This session reviews our thinking, decisions, and constraints around changing a complex, content-heavy, one day Systemic Thinking workshop (“the ability to see and work with systems”) to a blended model using the flipped classroom approach. This workshop was originally a one-day workshop, open to any UBC employee, with use of their professional development funds. In 2012, based on a review of the content, design, participant feedback, and resources related to the workshop, we decided to implement a flipped classroom approach (online learning modules followed by a face to face workshop) to allow participants more time to reflect on concepts in their own time, and to practice the ideas with facilitators, during the face to face session. During this session, we will provide a 15 minute overview that will include a quick walk through of some background to the workshop, the reasons for, and constraints within, the re-design process, a brief look at the redesigned, blended workshop, and participant evaluations before and after the re-design. The next 20 minutes will involve participant in small group work. During this time participants will have the opportunity to both, work with systemic thinking concepts in an educational technology context (for e.g. MOOCs or flipped classrooms), and to recommend improved learning design to us based on this brief experience. Given our increasing complex worlds, having the ability to understand and influence systems is a key competency for designers of educational technology. During our session we plan to touch on and highlight certain aspects of this workshop re-design that we needed to consider carefully. We plan to touch on these both, during our overview, and during participants small group work. These aspects are: (i) Workshop participants needed some knowledge and understanding of systems thinking frameworks before they could explore the concepts meaningfully in the workshop; (ii) Due to the complexity of the content and frameworks, workshop participants needed sufficient soak time to reflect on, and absorb, the content before being able to apply it; (iii) To do full justice to participant learning, we believed that workshop should support participants to practice, and work with, systems thinking using examples from their personal and professional contexts. We felt that this was an essential step towards being able to practice systems thinking after the workshop, in their workplaces. We are particularly interested in the idea of flipped classrooms, and making use of non-classroom time to support deep, situated learning for our participants. In addition, we think that a flipped classroom approach might help us work around some resource constraints that staff development faces at universities. http://etug.ca/2013/04/11/spring-workshop-2013-keynote-and-facilitators/#amrit

1. Flipping the Classroom for
Systemic Learning
Amrit Mundy, M.A.,UBC, Organizational Development & Learning
Diane Goossens, M.Ed., Diane Goossens & Associates

2. What we did & why
• Workshop Context
• What we did
• Why we did it
• 1or 2 Results & Constraints

3. Systems Concepts
6/13/2013
Copyright (c) 2011 B.W. Stevenson &
Associates, Ltd.
3
System A System B

4. Our Focus for this session –
A different (complimentary) lens?
Learning
Centred
blended
teaching
systemic?
Learner
Centred
alignment

5. Our Focus for this session -
Using Systemic Language for Design
• Learning systems &
sub-systems
• Inputs and outputs
• Elements
• Boundaries

6. Learning Objectives - Face to Face Workshop
Answer the question, ‘What is a system’
Build capacity to understand systemic thinking
 Understand mental models/paradigms
 Gain a ‘systems’ perspective
 See the whole picture, not just the parts
 Focus on underlying structures and patterns
 Ask Critical Questions
 See systemic patterns in relationships
Practise ‘seeing systems’ & ‘applying systems thinking’ techniques, tools and
approaches
Overall Outcome: Increase capacity for Systemic Thinking at UBC
• Creates cognitive dissonance re way professionals taught to approach
work – linear problem solving v/s holistic systemic approach

7. = “Flipped Classroom” Systemic Thinking Program
Outcome: Increased Systemic Thinking Capacity at UBC
Inputs Inputs
Outputs
Inc. awareness
Reflective Questions
on Systems in
Workplace
Online Workshop Space Between
Workplace
UBC Environment
Face to Face Workshop
Outputs
Inc. awareness
Negligible
workplace
application
Face to Face + Online + Space Between + Space After
Outputs
Inc. awareness
More workplace
application

8. Key Concepts
• We redrew or stretched
the boundaries of our
system(s)/program to
include...
• Additional interconnected
“subsystems” in our
overall system or program
… to amplify our overall
outcome: Increasing the
capacity to apply systemic
thinking at UBC

9. Learning Design Questions
to play with
• Choose a learning system
• Are your learning
outcomes being achieved?
• Inputs & outputs?
• Boundaries, sub-systems,
and stretching the
boundaries…
• Rhythm & Relationship of
sub-systems?
• Insights?

10. Your Learning System: Stretching Boundaries and Altering
Subsystems to Increase Learning /Align Outcomes
Outcome: _________________________________
Inputs Inputs
Outputs
Boundaries
____________ Environment
Outputs

11. The Continuing Evolution...
Online workshop – provocative
applicable questions; peer online
discussion of concepts in practice
Space in between – more conscious
application here
Face to face – less lecture/more
application - particularly FEEDBACK about
their application
Space after – Part 2, workplace follow up;
peer discussion/application/ Community
of Practice
Your Suggestions?

12. Systems Thinking References
D. Meadows, Thinking in Systems: A Primer,
Chelsa Green, 2008
J. O’Conner, The Art of Systems Thinking,
Thorsons, 1997