This dynamic workshop introduces educators to powerful visual tools for developing students' systems thinking capacities. Drawing from the Waters Center's Habits of a Systems Thinker, participants will explore how tools like behavior-over-time graphs, connection circles, and causal loop diagrams can help learners "consider how mental models affect current reality and the future," while strengthening their ability to "identify the circular nature of complex cause and effect relationships." Through hands-on activities using examples from science (like predator-prey relationships and chemical equilibrium) and mathematics (like compound interest and exponential growth), participants will discover how these tools make thinking visible and deepen understanding across all subject areas. Participants will gain practical experience using new online modeling tools to create and share visual representations of systems – from simple stock/flow diagrams to more complex feedback models. Please bring a laptop or tablet, as we'll be working extensively with digital tools to build and refine systems models that can be immediately implemented in your classroom.
