Johnson, M. E., & Sanchez, G. A. (2024, March), Implementation of a Semester-long, Real-World Problem Project in a Critical Systems Thinking Course  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference, Kalamazoo, Michigan. 10.18260/1-2--45624

\bibitem{asee_peer_45624}
  Johnson, M. E., \& Sanchez, G. A. (2024, March), \emph{Implementation of a Semester-long, Real-World Problem Project in a Critical Systems Thinking Course}
  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
  10.18260/1-2--45624

Mary E. Johnson Ph.D. and Gustavo Adolfo Sanchez.  "Implementation of a Semester-long, Real-World Problem Project in a Critical Systems Thinking Course".  2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2024, March.  ASEE Conferences, 2024.  https://peer.asee.org/45624 Internet.  14 May, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_45624}
  Mary E. Johnson Ph.D. and Gustavo Adolfo Sanchez.
  "Implementation of a Semester-long, Real-World Problem Project in a Critical Systems Thinking Course".
  \emph{2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2024, March}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2024.
  https://peer.asee.org/45624 Internet.  14 May, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_45624
author = "Mary E. Johnson Ph.D. and Gustavo Adolfo Sanchez"
title = "Implementation of a Semester-long, Real-World Problem Project in a Critical Systems Thinking Course"
booktitle = "2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference"
year = "2024"
month = "March"
address = "Kalamazoo, Michigan"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/45624}
number = {10.18260/1-2--45624}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A course in Critical Systems Thinking (CST) course is an elective in a graduate level aviation and aerospace management program at XYZ University. The program attracts students from aviation, technology, and engineering undergraduate degrees. The CST course is designed to improve the student’s ability to solve complex problems by identifying and assessing the system from a systems thinking perspective. In a previous version of the CST course in this program, students read textbooks and cases that led to discussions of the systems and archetypes. However, the students came to the program with a wide array of experiences - most of which were academic and not from employment. Real-life experiences may better enable students to learn these systems thinking principles. The CST course was modified in 2017 to introduce hands-on discovery activities (HODAs). Students used HODAs to experience, explore, and analyze  systems in a friendly, game-oriented, classroom environment.  In 2020, the use of HODAs was limited due to pandemic restrictions of interactions in the classroom. Therefore, a real-life, open-ended, semester-long, complex problem, group project was added to explore the use of system archetypes and models.  In 2022, the group project was to develop models to understand a different aviation problem from differing perspectives.  These projects addressed the projected aviation maintenance worker shortage of 800,000 people over two decades in the US. This paper discusses the objective, preparation, and implementation of the personnel shortage project used in the CST course. The open-ended project is outlined and discussed. Student and instructor feedback are used to discuss the relationship of the project to the lecture topics and the learning objectives.  
AU  - Mary E. Johnson Ph.D.
AU  - Gustavo Adolfo Sanchez
CY  - Kalamazoo, Michigan
DA  - 2024/03/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Implementation of a Semester-long, Real-World Problem Project in a Critical Systems Thinking Course
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45624
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45624
ER  -