index.Rmd

--- 
title: "Equilibrium Game - Teaching Materials"
author: "Christian Neuwirth"
date: "`r Sys.Date()`"
knit: bookdown::render_book
site: bookdown::bookdown_site
output: bookdown::gitbook
documentclass: book
bibliography: Literature.bib
biblio-style: apalike
github-repo: "tbd"
description: "This is a summary of complementary teaching materials for the educational game Equilibrium."
---

# Preface {-}

EQUILIBRIUM is an educational game developed to familiarize high school students and students at universities with basic concepts of systems thinking and causal thinking. I suggest embedding the game in teaching subjects related to systems science like geography, ecology or biology.
The provided materials cover a full lesson:

1. Students are introduced to basic concepts of causality, feedback and its formalization using Causal Loop Diagrams *(see Chapter \@ref(briefing))*
2. Students play the game
3. Students are provided with the key concepts and theories like environmental awareness, dynamic equilibrium, stability conditions and delay in systems *(see Chapter \@ref(debriefing))*

Alternatively, the materials may be used as a flipped classroom activity where students play the game at home.

Among the many relevant aspects of system thinking, the game is particularly dedicated to address the following skills [see also @richmond2001introduction]:

* *Causal Thinking*: Definition and conditions of causality (e.g. direction and polarity of causality).
* *Big Picture Thinking*: Filtering of essential causal relations and parameters
* *Structural Thinking*: Interpretation of system structure and behavior
* *Communication of Systems Structure*: Creation and interpretation of Causal Loop Diagrams