Compassionate Systems

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Compassionate systems approach

Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems approach

Published January 2020

Published on behalf of the International Baccalaureate Organization, a not-for-profit


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© International Baccalaureate Organization 2020

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IB mission statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who
help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop
challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong
learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
IB learner profile
profile IB learner
arner profile IB le
ile IB learner prof
IB learner profile H E IB L E AR
N

ER
er profile IB learn

PROFILE
IB learner profile
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common
humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.
As IB learners we strive to be:

We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories,
research. We know how to learn independently and with others. as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate
We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the
throughout life. experience.

We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a
knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference
and ideas that have local and global significance. in the lives of others and in the world around us.

We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination;
responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas
making reasoned, ethical decisions. and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the
face of challenges and change.
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one
language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of
carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups. our lives—intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve
well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interde-
pendence with other people and with the world in which we live.
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of
fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and expe-
of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions rience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in
and their consequences. order to support our learning and personal development.

The IB learner profile represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools. We believe these attributes, and others
like them, can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities.

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2017


International Baccalaureate® | Baccalauréat International® | Bachillerato Internacional®
Contents

Introduction 1
About compassionate systems 1

The development of compassionate systems 3


Pedagogical questions 3

Compassionate systems tools 6


Introduction to the tools 6
Behaviour over time graphs 8
Connection circles 10
Experiential learning and simulations 13
Ladder of connectedness 15
Ladder of inference 18
Stock and flow 21
Systems iceberg 23
Check-ins 25

Compassionate systems in practice 27


Taking the compassionate systems approach further 27

Compassionate systems approach


Introduction

About compassionate systems

“The compassionate systems thinking approach is essentially the mission of an IB education in


action.”
Alexandra Holland, Academic development manager
The Aga Khan Academies

The compassionate systems approach

This resource demonstrates one way to bring together the four key elements of the WIAIBE graphic—the
learner profile, international-mindedness, the approaches to learning and the approaches to teaching—
into an active learning experience.
In an increasingly uncertain world, where challenges reach beyond borders, there has never been a greater
need to cultivate compassion in our understanding and in our actions.
Compassionate systems represent one way to utilize the cognitive and affective aspects of the learner
profile and the approaches to learning skills. Social and emotional learning (SEL), combined with an
understanding of systems and complexity, can establish a cognitive and affective foundation for
“international-mindedness.”
A variety of systems thinking tools, such as the ladder of inference, stock-flow diagrams and systems
archetypes, can help reveal how different parts of an IB education relate to the whole and how elements
that at first glance are seemingly unrelated actively influence each other.
Integrating SEL thinking can help with the development of an empathetic and emotional understanding of
these issues, which is combined with the intellectual understanding provided by complex systems thinking.
In this context compassion is the combination of practical systems thinking with emotional understanding.
It is the capacity to exhibit meaningful empathy and caring for people who are impacted by the unintended
consequences of human behaviour within larger, interconnected systems.
This resource is divided into three parts.

Compassionate systems approach 1


About compassionate systems

The development of compassionate systems


This section provides details about the IB’s partners and the process of developing the compassionate
systems resource, as well as how this resource unites all the elements of an IB education.
Compassionate systems tools
This section provides brief introductions to the tools and strategies that the pilot schools used to explore a
compassionate systems approach.
Compassionate systems in practice
Examples of using the compassionate systems tools in the classroom on concrete exercises are given here.
These are initial explorations that can be expanded upon or altered based on school context.

2 Compassionate systems approach


The development of compassionate systems

Pedagogical questions

The compassionate systems resource helps to address two key pedagogical questions.
• How do we help young people to develop the capacity to cope with the scale and complexity of
today’s issues?
• How do we help young people to develop solutions that are both effective and compassionate?
The compassionate systems diagram captures the idea that applying both systems thinking and social and
emotional tools enables students to build a deeper understanding and connection to issues of significance
and relevance, encouraging solutions that are both effective and compassionate. This approach draws on
both cognitive and affective aspects of all the learner profile attributes (represented by the head and the
heart within the diagram), with emphasis on the intersection between thinking (as it relates to systems and
complexity tools) and caring (as it relates to social and emotional tools). The tools themselves are available
in the “compassionate systems tools” section of this resource.

Figure 1
The IB compassionate systems diagram

This work shows what can happen when leading experts and the IB community innovate together.
The concept for compassionate systems emerged from a meeting at an IB conference in 2015 where Peter
Senge, Mette Boell and IB learning and teaching staff identified the two key questions above. This meeting
was followed by a more extensive discussion at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which
included leading experts in the fields of systems thinking and compassion. This discussion resulted in the
initial iteration of the compassionate systems diagram.

Compassionate systems approach 3


Pedagogical questions

Figure 2
The first iteration of the compassionate systems diagram, developed at MIT and later refined for general use
within the IB compassionate systems approach

The ideas generated in that meeting, including the compassionate systems diagram, were then presented
to a small group of IB educators from schools around the world, including schools from Asia, Africa, the
Middle East, Europe and the USA. Educators were trained in the use of a range of systems and social and
emotional tools in ways that focus on the development of compassion, then developed initial prototypes
for applying the approach.
An IB education centres on learners, develops effective approaches to teaching and learning,
works within global contexts and explores significant content. Working together, these four
characteristics define an IB education
What is an IB education? 2015
After putting those prototypes into practice, educators from the pilot schools all reported transformational
teaching moments that united all the elements of an IB education into powerful learning experiences.
Snapshots of some of the experiences of those schools can be found in the “compassionate systems in
practice” section of this resource.

Contributors
Thanks to the following thinkers for their work with the IB in generating the ideas that underpin this
compassionate systems resource.
• Professor Peter Senge and his team at MIT, working in systems thinking and leadership
• Professor Mark Greenberg and his team at Pennsylvania State University working in social and
emotional learning
• Dr Mette Boell visiting research scientist and her team at The Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab
(J-WEL), MIT
• Garrison Collaboration for Integrative Learning, working in social fields
• The Innovation Academy Charter School, Boston and their associates
Further thanks to the IB World Schools that piloted the compassionate systems approach.
• SEK schools in Qatar and Madrid
• Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa
• International School of Zug and Luzern, Switzerland
• Sha Tin College, Hong Kong

4 Compassionate systems approach


Pedagogical questions

• iLEAD Schools: Santa Cratita Valley International Charter School


• GEMS Wellington Academy—Silicon Oasis, Dubai
• International School of Indiana, USA

Compassionate systems approach 5


Compassionate systems tools

Introduction to the tools

This section of the guide provides an introduction to each of the tools that can be used in the classroom by
teachers utilising the compassionate systems approach. The tools cover a wide range of activities and can
be used with all students of all ages. Programme-specific examples have been given but generally tools can
be adapted for use at all stages of the pedagogical process and repeated if and when necessary.
Each compassionate systems thinking tool is designed to help students to understand a complex concept,
problem or challenge and apply a compassionate lens to it. The teacher then further focuses on the
compassionate elements of the problem through appropriate questioning and by developing a personal
anchor within the content being studied. Through this methodology, the schools found that a
compassionate thinking “habit” develops in students, leading to a more internationally minded approach
to global issues.
The following table lists the tools that have been the most helpful for schools in fostering compassionate
systems thinking. Each row contains a link to a description of the tool and how to use it, a downloadable
blank version of the tool to use directly in the classroom, and links to associated school stories for real-life
examples of the successful implementation of each tool.

Tool description Tool template School stories


Behaviour over time graphs PDF | PNG International School of Zug and
Luzern, Switzerland
International School of Indiana,
USA
Connection circles PDF | PNG International School of Zug and
Luzern, Switzerland
Ladder of connectedness PDF | PNG Dubai GEMS Wellington Academy
—Silicon Oasis
Stock and flow diagram PDF | PNG International School of Zug and
Luzern, Switzerland
Dubai GEMS Wellington Academy
—Silicon Oasis
Systems iceberg PDF | PNG International School of Indiana,
USA
Ladder of inference PDF | PNG Sha Tin College, Hong Kong
Dubai GEMS Wellington Academy
—Silicon Oasis
International School of Indiana,
USA
Experiential learning and Not applicable International School of Indiana,
simulations USA
Check-ins Not applicable Sha Tin College, Hong Kong

6 Compassionate systems approach


Introduction to the tools

Approach
The approach is to cultivate the capacity for seeing and sensing the larger system, with all its
interdependence and interconnectedness, and all the unintended consequences of human behaviour that
we reinforce daily.
The schools found that developing the skills to deal with their own emotional systems helps students to
avoid becoming overwhelmed or “emotionally hijacked” by their immediate empathic responses to all the
suffering and anxiety that surrounds us. Learners develop a genuine sense of curiosity and openness, the
hallmark of a systems thinker, and the cultivated experience of connectedness which is the hallmark of
a compassionate systems thinker.

Compassionate systems approach 7


Compassionate systems tools

Behaviour over time graphs

Description of the tool


A behaviour over time graph is a graphical representation of how behaviour, feelings or thinking have
changed over time. This is not a quantitative measurement of behaviour but rather a personal reflection by
the students.
This tool:
• allows students to identify how behaviour, thinking or emotions have changed in response to events
• encourages students to represent and analyse trends in data, thinking or emotions in an informal way
• develops non-verbal communication skills by allowing a graphical representation of a complex
situation
• allows students to identify or suggest possible causes for behaviour and change
• charts emergent behaviour.

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• enables students to be open-minded through understanding multiple perspectives and contexts that
are relevant to a real-life problem
• develops empathy by giving students opportunities to view events from others’ perspectives, leading
to compassion

8 Compassionate systems approach


Behaviour over time graphs

• encourages students to reflect on how their own behaviour, thoughts and feelings or those of others
can be impacted by events around them
• promotes understanding of multiple perspectives, and feeling of empathy for others leads to a sense
of connectedness. Students are then able to think and act compassionately
• allows students to look at trends over time using group behaviour as an influential factor in making
informed decisions
• helps students to build leadership capacity by learning how to understand the behavioural pattern of
a smaller and bigger community
• enables students to visually track the trends of their own behaviour, the behaviour of their team and at
the same time use a comparative behaviour over time chart to juxtapose their behaviour over time to
another community from another part of the world
• helps students compare and contrast using critical thinking skills by analysing behaviour.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

A simple example: Graphing characters’ feelings in a narrative and non-quantitative way


By adding events in a story or situation to the x-axis, students can show how a character’s feelings have
changed over time in response to them.

PYP
Tracking character emotions during a story.
Human migration: together with a simulation this tool can be used to compare the numbers of migrants
entering a country and how this is impacted by changes in law and policies.

DP
Students can track their feelings/behaviours throughout the extended essay.

CP
Looking locally in Dubai at the problem of litter in the desert; this tool may be used to help develop ideas
for service learning.
Students can track their feelings and behaviours throughout the reflective project.

Compassionate systems approach 9


Compassionate systems tools

Connection circles

Description of the tool


This tool shows connections between different factors or elements of a complex system. The arrows within
the circle identify cause-and-effect relationships. This tool can be developed to include feedback loops and
other more complex relationships.
This tool:
• allows students to identify and link together a number of factors that are relevant to a question or
problem, expanding their awareness of connections within systems
• enables students to understand how making one change can have a widespread and unexpected
impact
• supports students to identify causal loops
• allows students to change the factors in their predicted models and gain a deeper understanding of
the complex question being asked
• develops non-verbal communication skills by allowing a graphical representation of a complex
relationship
• often leads to unexpected links being formed that can identify key factors which influence the
entire system.

10 Compassionate systems approach


Connection circles

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• enables students to be open-minded through understanding multiple perspectives and contexts that
are relevant to a real-life problem
• encourages students to think more critically about the connections and impacts of the many elements
• enables students, through understanding the connections between different elements in a system, to
understand why people may make decisions different to their own
• encourages more compassionate thinking about the choices made by understanding the intended
and unintended impact of the student’s own and others’ actions
• helps students to enrich the connections between opinions, experiences and actions
• learn how to become compassionate listeners and team members by using the connection circles
diagram
• helps students to map their opinion in the context of what others think, how they act and what they
do
• helps students explore their opinions by considering the connections between perspectives, problems
and solutions
• helps students to develop and maintain a level of growth mindset, adaptability and agility.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

A simple example: Exploring interdependence within a biome


Students identify a biome and the different living things within it. Using the circle graphic, they connect the
different living things and identify how they affect each other. This can be extended by adding in human
actions and environmental factors. Students can experiment with the circle by adding and taking out
factors and predicting the impact of this.
Compassionate thinking note: it is important to develop an empathetic link with the organisms within in
the biome to develop the compassionate thinking of students.

PYP
Habitats: Caring for animals and protecting their habitats ensures the well-being of human ecosystems.
Human migration: What are the push and pull factors related to human migration and how do these impact
the number of migrants coming into and leaving a country?
Explaining why a decision has been made in a classroom situation.

MYP
Water shortages: Looking at how the bed nets used to fight malaria are contributing to a lack of clean and
safe water in Tanzania.

DP
Factors that affect equilibrium position and concentration for a system in dynamic equilibrium.
Geography (option F: food and health): Looking at how food availability differs in High Income
Countries /Low Income Countries (HIC/LICs).

Compassionate systems approach 11


Connection circles

CP
Looking locally in Dubai at the problem of litter in the desert; this tool may be used to help develop ideas
for service learning.

12 Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems tools

Experiential learning and simulations

Description of the tool


Experiential learning and simulations are examples of learning by first-hand experience or learning by
doing. Instructional scenarios are used in which the learner is immersed in an imitation or representation of
a real-world system, entity, phenomenon or process. Experience presents a reality within which students
interact and develop new skills, new attitudes or new ways of thinking.
This tool:
• engages the students' emotions through the personal nature of experiential learning, as well as
enhancing their knowledge and skills
• accelerates learning and improves retention as student engagement increases through the use of
these processes
• allows students to develop new skills, new attitudes or new ways of thinking.

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• cultivates consideration of the cognitive (systemic) and affective (empathetic) aspects of an issue
together
• helps students understand the responsibility of the “successor generation”
• enables students to see experiences in a global context rather than through isolated context
constraints
• helps students understand that there is a “world out there” and they are part of that world
as meaningful and impactful constituents
• helps students understand and prepare for the inevitable through carefully crafted scenarios and
experiences
• takes the learning to a deeper, personal and meaningful level
• helps minimize and eliminate geographical and demographical challenges by helping students
establish and maintain close relationships through the experiences
• helps teachers offer experiences that help students learn how to live together “by living together”
• offers students an opportunity for greater immersion and formation of long-lasting relationships and
enduring understandings
• gives students an opportunity to build and sustain local, national and global networks for
understanding and acting.
• helps students create individual and team perspectives or solutions and learn how to defend these
perspectives and solutions through compassion, empathy and critical thinking.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

Compassionate systems approach 13


Experiential learning and simulations

PYP
Walk for water
Hunger banquet
Migration dice simulation
Adaptation and survival: Mammoth dice simulation

14 Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems tools

Ladder of connectedness

Description of the tool


A ladder is used to show that there are many levels of connection. Connectedness is personal
understanding, knowing of self and other. This diagram graphically links together the levels of
connectedness. Moving down the ladder shows an increase in connectedness.
This tool:
• allows students to identify their own level of connectedness within a context
• encourages the students to examine if they are striving to meet the learner attribute of caring
• unpacks compassion as something that can be developed over time
• develops non-verbal communication skills by allowing a graphical representation of a complex
relationship
• expands students’ awareness of connections within systems.

Compassionate systems approach 15


Ladder of connectedness

The levels of empathy


Emotional disconnect
The individual has disconnected from all other individuals associated with the scenario and is less and less
able to demonstrate or show concern. They “objectify” people, no longer relating to others as human
beings but as objects and become numb to the issue or scenario.
Example: In a highly stressful incident such as an ongoing war, individuals can become totally disconnected
from others and desensitized.
Empathic distress
At this stage an individual becomes overwhelmed by one's own empathy and actively starts to disconnect
from the issue and those previously sensed individuals or groups; genuine experiences of care, concern and
other positive emotions are replaced by wanting to alleviate one's own distress. Behaviors of concern may
still be exhibited but the underlying motivation is to make the others’ emotions go away so as alleviate
one’s own distress.
Example: The first time individuals see images of a disaster, they will be shocked and will most likely display
altruistic empathy and positivity towards the affected individuals. The more they view the images the more
likely they are to begin to reduce their levels of empathy.
In-group empathy
All individuals are (in the majority of cases) are also members of a range of groups: gender, age range, year
level, fans of a sports team and so on. Conversely individuals are also non-members of other groups. This
can have a very negative effect on empathy and can start to actively reduce it towards individuals. This
starts to erode goodwill.
Example: A supporter of a particular sports team (reds) may feel uneasy if surrounded or outnumbered by a
group of competing team supporters (blues). Due to this unease the individual may develop opinions that
are negative towards the blues but are not really based in fact. This reduces empathy and the level of
positive response.
Cognitive empathy
Cognitive: The process of mental interpretation and the forming of an opinion through perceiving,
recognizing, conceiving, judging, reasoning and imagining.
Cognitive empathy: Perspective taking, a developed awareness, often without language simply knowing
how the other person feels and what they might be thinking. This kind of empathy can help in a
negotiation or in motivating people.
Example: A sports coach uses cognitive empathy with a team through observation and maybe language to
measure commitment and develop awareness of individuals and then determines how to motivate them
based on this awareness.
Altruistic empathy
Altruistic: Engaging and assisting others with no expectation of any personal benefit.
Empathy: the ability to sense, understand and interpret the feelings of another. The individuals are aware of
each other and sense the issues surrounding them positively with a perspective of mutual assistance.
Example: A member of the public who volunteers to help others by offering time or skills free of charge.
Neutral awareness
Being aware of others but not being judgmental in either a positive or negative way. Being in an unbiased
state.
Example: A medical first responder approaches all casualties without bias: they are solely there to provide
medical attention, they just see a human in need of medical care.
Agape
Greek, unconditional love towards others based on deep understanding that we are all part of a larger
whole. Can be expressed as positive and open caring for others with no agenda or focus other than care.
Example: The love for a parent or child.

16 Compassionate systems approach


Ladder of connectedness

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• starts to give students the opportunity to draw upon elements of the attributes open-mindedness and
principled which underpin aspects of compassionate integrity
• enables students to be open-minded through understanding multiple perspectives and contexts that
are relevant to a real-life problem. Once open-mindedness has been enabled and students are able to
show cognitive empathy, compassionate thinking flourishes, allowing students to move further down
the ladder of connectedness
• encourages students to think more critically about their own connections with their global
communities
• questions whether humans are compassionate enough to solve or resolve the issue of disease
diffusion.
• provides opportunities to develop empathy and think deeply and compassionately about the question
being discussed or the problem being studied
• enables students, having looked at a global example, to apply the same concept as a lens to view a
local or national issue. Alternatively, this could work the other way around.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

A simple example: Disease (diffusion and barriers)


Giving students the opportunity to evaluate their concern for others.
Allowing students the opportunity to question whether they are being compassionate on any level towards
the global issue of disease.
Allowing students to truly evaluate their own international-mindedness.

PYP
Habitat unit (Grade 2): Students can assess how connected they feel to ecosystem destruction.

MYP
Water shortages: Looking at how the mosquito nets used to fight malaria in Tanzania have contributed to a
lack of lack of clean and safe water in Tanzania.
Disease diffusion and barriers: Understanding the problem of disease and how disease in one part of the
world relates to us globally.

DP
Geography (option F: food and health): Looking at how food availability differs in HIC/LICs.
Geography (option F: food and health): Disease (diffusion and barriers), understanding the problem of
disease and how disease in one part of the world relates to us globally.

CP
Looking locally in Dubai at the problem of litter in the desert; this tool may be used to help develop ideas
for service learning. Do students relate to the problem, does it concern them?
Ideas for the reflective project: Looking at the ethical issue of child labour. Where do they stand on a
compassionate level in relation to this issue?

Compassionate systems approach 17


Compassionate systems tools

Ladder of inference

Description of the tool


The ladder of inference describes the thinking process that people go through, usually without realizing it,
to progress from a fact through to a decision or action. The thinking stages can be seen as steps on a
ladder. The tool takes students step by step through how decisions are formed which then lead to actions.
Students will reflect on what actual facts they are basing their assumptions on. A popular question will be
"Where are you on the ladder?”
This tool:
• highlights how decision-making processes occur and inferences that may be present
• focuses students on being aware of how they form opinions, and questions if what they are
responding to is truly valid
• encourages critical and reflective thinking
• leads to challenging conversations where students examine assumptions, what they are based on
and what impact they can have.

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:

18 Compassionate systems approach


Ladder of inference

• increases awareness of how decisions are formed and what impact this can have on others in local and
global contexts. This encourages balanced and reflective views alongside awareness
of principled actions
• develops an increased understanding in students of the need for appropriate data, in context, for
them to be able to develop an informed opinion
• encourages dialectic discussion and thinking
• prompts students to understand and practise the feelings of “being in someone else's shoes” before
making decisions or forming judgment
• offers students a chance to participate in a well-rounded process for exploring and understanding
perspectives, stances, circumstances and behaviours
• guides students in applying a rich context for gathering and analysing facts and knowledge
• challenges students on widely held opinions in an international context and, in conjunction with other
tools (systems iceberg, for example), can highlight bias and encourage them to be
genuinely knowledgeable.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

A simple example: Making assumptions


Working in groups of three, students are asked to silently answer questions about the other group
members, making assumptions on minimal prior knowledge.
Assumptions to the questions are written down, then each student states what their answer was and why
they thought this was the case.
All students respond with their actual answers.
What percentage of assumptions were correct? Why was this the case? Why are assumptions potentially
dangerous? What data are students basing decisions on?

PYP
Food/hunger: Why are people suffering from food shortages? Are members of the local
community struggling to obtain enough food?
Water: Gallery picture walk around the world to explore assumptions about which community has access to
clean water.
Human migration: What initial awareness and assumptions do students have in relation to migrants? Once
appropriate data is considered how do student assumptions evolve?
Beliefs: How do your own experiences affect the judgments you make on others?
Reading: Why did this character act in the way that they did? Where are they on the ladder of inference?
Conflict resolution: Students use the ladder of inference to examine their own and others’ actions.

MYP
Individuals and societies: Students make assumptions on the high numbers of deaths still evident as a result
of malaria in Tanzania.

DP
English literature: Character analysis. Examining character feelings and actions.

Compassionate systems approach 19


Ladder of inference

CP
Introduction to the reflective project: Students are exposed to the ethical issues surrounding the
implementation of bed nets. Students are asked to make assumptions on the aid given and the outcome
experienced in Tanzania.

20 Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems tools

Stock and flow

Description of the tool


A stock is something that can accumulate or can be used up. A flow is something which makes the quantity
of a stock increase or reduce. This diagram links together the stock and the flows and allows students to
predict and understand the effects of changes to the stock. Stock can be tangible (a physical item, such as
water) or intangible (such as time or empathy).
The tool:
• allows students to identify and link together a number of factors that are relevant to a question or
problem
• encourages “big picture thinking”
• allows students to change the flows in their predicted models and gain a deeper understanding of the
complex question being asked
• develops non-verbal communication skills by allowing a graphical representation of a complex
relationship
• expands students’ awareness of connections within systems.

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• encourages students to think more critically about the connections and impacts of the many flows
into and out of a system
• allows students to be open-minded and to think about and take into consideration other opinions,
feelings, perspectives, predicaments and conditions before understanding a situation and making a
conclusion
• prepares students to value others and make informed decisions
• provides opportunities to develop empathy and think deeply and compassionately about the question
being discussed or the problem being studied
• enables students, having looked at a simple local example of stock and flow, to apply the same
concept as a lens to view multiple international issues.

Compassionate systems approach 21


Stock and flow

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

A simple example: The water system


Water as a natural resource can be depleted, preserved or increased.
What creates inflow? Rain or transported water.
Water can be positively accumulated by storage (reservoir) or negatively by flooding.
What causes outflow? Usage (personal, industry), leakage, evaporation.
Why is a balanced system preferred? Flooding/drought.
Compassionate thinking question: Do all people have the opportunity of a balanced water system?

PYP
Food/hunger: Used to examine hunger and food insecurity (stock). What things can add to hunger (inflow)?
What things can help reduce hunger (outflow)?
Human migration: What are the push and pull factors related to human migration and how do these impact
the number of migrants coming into and leaving a country?

MYP
Water shortages: Looking at how the bed nets used to fight malaria are now contributing to a lack of clean
and safe water in Tanzania.

DP
Factors that affect equilibrium position and concentration for a system in dynamic equilibrium.
Geography (option F: food and health): Looking at how food availability differs in HIC/LICs.

CP
Service learning: Looking locally at the problem of litter in the desert; this tool may be used to help develop
ideas for service learning.

22 Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems tools

Systems iceberg

Description of the tool


“Tip of the iceberg” is a popular term that indicates only a very small proportion of the whole issue is
displayed, typically only 10%, therefore 90% may be unseen. Students can use the tool to investigate issues
that are complex and go significantly beyond or below what is initially visible. Students see how beliefs
formed over time at the unseen level lead to the creation of social structures, in turn creating patterns of
behaviour. Students will grasp that for change to happen at the seen event level, systemic change is
required at the lowest belief or "mental model" stage.
The tool:
• develops students’ ability to go beyond what is visible to gain a deeper awareness of the issue
• highlights and makes visible causation factors
• shows that the overarching beliefs and actions of people within a system leads to events
• helps develop an understanding of where intervention is required to create change at the event level.

Compassionate systems approach 23


Systems iceberg

Developing compassionate thinking and


international-mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• develops an understanding in students that the event has been created by a significant range of other
factors, in many cases determined by behaviours and beliefs with, in some cases, significant history. By
discussing and thinking about personal beliefs, students become more open to placing themselves at
different levels of compassion. (See “Ladder of connectedness”.)
• exposes students to how social and cultural beliefs in an international context can affect the event
level.
• develops an understanding in students of how intervention from a compassionate standpoint,
without an understanding of the interconnected system or underlying factors, can result in minimal
change, very short-term impact or even a negative outcome.
• helps students develop a dialogue between the “iceberg representation” and their team, and develop
personal opinions and decisions gaining a greater understanding and depth of the experience.
• allows students to have in-depth experiences of other cultures, belief systems and values as well as an
opportunity to understand these systems better by revealing the roots.
• helps students to re-envision their personal perspectives and understanding of self, home and
community.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

A simple example: Water contamination in Tanzania


Key locations in Tanzania suffering from chemically contaminated water and depleted fish stocks; this is the
“event level”.
What are the underlying causes? To combat malaria a health organization donated fine mesh anti-mosquito
nets that were designed to ward off mosquito attacks. To give additional protection, the nets were also
impregnated with an insecticide.
In many cases the nets were used as fishing nets. The insecticide washed off, contaminating water courses.
Compassionate thinking note: When intervening or donating into an environment, why is it important to
understand the wider repercussions of a donation?

MYP
Students look at examples of stories affecting developing nations that appear in the media headlines. Using
the iceberg tool students understood that it was only the “visible 10%” that had been reported in the
media. For example, the drought in Sudan, famine caused by drought, poor water distribution, political
mistrust and a range of diverse factors lower down the iceberg. From a compassionate standpoint, how
should students watching the news reports react after knowing the full iceberg picture? Consider the
ladder of connectedness as well: where are you on the ladder? Why?

24 Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems tools

Check-ins

Description of the tool


This is a tool which promotes reflection, or “check-ins” with yourself or others. Check-ins usually involve
participants considering a question or responding to a prompt about what they are thinking or how they
are feeling at a given time.
Check-ins have two rules:
1. Only one person speaks at a time without interruption, giving everyone a turn to speak.
2. All participants actively listen for the duration of the check-in.
There are different types of check-ins including:
• check-in with yourself, where participants may journal or reflect quietly in their head
• small group check-in, where you share in a group of two to four people
• reverse check-in, where participants sit back-to-back and shoulder to shoulder
• Whole group check-in where everyone in the group shares thoughts, often after a check-in with
themselves. Participants sit in a circle and then share either by speaking one after another around the
circle or in no particular order. This can also be called an opening/closing circle if done at the start or
end of a day or session.
Check-ins offer students the opportunity to reflect on their own learning, how they are feeling and become
more aware of the feelings of others.

Developing compassionate thinking and


international mindedness
There are a number of ways this tool encourages the development of compassionate thinking and
international-mindedness. The tool:
• develops self-awareness when participants start sensing into their own feelings. When used with tools
like the ladder of inference, ladder of connectedness and the systems Iceberg, check-ins can support
students to express and identify their own feelings and mental models
• encourages listening to others and helps participants to develop understanding that different people
have alternative perspectives. It also helps students to identify similarities and differences between
their own feelings and mental models and those of others
• helps students stay connected to others due to the close and personal nature of a check-in and the
rule that each person gets a chance to speak uninterrupted. This develops compassion as it can stop
the emotional disconnect that can happen if they disagree or find what is being said challenges their
own ideas.
• encourages participants to start to understand how their own actions and words impact on the social
field and those around them through increased awareness of their own feelings and mental models
and those of others.

Programme-specific implementation
For an example, see Compassionate systems in practice.

Compassionate systems approach 25


Check-ins

A simple example:
Students come into class in the morning. After some breathing exercises, journaling or a short meditation/
mindfulness activity, students consider the questions:
• How are you feeling this morning?
• What has moved you (emotionally)?
• What are your aspirations for the day ahead?
Students then get into groups to share the answers. Teacher asks if any themes are coming through,
whether there are similarities or connections between students’ own feelings and aspirations and those of
others.

Check-ins can be used across all programmes.


They can be used at the start or end of a day or session, or at any time where students or teachers need to
reflect, share feelings and thoughts.

26 Compassionate systems approach


Compassionate systems in practice

Taking the compassionate systems approach further

Schools are busy places and with so many new and ongoing initiatives happening it can often be
challenging to introduce another idea or pedagogical approach. This section illustrates some of the ways
the pilot schools implemented the compassionate systems tools and approach. It covers the background
and context of the individual schools, what tools they used and reflections on successes and failures.
Schools also share their recommendations on how to undertake a successful journey in compassionate
systems.
The following table lists the schools that have shared their experience in setting up the compassionate
systems approach and what their vignette relates to. Each row shows the school which took part and the
experience their project focused on.

School name Project Programme Template of tool


application utilized
Sha Tin College, Hong Kong Inspiring global thinking MYP/DP/CP Ladder of inference
skills
International School of Zug Understanding migration PYP/MYP/DP/CP Behaviour over time
and Luzern graphs
Connection circles
Stock and flow
GEMS Wellington Academy – Service learning versus life DP/CP Ladder of
Silicon Oasis skills connectedness
Ladder of inference
International School of Indiana Focusing on UN Sustainable PYP/MYP/DP Systems iceberg
Development Goals Ladder of inference
Behaviour over time
graphs
GEMS Wellington Academy – Unforeseen consequences of MYP/ DP/CP Stock and flow
Silicon Oasis tackling malaria
Systems iceberg
Ladder of
connectedness

The compassionate systems approach is being discussed in IB Communities. Log on via the programme
resource centre to take part in the conversation.

Compassionate systems approach 27

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