Environmental degradation, the spread of epidemics, global climate change, the solvency of the Social Security system, and closing the education gap are all systemic problems, many of which have not responded to multiple policies to improve these systems. System Dynamics (SD) is a computer-based approach to the study of the interconnections in a system and why the system produces its particular behavior. Pre-college students have shown (for over 20 years) they have the capability to design and analyze SD models of systemic problems that many thought were outside the students’ scope. Now teachers who want to incorporate SD modeling in their curriculum have an opportunity to provide these model-building lessons for their students.
A sequence of three online courses teaching System Dynamics (SD) modeling for instructors (of students ages 14 to 20+) has been developed. These courses provide extensive hands-on model building activities for the participants that can then be modified (or used as-is) for their students. The model-building lessons have been tested in a classroom setting.
The three courses are:
- 1st Course in System Dynamics Modeling: Basic Models
Accepting registrations starting end of March for the 10-week course beginning June 14, 2021; 3-credit, option - 2nd Course in System Dynamics Modeling: More Advanced Models
Accepting registrations starting end of March for the 10-week course beginning June 14, 2021; 4-credit option - 3rd Course in System Dynamics Modeling: Building Models from the News
Accepting registrations starting end of March for the 10-week course beginning June 14, 2021; 5-credit option
More detail about each course can be obtained by selecting Training in the main menubar.
COST: The cost for the course is $575 without credit. (A discount of $100/person is given for 2-person teams (without credit).) Add $60/credit for graduate continuing education credits from Seattle Pacific University.
To learn more about each course, please click on the link for the course. From the course page, if a course is being offered within the next few months, a link will take you to the registration page.
If you have additional questions, please contact Diana Fisher.