The System Thinking course includes several types of assignment: self-assessment, multiple-choice & checkboxes questions, self-reflection activities, scenario-based learning, discussions with the course community, application activities, peer-reviewed activities, and an interactive simulation. All activities are due at the end of the course.
Course content is broken into five categories:
- Explore: Students learn core concepts through engaging videos and research-based readings.
- Practice: Students practice concepts—without an impact on their scores—through multiple-choice questions, learning scenarios, and interactive simulation software.
- Apply: Students apply conceptual material—via case studies and self-reflection—to solve problems and take stock of how principles apply to their jobs.
- Share: Students reflect—through peer-to-peer discussions, surveys, and polls—on what they have learned and comment on other students' experiences and insights.
- Assess: Students are evaluated on their understanding of the material and their ability to apply it to the workplace via pre- and post-course assessments, peer assessment tools, and other standard assessments.
The graded activities in the System Thinking course are aimed at applying the concepts covered by the course to the professional lives of participants. Learners will select one or more systems of their choosing and apply what they're learned in the course through different activities. There will be five graded activities—all due at the end of the course:
Week 2 (30% of grade)- Learners will analyze a personal or professional activity system of their choice. This activity will be developed over the course of both weeks 1 and 2. Learners will present their analysis to their peers for review.
Week 3 (25% of grade) - Learners will complete two graded self-assessment activities, applying concepts from each subsection (System Thinking on Logistics & Transportation, and Computational System Thinking) to a system of their choice.
Week 5 (30% of grade) - Learners will apply concepts from the course as well as lessons learned from the interactive simulation to their professional lives. They will draft a letter directed at senior leadership of their organization, containing policy recommendations for improving system efficiency in the organization.
Post-assessment (15% of grade) - A 10 question multiple-choice assessment testing learners' understanding of the course material.