Yuxuan Shawn Wang, Thomas Fischer, and Clifford Sze Tsan Choy
Systems thinking is the ability to recognise, analyse, and navigate complex system relationships. This ability is increasingly relevant in negotiating today’s interconnected social, environmental, and economic challenges. Systems modeling, meanwhile, is a learning approach for demonstrating and exploring dynamic systems behaviours, with a potential to aid in the development of systems literacy. However, systems thinking often remains counterintuitive for many learners due to its abstract nature, indirectness, and the challenges in observing system behaviours directly, and systems modelling requires knowledge of systems concepts and proficiency with software tools. These barriers to learning hinder systems literacy, especially at the introductory level.
To address these barriers, this paper introduces an innovative educational tangible dynamic systems modeling kit along with a preliminary methodology for its empirical evaluation. The system is a modular, tangible mechanical analogue computing kit inspired by the MIT Differential Analyser. It allows the modelling and solving of sets of simple differential equations characterising the behaviours of dynamic systems, including physical, ecological, and economic phenomena. It implements previously identified fundamental elements of systems thinking and makes them accessible through direct mechanical representation and manipulation. These are complemented by mechanical connections and feedback loops that transform abstract systems concepts and mathematical models into tangible, observable performances. The design of the kit is based on the principles of tangibility, modularity, collaboration, engagement, selective exposure, and contextuality.
The current development version supports interactive modelling of a limited set of representative dynamic behaviours, allowing learners to physically manipulate system elements while directly observing their effects. The kit is complemented by learning activities and related materials following a scaffolded learning approach, beginning with basic stock-flow concepts and progressing through increasingly complex system structures — from simple feedback loops demonstrating exponential growth to oscillatory behaviours and more complex systems. This structured progression enables learners to observe how structural changes influence system behaviours, fostering appreciation for the role of system structure in driving dynamics. By grounding abstract systems theory in tangible modeling experiences, the design seeks to expand the reach of systems thinking education and to support the development of systems literacy. Forthcoming educational trials will help evaluate the effectiveness of the tangible modelling kit in promoting systems literacy and inform the ongoing refinement of both the tangible modelling kit as well as the associated learning activities and materials.
Keywords: Systems Literacy, Tangible Interaction, Analog Computing, System Dynamics, Systems Modeling, Construction Kits