A Systems Thinking Framework for Undergraduate Engineers

Today’s societal challenges are complex and interconnected, demanding more than just technical expertise. Our Systems Thinking Framework guides undergraduate engineering students through a structured process to understand and evaluate the impacts of their work. By guiding students through key concepts like identifying system components and the connections between them, the Systems Thinking Framework helps them consider technical, social, environmental, and ethical dimensions together.

The goals of this NSF-funded project are:

• to develop a Systems Thinking Framework and Systems Thinking course modules specifically for undergraduate engineers studying across engineering disciplines and

• to support faculty in incorporating Systems Thinking into their teaching through a prototyping process and Community of Practice groups.

Why Systems Thinking?

Systems Thinking considers a concept not as a discrete idea but as housed within a broader system, with dynamic and interconnected relationships between system components. When applied to engineering, Systems Thinking unlocks the potential for engineers to grasp how their technical work is one part of an interconnected environmental and societal system, evaluating previously unconsidered impacts and adapting their engineering designs accordingly.

As challenges facing society become increasingly complex and interdependent, it is not enough to have different voices at the same table with siloed expertise, unable to evaluate the depths of another’s work. Engineers, who know the ins-and-outs of their technical interventions, must lead the analysis of how their work interfaces with the environment and society.

The importance of a Systems Thinking mindset in engineering has been highlighted in educational research and in guidelines developed by communities of experts such as the Engineering for One Planet framework.

Available Resources [Under Construction]

• Systems Thinking Framework: multiple formats of instructional materials to guide students through applying a Systems Thinking process to evaluate an engineering technical scenario

• Course Modules: complete lesson plans using the Systems Thinking Framework in core undergraduate engineering courses from across disciplines 

• Curricular Prototypes: a library of ways to prototype making a change to your course or curriculum, either to try out the Systems Thinking Framework or toward another teaching goal

• Faculty Community of Practice Groups: facilitated small group discussions on teaching Systems Thinking and using curricular prototypes to make changes to courses (beginning Fall 2025)

• Summer Teaching Workshops: for graduate students and postdocs in Southern California (beginning Summer 2026)

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant #2430790. Learn more about our grant here.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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