Beginning in Unit 1, students learn key systems thinking definitions, components, concepts, and habits that build the idea that systems are made up of elements (parts) whose interconnections (or relationships) determine behavior, and are organized to achieve a goal. Through understanding how a system’s structure drives behavior, we can better design places to intervene for desirable outcomes.
Stella Architect is a simulation modeling software that allows students to build models that represent key elements, and define the relationships between those elements in a system. Models help students to make their thinking visible, and can be thought of as a hypothesis to iteratively test and refine.
All Hands on Deck includes lessons in each unit where students follow step-by-step labs to build simple models, test levers and policies in pre-built models, and in their final Climate Action Project, build an original model where they apply a local climate solution to a system of their choice.
Materials and Resources
Below you will find a sampling of students labs, modeling tutorials recorded by the creators of Stella Architect, educational videos and guides created by curriculum team members.
Unit 1: step-by-step model building guides
Unit 2: testing policies in the C-roads model during the world climate simulation
Students take on the roles global leaders in the World Climate Simulation and test the impact of their climate policies in “C-ROADS” a simulation model used by real decision makers. Learn more about C-ROADS here.
unit 3: exploring a representation of the global Carbon cycle in stella
Students apply what they learned about the relationship between emissions and atmospheric CO2 during the World Climate Simulation to interacting with a representation of the global carbon cycle in Stella. They can also practice their model building skills through recreating this model in a step-by-step tutorial. In this video, Dr. Juliette Rooney-Varga guides students through a carbon cycle model in Stella.
unit 4: building an original stella model for a local system
For their final projects, students brainstorm how their local climate solution could be represented in a Stella model through walking through a Meatless Mondays project example.
