cross-cutting concepts” that sound very much like systems thinking, including one explicitly on “systems and systems models” (NGSS, 2013).

In this paper we suggest a structure for evaluating the level of systems thinking in students. Designing such a structure requires clarity with regard to educational goals and objectives. In short, we must ask, what is the long-term goal of systems-oriented curriculum, and what are reasonable shorter term, achievable objectives? To answer these questions, we sought guidance from educational efforts in traditional disciplines. In the front matter of Next Generation Science Standards, the authors observe: