DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00382

Summary
The paper describes the development of an initial version of a tool that (1) provides an operational definition of systems thinking for the specific context of chemistry education and (2) can be used as a guide for the design, analysis, and optimization of systems thinking instruction for chemistry teaching and learning.
Through the various definitions and descriptions in the literature, authors identified five essential characteristics of systems thinking that were particularly useful in the context of chemistry education. The next tasks were (1) to align specific systems thinking skills with each of the essential characteristics and (2) to order the aligned skills from more analytical / elaborative to more holistic. The result of these tasks is the ChEMIST (Characteristics Essential for designing or Modifying Instruction for a Systems Thinking approach) table. The table includes skills that align well with the identified essential characteristics and are widely used across multiple disciplines in which systems thinking is employed.
The Essential Characteristic 1 involves a system thinker’s recognition that a system is more than just a collection of parts. Behaviors that occur at the system level are typically affected by (1) the components of the system, (2) the organization of the components within the system, and (3) the interactions between the components of the system. The essential characteristic 2 focuses on the interconnections between parts and how those interconnections, including positive and negative feedback loops, result in system-level behaviors, many of which are cyclic in nature. The most analytical/elaborative skill associated with this essential characteristic is the identification of the interconnections between the system’s parts. The essential Characteristic 3 involves a systems thinker’s identification of variables that cause system behaviors, including unique system-level emergent behaviors. A key feature of complex systems is the fact that there are often nonlinear relationships between causal variables and system-level behaviors or properties. The most analytical/elaborative skill associated with developing an understanding of the nonlinearity of a system is the identification of the multiple variables that affect a system-level behavior of interest. Complex systems have emergent properties that can only be ascribed to the system as a whole and not to any individual component of the system. These unique properties result from interactions between organized parts of the system. Understanding emergence is critical for an understanding of scientific phenomena and it has been also been identified as a key feature of systems thinking. According the Essential Characteristic 4 a system thinker recognizes that complex systems and their properties are dynamic, and she/he examines how system behaviors change over time. Knowledge of how system behaviors change over time, along with an understanding of the interactions of the various feedback loops that exist within a system, allows for a deeper understanding of the mechanistic causes of a behavior. It also provides a foundation for predictions about future behaviors of the system or about how the system will behave under different sets of conditions. The Essential Characteristic 5 involves a system thinker’s recognition of the boundaries of the system, that include only the components and interrelationships affecting a system-level behavior of interest. Thus a system thinker also realizes that (1) the system is influenced by its environment; (2) a given system is connected to other systems; and (3) a given system may be a component nested within a much larger system.
Authors propose four potential uses of the ChEMIST table. First, the table can be used to design a new systems thinking activity. Second, the table can be used to analyze existing activities and curricula in order to determine if they are consistent with a systems thinking approach. Third, for activities and curricula that have already been determined to align with a systems thinking approach, the table can be used to optimize the combination of skills in which students engage during the activity. Finally, the table can be used to educate students about systems thinking and systems thinking skills.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The paper deals with interdisciplinarity, systems thinking, and complex systems.
“interdisciplinarity”: Authors claim that systems thinking approaches have been shown to support meaningful learning in that they help students make both intra- and interdisciplinary connections between concepts.
“systems thinking” Authors report various definitions of systems thinking used in educational contexts. According to these definitions, systems thinking: (a) is “an approach for examining and addressing complex behaviors and phenomena from a more holistic perspective”; (b) is both a method for acquiring a coherent understanding of complex phenomena and a learning outcome; (c) is “an analytic technique that provides a means by which to understand the behavior of complex phenomena over time” and can be used as both an instructional and problem-solving tool; (d) may be considered as a cognitive, metacognitive, or higher-order thinking skill that can be developed through appropriate instruction; and (e) can be viewed as many things such as a perspective, a language with its own unique vocabulary, or a toolset for visualizing and communicating.
“complex systems”: An understanding of complex systems requires both an understanding of the system as a whole (Holistic) and of the components of the system (Analytical/Elaborative). Systems attempt to maintain stability through feedback mechanisms. Complex systems include both positive, or reinforcing, and negative, or balancing, feedback loops, which result from interactions between a system’s components. In complex systems, behavior generally appears in cyclic patterns resulting from the interactions of multiple reinforcing and balancing feedback loops, and understanding cyclic behavior requires that learners engage in closed loop thinking, which is often contrasted with linear thinking.
A key feature of complex systems is the fact that there are often nonlinear relationships between causal variables and system-level behaviors or properties. The concept of nonlinearity is rooted in chaos theory and suggests that a small agitation of the system can be amplified nonlinearly to create a substantial effect elsewhere in the system. Complex systems have emergent properties that can only be ascribed to the system as a whole and not to any individual component of the system. These unique properties result from interactions between organized parts of the system. Complex systems and their properties are dynamic.
“complexity”: Complexity is described as the multiple potential underlying factors for a given behavior or phenomenon.

Point of Strength
The strengths of the publication are (a) the alignment of systems thinking characteristics with systems thinking skills through which students can demonstrate their engagement in each essential characteristic; (b) the examples of how the tool might be used to support chemistry teaching and learning from a systems thinking approach.