The systems game

Step-by-step plan

Step 1: Introduction

Explain to students that systems thinking helps us understand how complex patterns and behaviours emerge from interactions between elements in a system. A system can be anything made up of connected parts, such as a classroom, a football team, an ecosystem, a family, or even traffic in a city.

In systems thinking, we do not only look at individual people or parts separately. Instead, we focus on the relationships and interactions between them and explore how different elements of a system influence one another. When people or parts interact, larger patterns and behaviours can emerge that are difficult to predict by looking at one individual alone. A small change in one part of the system can influence many others and sometimes create unexpected outcomes.

Optionally give an example:

For example, a traffic jam can happen even when no single driver intends to create one. Each driver simply reacts to the cars around them, but together these small actions create a larger pattern. In the same way, birds flying in formation or trends spreading on social media are examples of system behaviour emerging from many small interactions.

Tell students that in this activity, they will experience systems thinking through movement and interaction. The goal is not performance, but to observe how connection, interdependence, adaptation, and change influence the behaviour of a group as a whole.

Step 2: Experiencing dynamic balance in a system

Ask students to stand in an open space. Instruct each student to silently choose two other participants without revealing their choices.

Explain that students must now move continuously while keeping equal distance between themselves and the two people they selected. They should keep adjusting their position as others move and avoid standing still.

Let the activity run for a few minutes. Then pause and ask students to briefly reflect in pairs:

• What did you notice while trying to maintain balance?
• What influenced your movement?
• Did the group ever reach a stable state? Why or why not?

After allowing some students to share their experience you can wrap-up this step with the following points of attention:

• Point out that most students were not able to move independently because their position depended on the movements of others. Highlight how even small movements often caused adjustments throughout the group, showing interdependence within the system.
• Draw attention to the fact that the group was constantly adapting rather than reaching a perfectly fixed balance. This illustrates how many real-world systems remain dynamic and continuously respond to change. 
• If students mention confusion, unpredictability, or difficulty finding stability, connect this to the complexity of systems where outcomes emerge from many simultaneous interactions rather than from one person being in control.

Step 3: Experiencing cascading effects

Start a second round. Ask students to again choose two people (they may choose new ones).

Explain that this time, a small change will be introduced. At an unexpected moment, tap one student on the shoulder. That student slowly counts down from 5 to 1 and then gently lowers themselves to the floor.

Instruct students that if one of their chosen connections goes down, they must also count down from 5 and lower themselves. This will create a chain reaction through the group.

Allow the activity to continue until the system settles.

Step 4: Reflecting on how change spreads through a system

Ask students to reflect in pairs or small groups.

Use the following questions to guide the discussion:

• What happened when one change was introduced?
• How did the effect spread through the group?
• Where did you see actions influencing each other?
• Was the outcome predictable? Why or why not?
• What surprised you about the system as a whole?

After the discussion, bring the group back together and help students connect their experience to systems thinking.

You can highlight the following key insights:

• The behaviour of the group did not come from one person alone, but from everyone responding to one another. In systems, outcomes often emerge from many interactions happening at the same time.
• A small change in one part of the system influenced many others. This shows how systems are interconnected and how effects can spread through relationships.
• Most students were reacting to local information only (the people they had chosen), yet larger group patterns still emerged. This demonstrates that complex system behaviour can develop without central control or planning.
• The outcome was difficult to predict because each new movement changed the situation for others. In systems, many small interactions can combine to create unexpected results.
• The group was constantly adapting. Even when students tried to create stability, the system kept changing as people adjusted to one another. Many real-world systems behave in the same dynamic way.

Encourage students to connect this experience to real-world systems such as organisations, classrooms, ecosystems, traffic, social media, or friendship groups. Ask them to consider how small actions, decisions, or changes within these systems can sometimes lead to larger consequences for the whole group, and how we are all part of many systems in society that we influence through our behaviour. Highlight that even as individuals, our actions can meaningfully influence the behaviour and outcomes of the systems we belong to.