DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00344

Summary
Systems thinking has been employed by many disciplines and agencies to address a diversity of needs from technical manufacturing objectives to global health interventions. Chemistry plays a significant role in most of these systems, but there are few resources available to chemistry faculty to help introduce systems thinking processes and models into their programs or classrooms. High-impact practices, such as service learning, are validated pedagogies and programs that have been shown to have the greatest influence on student learning outcomes, skill building, and retention and graduation rates. By incorporating service-learning projects into the chemistry classroom, faculty can link systems thinking objectives to service-learning projects to help students achieve higher-order visioning around their role as chemists in systems and communities. This commentary suggests using interdisciplinary teams of students around campus- or community-based service-learning projects to help chemistry students recognize the impacts of their discipline on larger, complex systems while also helping them realize their potential to make positive change as individuals within these systems.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The author suggests the use of Service Learning to conceptualize and implement systems thinking into the chemistry classroom. Service-learning is a teaching strategy that intentionally engages students into communities through service activities to address or describe a “real-world” need or issue to serve that community directly.

Point of Strength
Through Service-learning, students understand course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced civic responsibility sense. Service-learning is a stepwise process. For the first step, students must understand and describe the Complex System using tools such as concept mapping, strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, social network analysis, causal loop diagrams, timelines, trends, etc.… The second step involves dialogue and collaboration. Students should be challenged to think about who the impacted stakeholders are and participate in networking within the community to build relationships and engage in planning. The third step involves co-designing solutions for identified needs. The final stage consists of assessing the outcome/product and making adaptation as needed.