Summary Capacities to drive collective learning, address jointly complex practical challenges and create innovative solutions are seen essential for future graduates. How to prepare students to lead complex collaborative learning, change and innovation projects? How to assist them to develop knowledge and skills needed for resourceful teamwork with other people who have different expertises, experiences, and interests? Systems, Change and Learning is a blended graduate course in the Maters of the Learning Sciences and Technology program that aims to develop students’ capacities to lead complex organisational learning and educational innovation projects. Rooted in systems theories, cybernetics and the learning sciences, this course: 1) introduces students to the theoretical approaches and methods for understanding complexity, facilitating individual learning and managing change, and 2) provides them with practical experiences to engage in systems inquiry and collaborative innovation design projects. The course draws on the second-order pedagogy and grants students’ agency to design not only the innovation, but also their own learning and innovation process and environment. Students choose complex real life organisational learning or educational change challenges and, over the course of the semester, work in small innovation teams by analysing an encountered problematical situation, modelling possible scenarios and developing innovative solutions. As a result, each team creates a practical guide for Change and Innovation Managers who will be tasked with implementing the proposed innovation in an organisational setting. The main emphasis is on fostering expansive learning and deliberative innovation culture trough cultivating systems thinking, design practice and responsive action. Through engaging in systemic inquiry, innovation design tasks and authentic teamwork, students develop a number of graduate attributes that are critical for joint learning and knowledge-informed, responsive action in modern workplaces, such as analytical and integrative thinking, effective teamwork, multidisciplinary and intercultural competencies. Evaluations show that this course promotes deep student engagement and brings about transformative learning experiences. It is now offered as an elective in two other interdisciplinary masters programs.

1. Learning to lead innovation and
change
Enhancing students’ capacities to lead collaborative learning and innovation through
systems thinking, design practice and responsive action
Faculty of Education and Social Work, CoCo Research Centre, 2015
Masters of the Learning Sciences and Technology program

2. What is your view of the world?
‘Am I apart from the universe?’
Meaning whenever I look, I’m looking as if through a peephole upon an
unfolding universe;
or,
‘Am I part of the universe?’
Meaning whenever I act, I’m changing myself and the universe as well.
von Foerster, 2003
2von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag.

3. What is a second-order systems view?
Whenever I reflect on these two alternatives,
I’m surprised by the depth of the abyss that
separates the two fundamentally different
worlds that can be created by such a choice.
That is to see myself as a citizen of an
independent universe, whose regulations,
rules and customs I may eventually discover;
or
to see myself as a participant in a
conspiracy, whose customs, rules, and
regulations we are now inventing.
von Foerster, 2003
3von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag.

4. Developing the capacity to lead change...
Three
modes of
inquiry
Systems
thinking
Design
practice
Responsive
action
...through collective learning and innovation

5. Students leading learning and innovation projects
Key course components
Using ideas and methods to
inform knowledgeable action
and create principled-practical
knowledge products
Making ideas
actionable by
grounding them in
past experiences
Understanding and
improving
individual and
group learning
Joint
innovation
Analysis and design
Teamwork
Ideas and
methods
Weekly readings
Online
discussions
Analytical
reflection
...of teamwork
...of past experiences

6. I. Learning to inquire into change in
complex social systems
What characterises second-order pedagogy?
6
The dynamic relationship between learning and doing
II. Learning to organise teamwork
Students as creators of their own
learning and environments
Students as learners and innovators

7. Pedagogical principle I
I. Seeing everyday and professional
experiences trough theory
II.Constructing principled-practical
knowledge products
Making knowledge actionable and action knowledgeable
“I am really enjoying this course - you are
making me think and reflect upon a lot of
past learning situations in the organisations I
have worked for.” (MLS&T Student, 2015)
Students create Guides for Change and
Innovation Managers
iPad Journey (MLS&T, 2011)

8. Pedagogical principle II
Modern knowledge work is
characterised by joint work creating
material and digital knowledge
objects or “epistemic artefacts”:
› models,
› blueprints,
› prototypes,
› principles,
› etc
Learning and innovation through creating epistemic artefacts

9. Individual learning:
Domain of personal
change
Skills and
capabilities
Attitudes and
beliefs
Awareness and
sensibilities
Pedagogical principle III
Image based on: Senge, P. et al. (2000). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline fieldbook for educators, parents, and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday.
Linking organisational, team and individual learning
Organisational
learning:
Domain of action
Guiding ideas
Infrastructures
and environments
Methods
and tools
Integrating perspectives of
the learning sciences and
organisational sciences

10. Pedagogical principle IV
1. Face-to-face meetings
2. Synchronous web conferencing
3. Online collaborative writing
4. Knowledge mapping and idea
generation
5. Online project management
6. Asynchronous discussions
7. Shared document management
8. Etc
Learning to assemble productive learning and innovation environments
Students learn to manage
distributed teamwork by learning to
choose and use appropriate
methods and tools

11. Second-order principles in action…
Discussion: Choose an
innovation challenge
Initial teamwork: Explore
the problem space
Design workshop:
Analyse the situation and
model change
Online teamwork:
Develop the Change and
Innovation Guide
Presentation: Final
product and peer
feedback
Reflection: Teamwork
and process
1
2
3
4
5
6
Innovation using a “soft systems” approach

12. Second-order principles driving change…
› Multiple perspectives of real world
complex challenges
› Intercultural and multi-professional
experiences
› User-oriented design products
› Students’ agency: teachers and
students as co-designers
12
Authentic innovation and teamwork experiences
“During this challenge I personally experienced
frustration, panic and joy. I found my collaborators to be
highly innovative both subjectively and objectively. They
are worthy adversaries! I say adversaries because a
culture of blind agreement (in my opinion) would not
stimulate innovation.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“I think our group is motivated by the potential relevance of
our guide” (MLS&T, 2015)
“I think I'm more focussing on being a good group member
at the moment. I'm enjoying trying to focus on that process”
(MLS&T, 2015)
“it's invigorating working with people from diverse
backgrounds and interests in education, multiple
perspectives and expertise on the discussion and
solution” (MLS&T, 2015)
“Learning how to collaborate is the most interesting part of
it” (MLS&T, 2015)
“We can explore and have ideas without pressure” (MLS&T, 2015)

13. Learning analytics for deep learning
What the students did
The types of challenges the students chose to address
Ipad journey: Introducing iPads in a
Secondary School
Overcoming isolation in online learning
Learning on-the-go: Mobile learning in
higher education
E-type guide: Moving from print to
online in higher education
Redesigning learning spaces: Learning
through making
Developing students’ creative potential
Google brain: Utilising power of digital
knowledge tools for learning
Creating an engaging school

14. What the students said
› Novelty of pedagogical approach
› Motivation and engagement
› Teamwork experience
› Autonomy and agency
› Relevancy of theoretical knowledge
› Assessment of “soft” skills
14
Students value...
“Really enjoyed the group work challenge, the assessment
piece was appropriate and the reflection was a good way
to consolidate the learning.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“I learnt far more doing the teamwork than I'd expected to.
There was a great exchange of ideas and knowledge. Overall,
a different but very rewarding course for me.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“[The best aspect of the course is] the innovative ways
that the course is designed to encourage, or actually
demand, autonomous learning.” (MLS&T, 2013)
“This unit was a challenge for me, a completely new and
different way to learn, but very effective!!” (MLS&T, 2013)
100%
› General course evaluation results have been very high: 100%
agreement for 9 items out of 12
› All students agreed or strongly agreed that “Overall I was satisfied
with the quality of this unit of study” (2013 evaluation)

15. Main sources of inspiration
› Blackmore, C., & Ison, R. (2012). Designing and developing learning systems for managing systemic change in a climate
change world. In A. E. J. Wals & P. B. Corcoran (Eds.), Learning for sustainability in times of accelerating change (pp. 347-
364). Wageningen, NL: Wageningen Academic Publisher.
› Bereiter, C. (2013). Principled practical knowledge: Not a bridge but a ladder. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 23(1), 4-17.
› Checkland, P., & Poulter, J. (2006). Learning for action: a short definitive account of soft systems methodology and its use
for practitioner, teachers, and students. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
› Checkland, P., & Scholes, J. (1999). Soft systems methodology: a 30-year retrospective. Soft systems methodology in
action (New ed.). New York: Wiley.
› Ison, R., Blackmore, C., Collins, K., & Furniss, P. ( 2007). Systemic environmental decision making: designing learning
systems. Kybernetes, 36(9/10), 1340-1361.
› Goodyear, P. (2015) Teaching as design. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 2, 27-50
› Li, M. (2002). Fostering design culture through cultivating the user-designers' design thinking and systems thinking.
Systemic Practice and Action Research, 15(5), 385-410.
› Maturana, H. R., & Varela, F. J. (1992). The tree of knowledge: the biological roots of human understanding (Revised ed.).
Boston, MA: Shambhala.
› Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2012). The design way: intentional change in an unpredictable world. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
› Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: theory, pedagogy and technology. In K.
Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (2nd ed., pp. 397-417). New York, NY: Cambridge University
Press.
› Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization (Revised ed.). Milsons Point, NSW:
Random House Business Books.
› von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer-Verlag
› Markauskaite, L., & Goodyear, P. (in press). Epistemic fluency and professional education: innovation,
knowledgeable action and actionable knowledge. Dordrecht: Springer.

16. Contacting us
Course title:
Systems, Change and Learning
Course coordinator:
Dr Lina Markauskaite
E-mail: Lina.Markauskaite@sydney.edu.au
Contributors:
Professor Peter Reimann
Professor Peter Goodyear
Participating students
Acknowledgements:
Illustrations from students’ projects 2010-15