Teaching systems thinking: A case study at the United States Military Academy

Ryan, Thomas R.; Schreiner, James H.; Gillespie, Stephen

doi:10.1109/syscon.2018.8369582

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Clearly there needs to be a lecturing/mentoring component [17] [26], [27], however system thinking is best taught by hands-on projects [17], [25], [26], [27], [28], case studies [16], [25], Experimental Systems Engineering (ESE) [25], [29], and exposure to the various multi-discipline system stakeholders [7], [20], [27]. It is worth pointing out that [30] found in their system thinking curriculum that many undergraduate students did not have the prerequisite skills on conducting background research. The same deficiency could be said for trades/analysis, making data driven decisions, performing error analysis, etc.…”

Section: Understanding Non-linear Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A good example of an implementation in an undergraduate education approach similar to the proposed is the US Military Academy at West Point. For all non-engineering students they instituted a 3 course approach where system thinking, data analysis, problem modeling and decision making are taught through lecture and by having the students work on various case studies solving wicked problems such as the Syrian refugee problem [30]. One could argue that the military academies have the flexibility to reallocate time devoted to military training and leadership development, and that their approach could not be repeated at civilian universities.…”

Section: Understanding Non-linear Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exemplars on how to introduce curricula to address the complex socio-technical competencies which make up humanitarian systems are detailed in [30], [52], and [53]. In [30], the US Military Academy established a 3 course Core Engineering Sequence (CES) with 10 of 40 lessons dedicated to systems thinking applied to ill-defined problems such as providing nutritious food to remote island inhabitants and determining a plan for handling the plight of Syrian refuges. Grades were based on the proper use of the provided tool, and ability to analyze the situation and synthesize a solution through system thinking.…”

Section: Domain Specific Architecture and System Thinking Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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System Architecture, the Missing Piece of Engineering Education

Dano

Middle Atlantic ASEE Section Spring 2021 Conference Proceedings

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Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, where his research focused on radar design and the Experimental Study of the Microwave Radar Backscatter from Transient Deep-Water Breaking Waves. He has worked at Sanders Associates/BAE Systems for over 23 years, where he has built on his experience as a former USMC Electronic Countermeasures Officer to architect and design a myriad of military systems. Eric currently serves as a Technical Director in the CEMA business area and leads the System Architecture Community of Practice where he is tasked with improving the practice of System Architecture of complex systems in the Electronics Systems business sector. This role involves both the development and teaching of the four course system architecture curriculum to staff engineers. Dr. Dano is a member of Sigma Pi Sigma, ASEE, a Senior Member of IEEE, President of the NE Chapter of INCOSE, and represents BAE Systems on the NDIA MOSA committee.

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Section: Understanding Non-linear Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Understanding Non-linear Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Domain Specific Architecture and System Thinking Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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System Architecture, the Missing Piece of Engineering Education

Dano

Middle Atlantic ASEE Section Spring 2021 Conference Proceedings

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Introducing Systems Thinking Techniques into an Undergraduate Engineering Education

Dano

2022

INCOSE International Symp

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The world is faced with producing more complex, interdependent systems, and systems of systems. Due to the complexity and interdependencies, these systems do not lend themselves to the traditional reductionist approach, which is feasible only for complicated systems. To architect and develop complex systems requires the use of systems thinking tools and competencies which are an enabler for developing complex engineered systems, humanitarian systems, organizational structures, business strategies, production optimization, solving socio‐technical problems, etc. Because of the power of systems thinking and its global applicability, the question becomes; how can we better produce system thinkers? There are currently many effective systems thinking methods and tools which have been successfully adopted by practicing engineers. This paper will describe how we can introduce similar systems thinking elements into an existing undergraduate education through lectures/mentoring, labs/projects/experiments, case studies/background research, and multi‐discipline capstone projects/internships. Some universities have recently added systems thinking elements to their curricula, and through INCOSE's influence, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) now mandates systems thinking for all undergraduate engineering programs. This paper acts to describe a variety of implementation methods to serve as exemplars for those implementing systems thinking into existing curricula. The motivation of this work is to ultimately produce engineers who are better suited to engineering complex systems when they enter the workforce.

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Benefits of Teaching Systems Thinking as part of an Engineering Curriculum

Azemi

2019

2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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Teaching systems thinking: A case study at the United States Military Academy

Cited by 4 publications

References 10 publications

System Architecture, the Missing Piece of Engineering Education

System Architecture, the Missing Piece of Engineering Education

Introducing Systems Thinking Techniques into an Undergraduate Engineering Education

Benefits of Teaching Systems Thinking as part of an Engineering Curriculum

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