Publication Date
4-9-2021
Publisher
Social System Design Lab, Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract
Many of the social challenges we care about feel like messy, wicked knots (or a pile of tangled headphones). When we pull on a thread in one place, we create new, tighter knots elsewhere. The messy nature of these challenges is due to, among other things, their complexity. Understanding key features of complex problems helps us understand why problems in education can be especially resistant to change. The purpose of this brief is to share (some) characteristics of complex problems, and introduce system dynamics as a set of tools for managing this complexity.
Series Number
Methods Brief Series 1.02: Systems Thinking Foundations
Document Type
Research Brief
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Farrell, A., Hu, M., Evbuoma, E.I., Liem, W., & Ballard, E. (2021). Characteristics of Complex Problems. Methods Brief Series 1.02: Systems Thinking Foundations. Social System Design Lab: St. Louis, MO. https://doi.org/10.7936/0h2n-5s17
Included in
Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Social Policy Commons, Social Work Commons