Abstract:

All spheres of human activity is facing an increase in complexity, which demands different ways of teaching and learning. The difficulty in dealing with complex systems relies in the fact that cause-and-effect are oftentimes distant in terms of both/either time and space, therefore making it difficult for learning about such systems, as feedback is not immediate. This demands the development of systems thinking and learning about complex systems’ behaviours - something not as widespread as would be desirable, as the offer of such courses are not as spread in comparison. When it comes to teaching methods, each matter or subject field has their optimal teaching methodologies. Active teaching methodologies have been pointed among the many diverse approaches to teach effectively, as they place the student at the centre of the learning process. The aim of this paper is to highlight the suitability of System Dynamics simulators as an effective active methodology, and as a tool to support education and better understand the behaviour of dynamic systems, whose behaviour is usually difficult to understand and making it difficult to manage the complexity. A specific case study from the Navy is used as an example and background, illustrating how system dynamics simulation or even games based on simulation may be an effective teaching methodology in the context of complex adaptative systems. System Dynamics simulators are especially suited to model complex systems and simulate their behaviour, and once such simulators are build, they can be used together with scenarios approaches, allowing for improved decision making and ultimately learning how to manage the complex systems of interest. By using a supply chain example of a complex system, this paper shows how dynamic behaviours might mislead the system’s manager in the first place. The main contribution of this work for education is the illustration of how a system’s manager can learn harnessing the complexity, while illustrating the benefits of using system dynamics simulators as an active teaching methodology.

Keywords:

Active teaching methodologies, Complexity, System Dynamics, Systems Thinking.