Systems Thinking Curriculum

We want people to learn about complex systems all the way from the smallest detail up to the bigger picture of how it all fits together. As such we have designed the content on our platform to work as an integrated framework and our curricula define the overall learning experience provided. These curricula try to give the content a sense of direction and purpose, by linking back more specific content into a broader framework. Our curriculum provides a framework for cohesively and comprehensively integrating the many different domains of the subject so as to deliver a deeper understanding of the subject than would otherwise be possible. A curriculum can serve the additional functions of defining a body of knowledge to be transmitted or it can serve as a guide for the process of learning, or finally as a praxis for the subject i.e. a standard format.

Our curricula are designed to serve as a schema or meta-language through which to structure the learning experience. The brain is a neural network that is designed and optimized to process patterns. We interpret the world through patterns and we create schema or models that work as frameworks within which we place more specific detailed information. We learn by putting things into larger patterns and associating them with other things in those structures that we already know. To learn effectively it is important to have generic models within which to fit the specific details or else the details of the subject will become decontextualized, the student won’t be able to relate to it, retain it and use it effectively. The basic heuristic is in having generic concepts come first and then the specific details can fit into this and be more effectively interpreted, retained and used.

The most important thing is a conceptual and intuitive understanding of what at the topic is about, thus the primary objective is to communicate the central concepts in an intuitive fashion and then build from there. This should enable students to be able to understand and communicate in a few words what a topic is about and how it relates to others. The curriculum structure is distributed out into four levels, frameworks, courses, sections, modules. A framework defines a category of courses, a course is a subject, a section is a theme in a course and a module is a topic. In all instance, we aim for a modular design so that courses, sections, and modules can be mixed and matched as needed by teachers and students.