1. Welcome to the 2017 InTeGrate Professional Development Webinar Series
Free and open to the public, this series aims to help faculty teach about the earth in the context of societal issues. The series incorporates InTeGrate principles into teaching practices, provides materials available for adoption, and creates a forum for participants to learn and share teaching strategies.
Rory will introduce the series and say a few words about InTeGrate

2. Fostering Systems Thinking in Your Students
Lisa Gilbert
Karl Kreutz
John McDaris
Williams College
University of Maine
SERC (Substitute moderator)

3. What does Systems Thinking mean to you?
Please type your answers in the chat box 

5. Systems thinking takes time to develop
Vocabulary
Diagrams
Read
Create
Modeling

6. Systems thinking takes time to develop
Vocabulary
Diagrams
Read
Create
Modeling
Being explicit about a systems approach helps students generalize and apply the approach to other classes, problems.

7. Why use systems thinking?
To address complex environmental problems, we need to approach them holistically, not just one piece at a time.

8. How do you rate your knowledge of systems diagrams right now?
I've never heard of systems diagrams.
I've heard of systems diagrams, but cannot elaborate.
I could explain a little about systems diagrams.
If given a systems diagram, I could explain it.
I could create a systems diagram and then explain it.

9. How do you rate your knowledge of systems diagrams right now?

10. Goals Define systems terminology.
Read and interpret simple systems diagrams.
Evaluate a systems diagram’s fit to a description of a complex problem.

11. Here is a simple system:
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain

12. The water in the bathtub is the reservoir
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
We measure the amount in the reservoir
Water level in cm
Liters or Gallons

13. The faucet represents a flux
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
We measure the rate of water flowing through the faucet
cm/second
Liters/second

14. The drain also represents a flux
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
We measure the rate of water flowing through the drain
cm/second
Liters/second

15. Open system
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
We haven’t connected both ends of the arrows to the ultimate sources and sinks of water.

16. Water in hot water heater
Closed system
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
Now we don’t have any unconnected arrows!
Basement tank

17. Water in hot water heater
Closed system
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
Now we don’t have any unconnected arrows!
But once the hot water heater is empty, no more baths…?
Basement tank

18. Closed system with feedback loop
Water in hot water heater
Closed system with feedback loop
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
To recycle bathwater, you might connect a home water-purifying system…
purifier
Basement tank

19. Which type of feedback loop?
Water in hot water heater
Balancing (negative) feedback loops
hold a system to an equilibrium state and make it more stable.
Reinforcing (positive) feedback loops
tend to move a system away from equilibrium and make it more unstable.
Which type of feedback loop?
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
purifier
Basement tank

20. Which type of feedback loop?
Water in hot water heater
Balancing (negative) feedback loops
hold a system to an equilibrium state and make it more stable.
Reinforcing (positive) feedback loops
tend to move a system away from equilibrium and make it more unstable.
Which type of feedback loop?
Water in bathtub
faucet
drain
purifier
Basement tank

21. Reinforcing feedback loops underlie many environmental problems
What are some examples?
Type your answer into the chat box 
Recall: Reinforcing feedback loops tend to make a system more unstable.

22. Recall our goals Define systems terminology.
Read and interpret simple systems diagram.
Evaluate a diagram’s fit to a description of a system.

23. Recall our goals Define systems terminology.
Reservoir, flux, feedback loop
Read and interpret simple systems diagram.
Bathtub example
Evaluate a diagram’s fit to a description of a system.
Now we’ll do this

24. Dry trees, plants in Canada
Length of summer
Heat in the atmosphere
Dry trees, plants in Canada
Smoke over Minnesota
Wildfire
Does the diagram fully represent the complexity of the system described by the speaker? If not, add to the diagram.
Radiative heating
Feel free to type ideas into chat box while we listen
(until Eric S. Kasischke begins speaking)

25. Dry trees, plants in Canada
Length of summer
Heat in the atmosphere
Dry trees, plants in Canada
Smoke over Canada
Wildfire
Wind
Radiative heating
Radiative heating
One option
Smoke over Minnesota
Albedo
Dirty/sooty ice
Deposition

26. Identify feedback loops
Length of summer
Heat in the atmosphere
Dry trees, plants
Identify feedback loops
Smoke over Canada
Wildfire
Wind +
Radiative heating
Radiative heating
melting +
Smoke over Minnesota
Albedo
Dirty/sooty ice
Deposition

27. Summary Define systems terminology.
Reservoir, flux, feedback loop
Read and interpret simple systems diagram.
Bathtub example
Evaluate a systems diagram’s fit to a description of a complex problem.
Wildfires in Minnesota and climate

28. How do you rate your knowledge of systems diagrams right now?
I've never heard of systems diagrams.
I've heard of systems diagrams, but cannot elaborate.
I could explain a little about systems diagrams.
If given a systems diagram, I could explain it.
I could create a systems diagram and then explain it.

29. How do you rate your knowledge of systems diagrams right now?

30. Systems Thinking module
Units 1 and 2 – designed to be used early in a course then reinforced later
Units 3 and 4 – ideally used after systems thinking concepts are introduced in Units 1 and 2; goals include using systems models to explore equilibrium/non-equilibrium behavior and feedbacks
Units 5 and 6 – Application and synthesis at the end of a course

32. Why use a systems model?

33. Systems model of the Bathtub
STELLA (isee systems) is a software package that allows the user to build and share icon-based dynamical systems models
isee Player is free software that allows students to manipulate and run STELLA models provided to them

35. Students experiment with model parameters, and discuss results
Fluxes balanced = equilibrium
Fluxes unbalanced = non-equilibrium
Linear change in reservoir size with time

37. Examples of simple inflow – reservoir – outflow systems in your course(s)? Please type your answers in the chat box

39. Unit 4 adds feedbacks into the Bathtub model

40. Students experiment with model parameters, and discuss results
Balancing (negative) feedback loop – system always returns to equilibrium value
Change in Bathtub reservoir is non-linear (exponential)

41. Next we change the feedback location in the Bathtub model

42. Students experiment with model parameters, and discuss results
Initial value for Bathtub = 15 liters
Reinforcing (positive) feedback loop – system displays either runaway behavior or crashes
Change in Bathtub reservoir is non-linear (exponential)
Initial value for Bathtub = 5 liters

43. In Unit 4 assessment, students plot Arctic sea ice data, complete a systems diagram, and describe feedback behavior

47. How do you teach systems thinking?
Please share course title + approach, briefly in the chat box 

48. Additional ways to foster systems thinking using InTeGrate materials

49. A Growing Concern

50. A Growing Concern

51. The Wicked Problem

52. The Wicked Problem
From

53. The Wicked Problem

54. Earth’s Thermostat

57. InTeGrate Professional Development Webinar Series
Addressing Food Security Issues in Your Course
Systems Thinking and Earth Modeling
February 9, 2017
March 22, 2017
Water and Food Sustainability
Incorporating Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry and Exploration in Your Course
February 15, 2017
Sustainability Across the Curriculum
March 30, 2017
March 2, 2017
Map Your Hazards
April 7, 2017
Adapting InTeGrate Materials to Biology Courses and Online Courses
GETSI: Active Tectonics and Earthquakes
March 8, 2017
April 13, 2017

58. Upcoming opportunities
Next InTeGrate webinar: Incorporating Environmental Data-Driven Inquiry and Exploration in Your Course
Thursday, March 30th
12:00 pm Pacific | 1:00 pm Mountain | 2:00 pm Central | 3:00 pm Eastern Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 28th
Consider your department or course for NAGT’s Traveling Workshops Program
Earth Educators’ Rendezvous 2017 in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Registration is now open!
Join the InTeGrate Webinar Series Community Discussion
Help us…help you…
Webinar evaluation