Communication The Design of Educational Programs in System Dynamics at (original) (raw)

The Design of Educational Programs in System Dynamics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

Systems, 2014

M.J.R.) † Based on -Doyle, J.K.; Eberlein, B.; Ford, A.; Hines, J.; Lyneis, J.M.; Parsons, K.; Pavlov, O.; Radzicki, M.J.; Saeed, K.; Warren, K. Design of a Master

The Design of Educational Programs in System Dynamics at WPI

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

M.J.R.) † Based on -Doyle, J.K.; Eberlein, B.; Ford, A.; Hines, J.; Lyneis, J.M.; Parsons, K.; Pavlov, O.; Radzicki, M.J.; Saeed, K.; Warren, K. Design of a Master

Design of a master of science degree program in system dynamics at WPI

Proceedings of the 27th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, Albuquerque NM, 2009

Graduate degree programs in system dynamics are rare and thus of critical importance to the future of the field of system dynamics. However, to a large extent such programs have not yet been made transparent to the system dynamics community as a whole. The present paper describes the design and rationale for one such program, WPI‟ s MS degree program in system dynamics. The goal of the paper is to invite feedback from the SD community about our specific program as well as to facilitate wider discussion about ...

A Bachelor of Science degree program in system dynamics at WPI

1998

In March of 1998 the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the third oldest private college of engineering in the United States, voted to establish the world's first undergraduate major in system dynamics. Housed in WPI's interdisciplinary Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, the BS program in system dynamics aims to train students for careers as system dynamics modelers, consultants, and policy analysts in both industry and government and to prepare them for graduate study in system dynamics. The purpose of ...

System Dynamics as a viable tool for Engineering Education

Engineering education provides a thorough and systematic training in the design, development, maintenance and management of complex technical systems. While education provides the necessary technical depth to graduates, many technical systems are best understood from experimental, simulation or heuristic approach. System Dynamics is a well formulated methodology for analysis, problem solving, and simulation of the components of a system including cause-effect relationships and their underlying mathematics and logic, time delays, and feedback loops. Developed by an engineer, it is being used mainly in the social and behavioural sciences for strategic planning purposes. It began in the business and industry world, but is now applied in engineering education and practice and in many other disciplines. Recent advances have demonstrated the ability of the System Dynamics methodology in the study of complex engineering systems and to help in the understanding of such systems. This paper reviews the basic principles and conceptual ideas underlying the System Dynamics modeling approach to system studies. The applications of System Dynamics to the modelling of real-world engineering systems are presented. Modern engineering practice is often multidisciplinary in nature and demands holistic approach that is easily handled through System Dynamics. The paper shows how System Dynamics (SD) can be employed for engineering education to cope with the dynamics of such multidisciplinary complexity.

System dynamics education: becoming part of anticipatory systems

Purpose – This paper aims to present an overview of deep issues flanking the ideas of system and complexity, and an overview of the mentioned course as a proposal for systems thinking. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a discursive overview of systems and philosophical concepts related to the described course. Findings – The review offers a perspective of a super-system that includes the students, the lecturers and the context of their interaction, in which one may recognize a relational framework for social learning of a systemic sustainability. Research limitations/implications – The overview concerns only the actual intervention in the University of Trento. Practical implications – The described concepts and related philosophical discussion may contribute to the integration of system thinking in the future studies. Originality/value – The described intervention is a new Italian context and the integration of systems concepts with futures studies seems not to be commonly established.

Making System Dynamics Cool II : New Hot Teaching and Testing Cases of Increasing Complexity

2010

This follow-up paper presents several actual cases for testing and teaching System Dynamics. The cases were developed between April 2009 and January 2010 for the Introductory System Dynamics courses at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. They can be used for teaching and testing introductory System Dynamics courses at university level as well as for self study. The cases included here range from easy/short to difficult/long.

Education Technologies in System Dynamics Teaching

System dynamics teaching is still predominantly face-to-face and classroom based. Though evidences of distance learning in system dynamics are appearing in the literature, the community as a whole is yet to appreciate and embrace distance learning approach. Distance learning could popularise system dynamics and enable educators to take benefits of the modern education technologies. The modern education technologies have made subject delivery flexible: learning independent of distance and formal teaching timings. This paper presents a critical appraisal of application of modern education technologies in teaching and delivery of system dynamics subject. It is suggested that problem-based learning (PBL) is an appropriate approach for system dynamics teaching, which could be feasible with the help of the Internet, e-mail, CD-ROM, teletutorial, teleconferencing and other education technologies. The design and implementation of a PBL framework is discussed in this paper.