# PWR-117 — Systems thinking: learner worksheet Release: Revision 7T · Full Tutorial Edition Estimated time: Estimated 26 min reading and worksheet pass Difficulty: Intermediate Equipment: Common household or practice equipment — Two exact fictional café cards. Card A: 30 clean cups at 8:00; 18 borrowed by 9:30; 8 promptly returned; wash cycle 25 minutes; disposable use 4 per half-hour. Card B: disposable use rises to 10 per half-hour while the return fraction stays 8 of 10; a shorter 10-minute wash cycle restores 12 clean cups by 10:30. Card B weakens ‘more disposable use causes fewer returns’ but supports a washing-delay link.; A four-column link-challenge ledger headed candidate arrow, predicted pattern, Card B observation and verdict. Use only supported, weakened, contradicted or still unknown as verdicts; none of those words means causation has been proved.; Large paper or accessible diagram tool, two arrow styles and an assumption/evidence key.; Map review sheet for boundary, missing perspective, feedback, delay and falsifier. Space: Desk / seated Automated structural checklist: 10 of 10 structural checks present Evidence quality/context: G1; Focused research depth Automated method-quality band: Comprehensive Method-rating basis: Structure coverage, instruction/check specificity, alternative distinctness, source troubleshooting, comparison depth and whether purpose/check fields are authored rather than derived. Editorial review: Pending manual editorial sign off ## Before you begin - [ ] I read the tutorial authority and stop conditions. - [ ] I have the required equipment/space or a declared accessible alternative. ## Canonical source context Systems thinking represents boundaries, parts, accumulations, flows, feedback and delays. A complicated diagram is not automatically true. This lesson uses a fictional café cup-return system so no real community is modelled without participation. The learner labels every causal link as observed, supplied by the fixture or assumed, finds a feedback loop, states a possible unintended effect and writes an observation that could disprove the map. Target outcome: The learner produces a legible system map with a declared boundary, one stock, two flows, one feedback loop, one delay, evidence labels and a falsification check. ### Authority and setup conditions - Write that the fixture is fictional and the decision is learning only. - Choose a narrow question: why are clean reusable cups sometimes unavailable at 10 a.m.? - Define arrow meanings before drawing: solid for supplied observation, dashed for assumption. ### Required or supplied materials - Two exact fictional café cards. Card A: 30 clean cups at 8:00; 18 borrowed by 9:30; 8 promptly returned; wash cycle 25 minutes; disposable use 4 per half-hour. Card B: disposable use rises to 10 per half-hour while the return fraction stays 8 of 10; a shorter 10-minute wash cycle restores 12 clean cups by 10:30. Card B weakens ‘more disposable use causes fewer returns’ but supports a washing-delay link. - A four-column link-challenge ledger headed candidate arrow, predicted pattern, Card B observation and verdict. Use only supported, weakened, contradicted or still unknown as verdicts; none of those words means causation has been proved. - Large paper or accessible diagram tool, two arrow styles and an assumption/evidence key. - Map review sheet for boundary, missing perspective, feedback, delay and falsifier. ## 1. State purpose and boundary Write the question, time window, café area and what is outside the map, such as supplier contracts and city waste policy. Why: A boundary controls what the map can answer and exposes omissions. Success check: The map title includes purpose, time and explicit exclusions. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Write the question, time window, café area and what is outside the map, such as supplier contracts and city waste policy.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “The map title includes purpose, time and explicit exclusions.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 2. List parts and perspectives List clean cups, used cups, return point, washer, staff and customers, then mark whose behaviour is supplied versus imagined. Why: Systems include people and infrastructure, and invented motivations must remain visible. Success check: Every person-related statement is sourced or labelled assumption. Accessible alternative: Replace small or visual-only information with enlarged text, high-contrast display, spoken description or tactile/verbal cueing while preserving the same decision and success check. Limit visible variables and offer a narrated map walkthrough. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 3. Mark stocks and flows Draw clean cups and used cups as accumulations. Add borrowing, returning, washing and loss as directional rates. Why: Stocks change through flows; mixing them creates vague causal stories. Success check: At least one stock has an inflow and outflow with units. Accessible alternative: Complete “Draw clean cups and used cups as accumulations. Add borrowing, returning, washing and loss as directional rates.” in shorter passes, or use keyboard input, dictation or a support person, while preserving this success check: “At least one stock has an inflow and outflow with units.” Use a text table with source, relation, target, sign and status instead of a graphic. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 4. Add evidence-labelled links Connect variables only when the fixture supports a relationship; use dashed arrows for hypotheses and write the expected direction. Why: A causal-looking arrow otherwise hides uncertainty. Success check: Each arrow has sign, status and plain-language meaning. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Connect variables only when the fixture supports a relationship; use dashed arrows for hypotheses and write the expected direction.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “Each arrow has sign, status and plain-language meaning.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 5. Find feedback and delay Trace one closed loop and mark where time passes, such as washing delay reducing clean cups and increasing disposable use. Why: Feedback and delay can create behaviour that a linear list misses. Success check: One loop and one timed delay can be read aloud. Accessible alternative: Complete “Trace one closed loop and mark where time passes, such as washing delay reducing clean cups and increasing disposable use.” in shorter passes, or use keyboard input, dictation or a support person, while preserving this success check: “One loop and one timed delay can be read aloud.” Limit visible variables and offer a narrated map walkthrough. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 6. Challenge the map Put the strongest dashed arrow in the link-challenge ledger. Write the directional pattern it predicts before reading Card B, copy Card B's observed pattern, then choose supported, weakened, contradicted or still unknown and name which missing perspective could alter the interpretation. Why: A map becomes useful when it can be wrong and corrected. Success check: The ledger contains a before-reading prediction, an exact observed pattern, a justified verdict and an absent voice. Accessible alternative: Complete the same research action — “Put the strongest dashed arrow in the link-challenge ledger. Write the directional pattern it predicts before reading Card B, copy Card B's observed pattern, then choose supported, weakened, contradicted or still unknown and name which missing perspective could alter the interpretation.” — using speech-to-text, text-to-speech, enlarged text, keyboard-only navigation, shorter work blocks or a support person. Preserve this declared check: “The ledger contains a before-reading prediction, an exact observed pattern, a justified verdict and an absent voice.” Do not convert the research task into capability practice. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## 7. Revise one feature Use a second fictional data card to confirm, weaken or reverse one link. Date the new version and preserve the old one. Why: Versioning shows updating rather than redrawing history. Success check: One link change is tied to the new evidence. Accessible alternative: Complete “Use a second fictional data card to confirm, weaken or reverse one link. Date the new version and preserve the old one.” in shorter passes, or use keyboard input, dictation or a support person, while preserving this success check: “One link change is tied to the new evidence.” Provide tactile arrows or high-contrast shapes with a non-colour legend. Alternative relationship: Target preserving when declared check is preserved Learner notes: ________________________________________________________________________________ Completed: [ ] ## Reflection What changed? ________________________________________________________________________________ What remains difficult? ________________________________________________________________________________ What will I repeat, adapt, ask for help with, or stop? ________________________________________________________________________________ --- Completion of this worksheet demonstrates tutorial participation only. It does not establish capability, qualification, safety clearance, diagnosis, treatment or independent validation.