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The System Leadership Institute is the first educational institution in Korea established on 19 April 2017 to infuse Systems Thinking & System Dynamics into K-12 education.
Hwaseong City Talent Cultivation Foundation's Hwaseong Education Cooperation Support Division Signs MOU with System Leadership Institute
Hwaseong City Talent Cultivation Foundation's Hwaseong Education Cooperation Support Division Signs MOU with System Leadership Institute
The Hwaseong Education Cooperation Support Division (HECSD) of the Hwaseong City Talent Cultivation Foundation (CEO Im Seon-il) announced on the 18th that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the System Leadership Institute to promote organic exchanges and cooperation in systems thinking education. Nine officials attended the signing ceremony, including Hyun-taek Shin, head of the Hwaseong Education Cooperation Support Division(HECSD), and Benjamin C.K. Chung, CEO of the System Leadership Institute.
Under this agreement, the two organizations will cooperate on:
Establishing a cooperative system for the development of systems thinking education in conjunction with school curricula
Exchanging and collaborating on the joint development of education and programs related to climate, environment, ecology, etc.
Building a cooperative system for the development of career education support projects
Jointly discovering and operating international and domestic youth projects
In 2023, the HECSD developed a new career education program for high school students applying the systems thinking approach presented in the National Education Curriculum Revision. The division was selected as a pilot center for 'Career Education in New Industries' by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) in 2023. It successfully operated a systems thinking pilot project in cooperation with the System Leadership Institute. It presented it as an excellent case of career education in new industries at a training session for career experience support centers hosted by the Ministry of Education and KRIVET last December.
In 2024, the HECSD plans to expand its systems thinking education support project targeting high schools in Hwaseong City. Systems thinking is a research methodology based on System Dynamics developed by MIT. It refers to a thinking system that provides insights into circular causality and changes over time. Systems thinking can be approached from a humanities perspective, focusing on social issues and the leadership needed to solve them. It can also be applied to advanced stages, including simulation, forecasting, analysis, and optimization through system dynamics modeling like coding steps.
Im Seon-il, CEO of the Hwaseong City Talent Cultivation Foundation, said, "Through this MOU with the System Leadership Institute, we hope that students will cultivate leadership to actively respond to changes in future society by revitalizing career education programs that link school curricula with systems thinking." The HECSD is actively developing new projects and making every effort to support career education, and its future development is highly anticipated.
Hwaseong Journal, webmaster@hsj.co.kr
Policy Analysis Workshop for the Education Policy Network Using System Dynamics
Policy Analysis Workshop for the Education Policy Network Using System Dynamics
I'm pleased to inform you that I will be conducting an SD workshop for the Education Policy Network, whose members are the key leaders of institutions and departments responsible for K-12 education policy in South Korea. This event will be the first of its kind in Korea. Through this opportunity, I hope SD&ST will become more familiar with the K-12 education sector.
I have included my proposal below, and it has been accepted as is.
Instructor: Dr. Benjamin Chung
Dr. Benjamin Chung is a leading expert in Systems Thinking & System Dynamics in Korea, having served as the president of the Korean System Dynamics Society. He is actively involved in international exchanges on behalf of Korea. Dr. Chung conducts annual principal training organized by the Seoul National University Education Administration Training Institute and has extensive experience in lecturing on various teacher training programs and student education for provincial offices of education, including educational research officers and qualification training. He teaches a policy seminar course utilizing System Dynamics at the Graduate School of Education, Korea University, and is involved in various educational policy research projects. Among his recent research contributions is "A Comprehensive Shift in the South Korean Educational System for Realizing an Innovative Inclusive Nation in the Next 100 Years (II)," Cooperative Research Series 22-26-01 by the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and he has co-translated "Schools That Learn" by Peter Senge et al.
Detailed CV: https://bit.ly/sl-DrChung
The Need for Training
The education system possesses complex system attributes, making it challenging to analyze and develop appropriate policy alternatives. Therefore, System Dynamics is chosen as the research methodology for analyzing complex systems and designing suitable policies.
Overcoming the limitations of conventional statistical methodologies:
Approaching causality rather than correlation: Operational Thinking
Interaction instead of a unidirectional approach between independent and dependent variables: Feedback Thinking
Considering delay phenomena for a perspective on change: Dynamic Thinking
Approaching Nonlinear Relationships: Nonlinear Thinking
Experience in policy decision-making using computer simulation: Computational Thinking
Structural approach and solution search for policy resistance: Policy Resistance
Exploring conflict mediation among various stakeholders: Group Modeling
Verified complex system theory: System Dynamics was developed in the 1950s at MIT in the USA and is utilized worldwide in various fields.
Plan (Lecture Operation Plan)
□ 3 hours x 4 sessions = 12 hours
□ Target audience: Education policy network officers
□ Features of the training:
Easily convey engineering-based System Dynamics concepts through games
Analysis of current policy issues and exploration of policy proposals
Group participatory workshops
Replication of real decision-making situations through simulation games
Enhancement of accomplishment through the production of outcomes in each session
□ Lecture Overview: Each session includes various games, both large and small, that are directly applicable to the topic at hand and can be immediately utilized in class.
Session 1: Understanding the Characteristics of System (Structure) and Policy Implications
Session 2: The Core of System Dynamics, 'Feedback'
Session 3: Advanced Study on 'Delays' and Policy Implications
Session 4: Difficulties in Policy Design Due to Nonlinear Relationships
Detailed Operation Plan and Expected Effects
□ Session 1 – Understanding the Characteristics of Systems (Structures) and Policy Implications
Key Concepts: Operational Thinking, thinking about how systems operate
The difference between correlation and causality and its policy implications
Understanding the bathtub model and a workshop on causality chains
Games: Isosceles triangle game, Circle in the air game
Expectations:
Ability to distinguish between causality and correlation from a problem-solving perspective.
Understanding and visualizing the connectivity of systems (structures).
Ability to interpret policies using the concepts of stock and flow.
□ Session 2 – The Core of System Dynamics, 'Feedback'
Key Concepts: Feedback Thinking, cyclical (feedback) thinking
Deep dive into feedback (implications of reinforcing and balancing feedback for policy)
Exploring system structure archetypes and applying them to educational policy
Exploring the Overshoot structure in problem-solving efforts
Games: Hit the Target & hotel shower simulation model
Expectations:
Understand the feedback features of systems and be able to derive policy implications.
Be able to derive the concept and policy implications of Overshoot.
□ Session 3 – Advanced Study on 'Delays' and Policy Implications
Key Concepts: Dynamic Thinking, thinking about delays
Analysis of the structure causing policy resistance and countermeasures
Why social consensus is crucial for policy
The dilemma of elected positions and policy failure
Games: Infectious disease simulation game
Expectations:
Be able to analyze educational policies through the concepts of policy resistance and the dilemma of elected positions.
Explain the importance of social consensus when the pace of change is fast
□ Session 4 – Difficulties in Policy Design Due to Nonlinear Relationships
Key Concepts: Nonlinear Thinking, thinking from a nonlinear relationship perspective
Exploring sustainability from a system dynamics viewpoint
Reasons why nonlinear relationships complicate decision-making
(Conclusion) Reasons for systems changing counter-intuitively
Games: Fishery simulation game
Expectations:
Be able to explain the structure of the tragedy of the commons.
(Conclusion) Gain a comprehensive understanding of why systems change contrary to intuition and derive policy implications.
World Climate Simulation Game goes to press
Hwaseong city-based Pureun Middle School (Principal Yang Gab-mil), certified as an International Baccalaureate (IB) candidate school, conducted the World Climate Simulation game for all 300 second-year students in December 2023. This significant undertaking has garnered attention in the media, and I am thrilled to share photographs and articles detailing this event.
Don't miss this. It offers insight into why Systems Thinking education is essential. Imagine how great it would be if a 14-year-old 8th grader could think this way. We must strive to spread Systems Thinking.
Courtesy of photographer Taehyun Jo (조태현)
In October 2023, Korean educational cases were shared with global pre-college educators and researchers in the field of SD/ST (System Dynamics/Systems Thinking).
In October 2023, Korean educational cases were shared with global pre-college educators and researchers in the field of SD/ST (System Dynamics/Systems Thinking).
Hwaseong Elementary School, Class 1, Grade 5 Lesson
Compressing a 2-hour class into 15 minutes
Recommend Korean or English subtitles!!!!
Playful lesson expressing the complexity of systems through the connection game→ Using the language of Systems Thinking to articulate the system's complexity.
The Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation's Education Cooperation Support Division has selected 'System Leadership Education' as a pilot project of the Korea Vocational Competence Research Institute or KRIVET.
The KRIVET (Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training) supports a career education program for new industrial fields.
[Gyeongin Newspaper - Reporter Lim Hyun-taek] On the 12th, the Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation's Hwaseong Education Cooperation Support Headquarters began operating the System Leadership Education pilot project in collaboration with the KRIVET or Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training.
In August, Hwaseong City was the only one selected as the pilot project operation area for the new industry sector in 2023 out of 235 Career Experience Support centers for pre-college students nationwide.
The photo is of Dr. Benjamin giving a lecture.
System Leadership is leadership based on System Dynamics & Systems Thinking. System Dynamics & Systems Thinking were developed as an interdisciplinary methodology at MIT in the 1960's.
System Leadership is a structure-centered leadership that suggests how to change the structure with human power from the perspective that the cause of a system problem is not a person but a structure.
This program aims to enhance humanistic values and imagination and nurture talents who can respond to the changes in the future society.
The content of the program includes cultivating a perspective to see the whole and change through System Dynamics & Systems Thinking, fostering Global Leadership to respond to the climate and environmental crisis, strengthening youth capabilities with insights into the systems and activities linked to the proposed curriculum, such as the World Climate Simulation Game and Marine Biodiversity Game(Aka Fishery Game), analysis of changes in future society to explore new jobs and careers.
Nungdong High School, located in Hwaseong City, was selected as the pilot project target school and is scheduled to operate for five sessions from September 12th to October 31st (a total of 10 hours).
The Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation is expected to present this case at the results-sharing meeting hosted by KRIVET after the project operation and explore the possibility of spreading the program.
The representative director of the Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation, Lim Sun-il, said, "Through the System Leadership education that sees change and the whole, we hope that students will cultivate their capabilities as global leaders who can respond to future societies," and "We will do our best to discover and apply models of career education linked to the curriculum in the future."
Original Contents(Korean Source): https://www.asn24.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=305849
Implication 1: official support from organizations of local government(The Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation)
Implication 2: only one selected project by a government organization in South Korea, aka. KRIVET out of 235 Career Experience Support centers for pre-college students nationwide
Implication 3: pilot education project to be expanded after next year
Launching AI as a Tutor for SD & ST
As of 31th May 2023
Launching AI for a personal tutor answering any questions about System Dynamics and Systems Thinking, including K-12 education SD/ST
Korean version: https://bit.ly/system-leadership
English version: https://bit.ly/System-Leadership-En
★ Analysys on the problem of K-12 SD/ST education in South Korea as of 15 Dec 2022
The following CLD is constructed for the correspondence with Dr. Fisher, the VP of System Dynamics Society.
First, variables 2, 3, and 4 are common barriers influencing attendance rates. The second variable is something I can develop more. So, it will get better. The problem with variable number 3 would be better if the SIG meeting is held twice like now. However, variable number 4 is not easily solved. Still, there are signs of improvement, little by little. I found an elementary school teacher who has no English communication problems. And a professor at the University of Uzbekistan will also attend.
The amount of information mentioned in variable one is sufficient as I introduce it to thousands of teachers and students yearly. Still, it would improve because there is a plan to manage it systematically.
The biggest problem is variables 5 and 6.
There is an enormous chasm between R1 feedback and R2 feedback.
Even if the curiosity leads attendees to SIG meetings one or two times, R2 feedback should entice them to keep attending. Teachers don't change easily. Their last excuse is variables 5 and 6, my challenge in 2023.
I focus all my energies on letting teachers address SD/ST in their classrooms. Of course, this mission is difficult to realize in an educational system under powerful Balancing feedback. However, I am successfully finding a way. It's lacking a lot, but little by little, changes are taking place.
I couldn't afford to pay attention to other countries in Asia-Pacific. However, I will pay attention to these countries in the future.
December 2022
Publication:
Chung, Chang-Kwon (2022) 『Ecological Literacy and Systems Thinking Game』 In Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education, Department of Creative Talent Education (Eds.) 『2022 Handbook of Transformative Pedagogy for Climate Change, Ecological, and Environmental Education』 Incheon: Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education. eBook link https://bit.ly/sl-EcoSystemsThinking Korean text
Implication: Despite being non-mandatory and elective, it has been officially published as a primary school textbook for the first time in Korea.
From social media news of system dynamics society, 13 Oct. 2022.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY System Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization led by President Dr. Benjamin Chung, signed a historic MOU, titled “MOU for the promotion of environmental education and System Dynamics for K-12”, with Gyeonggi Youth Training Center, an affiliated organization of Gyeonggi Province.
Mon, 18th July 2022 Keynote Manuscript
Can you give a brief account of your SD journey (what you studied during your university/higher education career, what was your first job, subsequent and current)?
Ten years ago, a historic meeting marked a turning point in my life. On the recommendation of a professor, I attended the SD/ST conference for K-12 educators held every two years in Babson College, Massachusetts, USA. It was like a teacher workshop, but I could meet people I had seen in textbooks of System Dynamics. Jay Forrester, Peter Senge, Dennis Meadows, and so on.
I was shocked by many things, but if I had to introduce one thing to you, it was the game. Dennis Meadows taught me the essence of SD/ST with simple games. Thanks to that, I understood the fundamental nature of SD correctly, and the following year I earned my Ph.D. in Business Administration. And games became my competitive edge. I ended up translating this book too. The Climate Change Playbook. In the SD academic structure, I think of games like this. I am famous as the best facilitator for SD/ST games in Korea. I would pride myself on being the best person in the world without the language barrier.
Can you tell us about your current organization and what your role there entails? How are you applying SD to your current role/or prospects for a future role?
My mission is to infuse SD/ST into K-12 education. For this mission, I quit my job as a professor and established a non-profit organization specializing in systems thinking education in 2017. I have introduced SD/ST to thousands of K-12 students and teachers until now. Even in the Covid-19 era, my mission never stops.How does your work relate to the SOC 2022 theme, ‘Diversity, Dynamics, and Dialogues’?
When a big outsider shock hits the system, diversity is essential for the maintenance and resilience of a system, whether it be an ecological or socio-economic system. The same is true of Korea's education system. As in other countries, Korea's education system is facing significant changes. However, like any other country in the world, the Korean education system is difficult to change because of the balancing feedback loop. I think SD/ST is important because it can foster diversity in Korean education. SD/ST respects and encourages diverse ideas of students. And I believe that SD/ST can save K-12 students who are driven into the endless competition. Let's think about dialogue.
Let's play a simple game with me.
Please hold one of your thumbs up in the air above your head and keep your thumbs always pointing up. Always keep your thumb pointing up. Please do not stop the rotation once it starts, and do not change the direction.
Now, continuing to draw the circle clockwise, slowly bring your hand down a few inches at a time until it is in front of your face.
Please continue to circle your thumb and slowly bring it down to the level below your chin until you are looking down on top of it. Continue to trace out the circle while looking down on it. What direction is your thumb moving? Counterclockwise! Right?
Don’t you remember your goal is to move your hand clockwise? What do you think is the implication? Please keep in mind that the system is value-free. The point is that, depending on the point of view, the system can be interpreted entirely differently. Do you want to change your system? Then you have to understand people who interpret the system differently. You need to talk to someone who interprets the system differently. The more diverse the system, the more dialogue is required.
So is my case. I am not a teacher, so I am an outsider to the education system. That's why I struggle to talk to people in the education system.From a global south/north, east/west perspective, what are the similarities when comparing your specialization and that of the other 3 keynote panelists? See short bios FYI. Your answer to this question will probably become more nuanced as the interview-like discussion progresses, and we get to learn more about your work and how it relates to the SOC2022 theme.
The similarity of the panelists is that they approach the problem. Each panelist has a problem to solve. My problem to be addressed is K-12 education. SD is used to solve those problems. However, the way SD is used is slightly different. I am using the game. Others use community-based and community-engaged SD, participatory SD, and system engineering.Looking back, what do you wish you had known as a student or early career researcher in SD, and consequently, what advice would you give students entering the SD field?
I would recommend you to model your own life. I am doing what I am talking about too. More specifically, design your reinforcing feedback. The book, The Limits To Growth and many other books of SD use the water lily pond story to inform the danger of exponential growth. How many of you know the water lily pond story? It is a story that one water lily in the pond on the first day becomes 530 million after a month because the water lily pond has a reinforcing feedback structure.
The water lily pond story gives us an indirect experience of exponential growth and how scary linear thinking is.
However, as mentioned earlier, the system is value-free. Exponential growth in itself cannot be said to be good or bad. In other words, exponential growth may be our hope. I will tell you the secret of the system. Do you have a big hairy audacious goal? You can get it. No matter how high your vision, you can get it if you keep the reinforcing feedback. Of course, it's not easy because, as you well know, not all systems have only reinforcing feedback. The balancing feedback will inevitably come in if you are trying to maintain reinforcing feedback. So you have to model your life and test it. Please find anything that interferes with your reinforcing feedback and avoid it. It would be best to take a break whenever you face balancing feedback in your life. Don't get me wrong. Your vision should not be growth. Instead, happiness should be your goal. I hope you enjoy your life. Thank you for listening.
Korean K-12 Report to System Dynamics Society as of May 2022
This report is asked from Dr. Diana Fisher, Vice President of System Dynamics.
This report covers the achievement from 2021 to May 2022.
06 MAY 2022. [Lecture Evaluation for principals] 『Systems Thinking and School Management.』
[Lecture Evaluation]
The "Educational Administrative Leadership Course" conducted by the National Academy for Educational Administration is a 300-hour training for only the principals selected by the local Education Office.
In this training, I have been giving lectures every year on "Systems Thinking and School Management." Still, this year I have been allocated more time to play virtually the 'Fishery Game' representing the tragedy of the commons in the morning on 6th May 2022. In the afternoon, I gave a lecture as in previous years.
The game-based lecture was the first for them, so the 19 elite principals must have been perplexed, but they followed better than I expected. Here are the training results.
https://bit.ly/3FqDdqz
They rated it very highly.
The following is an anonymous assessment.
▣ Recommendation Index
Recommendation score average: 9.18
Respondents: 11
Standard deviation: 1.4
Variance: 1.0
Median: 10
Mode: 10
NPS: 72.73%
Question: "How likely is it that you would recommend this lecture to a friend or colleague?" (0-10)
cf) 0 points: I would not recommend it for sure. ~ 10 points: I highly recommend it.
Cf) NPS (Net Promoter Score, Net Promoter Score) is calculated by subtracting the intention to not recommend (0 to 6) from the recommendation intention (10 points, 9 points) among all respondents. In this case, 7 and 8 points are considered neutral and are not reflected in the calculation. It is used worldwide as a customer satisfaction index. For reference, Apple's NPS comes out to be 47%. (Reference: http://bit.ly/Apple-NPS)
▣ Remarks
(Recommended score: 10 )
This is the first time I have heard of such a lecture. I understand why Systems Thinking is necessary.
(Recommended score: 7 )
It was refreshing with a new approach. I think stakeholders of my school can discuss a problem from this point of view.
(Recommended score: 10 )
I came to understand the core of Systems Thinking
(Recommended score: 10 )
It was a good training experience. I think it would have been better if I had more time and had more hands-on experience.
(Recommended score: 8 )
The end for Systems Thinking is to understand the change. It's a challenging but touching statement. Thank you for being an excellent opportunity to develop Change Sensitivity.
(Recommended score: 10 )
It was good to have a new mindset and to be able to participate in person
(Recommended score: 8 )
Realizing that today's problem comes from yesterday's solution was a big help.
(Recommended score: 9 )
It was an opportunity to recognize the meaning and value of change sensitivity. It would be nice if you could tell us about the relationship between Systems Thinking and the theory of complex systems.
(Recommended score: 10 )
It was an online lecture, so I did not expect much, but it was a more tense time than the face-to-face class. Thank you
(Recommended score: 9 )
Systems Thinking will help find ways to solve various problems in schools
(Recommended score: 10 )
The experience so far has been to rush to find a solution to the problem at hand. Always be vigilant with unintended consequences. The need for a detailed approach comes fresh.
▣ Sharing opinions using Padlet:
- Why did it fail? https://padlet.com/benjamin196/ot4iis51bof15mgl
- What should I do? (Solution) https://padlet.com/benjamin196/j4k5ii8mi6plnk82
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