(2023) Teaching and assessing systems thinking in first-year chemistry

Micke Reynders, Lynne A Pilcher, and Marietjie Potgieter 

Journal of Chemical Education2023100 (3), 1357-1365 

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00891

This article reports on the findings of a study to implement systems thinking into a first-year organic chemistry class which was designed specifically to foster the development of systems thinking skills. In this course, the students use systems-oriented concept mapping extensions (SOCMEs) as tools of systems thinking to understand the content. The SOCMEs are also used to assess the students’ grasp of systems thinking and therefore the success of this study.