2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Scholars have advanced the argument advocating for the integration of Systems Thinking (ST) into engineering education, positing its efficacy in equipping engineering students with the capacity to discern and comprehend intricate challenges and opportunities embedded within complex problem domains. This pedagogical approach fosters a holistic mindset that enables students to address multifaceted predicaments while remaining attuned to the dynamic shifts occurring in the market and the broader external landscape (Sterman, 2000; Halecker & Hartmann, 2013; Halecker & Hartmann, 2013). Nevertheless, a noticeable research gap persists in the elucidation of the specific skillsets and cognitive paradigms that each ST tool augments. Within this paper, we embark upon a systematic literature review encompassing an array of studies that have explored the prominent tools employed in instructing Systems Thinking. Our objectives are threefold: firstly, to delineate the diverse skill sets these tools serve to enhance; secondly, to expound upon the distinct modes of cognition with which they are intricately associated; and finally, to proffer a comprehensive rubric designed for the evaluation of a particularly salient ST tool, ascertained to be exceptionally pertinent in the context of opportunity identification during entrepreneurial endeavors.